A flash of sadness swept across her face before hardened understanding melted it into a mask of cool indifference. “Of course, I do. Your father’s men, as well as Muñoz informers, are watching us. We have to act like you’re the ruthless asshole who kidnapped me, and I’m the petrified damsel in distress who fears for her life. Yeah, yeah. I’ve got it. You can’t touch me, smile at me, or otherwise act like you give a shit. You’re an emotional black hole.”
“Eden—”
“No, I get it, Val.” Attempting a quick smile meant only for me, she stepped backward before I could be tempted to reach for her. “Really, I get it. We’ll do what we have to do.”
“And then?”
Offering her wrist to Mateo, who stood at a respectable distance behind her, she held his eye until he sighed and grabbed it in a mock stronghold. “Ask me again when I’ve gotten justice for Nash.”
Something I couldn’t explain passed between us as her eyes flashed with promise. Then, as quickly as they’d warmed, they drained of all emotion, the corners of her mouth pulling into a frightened frown.
Glancing over her shoulder at Mateo, she pulled against his hold on her wrist, raising her voice. “Where are you taking me? I demand to talk to my father!”
Panic raced through me before Mateo’s hold moved up to her bicep, squeezing it with gentle pressure as he urged her across the street. “I’m not putting up with your shit right now, lady. Either you walk or I drag you. Your choice.”
My eyes shot between them as their stares connected and, with a slight tug from his hand, Eden purposely stumbled behind him, yelling obscenities about him hurting her.
Since I was six years old, I hadn’t been able to form normal relationships like everyone else around me. When a neighbor opened that cellar door and found me hungry, thirsty, and soiled, I swore I’d never put myself in a position to lose another person I cared about. The moment my foot hit the dirt and the sun hit my face, the part of my soul capable of forming lasting emotional attachment died, and a will to protect myself encased it with revenge and hate.
Somehow, the two people muttering obscenities and dragging each other across the street managed to break through the barbed wire and revive what I thought could never be salvaged.
The ability to care again.
Somewhere along the way, Mateo Cortes became my friend, and Eden Lachey stole the heart I didn’t know I still had. She made me want more than the life planned for me by a monster.
Gripping the door, I steeled my nerves for one last confrontation with the man who’d caused it all, before I put the final nail in his reign of terror.
* * *
As the heavymetal door slammed behind the medical examiner, I stood alone in the middle of the morgue, a metal drawer pulled out in front of me, and my father’s gray, lifeless cheeks reflected the flashing overhead fluorescent bulb from above.
“Do you positively identify this man as your father, Alejandro Carrera, Mr. Carrera?”
“Yes.”
“Very well. Would you like a moment alone?”
“Excuse me?”
“A moment. Would you like a few moments to say some words to your father, Mr. Carrera?”
“Oh. Sure. I mean, yes, I would, thank you.”
The exchange replayed in my head and a sadistic laugh rumbled in my chest.
A few words.How about a lifetime of words? A lifetime of beatings, blood, and being sold into a life no father should ever take pleasure in bringing a son into. The Carrera name stood for death and destruction, and it all stemmed from the man lying on a slab with a white sheet draped over his chin.
“Why can’t I see all of his face?”
“Mr. Carrera, as I’m sure you know, your father didn’t die of natural causes. His throat was cut and it’s not something we like to display to family members.”
Stepping closer, I reached out to lower the sheet before I could think better of it. In this cartel life, I’d killed many men and tortured many more. Blood, or the inside of a man’s body didn’t cause me to break a sweat. However, one look at the savagery inflicted upon the man who’d given me life shot a haze across my vision that blinded me for a moment.
This is where I’ll end up if things don’t change between cartels.
“Bet you never thought it’d end like this, did you, old man?” Not that I expected anything other than the hum from the overhead light, but I paused before continuing. “You promised her you’d stay away from Mexico City. She believed you. She trusted you, and look what you did to her. Look what you did to all of us. My entire fucking family is dead because you couldn’t keep a goddamn promise. Do you know what it was like to hear them scream?” Rage built as memories flooded the tiny room. “I was six years old, you bastard! You only accepted me when I pledged to kill for you.”
Fresh pain from the constant screams I heard every time I closed my eyes had me wanting to resurrect him, just so I could slit his throat all over again.
