Page 53 of Beautiful Dangerous

“Good.”

We can’t make this hit look like it never happened, that’s impossible, and it’ll only be a matter of time before it’s on Hawkins’ radar, but we have a new man in the police department on our payroll now. Another corrupt law man with a score to settle, and he knows exactly what he has to do today to stop this shit from blowing back on us.

“You’re making one huge fucking mistake,cabron,” Emilio hisses, but at the same time the corners of his mouth are twisting up into a grin. His very own death mask.

“I don’t think so.”

It takes less than a heartbeat for Drago to take them out with two bullets fired so fast even I didn’t see it coming.

“I guess we’re done here,” Eddie sighs.

I take a couple of photographs for Olivia, the proof that she needs, and I pray that it’s enough to convince her that this really is over now. This part, anyway. There’s a ton more shit still to come, and the thought of what’s yet to happen, it makes me feel sick. “I guess we are. Let’s get out of here.”

“We’ll meet you and your men at the port. Let’s go claim what’s ours.” Eddie gives my shoulder a friendly slap and strides back toward his brothers. It’s time to get out of here, get to the port, and collect the Pino shipment from our contact before the police come crawling ’round. And we don’t have a great deal of time.

I get back in the van, slamming the doors shut as Arturo and the rest of our men begin celebrating another day at this twisted office. The victory we’ve been working toward for a long time. But I’m feeling nothing. I drop my head into my hands, dragging them back through my hair, I should be feeling a surge of adrenaline right now but all I’m feeling is numb. We’re on the brink of becoming one of the most powerful cartels out there and I used to get off on that shit. It was the one thing that fueled me; gave me a reason to live this fucked-up life, but this – the way it had to happen… What Olivia and I have become, and the truth that is yet to be uncovered, that’s huge. It’s fucking epic, and I have no clue how it’s going to play out. No idea how Olivia is going to react. All I know is, once the truth is finally out there, I’ve lost her, for good.

She was never yours.

I’ve lost her…

Olivia

My husband died. Two years ago. And I cried and I grieved and I missed him every single, fucking day, I missed him. I took over his business, every move I made, everything I fucking did it was inhismemory.Forhim.

He died. And every night before I’d gone to sleep I’d wished with every beat of my broken, empty heart that he was still alive; wished that I could wake up and find him lying beside me, but I never once believed in miracles.

“You must have a lot of questions.”

He’s so calm, my dead husband. His voice measured. His tone soft. His dark eyes are shining, and he’s smiling the kind of smile that used to make my stomach leap about and my heart sing, but right now all I’m feeling is angry and confused and scared.

“Can I…? Please, Olivia, can I come a little closer?”

I cock my head slightly, I think I might be dreaming, actually. Yes! That’s it. This has to be a dream. I must’ve fallen asleep after Lucca had left, and now I’m dreaming about Javier because today of all days he’s on my mind more than he usually is. It’s just an incredibly, vivid dream.

I find myself breathing out a sigh of relief, and I close my eyes, willing myself to wake up because this is painful now. It’s so vivid, this dream, that when I wake up I know I’m going to feel a horrible, gut-wrenching sadness, and I’m trying so hard to prepare myself for that.

“You aren’t dreaming, Olivia. I’m here, and I’m very much alive.”

I shake my head, but I keep my eyes closed, I don’t want to open them. I don’t want to see him, it hurts too much. I want to wake up now. Ineedto wake up.

The smell of his cologne continues to fill the air around me, and that wave of sadness washes over me again, tears once more streaming from my eyes, and I raise my hand, ready to sweep them away, but he catches it, his fingers slowly sliding between mine as his other hand gently brushes the tears from my cheek.

“I’m very much alive,” he whispers, his breath warm against my skin as he leans into me, and the second his hand presses against the base of my spine, pushing me against him, I open my eyes. And I look into his…

Lucca

“Hawkins is gonna be paying you all a visit, you know that, right?”

I lean across the bar and reach for a bottle of whiskey as I listen to Detective Harry Miles, a man with a grudge against Hawkins and a fascination with the cartel. He also has a shitload of secrets, crap that if we exposed would end his career, his marriage, and his affair with the mayor’s wife. He’s a crazy-ass bastard and I can’t work out why it’s taken us this long to get him on board, but we have him now. And unlike Jimmy, he understands the rules he has to play by very clearly indeed. “We’re prepared for that.”

“You were good. Not a trace of either you or the club left at the scene. And your guys at the port, they played their part. Very convincing, Lucca. I’m impressed. There was nothing concrete to tie you in to what happened. The perfect mystery.”

I smile and slug back a mouthful of whiskey, straight from the bottle. “That won’t satisfy Hawkins. He’ll try to dig something up. Any shit goes down in this town, he tries to pin it on us, or the club.”

“And I’ll continue to derail anything that comes even close to giving him a reason to bring you in.”

My smile widens, it’s quite obvious this man has done his homework on us, which makes everyone’s lives easier.

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