“You may as well put that black suit on now because your wake’ll be tonight once I show Maks this photo.”
“You won’t tell Maks a damn thing because then he’ll demand you go to him. You won’t leave your hiding place to risk me getting you. You know it’ll cause a fight between the Kutsenkos and Diazes, and you don’t want your little fuck boy getting his pretty face fucked up.”
I watch Javi, not knowing what to say. Joaquin walks over and lifts the phone from my hand. He plugs it into his computer but gestures for me to keep going.
“Or both families will go after you. They’ve worked together in the past.”
“Ha. The Diazes might have helped the Kutsenkos when Misha needed them, but it doesn’t go both ways. They’ll destroy the Diazes, and you know it.”
Enrique rolls his eyes and shakes his head. I didn’t see Pablo earlier, but he’s here now too. He makes an obscene hand gesture—like he’s jerking off—until he realizes Enrique saw him do that in front of me. He drops his hand and grimaces. Alejandro shifts, catching my attention. He looks the most like Enrique, so when he rolls his eyes and shakes his head too, it’s like a delayed replay of his uncle.
“Drew, you might have been a pain in the ass today, but I’m still with the Diazes, and you’re still shit out of luck. I’m not going near you ever again.”
“Is that a challenge, Madeline? I tracked you down twice. I?—”
“And it took you more than a month to do that. I bet the only reason you figured out where I was is because you saw a photo of me or something while I attended Enrique’s wedding reception.”
It’s Enrique’s turn to grimace. I shrug. It was ultimately my choice to go, and I knew what I risked. I shift my focus when Joaquin spins his laptop around, and I see a digital map. There’s a pulsing circle with a red dot in the center. I dart my gaze to Javi, whose expression tells me I can end the call. They know what they need.
“Madeline, do you want all the Diazes’ deaths on your conscience. You couldn’t survive that guilt.”
“Neither your dick nor your balls are big enough to do shit personally. That’s why you sent Jacob, and he died for it. It’s why you had to send machines to do what your men can’t. I left you, and I’m never going back. Come near me, and I’ll kill you myself. You know I can and will kill. You wouldn’t be the first today.”
I hang up as I stare at the device that’s back in my hand again. I can’t believe I spoke so crudely in front of Enrique, but I think the circumstances can excuse my lack of manners. Angerpulses through me now that the initial shock and fear have eased. The urge to hurl my phone across the office tempts me, but I restrain my temper. It won’t get me anywhere, and I refuse to have a meltdown in front of men who’ve had stoicism drilled into them since the cradle.
“Maddy?”
I look up at Javi who appears uncertain what to do. I can tell he senses my changing moods, and he wants to help but doesn’t know how.
“We have to call Maks, don’t we?”
“Absolutely.”
A resolute answer, but he hardly sounds eager. We shift our gazes to Enrique who hardly looks thrilled, considering he told me this was private family business. I’ll have to admit more than I want.
“Should we call from my phone or yours?”
“Javier’s.” Enrique’s not deferring to his nephew, but it’ll signal to Maks that Javi decides how best to protect me.
“Do you want me to step out for this?”
“No. You can stay. Maks and his family are all fluent Spanish speakers. If we need to discuss something, we’ll switch to that.”
Javi’s attention moves to his brothers, and he jerks his head. They vacate the loveseat they shared—one that looked ready to collapse under their massive frames but is still standing—so Javi and I can sit. When our gazes meet, I know we both wish I could sit on his lap. That would be way too much in front of everyone else. We settle for his arm around my shoulders as he pulls out his phone. He dials and puts the call on speaker.
“What the fuck do you want?”
“Maks?”
“Madeline?!”
“I’m okay, but I need to talk to you. I’m at Enrique’s with Javi and his family.”
“What are you doing there? You shouldn’t be near them.”
“Maks, is Laura around too?”
There’s a pause. “Yeah. Hold on.”
