Page 74 of Lethal Vengeance
He tilts his head. “It’s baffling, to be honest. All you did was work and go to sad little cantinas. Who lives such a pathetic life?” Broad shoulders rise and drop. “After thinking about it, I came up with two possibilities—either you were sent by the cartel to test me, or you were working for one of my enemies. There was not enough information to indicate one or the other, so our monotonous game continued.”
He steps closer. “See this coin? It belonged to my brother. He found it in the street when we were children. A simple gold coin. We took it to a pawnshop, and when the owner’s eyes lit up, we knew it was valuable. I wanted to sell it to buy food and shelter, but Julio refused. Always the dreamer. He saw it as a sign of our future. One day, we would be so wealthy, the idea of selling it would be laughable.”
He murmurs, “He was right.”
Dark eyes study mine intently. “Needing to break the stalemate between you and I, I decided to test you. The van full of young women. Rodrigo’s idea, actually, although I hate to admit it. You failed, of course, but it led me to believe you worked for one of my enemies. Rodrigo investigated but found nothing. You were a ghost.” His voice rises in excitement. “A ghost! Finally, something interesting.”
A patronizing smile graces his lips. “It was also your biggest mistake. I became obsessed with finding your past. When nothing turned up, I wondered if you were sent by the Lucianos or some other important family, but you didn’t seem to care about the girls. Stumped, I was ready to concede defeat. But Rodrigo saved the day again. He decided to pay you a visit before he left town. You pulled a knife on him.” He looks at me, expectation on his face, like I’m supposed to understand what this means.
“He was acting psycho,” I retort.
“Your knife is very distinct,” he says, walking around his desk to open a drawer. “In fact, I have one identical to it. Do you want to know where I got it from?”
I swallow. Raider warned me about habits. Why did I stick with the same knife?
“Tell me,” I taunt him, unable to help myself. He knows it was me who slaughtered his brother and his brother’s men. And I’m glad. It feels good to have him look at me and know I did it. Nobody else.
“From my brother’s body. It was buried to the hilt in his chest,” he reveals, his voice full of fury.
On the verge of pulling my own knife, something interesting catches my eye. “There’s fury in your voice, but admiration in your eyes. You like the way he died, don’t you?”
He ignores my question. “My first thought was retaliation. But the more I studied you, the more I realized how perfectly we match. Your fierce dedication to vengeance is quite remarkable. And you’re stronger than your sister and my brother combined. Steel encased in ice. Which brings us to tonight’s celebration. Shall we?”
His mood pivots so quickly, it takes me a few seconds to catch on.
My body goes rigid with tension. It takes a lot of effort to put my arm through the elbow in front of me, but somehow, I manage it. He struts out of the study with me on his arm and heads to the small stage where the band is playing.
“Are you going to kill me in front of all these lovely people?”
His eyes light up. “It would make this a truly memorable event, but no. I’ve got an important announcement to make,” he says, flashing me an intimate smile.
I fucking hate surprises.
He steps up and pulls me into his side. “Ladies and gentlemen, may I have your attention, please?”
When the crowd settles down, he raises his hand and signals to the back. A woman and child start walking toward us.
My gut starts cramping.
When they reach the stage, they stop.
Confused, I look at Armando.
“As you all know, my brother died tragically a little over a year ago. Que esté con Dios.” He pauses and makes the sign of the cross. Several people in the crowd repeat his action and words. “It was an incredibly sad time, but luckily, I had someone very special to help me get through the pain. My nephew, Gabriel.” He motions for the woman to give him the child.
Sweat beads on my forehead while I stare at the crowd in front of me. Their faces are full of sympathy and speculation.
Light blue eyes catch mine for the briefest of seconds before disappearing again. Raider? Can’t be. He’s at the ranch.
Brow furrowed; I swivel my head to look at the child. The boy.
“Gabriel is the joy in my life. He’s everything to me,” he says fervently. “I thought I was his only family. Imagine my surprise when I found out he had an aunt. Meet Quinn.” He sweeps an arm towards me.
Everyone starts clapping wildly, but the sound fades to nothing. My eyes are glued to the little boy beside me. The autopsy confirmed my sister had a baby before she died. I assumed it had been sold on the black market or had died.
He would be three years old. He looks old enough, but is he really hers? I search his miniature features. It’s been a long time since I saw a baby picture of Sophia, but her eyes were distinct—mahogany brown with a glint of gold in them. The same eyes staring at me right now.
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