Page 121 of Drawn Blue Lines

Mateo cocked his head. “You must not have been too ashamed. You followed in his footsteps.”

Hate seared across Cristiano’s bloody face. “Fuck you. I watched her suffer because of the promises my father made and never delivered. The only truth she told me was that he was a Muñoz soldier, so the first chance I got, I came to Mexico to find him. To make him answer and pay for his sins.”

A quiet click drew my eyes to my right where Mateo’s fingers released his gun from its holster. It was a subtle move, but one that caught a set of pale blue eyes as well.

“I kept my mouth shut. I worked my way up the ranks from street dealer to top sicario while searching for any information I could find,” he explained, pulling his gaze from Mateo’s gun up to his face. “The path to truth was long, but then I caught Mari’s eye, and I realized she was my detour. An easy and beautiful shortcut.”

Her rules.

It hit me, inflaming my already burning jealousy tenfold. He was the reason for all her rules. Why she built walls. Why she wouldn’t kiss a man. Why she believed she didn’t deserve love.

“You son of a bitch.” I flew across the room, ready to tear him apart only to be blocked by Val’s outstretched arm. I glared, and he glared back, the unspoken message clear.

Let him speak.

“I said she was a detour! I was a kid whose only tie in this life was a heartbroken mother banished from her family. We were nothing to them. A stain on their precious empire. I’m not proud of using her to get what I wanted, but there’s not a man in our world who hasn’t manipulated a woman for his benefit.” He swung an accusing glare at all three of us, settling on me.

I returned it with a scowl.

Val broke the silence. “Obviously, something changed.”

“Esteban saw how close we were getting.” My eyes bounced between them as Cristiano’s shoulders lowered, his defensive stance diminishing. “He finally took the time to notice my last name instead of just seeing a face amongst men not worth his time. He sat me down and gave me every disgusting detail of my existence.”

Adriana’s sad, solemn voice echoed in my head.

“So why the split? Did you get cold feet?”

“No, he did.”

My furrowed eyebrows faded into disbelief. “It was an arranged marriage. For Chicago port access.”

He didn’t confirm it, but the regret in his eyes did. “Whatever benefitted Esteban, right? He thought I was his ‘in’. I’m not innocent though. He dangled the same lieutenant carrot in front of my face as he did Ignacio, and I grabbed it. Sins of the father, and all that.”

“But you didn’t go through with it.”

He shook his head. “No. Esteban died before he could promote me. Manuel took control of the cartel, and he hated me. I knew I had to stay away from Mari. Especially after knowing who her father was and what he’d done.”

I had no idea if he knew what he just said, or if there was so many hidden truths spilling out of him that it slipped out. All I knew was that I heard it.

And worse than that, Val heard it.

“You’ve known who she really was all this time, and you didn’t say shit?” Val roared, charging forward with his arms up, hands wide, and fingers spread, ready to choke the life out of him.

But I beat him to it.

Rage and fear and the sickening images that kept filling my head consumed me. Images of Adriana and Santi. Crying. Bleeding. Begging for help. All of it spiraled out of control, and I grabbed Cristiano by the shirt, out of the guards’ hands and crashed us both against the wall. “When Adriana and I were in your office, she gave you his name. She begged you for help finding the man who was terrorizing her family, and you knew. She gave you tears, and you gave her riddles. Did you know about the safe deposit box?”

He wheezed as my forearm braced across his throat. “I told her I’d been waiting for her to come to me. That wasn’t a lie. I suspected Esteban had damning information hidden inside the estate. I just didn’t think she’d find it.”

“So, you lied to her again!”

“I was protecting her! I sure as hell didn’t want her to find out this way!”

“Bullshit! You were protecting yourself, and now your father has her!” I pushed harder, cutting off more of his air supply until a set of hands pried me off him. He dropped to his feet, coughing as I turned and shoved Mateo away from me. Still shaking with rage, I spun back around to where the piece of shit still stood. “What does he want with Adriana and Santiago?”

“He saw firsthand with Carrera’s mother how quickly a parent will give their life when it comes to the safety of their child. My guess is he was using Adriana to do the same thing to Val. When she didn’t play by his rules, he made new ones.”

“You never loved her,” I hissed.

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