Page 23 of Defy

To alleviate the mood and let it pass, I throw my good arm over his shoulders and take a theory for a spin. “I’m looking forward to our night on the town before it’s all work and no play for me. I hear you’re a busy man.”

Even the indirect praise makes him beam. He stands up taller and all the air around him changes. Instead of being tense and fraught with jealousy, he relaxes and the air cracks with pride and excitement.

We head to the eight-car garage around back and he pulls the keys for a Ferrari 488 out of a lockbox next to the bay where that car is parked. I catch his attention and arch my brow at him.

“I remember it was your favorite,” he says with no trace of malice and I’m taken aback at the first real moment we’ve had as brothers.

I feel my lips spread into a small smile as I nod at him in thanks and fold my frame into the only car that’s ever made me appreciate my family’s money.

Of course, nothing saysdrug lordorarms dealerquite like pulling up to a night club in a third world country in a Ferrari.Although to hear Luis talk, everyone here already knows who he is and who our parents are so there is no need to stick to the shadows. He seems to revel in the attention.

Overconfidence.

It’ll get you killed.

He thinks being at the top means you’re invincible.

All it really means is more people are vying for your spot and the target on your back is larger.

I can’t help but sink down into the passenger seat, missing the weight of a pistol on my hip, as the smell of luxury smacks me in the face. Being back home has been equal parts nostalgic and traumatic, eliciting every feeling from sadness to joy to unabashed hatred, but I’ve yet to feel any longing. At least not any longing for this lifestyle. However, sliding into the plush, black leather seat of the Ferrari, I feel myself grin. When Luis turns the key and the engine roars to life, an old flame ignites in my chest, growing outward, warming my limbs. It’s been a long time since I sat behind the wheel of this car and although I’m not currently driving, its sounds, smells, and lights envelop me like a lover’s embrace.

It’s also my first time outside the fortress walls since my return and I feel a little like a lion being let out of its enclosure at the zoo.

The joy of the moment is short lived though, because Luis drives like a blind-ass bat out of hell and after fifteen minutes of the most reckless driving I’ve ever witnessed, Luis pulls the car up to the valet and tosses him the keys. While I’m busy thanking the heavens I’m alive, the valet bows so low he could kiss Luis’s shoes. Which puts me on the receiving end of my brother’s smirk. I can hear his thoughts.

See how they bow to me?

I roll my eyes at his unearned arrogance. Seeing his anger flash quickly, I follow it up with a chuckle to set him at ease.

“They treat you like a king, brother,” I add for good measure, manipulating the hell out of him.

The response is the same…and immediate. Luis relaxes and laughs good naturedly as he puffs out his chest.

Puppet.

Entering through the back door, I survey the night club in front of me. The ambiance is magical. Low lights with hues of blue scattered throughout, it isn’t hectic and seizure-inducing like a rave but rather sensual and serene. A deep bass is creating the beat and the strobe lights are in a slow pattern that matches the rhythm of the song, pulsing every time the bass drum kicks. It’s tasteful and well done.

I let out a low whistle.

Even I have to admit, it’s impressive.

“When did you buy this?” I ask Luis, gesturing to the space around us, the small movement of stretching out my right arm still sending an ache through the limb but it’s not as sharp as it once was.

I’ve never been here before, which I’m relieved to discover. The nightclub I thought we were coming to has been painted in blood after taking too many lives in its backrooms and basement.

“About fifteen years ago. The Santos family wanted it, so naturally Mom and Dad bought it first.”

The Santos family.

Our rivals.

Worse than the Capulets and Montagues, them and my parents.

Way worse.

No matter what game we got into, they always followed. They’d wait to see where my family got involved and then they would swoop in and try to make the connections before my father could. Catalina Santos and my mother were best friends at one point but had a massive falling out when I was young. I don’t remember the details but Catalina accused my mother of ruining her life and that’s when Mateo Santos started coming after my father’s business enterprises. He dragged our name through the mud and set up one of my father’s clubs to be raided, almost costing us everything.

As we walk farther into the club, I feel the hairs on my neck rise. Luis leads me to a roped off section near the dance floor and as he unhooks the velvet rope, a million eyes hit me all at once. Some are curious, some are knowing, and some are staring with blatant shock on their faces.

---