Page 48 of To Catch A Rook

The stunning woman reminded me of Sofia Vergara; she too was Columbian, with a temperate grace and the body of a supermodel. Whereas Sofia seemed very genuine and sweet in all of her interviews, Veronica was oleander in human form; beautiful to look at, deadly poison to touch.

I had touched her once, back when I believed pretty things had pretty souls. Some of our most valuable lessons were the hardest to learn.

The toxic woman surveyed the crowd with a serene smile and continued. “I am pleased to be here with Vicente, and I’d like to thank Jediah for hosting us in his beautiful home once again.”

Polite applause broke out around us. Aaron stiffened beside me, his taut body vibrating with anticipation. I slid my hand onto his thigh under the table and squeezed his molded quad in solidarity.

Whatever our differences and whatever our future, I couldn’t let him face a family betrayal alone. I knew how deep that wound would run, how cancerous that tissue was.

“Before we get started, Vicente and I have some news to share with you before we go public to the world tomorrow.”

“Rodriguez Industries is taking a fresh course into the future. Our son, Aaron, has taken our subsidiary in a different direction—one we wish him well on, but want no part in. Tomorrow, Rodriguez Industries will be united with our largest South American competitor, Predrolas. We are thrilled to partner with Alejandro Alvarez and his sons.”

A low murmur rippled through the tables around us as she carried on.

“This acquisition will make us the highest valued company in the state, the fourth largest in America. We hope you’ll continue to work with us on our many … endeavors.”

Even from this distance, I could sense the knowing glint in her eye, as she’d just subtly invited the morally gray crowd to continue to support their underground activities.

This acquisition would rival the size of Aaron’s and my new company, but that was hardly something I cared about. I didn’t need to be the ‘best’, the ‘biggest’—that was for egotistical men who constantly needed to measure their dick to justify their own existence. We were very good at what we did and would continue to be so, Veronica and her simpering pomp aside.

But Alejandro Alvarez … ‘coincidence’ was a word people used to tidily package up things they didn’t understand. I didn’t believe in coincidences.

Jediah had taken the podium now, but the men seated around my table snared my attention.

Lauchlan—not his real name—O’Donnell, the con-artist heir who was, in theory, attempting to swindle me out of my fortune, looked more curious than conflicted as he watched the buzzing crowd with interest.

Kellan Carlos, the heir to the Cartel throne and FBI crusader. His ticking jaw and wrathful scowl looked like he could crack a skull at the recent announcement. I didn’t need to know all the ins and outs of the Carlos Cartel empire to know this move would give Alvarez an advantage in taking over territory.

Aaron Rodriguez, the billionaire heir to a family company who dabbled in the dirty, depraved side of the rich and famous, had been ousted by his parents in a public display of denouncement—because of the choices he made with me.

And me—heiress, mogul, and self-appointed vigilante, who would protect innocent girls and women atanycost. Which meant I now had averyvested interest in Alejandro Alvarez.

I blew out a breath, then inhaled a renewed sense of purpose for the days ahead.

I would figure out what Kellan was hiding from me.

I would make Lauchlan regret his decision to target me.

I would dig into the debauched deeds of the Rodriguez family and expose them as the sex-trafficking scum of the earth they were. In my heart, I had to believe Aaron wasn’t a part of it, but if he was … well, my vengeance spared no one.

It was a good thing gray was my color, because we were about to bewearing a whole lot of it.

“Foroncein your life, Kellan. Can you be less of an ass?”

I folded my paper down in front of me, unsurprised to see Hillary’s feisty expression. She was earlier than I’d expected, but I knew she’d be showing up at some point after Jediah’s farce of a party the other night.

She couldn’t resist the opportunity for a fight, especially with me.

“How nice to see you,” I intoned passively, setting aside the newspaper and folding my arms across my chest. “Please, come in.”

How she had found me here, in the stark, pseudo-FBI office in the nondescript building ten blocks from her condo, wasn’t a question. She’d been keeping tabs on me for years, just as I had her.

She was too much of a firecracker, too ballsy, to walk right into a dangerous situation, and just competent enough to get herself out. She was the worst kind of person to care about from afar, but over the last six years I’d done my best, even if my best had let her little vigilante crusade go unnoticed before she’d done significant damage.

Cutting off cocks. I bit the inside of my cheek to keep the smirk off my face as she glared daggers at me in a pink power suit. Of course, that would be her chosen punishment. The tiny blonde castrater was every man’s worst nightmare, and most men’s wet dream.

She haunted both of mine; the savage need to keep her safe and the selfish desire to keep her away from this life I’d built were always at war—asleep and awake.

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