Page 22 of Queen's Move

He reached out and ran his thumb over her lips and down to her chin, pinching it slightly before dropping his hand. “The world can fear me, Vee. In fact, the world should fear me. I will rip it to shreds one piece at a time to get at what I want. And I’ll enjoy every moment,” he said, a small flicker of savage emotion deep in his dark brown eyes. “But you will never have need to fear me.”

She studied him for a moment. “Then let me go.”

He unbuckled his seatbelt and stood. She realized the plane had stopped and unbuckled her own belt. He stood in front of her, blocking her path. “Never that, Vee,” he said, reaching out a hand to help her up. “Don’t ask again.”

“Fine, I won’t ask again. I’ll just leave.”

She ignored his hand and slipped quickly past him, pushing herself awkwardly to the side to avoid touching him. He took her arm and swung her around until she was facing him. He allowed his mask to slip, let her see some of the things he shielded from the world, his savagery, his obsessive determination to own everything around him. She shivered and tried to step back but he followed her, pressed her against the side of plane. She was forced to curve herself into the small space.

“My patience isn’t endless,” he said quietly. “Step carefully, Vee. Leaving me will never be an option, not now and not in our future.”

She didn’t respond at first. How could she? She certainly didn’t agree with his statement. She’d be leaving him at the very first opportunity. But she also suspected she was dancing close to the edge of his patience. The face he projected to the world was of a man whose calm was eternal. But she was beginning to see the man underneath. He was so much more, so much worse than anyone suspected. She needed to know the worst.

“Or what, Sotza? What will you do to me if I leave?”

His answer was immediate, telling her that he never doubted the course he set his actions on. He was as decisive as he was brutal. “I will find you, kill anyone and everyone that helped you. Then hunt and kill everyone you know until I’m certain there’s no one left to help you leave. I will make sure that you are so dependent on me that every thought in your head must first be filtered through me.”

She gaped up at him as he allowed his terrifying words to settle in, then pulled her out of the corner and tucked her loosely against his side. Even though she had room for movement, could step away if she wanted, his hand wrapped around her arm was unbreakable. He led her to the exit door, which had been opened by the flight attendant. They left the plane together, side by side, a united front. She suspected this was on purpose as there were several men, Mexicans she thought, standing nearby, eyeing them with speculation.

Sotza leaned into her, bending his head until his lips brushed the top of her ear. “You need to follow my lead. These men cannot for one moment believe that you don’t belong to me.”

Vee glanced at the AK-47’s held by some of the men in the group. A show of force, but the loose way in which they were held, pointed at the ground, told her the cartel didn’t see them as a threat. Had they never heard of Sotza before? “I’m not stupid, Sotza. I’m not going to draw any unnecessary attention to our situation. Jumping from your care into a Mexican cartel doesn’t seem like a smooth move.”

“Not stupid,” he agreed. “But sometimes reckless with an alarming disregard for your own safety.”

She gritted her teeth but refused to respond. In fact, she thought she had a healthy respect for her own life. It’s just that some things were more important. The lives of her friends, the safety of her home town. Perhaps Sotza couldn’t identify because he’d never had anything he cared enough about to put ahead of his own health. Then again, the man was indestructible. A legend, practically a phantom in the way he worked. One moment there, attacking with speed and brutal precision, the next, gone, a path of devastation behind him.

Vee turned her attention to the man who had stepped out from the group of Mexicans. He was not quite what she was used to when it came to cartel leaders in this part of the world. He wasn’t fat, wasn’t dressed any differently from his men. He was tall, built strong, his skin deeply tanned, tattoos covering most of the visible parts of his body. The only thing that stood out on him was his arrogance. It showed in the way he stood, the boldness of his gaze as he watched Vee and Sotza approach.

Vee was somewhat surprised when a grin broke across his face, transforming him from brutal leader to carefree man. He spoke Spanish, directing his comments to Sotza. “My old friend, I am proud to have you in my home.”

Sotza released Vee and the two men embraced. The other man kept his hand on Sotza’s back. Vee was astonished. She didn’t think Sotza liked being touched. As long as she’d known him, she was pretty sure she was the only person he’d touched. Weird. She’d gotten the impression that Sotza wasn’t close to their host. Why was he insisting on a united front when he knew this other man? Why not tell him that she was his unwilling prisoner? She was starting to wonder if Sotza had used this meeting as an excuse to keep her in line. Or did he genuinely have business?

“And who is this?” The Mexican asked, turning to Vee. “Muy bonito.”

Sotza stepped back toward Vee and wrapped his arm around her waist. He gave the other man a mildly stern look and said simply, “This is my fiancé.”

Ignoring Sotza’s ‘stay away from her’ signals, the man took Vee’s hand and squeezed it, smiling down at her. She really wished she had her heels on. She didn’t trust this man and didn’t like being a solid foot shorter than him. Even with heels she wouldn’t close the gap, but she would narrow it. There was some power to be had in a snazzy outfit that told men she was both equal and all business.

“You are a lovely woman,” he said to her in rapid Spanish, his eyes twinkling. “You should leave Senor Sotza, come spend some time with me. My home is beautiful and I am very rich, easily able to afford a woman of your obvious good tastes.” Despite his warm reception, she didn’t for one second believe he wouldn’t gut her if things went sideways. She wanted to roll her eyes and snort. She was still wearing jeans, a hooded sweatshirt and boots. Good taste, right.

Vee glanced curiously at Sotza to see how he was taking the Mexican’s flirtation. He didn’t look visibly moved, but she felt a stirring tension about him, a readiness to strike when and if necessary. She didn’t get the sense that the Mexican was flirting in any real sense anyway. Almost like he was playing a game, trying to nudge Sotza.

“I am Nicolás Garza, but you may call me Nico,” he took her arm and waved them toward the vehicles. Since Sotza maintained his silence, Vee went easily with Nico, Sotza following behind them.

“Vee Montana,” she murmured, watching him carefully.

A flicker of recognition passed across his face before he shuttered his response. He looked down at her, more carefully, guarded. He studied her. “Lately of Miami, Florida?” he asked, a new sharpness to his voice.

Before Vee could respond, Sotza reacted, taking Vee’s arm from Nico and tugging her back to stand next to him. They stopped at the vehicle. One of Nico’s men was holding the door open. Rather than get in, the three stood in tense silence. Out of the corner of her eye she saw the gunmen become more alert as the mood of their leader shifted. Then she noticed Sotza’s people had followed them off the airplane and stood at their backs. She barely dared breathe. She’d been in tense situations before, negotiating, renegotiating and having to turn down bad trade deals. But she’d always been in control, able to talk her way out of a situation before it flared into something more. Only the Mexicans had openly challenged her.

“Myfiancéis late of Miami, si.” Sotza stressed the word fiancé as though it held more power than her actual name. She supposed time would tell which was more important to Nico, good relations with The Butcher or getting to the woman that wasn’t well loved among his compatriots. “As my wife she will soon become a permanent citizen of Venezuela.”

Vee stiffened slightly but kept her mouth shut. He just answered one of her questions, where he was going to take her to live. She’d suspected it was deep in the Venezuelan jungle but hoped he might decide to settle in the US. She should have known better.

Finally, after a nerve-wracking minute of silence, Nico studying Vee from top to bottom, his gaze speculative and cold, Sotza’s arm tightening around Vee, Nico nodded at the vehicle and turned, striding around the other side. Vee released the breath she’d been holding and side-eyed the guys with the AK’s. They seemed to relax a little. Her palms were sweating as she reached for the door and shifted her body to half face Sotza. She looked up into his grim face.

“What was that?” Vee asked quietly as they slipped into the vehicle.

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