27. Chapter 27 #2
Every muscle in my body tensed. My men tightened their formation, their fingers twitching on the triggers of their weapons. One wrong move and this place would turn into a bloodbath.
Rafael held my gaze for one long second. Then he nodded once and walked out.
His companion followed. The door shut behind them, and silence filled the space they had left behind.
“That was … interesting.” Addy’s gaze was still trained on the door. “Maybe these guys need a cocktail to relax a bit or something. Jeez.”
Closing my eyes for a brief moment, I tried not to lose my shit but failed disastrously. I turned to face my men, my jaw clenched so tightly it felt as if it were about to crack.
“And where the fuck were you?”
My voice cracked through the boutique like a whip, sharp enough to make even the shop owner flinch behind the counter. My men straightened up instinctively, but there was no going back now.
“You had two entry points,” I continued, stepping forward slowly and deliberately, measuring each word. “Two. And only one job. Watch the perimeter, control access, and yet somehow—” I gestured toward the door with a tight, humorless smile, “—we had guests.”
“Boss, we were taken by sur—”
“I don’t give a fuck what distracted you,” I snapped, raising my voice just enough to make the threat underneath it unmistakable. “You don’t get distracted. You don’t leave positions unless I say so.”
One of them shifted, his jaw tightening. “There was a disturbance down the street. Looked real.”
“They wanted you gone,” I continued quietly. “And you gave them exactly what they wanted. Do you understand what that means?”
No one answered.
“It means,” I said, stepping closer, “they walked into my territory, looked me in the eye, and tested how far they could push before I pushed back.”
My gaze moved between them, slow and deliberate.
“It means you failed.”
The word hung heavy in the air.
“And if anything had happened to her—” my voice dipped, something darker threading through it now, something far less controlled, “—there wouldn’t be enough left of you to explain yourselves.”
Silence. Absolute, deafening silence.
“This was your first and only strike,” I said finally, already turning away.
“Next time you fuck up, I will put you down like a fucking rabid dog. Now go and double the perimeter. I want no blind spots. If anyone so much as breathes wrongly within fifty yards, I want to know about it before they do.”
“Yes, boss.”
I dismissed them without waiting for anything else. Addy was still standing exactly where I’d left her, watching me with those wide, perceptive eyes that saw far too much and yet somehow still not enough.
I exhaled once, dragging a hand through my hair before I walked back to her.
“Well,” she said lightly, though there was a hint of something else in her voice now. “I’m glad I wasn’t in their shoes right about now. Damn, you can be scary.”
My laugh was short and humorless. “That’s one word for it.”
She tilted her head and studied me. “You’re mad.”
“I’m furious.”
“Same difference.”
“It’s not,” I said flatly. “Mad is an inconvenience. Furious is a problem.”
Her mouth twitched. “Good to know I should be more concerned.”
“You definitely should be,” I agreed without hesitation.
That wiped the humor from her expression just a little. I stepped closer and put my hand back on her waist, grounding us both in this moment.
“You remember how I said this isn’t exactly a normal environment?”
She nodded slowly. “Yeah. That was implied by the guns.”
“Those men,” I continued, ignoring her comment, “are part of the local familia. They’re the only other organization on this island with enough reach to be a problem.”
Addy’s eyes narrowed. “Define problem.”
“They control territory. Routes. People. Same as we do.”
“So … they’re like competitors?” Her brows drew together.
I let out a quiet breath. “That’s a very mild way of putting it.”
“Okay,” she said slowly. “What’s the less mild version?”
I watched her for a moment, considering how much information she needed and how much would only burden her unnecessarily.
“My uncle claimed this territory before I got here,” I said finally. “Puerto Rico was … strategic. He moved in fast, secured enough ground to make it ours on paper.”
Her brows knit together slightly. “On paper doesn’t sound very reassuring.”
“That’s because it isn’t. What he handed me here,” I continued, my tone remaining even, “is not a gift. It’s a problem.”
Addy blinked. “Oh.”
I huffed quietly. “Yeah. Oh.”
“He expects me to hold it. Expand it. Fix whatever isn’t working.” I paused briefly. “And right now, quite a few things aren’t working.”
Her gaze sharpened, her curiosity cutting through the lingering tension. “Including…?”
“Including the fact that the local familia isn’t exactly a fan of us being here in the first place.” I shifted slightly and sighed. “They’ve been here longer. They know the terrain, the people, the routes. We moved in fast, but fast doesn’t mean stable.”
