Page 38 of One Rule

Where her mother’s condo didn’t hold any personalized touches that showed she lived there; this space has pictures, an obscene amount of fluffy decorative pillows, and smells like her.

Sugary sweet. Decadent.

Then, there’s the journal beside her on the nightstand. A familiar sight that pulls a smile from me, and I don’t hesitate when I cross the room and pick it up. The black and gold notebook has quite a few entries, but as I flip through the pages, I don’t find anything new from the days after I carried her to bed last week.

She’d drank that night after enjoying the dinner I’d sent her and then called me. It was a little slurred and cute; she’d given me a command and then hung up before I could make any promises.

Someday, I want to get married on a beach, Micah. Make it happen.

That day, I’d been hard before she ever hung up. I’d been throbbing when I unlocked her mother’s front door using the emergency key given to me by Celia before Liliana moved in, finding my pretty rebel fast asleep on the couch.

Her family knows of my intentions; I’ve never hidden them nor do I mask my emotions behind the guise of being Lionel’s best friend. He comes second to her and that will never change.

The TV was still on when I let myself in, displaying theare you still watchingquestion most apps flash when you’ve been watching a series for a few hours. At some point during the evening, Liliana started a Spaniard show about bank robbers and then conked out.

I took her to bed and tucked her in, then sat down on an oversized chair right in the corner. That’s something she’s always had inside her room, a big and comfy soft seat to curl up and read in, and I made sure the one in my penthouse was right across from where she lies and within the perfect viewing range.

It’s close enough to appease me as I watch her sleep. Calms me as I pull out the pen she keeps tucked into the spirals of her latest journal and write an entry of my own on the very last page.

It’s a promise to protect, love, and honor.

To get her father out of the mess he’s in, and after reading through the files Alfred handed over, I know how to pull the Diaz men from the hole they’ve crawled into. Rodolfo’s obsession is his downfall, but so is his stupidity.

He’s digging to find a way to force Joaquin’s compliance and by using his family, I’ve been made a part of the solution. By going against me—hiring men to find dirt on my company to force my father to add pressure—I’ve become his biggest enemy.

I’m coming for him.

One day soon, I will give you the wedding of your dreams.

Micah.

* * *

Meetme in downtown Tampa on Thursday. Ten p.m. by the docks. ~Lionel

That’s it. We haven’t talked since his frantic phone call and then cancellation, but then again, I’ve been busy myself. The information he left atop my desk held plenty to sift through, but it’s the combination for Celia’s safe that made the difference. She hides secrets well.

Foreign bank accounts.

Favors owed.

The ties to a criminal family I’m all too familiar with.

The De Leon’s are well known in Miami and throughout the state, but even I didn’t know that Thiago's mother and Joaquin are cousins. Not close, but the relation could jeopardize the picture-perfect image his constituents have of him.

A mayor and a well-run cartel don’t bode well for his state representative aspirations, although the silent favor he did for Thiago a few years back—giving him the access to legally purchase a section of the port—would ruin him. It’s information like this that Rodolfo and his son want, and they almost have it.

“Why the fuck would he leave something like this in Celia’s care?”

The answer is stupidity. Too trusting in his position.

Power comes, but not all can maintain their tight leash on it. Someone’s always vying for your position, no one is completely safe, and this is ammunition for piss stains who could care less if they hurt someone when the end goal is all that matters.

Placing everything back inside my home vault, a reinforced steal room hidden behind a wall-sized painting of my rebel that holds my weapons and important information, I grab a Glock and ext. I’m tempted to check on her before she heads off to start her day. To open one of the many cameras throughout her home installed for my pleasure, but I don’t.

Instead, I walk out of my home and meet the eyes of a man a few feet from me guarding this floor. A few are spread throughout the premises, each one taking an entry point or access—a path that could lead to her. Her father’s enemies are stupid enough to try. His children have become fair game by association, and the De Leon name isn’t one to take lightly.

My money is on Rodolfo knowing and needs proof.

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