Page 36 of Falling for the Enemy

Business demands it.

“You’re leaving, aren’t you?”

Disappointment resounds in Carmen’s voice as I pocket my cell phone, my shoulders tight with regret and annoyance. Her tone kills me; the pain it produces is worse than any broken bone I’ve ever had.

And I’ve suffered from many.

“Si, princesa,” I whisper in reply, “I am.”

Her lips turn down, the frown she’s trying to hide visible. “But you didn’t even get to see James or the kids,” she continues, referring to her firefighter husband and the three adult children they share. “They’ll all be disappointed, Jade especially.”

“Next time.” I stand from the sofa where we’ve been sitting since Grandmama left minutes ago, knowing the longer I put off walking out the door, the harder it will be.

Carmen stands as well, her gaze momentarily dipping to the floor before meeting mine. She’s undoubtedly biting her tongue, likely fighting the urge to demand answers and assurances I can’t give her.

When will you come back?

How long will stay that time?

“I’ll be back,” I whisper, doing my best to placate her as my scarred knuckle grazes her warm cheek. “I have business in North Charleston to handle, but the first chance I get, I’ll return.” It’s not a lie. “You have my word.”

My eyes narrow when she pales and takes a small step back, her teeth gnawing at her bottom lip. “Hermanito, I won’t ever interfere with your business. It’s not my place and that world isn’t one I’ll willingly return to.” She shakes her head, her voice laced with a fearfulness I don’t like. “But you have to stay out of Charleston and North Charleston both. That’s where—”

Boom!

The sound of metal crunching echoes through the air, drowning out whatever she was about to say. I mentally file away her reaction as instinct kicks in and my hand goes to my holstered gun. Racing out the door, I stop on the porch, causing Carmen to crash into my back.

That’s when I see the cause of the sound. My sister too, if the swift intake of her breath is anything to go by. “Jade!” Panicked, she pushes past where I’ve stopped at the top of the steps and races toward the small Kia that’s idling next to the curb, its busted front bumper resting on the ground behind my Rover. “Cristo, what happened?”

Releasing my Beretta, I move once more, my steps quickening when a pissed-off Benito jumps out of my SUV. “What the fuck were you thinking?” he yells at my adopted niece, who Carmen has just pulled from the Kia, her face paling as her mother’s did seconds ago. “Did you not see me parked—”

Red hair pulled atop her head in a ponytail and wearing a pair of light blue nursing scrubs, Jade turns to look at him, her green eyes wide with shock and filled with unshed tears.

Benito’s mouth instantly snaps shut.

Gaze roaming over the youngest of my two nieces, neither of whom he’s ever met, my lieutenant takes her in from head to toe, setting my blood on fire. Then the hijo de puta grins, his unwavering stare seeming to darken before mine with what I know is interest.

And that interest? It will equal his end.

It’ll be a major loss considering he’s one of my best soldiers. But unlike Jade, he’s replaceable. If he thinks I’ll let him within thirty feet of her, he’s wrong.

I’ll bury a bullet in his heart first.

After I cut off his hand and feed it to him.

“I’m so s-sorry,” Jade stutters, quietly replying to him as Carmen looks her over, checking her for injuries. None of which she seems to have. “I reached down to grab my water bottle, and when I looked up, you were just...” Shoulders trembling, she gestures to the Range Rover. “There.”

Moments of heavy silence tick by, their stares locked on one another, before Jade pulls in a deep breath and flattens her glossed lips. Hands finding her waist, her temper makes an appearance, erasing her meek and rattled disposition from seconds ago.

“Which, I might add,” she sasses, likely cementing Benito’s interest further, “you shouldn’t have been parked since it’s my frickin’ spot!”

My lieutenant doesn’t reply.

He isn’t given the chance.

Not before my hand is around his throat.

His shoulders meet the side of the Rover with a bang when I slam him into it, his face inches from mine. “I will kill you,” I tell him slowly, repeating the same threat I made days before over Arianna. “You may be one of my best men, but she is my niece.” Stoked by flames, my blood boils, my skin burning as I tighten my grip on his airway. “I’ll only say this once. If you even think of going anywhere near her, your skull will have its very own place on my shelf.”

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