Page 76 of Lethal Vengeance
“They started dating. Every time my brother went to Austin to find girls, they went out. His visits became more frequent. When I questioned him, he told me about Sophia.” His eyes hold mine as he tells me their story.
I think back to the time before Sophia’s disappearance. We used to meet for lunch every two weeks, but we hadn’t met for over two months before she disappeared. Every time I asked, she cited school or work, but it was him. She didn’t want me to know. And I would have. Sophia couldn’t keep a secret from me.
He waves a hand. “Long story short. She went to San Antonio, to the River Walk, with girlfriends one night and saw him pick up a girl. Furious, she confronted him. He panicked and grabbed her, too.”
I close my eyes.
His fists clench. “I ordered him to take her back, but he told me she wanted to be here. I couldn’t tell if he was right. They would fight, make up, fight again. It was tumultuous. Soon after she got here, she became pregnant. Things settled down for a while, but after Gabriel was born, she wanted to take him home to… introduce him to her sister.”
I smile.
“I didn’t think much of it, even encouraged it, until Julio told me the full story.” Even now, the fury he felt is apparent in his voice. “I didn’t know about the statewide hunt for Sophia, or the fact that her sister was a Texas Ranger. They kept it quiet.”
Dread fills me. I raise my hands in front of me as if I can stop the words from coming.
“I made a few phone calls. One of your superiors confirmed my concerns. Zoe Fairchild would never give up searching for her sister. To make matters worse, you were beginning to uncover the officials we so carefully cultivated to assist our operations,” he says in a blasé tone.
Bitterness eats at me. “You mean bribe? I knew they were dirty, and I tried to prove it, but they made it sound like I was out of mind because of Sophia.”
There’s some truth to his words, which makes them bite all the harder. Why didn’t she call me? If I’d known she was okay, I would have dropped the search. Was I that rigid back then?
The bastard laughs. “Well, you made them pay for it. Literally. The drugs and money you stole when you left was meant to line their pockets.”
I can’t stop the satisfaction I feel when I hear those words, but it pales to the words I need to hear.
“Tell me about her death.”
He grimaces and runs a hand through his dark hair. “I went to offer her a deal. I’d let her visit you, but she must convince you to drop the investigation. She eagerly agreed… until I explained Gabriel would stay here.”
“She laughed. Told me Julio and Gabriel were going with her. She said he’d told her how much he hated me and the cartel. As soon as he returned, they were leaving. I could hear the truth in her words, and it made me crazy. My brother’s been beside me all my life. I knew he wouldn’t leave if she wasn’t here to fill his head with those thoughts.” He stops talking to judge my reaction.
I take a deep, shuddering breath. “You didn’t just kill her, though, did you? You beat her, raped her, took her organs.” My voice rises, and I move closer to him. “Then, you left her naked body in the desert for the vultures. That’s not a crime of passion. A sudden loss of control. You hated her. Why?”
When he says nothing, I slap him hard across the face.
“Answer me, you bastard,” I scream, slapping him again. “Why?”
“Because she was taking my brother, my family from me!” he roars and backhands me. “That slut thought she could take my family and I wouldn’t retaliate?”
Cupping my cheek, I stare up at him, hatred bleeding out of my pores. “You took the one person I loved most in this world and ENDED her. All because you couldn’t stand to be alone?” Tears run down my cheeks, and I swipe them away. “At least your brother would have been alive. How much of him was left when you found him in the desert staked out for the vultures?”
He slams me into the wall. “Shut up.”
“Or what? You’re going to kill me, too?”
The click of a hammer being pulled back is like a crack of lightning in the quiet hallway. “No, I’ll kill Gabriel.”
“I saw the way you looked at him,” I scoff. “You love him. And he loves you. His Tió.”
“You’re right. I couldn’t kill him,” he states softly. “But Rodrigo would be happy to get back in my good graces.”
I still. Staring into his eyes, I see the vein of madness running in them, and the seriousness of his threat. It would kill him, but he’d do it. No sacrifice is too great to get what he wants.
“What do you want from me?”
“I want my own Gabriel,” he murmurs, a fervent light in his eyes. The gun glides up to my lips. “Look at what your sister and my brother produced. A beautiful, happy little boy. He’s perfect, but he’s not really mine. He doesn’t call me Papá.”
I rear back and shake my head in denial.
