Page 4 of Sacrifice

“As the person who owns this land, I’d like to know who’s in my house.” He gives me a wink and steps even closer.

“Don’t move another muscle or I’ll shoot.”

He dares to laugh at me, full of arrogance.

“You are mistaken. I own this land and you are trespassing.”

Technically, I own half of it, but that’s semantics at this point.

“Ms. Tremaine, I’m -”

Frowning, I shake my head. “I know who you are, Mr. Domingo.” Wow, my manners are shining through today.

As he straightens his back, I think I might have offended him. Why do I care? Vincent saunters over to me, nonchalant and like he doesn’t have a care in the world. He puts his hand on my gun and I stare at him. “Then you know if you kill me, the cartel will take you out. And they won’t be nearly as forgiving as I plan to be.”

He’s right. Vincent ‘The Beast’ Domingo is the highest-ranking cartel member in America.Fear swarms around me as he wraps his hand around the barrel and closes in on me.

“I’m listening,” I say, still not lowering my weapon. Shooting him still seems to be the best option.

“Your brother, Carlos, owes quite a hefty sum of money to the cartel's casinos.”

Confusion settles over me. How could Carlos owe any money? We are completely broke, and he quit gambling over a year ago. He’s always out trying to find a job. My mind is spiraling with thoughts of what happened the last time Carlos was caught cheating at cards. We were thrown out of the Christmas party and he’d lost his job with the local construction company.

When Vincent tries to jerk the shotgun from me, I come out of my thoughts. Repositioning my hold on the gun, I shake it off, trying to get myself together. “Don’t move.”

Vincent chuckles and holds his hands up mockingly. “I’m going to reach for a piece of paper inside my coat.”

I nod, and he opens the jacket to show me the paper in the inside pocket. I also see two guns inside his jacket that he could easily grab, but he doesn’t reach for either of them. He takes the paper out slowly.

“We can discuss this note and everything else once you put the gun down, Aribella. Let’s go inside, out of the cold.”

As if I would want to be anywhere in close proximity with these men. He must be joking. When he raises an eyebrow, I huff in annoyance.

“You and me only. There’s no reason for all your men to come in.”

“I agree.” Vincent turns to his men and gives them the slightest nod. If I hadn’t been looking right at him, I wouldn’t have even noticed his head move at all.

“Alright, I’ve shown you good faith. Now show me yours.” With the way he growls his words, it doesn’t sound like a request, but more of a demand.

“Fine.” I lower the shotgun and look at him with distrust. “No funny business.”

Vincent grabs my arm, and I squint at him. “If I wanted you dead, you’d already be in a pool of your own goddamn blood. Now shut your mouth and walk.”

If I thought I was nervous before, it was a mistake for me to invite him inside to talk. Nothing compares to how my heart seems suspended in my stomach, and the air in my lungs refuses to exhale. I open the back door, and as we walk through, he lets it slam shut behind him.

“Put your gun away.” We stand there looking at each other, and he moves away, walking toward the kitchen table.

If I’m not careful, he will probably kill me. Lowering the gun and propping it up against the wall, I keep my eyes trained onthe floor.You can do this Aribella. You aren’t one to back down. Be Polite. Show him the deed and all will be fine.

I can finally breathe a little as I turn around and walk into the kitchen. I sit across from him and put my shaking hands in my lap. I don’t want him to see how nervous I am.

He takes the paper he showed me earlier from his coat pocket and hands it to me.

“This is from Carlos,” he says, and waits patiently as I unfold the letter. I notice Carlos’s scribbled lettering and read that he promised the land to Vincent if he lost in a Texas Hold’em Tournament. Any wind left in my sails vanishes.

“As you can see, your brother gave me the rights to the land and house, as well as everything in it.” Vincent takes the paper from me, and I sit still, unable to process what’s happening.

Considering I’m studying law, he’s not wrong. But the land is in both our names. Maybe I can talk him out of this. My mind laughs at me.You wanted to get away from here just a few minutes ago because of all the problems. Now you want to keep the land?

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