Page 117 of Blood & Lace
My blood ran cold. He didn’t sound like the Lucero that I knew. No, this was something else. Someone else. I heard a hard edge to his voice that struck me in my core. I didn’t think, I just moved. I shot up from the couch and paced.
Lucero wouldn’t hurt Adam. Right? No, not necessarily, but he’s obsessive. What if he’s snapped? What if he really will hurt him?
The more I paced, the more I felt the fear turning into burning hot rage in my chest. No one fucked with my brother. Even if I still gave a damn about Lucero, he had just crossed the line. Again. This time? I wouldn’t even dream of forgiving him.
I went into my office and opened my safe. There were the preloaded syringes. I opened my pouch and tucked ten into the black leather. I fastened it and stalked to my bedroom. The robe and slippers were exchanged for black cargo pants, a black T-shirt, and black boots. If I was going to take Lucero out, I had to make sure he didn’t see me coming as much as possible. He was bigger, but I was pissed off.
Equal fucking playing field.
*****************************
I followed the GPS until I got to the coordinates. For a while, I sat in the shadows and watched. I didn’t move until darkness fell, but I quickly realized my mistake. He wasn’t somewhere private. He was at his parents’ home. I saw Nash, Elia, and evenhis mother walk into the house. Shit. This was going to be a hell of a lot more complicated than I thought.
When the coast was clear, I scaled a wall in the back and dropped to the other side. The sound of voices came and went inside a large house to the left. To the right, the sound of footsteps crunched through sticks and grass. Guards. Damn, Lucero wasn’t nearly as broke as he’d made himself out to be.
Which made his bumming on my couch that much more annoying. Jackass.
I moved forward and peered into one of the windows. There were already people sitting at a table. I recognized most of them. No Lucero or Adam, though. Shit. Where the hell was he? I knew he was here, but he could be anywhere.
After walking around the entire perimeter of the house, I finally found him. There was a decent-sized shed in the back. Through the window, I found Adam in a chair and Lucero standing in front of him, those big arms folded over his chest. I couldn’t hear what they were talking about, but it didn’t matter. I was going to have to take Lucero down.
Slipping inside, I moved beside a stack of crates pushed up against the wall. Carefully, I moved closer.
“Lucero, this is a bad idea,” Adam said.
The man shrugged. “It’s the only thing I know how to do.”
What? Kidnapping my brother? I was going to kill him!
I pulled out two needles, one for each hand, and uncapped them with my teeth. My heart raced. The thought of killing Lucero made my blood turn cold and my stomach twist into something too terrible to name. Nausea sprung up on me, my throat tightened, and my mouth went dry. I took another step, and Adam’s eyes snapped to me.
“What the fuck, Louis!”
Lucero spun on me so fast, I stepped back out of sheer shock. His hands wrapped around my wrists, tight. So tight. His thickfingers pushed against pressure points and my fingers opened on their own. I dropped both needles.
“Bella,” he breathed. “Finally.”
I stared at him. “Let go of me.”
“No,” he grunted.
Lucero yanked me toward him and his lips crashed against mine. My eyes flew open, my breath hitching in my throat as his tongue seared against the seal of my lips, begging to be let in. I faltered. Trembling, my lips parted, and Lucero moaned into my mouth, hot and heavy. I stupidly kissed him back, my fingers shaking as my tongue met his.
“Um, hello?”
I yanked back. Adam was staring at both of us with something between disgust and relief. He raised a brow at us.
“No offense, but I don’t really wanna see my little brother making out,” he said. “Cute reunion, though.” He stood up. “Onyx, we’re talking about why you came in here with needles. Something tells me you’ve been lying as much as you accuse Lucero of.”
My face went a shade of red I didn’t know was possible. Shit, he was right. There was so much that my big brother didn’t even know about me. I nodded weakly.
“Um, yeah,” I muttered. “Okay. And we’re going to talk about how you’re out of your apartment right now.”
Adam smiled. He patted my back as he walked past. “If Lucero’s food was that good? I had to have the source. Worth it.” He paused. “Plus I’m on two Xanax bars Emir gave me. I can’t feel my face, but I can’t feel the anxiety either.”
He headed back to the house. Lucero and I stayed still. The moment the back door shut, we both turned back on each other.
“Idiot, let go of my wrists,” I said.
