Page 60 of Hearts Of Darkness

“I don’t pay you to fuck, I pay you to fight,” I say mildly. “Joseph, what’s the latest on Sanders?”

“I’ve reached out to the other cartels but no one’s talking.”

“Can’t, or won’t?”

Joseph grimaces. “It’s a dead end. Everyone’s running scared since we terminated the Garcias.”

“Someone must know something. What about his women?”

“They’ve not seen him… All four of them.”

“Fucking hell, he’s worse than I used to be. Let’s talk more on the plane. Tomas, we’re departing in five.”

“You’re the boss.”

Damn right I am.

I make my way up the aircraft’s steps with Joseph trailing in my wake, shouting at my men to finish up and get onboard.

Is Eve awake yet? Is she already in the shower, washing my scent and my cum from her body?Christ, I need to get a hold of these thoughts.It’s business or nothing for the next few days, just until this mess is sorted, and the New York deal is in the bag.

I’ll satisfy my lust for Eve Miller when I’m done.

20

EVE

There’s a voice trying to reach me. It’s urgent and scared. Something blunt and persistent is tapping on my shoulder, but I don’t want to open my eyes just yet. There’s a dream waiting for me down here, and it might be the best one ever. He’s smiling. I’ve never seen him do that before, and it’s a good smile—an easy smile. There’s no dark, only light. It’s just him and me, together.

“Señorita Eve… Please, oh please wake up, my princesa. They’re coming, they’re coming!”

The voice is growing ever more insistent. It’s impossible to ignore, and the pressure on my arm is starting to hurt.

With a moan of frustration, I force my eyelids open. I can tell something’s wrong right away. It’s nighttime. My room should be shrouded in darkness and fringed with moonlight. Instead, the walls are flickering with red and amber shadows,and my nostrils are filled with a sharp and pungent odor.

Fire! The compound is burning!

I sit bolt upright as the noise of gunfire shatters the stillness. The silhouette of a small figure flings herself onto my chest and smothers my face in a glossy river of hair. She smells of lavender, and her cheeks are damp with tears. I can feel the wetness against my skin.

“Oh, señorita. Oh, thank the Lord!”

“Sofía? Stop… I can’t breathe,” I wheeze, pushing at her shoulders. She releases her hold on me and crouches down on the floor next to the bed. My mouth is dry, and my head is thick with sleep. I smack my hand against the nightstand, searching blindly for my water and the lamp switch. “Let me just—”

“No!” she hisses, pulling my hand away. I can feel her body trembling beneath her grip. “They’ll see us. We must stay hidden in the dark.”

The next thing I know, she’s thrusting my glass at me—the water spilling over the sides and soaking the bedsheet.

“Shit! Who will? What’s happening?” I can’t see her expression, but I can smell the acridity of her fear beneath the lavender. She’s clutching what looks like a rosary in her right hand, and she keeps twisting the beads around her fingers.

“We have to hide. Terrible men are coming to hurt us.” Fear grips at me tighter than her embrace. “They’re evil men, señorita. You must get up.”

I jerk my legs out of bed, spilling even more water. I can feel the adrenaline pumping through my veins as strong and intense as any drug.What bad men? Does she mean Dante’s enemies?

The roar of an explosion sounds somewhere in thedistance. There’s angry shouting and another round of gunfire. This time it’s coming from the beach close to my balcony. Moments later, there’s a loud crash against my bedroom door and we both scream in fright.

“It’s me, Manuel,” hisses a voice as the young guard bursts into the room with a machine gun slung over his left shoulder and another weapon strapped to his hip. His dark eyes are glittering in the dark, soaking up the fiery colors from outside. “We go now,” he urges. “We have minutes.”

He takes another step closer, and I let out a cry of horror. The light is casting a low glow over the rest of his face. I can see the heavy bruising around both eye sockets and all the way down one side of his jaw.

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