Page 30 of Don't Trust Him

“Rafe!” I exclaim as I see the man that has watched over me all my life come up the stairs. Despite the bags under his eyes and his thinning air, there’s still a certain imposing air about him. A cartel man for all his adult life, I’ve always been surprised to see the kindness he was capable of. At least toward me. If it weren’t for him, I don’t know if I’d have been capable of climbing the ranks like I did.

“Eliza,” he nods solemnly, eyeing Grayson with suspicion. The two stare at each other for a short, tense moment, but then Grayson just shrugs and walks down the stairs. “Are you sure he’s alright? The Bonita Muerte guys aren’t exactly reliable.”

“He’s alright.” I smile, turning toward him and placing both my hands on his shoulders. “You worry too much, Rafe.?

??

“Well, someone needs to do the worrying around these parts,” he sighs, raking one hand over his face. “I don’t like it when people aren’t on edge. We’re not producing gummy bears in there, you know?”

“No, what we’re producing is even better than that. And you shouldn’t give Grayson a hard time. If it weren’t for him, we wouldn’t have gotten this far.”

“Yeah, I’ve heard. I couldn’t care less about him, but I gotta admit...the crew respects him. Too bad that he’s completely unhinged,” he continues, shuddering slightly. “Ever seen some of his handiwork? Everyone’s afraid of the Bonita Muerte cartel because of him. Because of the things he’s done.”

“Well, that’s how he handles his enemies,” I reply, a quick smile on my lips. “But when it comes to allies...even you said it, the crew loves him.”

“I wouldn’t go that far, Eliza...but they do respect him, and that’s even more important. They respect you as well, you know?”

“Me?”

For someone that operated in the shadows for so long, it’s almost baffling the way everyone in the front lines keeps bowing their head to me—not because of my rank inside the cartel, but because they actually respect me for what I’ve done. Even though only a few are privy to the secret formula situation, I guess that word got out that I did something pretty fucking impressive. I’m not one to bask in the glory, but...ah, what the hell, I love to bask in the glory.

“You, Eliza, of course...I always saw it in you. You’re smart, you’re beautiful, and you have the guts and the ambition to achieve anything,” he whispers, locking his eyes on mine. I merely smile at him—I owe him a lot, and I’m super grateful for all the things he did for me, but I know he has always looked at me in a way that I really can’t...reciprocate.

“Life made me this way, Rafe,” I finally manage to say, looking away from him and shaking my head. “Nothing more, nothing less.”

“Life, huh?” he continues, his tone growing lower. “I know how this life has been hard on you and...I know that you haven’t given up on revenge.”

I turn around on my heels fast, my heart skipping a beat as I hear him say it. If anyone had heard what Rafe said, I’d be as gone as dead. My boss doesn’t look too kindly on the word revenge.

“Rafe…”

“I’ve always known it, Eliza. And how could it be any other way? I don’t blame you, not after what happened with your father.” He gives me a sad smile, then it’s his turn to place one hand on my shoulder. “But don’t worry. No one will ever hear me say a word about it. I’ve seen you grow, and I’d never do something to hurt you.”

“Thank you, Rafe...I…”

I don’t really know how respond to that, truth be told. It’s not like I have the courage to deny all the things he just said. Revenge? It’s always been something I’ve pushed and pushed to a dark corner of my mind, hiding it from view. But it’s always been there, like an old scrapbook waiting to be uncovered.

“Don’t mention it,” he brushes me off, back to his normal one. “I’m just happy to see you do all this...it’s quite impressive. Few persons would be able to pull off something like it.”

“ELIZA!” I hear Grayson shout from underneath me. He’s standing behind the chemist, who has been running analysis on the few samples we’ve managed to produce.

I run down the stairs as fast I can, and he grabs my hand and pulls me inside one of the offices..

“It fucking worked, Eliza,” Grayson says, pulling me into his embrace. “We did it.”

Sixteen

Grayson

“We did it!” I say, looking at Eliza Lang like I’m going to lick every inch of her up to properly celebrate our achievement.

I can’t take my eyes off Eliza.

I want to scoop her up into my arms and like twirl her around and shit like that.

What the fuck has happened to me?

After everything, it feels good to let off some steam. I let myself smile. Rub the back of my neck and look at her sideways with a grin. “Let’s go celebrate. Have drinks. No one knows about this but us,” I add when she raises an incredulous, gorgeous eyebrow at me.

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