Page 167 of Devil Mine

“You okay,amor?” I ask carefully, as I move around the perimeter and further into the room. I keep my gaze and gun locked firmly on Marco.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see her nod. Tears appear in her eyes and flay me alive.

“That’s good,” I whisper reassuringly. “I’m taking you home soon.”

“I wouldn’t count on that,” Marco says with a cruel laugh. “Toss the gun aside,” he orders, waving his weapon closer to Tess.

“Alright, alright,” I agree, holding my hand up in capitulation. I lower the gun carefully to the floor then kick it to the side and stand, lifting my newly freed hand to join the first.

I track Marco’s gun warily, not liking his twitchiness one bit.

“How did you find us?” he demands angrily. I can tell he didn’t expect me to show up here, especially not this quickly.

I lower my hands. “There’s a tracker on her.”

His head falls back, his eyes closing in acceptance. “I should have thought of that.”

My jaw slams violently shut. “You should have thought about a lot of things.”

My hands clench into tight fists. It takes everything in me not to fly across the room and beat him to death.

“It was you. You’ve been stealing from me. You’re the one who’s been selling our shipment information to rival organizations.”

A proud rictus twists the features of his face.

“Took you long enough to figure it out.”

“How long?”

He grins. “It’s been happening under your nose since we came to London and you’re just now figuring it out. Not so smart, not so mighty, are you,Diablo?”

So he’d been stealing from me from the very beginning.

He was right, I should have seen it earlier. But I’d been distracted. By expanding the business, by Adriana’s murder, and then by Tess.

My eyes drift over to her the second her name crosses my mind and I find her trembling. The expression on her face is indescribable. It tugs viciously at my core.

I rip my gaze away from her with difficulty.

“Why?”

He scoffs. “Money and power, why else? I never believed you were the right person to run this organization. And why should it be you? Just because you’re a da Silva son?” He shakes his head in mockery of me. “I didn’t think you were the right man for the job and, as it turns out, a lot of your crew agreed.”

“You’ll find the bodies of those who agree with you littering the hallway.”

“You think that was it?” He grins again and I hear footsteps from behind me. I turn to find three more of my men coming into the room. “I had a good number of your crew in full mutiny of you. I could have kept going until I overthrew you if it wasn’t for this bitch right here,” he sneers, pressing the gun against Tess’s temple.

Her eyes widen horrifically. I take a violent step forward when his gaze cuts back to me.

“Take anotherfuckingstep and I’ll blow her brains out.”

My hands come up defensively, my frantic eyes locked on where the barrel touches her perfect skin. Breathing is impossible, brain function even more so.

“I won’t move,” I promise. “Don’t hurt her.”

“She isn’t the first bitch who couldn’t mind her own business.” His lip curls up contemptuously. “I’ll deal with her like I dealt with Adriana.”

The room goes unearthly quiet.

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