“So they’re pushing back?” she asked, her eyes wide, but I could see the cogs turning in her pretty little head.
“Yes.”
“How?”
I exhaled slowly, my jaw tightening just slightly.
“They disrupt supply lines. Interfere with shipments. Test boundaries. Small things, at first. Enough to see how we react.”
Addy’s lips parted. “Like … poking a bear?”
“Exactly like that.”
“And you’re the bear.”
“I’m the one they’re trying to figure out,” I corrected.
There was a pause before she spoke again, her voice softer this time. “So today…”
“Wasn’t random,” I finished for her. “They came here on purpose.”
“To see you?”
“To see how far they could go,” I said. “To walk into my territory, stand in front of me, and make it clear they’re not backing down.”
“And you?”
I held her gaze. “I don’t back down either.”
Addy let out a slow breath, processing the information. “So this whole thing is basically … what? A very tense game of chicken?”
“Nothing about this is a game,” I said quietly.
She winced slightly. “Right.”
“Now you’re getting it.”
Addy looked at me for a long second, a thoughtful expression flickering behind her eyes.
“And your uncle just dropped you into this and said … good luck?”
A faint, humorless smile pulled at my lips. “He said I’d earned the opportunity.”
Her eyebrows shot up. “That’s what we’re calling this?”
“That’s what he’s calling it.”
“And what are you calling it?”
I stepped a fraction closer, my voice lowering just slightly. “A test.”
Her gaze didn’t waver. “I’m guessing you don’t tend to fail those.”
“No,” I replied, giving my head a slow shake. “I don’t.”
Silence stretched for a moment, then she exhaled softly and pursed her lips.
“God,” she murmured. “And I thought my family had high expectations.”
I gave a huff of amusement.
She flashed me a small, mischievous smile, but her expression shifted again, becoming more serious.
“And those guys,” she said, glancing briefly toward the door, “they’re part of the problem?”
“Yes.”
“They’re not just … random assholes with bad timing?”
“No.”
Addy studied me for a long second like she was trying to understand not just the situation, but what standing next to me actually meant. She exhaled slowly, her gaze flicking briefly toward the door before returning to me.
“They didn’t seem…” She hesitated. “I don’t know? They didn’t seem like they were about to kill anyone.”
My hand tightened on her waist instantly.
“They would have. If it suited them. If it made a point. If it gave them leverage.”
Her lips parted slightly.
“This isn’t posturing, Addy,” I continued gently but insistently. “This isn’t men puffing their chests and walking away. It was restraint. Calculated restraint.”
She swallowed. “Because I was here?”
“Because I was here,” I corrected. “And because they came to send a message, not start a war. Yet.”
The word settled between us like a loaded gun.
“And if I hadn’t been here?” she asked quietly.
I didn’t answer right away. Not only because she deserved the truth but also because she needed to hear this and more importantly, understand it.
“They would have pushed harder,” I said finally. “And I would have responded accordingly.”
Her fingers curled slightly into my shirt, grounding herself.
“Okay,” she murmured. “So … less cocktails, more potential murder. Got it.”
I made a choked sound, somewhere between a laugh and a scoff. “Do you always cope like this?”
“With inappropriate humor?” she said. “Yes. It’s a gift.”
“It’s going to get you into trouble.”
“It already has,” she pointed out, glancing at me meaningfully.
Touché.
But the faint smile faded from her lips a second later.
I stepped closer, closing the last inch of space between us, my hand sliding from her waist to the small of her back, pulling her in just enough to leave her no choice but to feel the tension still coiled through me.
“I need you to understand … they wouldn’t hesitate to take you,” I said, my voice dropping, rougher now. “Or use you. Or hurt you if it gave them an advantage.”
Her breath hitched slightly.
“And I wouldn’t hesitate to end every single one of them for it.”
Her gaze searched mine, something shifting there — fear, yes, but not of me. Never of me.
It was something else. Understanding, maybe.
“Okay.” Addy nodded lightly.
My hand slid up, fingers brushing along her jaw, tilting her face just enough so she couldn’t look away.
“This isn’t a game,” I said, softer now, but no less serious. “Not for them. And certainly not for me.”
Addy’s lips parted and her warm breath tickled my skin. “So what does that mean for me?”
I held her gaze for a long second as her pulse fluttered under my fingers.