Page 29 of Bad Blood
“You’re wrong!”
Tightening my grip, I push her harder into the wall, the space between us all but evaporating. “Those scorpions now decorating my walls contradict you. If Grayson wanted you to walk out of here alive, he should have calmed the theatrics.”
I’m pretending not to notice the softness of her breasts pressed up against my chest. But my body notices. In fact, that traitorous fuck is having a hard time focusing on anything else.
Damn this woman.
“Theatrics aren’t Edier’s style.”
“Maybe not. But they’re definitely your father’s.”
That strikes a nerve—a raw one.
Stiffening, Thalia glances away.Interesting.There seems to be dissension on Santiago Island. A loose thread just begging to be pulled... One that could unravel an entire dynasty.
The corners of my mouth twitch as a plan takes shape in my head. One where I don’t end Thalia Santiago right here for the sins she has committed tonight, but one where I use her to my advantage.
One where I avenge an attack with one of my own.
An eye for an eye.
“Take her upstairs to my penthouse and lock her in the east wing,” I instruct the man who has been silently watching our confrontation with interest.
Thalia glances over my shoulder as Rocco rises from one of the two chairs in front of my desk. As his heavy footsteps draw closer, she tries, and fails, to push me away.
“What? No! I’m not going anywhere with him!”
“Oh,muñeca,” I chuckle, releasing my hold on her throat. “You don’t have a choice.” Giving her a wink, I nod at Rocco. “Go.”
“This is kidnapping!” she screams as the behemoth of a man picks her up and tosses her over his shoulder like she weighs nothing at all. I watch in amusement as she drives her fist into his back, but it’s like beating a brick wall with a pillow.
“Didn’t your father teach you that actions have consequences?” I call out, laughing at my own question. “Then again, I guess a man like that wouldn’t.”
As Rocco crosses the threshold between my office and the lobby, Thalia lurches forward and grabs the door frame with both hands. “I swear, I didn’t do this. I just came here to win enough money for…” She curses as her fingers are pried off one by one. “I came to win money, not to hurt anyone.”
If she were anyone else, I might believe her.
But she’s not. So, I don’t.
“I don’t care,” I say, my smirk fading as Rocco readjusts his hold and carries her through the executive office lobby. “You drew Carrera blood,muñeca. So, you’d better hope to God or the devil or whoever your family prays to, that my sister lives. Because if she doesn’t? You don’t either.”
I revel in the shock playing out across her face as Rocco carries her through the lobby and disappears through the glass doors.
Will I follow through?
Maybe.
But I’d sooner destroy the pricelessSanta Muertepainting above my head than a work of art like Thalia Santiago. However, wants and needs come second to honor and oath. Sometimes beauty has to be destroyed to feed a greater good.
And a life-long vendetta.
Running a hand through my disheveled hair, the events of tonight land on my shoulders like a cinder block. The tension between New York and New Jersey has finally come to a head. The new blood in the Santiago Cartel has fired first. A retaliation is warranted and expected—and the one I’ll deliver will be a bouncing red ball that distracts Edier Grayson from the waiting bomb.
I’m my father’s son. I don’t play by rules, and I don’t follow expectations. I’ll make my move, but it will be one they aren’t expecting. Besides, the only advantage a man has over his enemies is the element of surprise.
With another revered glance at my prizedSanta Muertepainting, I button my suit jacket and make my way into the executive lobby. I only make it a few steps before I find RJ standing at the entrance, a pinched look on his face.
“You know what to do,” I say, moving to push past him.If Grayson wants to soil my baby with bullets, I’ll set fire to one of his.
