Page 5 of Reign of Psychos

“There is a risk that Cantaloa will come after you for the debt if you kill Francesco. You’re Francesco’s daughter and heir, which makes you next in line. Cantaloa doesn’t know about you, but he will find out. You can be sure of that. And if he does, he might try to use you as leverage or take you as payment.”

Fantastic. Yet another man wanting to control me. Fuck that. I’d sooner die than give myself up to a cartel drug lord.

“Isn’t he married?”

“Not yet, but he is engaged.”

I remembered reading some story on TMZ while bored one evening. “Carmen Rodriguez.” I’d seen her photos online. The woman was stunning. How she’d got mixed up with a cartel drug lord was a mystery. It seemed like a dumb move for any forward-thinking female. That said, Santiago was hot as hell. He looked a bit like Dario, but more psychotic.

“I doubt his woman would appreciate him adding me to his household.”

“He’d sell you on, Thea.” Of course he would. People trafficking was all in a day’s work for the cartel. I wasn’t sure if Santiago trafficked human cargo, but the other cartels definitely did. It was a huge money spinner for them. Last I checked, Santiago was more into drugs and cybercrime. That, too, made a fuck ton of money.

“Well I can’t second-guess what Cantaloa might or might not do. He isn’t my most pressing problem. The longer my dad’s still breathing, the more likely it is someone will find me and hand me over to him or Torrance. If Dad passes me on to Marku, I may as well shoot myself in the head.”

I was joking, but also not. The thought of ending up a brood mare to a fat, old, and generally disgusting Romanian mobster held zero appeal.

“Don’t say that, Thea,” Fausto scolded. “Let’s deal with one problem at a time.” He leaned in. “I have enough evidence now to put Francesco away for life, but the DIA moves at glacial speed. By the time they review the evidence, one of his informants will have spilled the news and he’ll be in the wind. Plus he’d know it came from me, so while my only concern isthe safety of my son, you, and Verity, I can’t help if I’m dead.Capisce?”

I nodded. He was right. If Dad was arrested, he’d know the evidence originated from Fausto. Fausto was privy to all my father’s financial dealings.

“However, I am concerned he’s become suspicious of me.”

“What makes you think that?” Dad had always treated Fausto as a friend. Well, as much of a friend as a man like my father could ever have. Like any good sociopath, he didn’tdofriends.

“He’s stopped confiding in me, and I’ve had people following me since you were taken. He also failed to invite me to the wedding, which was a surprise given how he’s always invited me to events before.”

I hadn’t noticed Fausto’s absence at the wedding. But then I’d had a lot to deal with, so…

“He’s probably tapped your phone and emails, too.”

“Yes, hence why I’m using a burner phone and have switched to a throwaway email account for all communications with Dario and you.”

“Does Dario know I’m here?”

Fausto’s eyes softened. “No, I kept that from him. It is safer if he doesn’t know.” He was right. Had Dario been aware of my plan, he’d have come after me, with Kyril on his heels.

The last thing I needed was my two guard dogs in hot pursuit, killing anyone who so much as looked at me twice. That was not the kind of attention anyone needed, frankly.

“Fausto, you need to be careful.”

“I know,cara. I’m taking precautions. If anything happens to me, the files I have on Francesco will be sent straight to the DIA and a few reputable journalists. I have a trusted friend who knows where all the bodies are buried. But it’s not me I’m worried about. I’m old. I’ve lived my life, for better or worse, but you and Dario have your whole lives ahead of you.”

“There is no me and Dario,” I muttered.

“Thea… he made a mistake.”

“He didn’t trust me, Fausto. That hurt. Still hurts.”

Fausto reached out and took my hand. The music faded until it was just the two of us, talking quietly, as we always did when teenage-me used to sneak out and spend time with the man who’d been more of a father to me than my actual father.

“I know he hurt you, sweetheart. I tried to make him see, but he was young and stubborn. Lacking in confidence. You’d blossomed into a beautiful young woman and he never quite believed in himself. It was all too easy to think your attention would have drifted to other people. He knows now, of course, but back then… Torrance manipulated him.”

Torrance was always good at manipulating people. “He apologized,” I admitted.

“Good. At least he had the balls to do that.”

Fausto squeezed my hand and then sat back, and for the millionth time, I wished my father had been more like the kind-hearted man sitting next to me.

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