Page 60 of Violent Attraction

The way he says the words has me asking. “Not his kids?”

Elliot’s father was a marine. Every time I saw the man, I almost shit my pants, he was that intimidating. I heard a lot of stories about him while we were in high school and whenever he was in Texas to visit his son, Eli always had a big smile on his face, like he was his hero or something.

Maybe that view has changed.

Eli shrugs. “I’m proud of him, but he left his four kids for his brother to raise. Can’t help but resent the man sometimes.”

Well fuck.

I don’t know what to say to that, and thankfully I don't have to because the waitress comes by and asks Elliot if he wants to place an order.

After he does, we sit in silence for a few minutes. Eventually, he breaks it when he points the object in front of me.

“Didn’t realize that Leo’s right-hand man was a journal keeper.” He takes a sip of his coffee, but I can see the teasing smirk he’s wearing.

Asshole.

I look down at the journal that’s in front of me, reaching out and slapping a hand on the pages, and closing it before he can read anything from it.

“Even the darkest man has deep shit to write down.”

Half true but I’m not going to just come out and say that I write down how to kill people in this journal.

“You write your deep shit in code?”

He notices everything, doesn’t he?

“A man has to have his secrets.” I’m not Adolfo that talks about everything the cartel does when asked.

Elliot nods, drinking more of his coffee.

“Who are the Castros and how do they tie in with your father?”

I tense at his question.

How?

How the actual fuck did he read off the open page?

My writing is small and a mess, something that Isabella reminded me every chance she got, and every other word is in a different language.

How?

Elliot must have noticed how tense I got because he leans back in his chair and holds up his hands.

“Sorry. It’s something that I can’t help. I notice a lot of the small details, a habit that my sister hates. I noticed it when I approached you and given that I know some French, I was able to read some before you closed it.”

I can get up from my chair and walk out of this restaurant and stop this conversation happening.

Or…

I talk. There’s a reason why I haven’t talked to Leo about this. Maybe this is my opportunity to come up with an idea to get rid of Emilio for good and get Isabella out of the arrangement Ronaldo cooked up.

Letting out a sigh, I open the journal and place it in front of my breakfast companion.

He doesn’t ask what I’m doing, just gives me a curt nod and gets to reading.

I sit there as he reads page after page that I have written. Everything that I know about the Castro Family and Emilio is on those pages. Every theory that I thought of as to why they went after my father and even the theories as to how the deal between Ronaldo and the Castros came about.

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