Page 60 of Torched

“You asshole!” I shout, my anger instantly flying off the handle, sky high. “You don’t know me! You don’t know what my life has been like! I run this business! Not them.” I slam my fist against the granite.

How dare he say that to me. Just because Frank Reyes is the gitano king, doesn’t mean he’s the brain behind it all. I’m not just another member of the family. I’m his most trusted advisor, the one who let our business double their worth in less than five years. I’m the one running this whole operation and soon everyone will know who I am.

He cocks his head, pleased. “Ah, there she is. Don’t worry, babe. I already knew who called the shots in the family.” My shoulders relax at that, even though I still hate the effect he has on me. I hate that he has the ability to make me snap with a simple remark, then immediately relieve the tension with praise. He has power over me, and I don’t know how to get rid of it.

“What do you want?”

“Answer my question,” he counters again. “Are you really that evil?”

“What do you want?” I repeat.

“Are you really that evil?!” His voice booms through the kitchen, my head rearing back from the force.

“YES!” I blurt. “Yes, I’m really that evil.”

I want to say no, to avoid the potential disappointment it can cause him, but the truth is, I am. I don’t care about Liam Carrillo. I know what I want, and I want to add their pipeline to the Reyes empire before I take over.

I wait. My chin held high, ready for the adversity.

But it never comes.

“You’re honest, I like that,” he says instead. “But whatever you’re trying to pull, give it up. You’re going to regret it.”

With my lips in a firm stripe, I just keep staring at him.

“Walk away while you still can, babe.” The soft look in his captivating eyes gives me whiplash, blinking at him in confusion.

What is his angle? He doesn’t work for the Carrillos because if that was the case, I would’ve already been bleeding out right now. No, he’s part of something else.

“Why?” I ask, daringly.

“This is not going to end the way you want it to. It never is.” He shoots me a look that I can only describe as pleading, a genuine warning even, before he shrugs and makes his way back to the front door.

“Wait?” I call to his back. “That’s it? You came here blasting through my door to tell me to quit?”

He twists his chin over his shoulder. “You’re a smart woman. You do with it whatever you want.”

What the fuck?

Confused as fuck, I watch him step over the threshold with his broad shoulders, still tempting me to feel them wrapped around my body.

“Wait!” He holds still, twisting to face me. “Who are you? Who do you work for?”

I know it’s a longshot, because he clearly doesn’t want me to know, but I have to try. I need to know what I’m facing. If he’s with me or against me.

“Who I am doesn’t matter. But my name is Dax.” He shows his teeth, his eyes filled with mischief before he disappears out of my sight.

Dax.

Until next time, Dax.

20

LIAM

PRESENT DAY

“We’llmeetKaneandCallie at the safe house, but just in case, we have another one.” The look in Jeremy’s eyes tells me he’s thought this out, having a solid backup plan if Cristina tries to double-cross us in any way, because I’m sure she fucking will. “Kane didn’t want Callie to come, but she argued that it would be suspicious if she wasn’t there, and we don’t want to make Cristina think Callie is somehow not up for this mission. We all know Callie wouldn’t skip something like this.”

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