Page 48 of Ruthless Rival

Alberto

My fingers gently sifted through Gabriela’s hair as she laid on my chest, stretching her legs across the length of our shared bed. She suggested we take a nap together to rest since we had been so busy. We were planning a nursery at the same time we were planning a war with the Castillos.

Her connection on the inside, Ignacio, fed her information as frequently as he got it. The Castillos were planning something big, but only a select group knew all of the details. Ignacio promised to try to figure out what the Castillos’ next move was so we would be prepared.

Gabriela lifted her head to gaze up at me. “You can’t sleep?” she asked me with a worried look on her face.

I caressed her back and shook my head. “Too much on my mind,” I admitted.

Gabriela sat up more, leaning against my side. “What is it?” she asked.

I gave her a small smile. “Don’t worry about me, amore. My mind is always busy.”

“Is it your family?” Gabriela asked, pressing on.

“Things are good with them, even Adriano. They’re looking forward to meeting their new brother or sister,” I told her as I brushed a few strands of hair out of her face.

Gabriela visibly brightened up at my words. Before she could reply, her phone rang. She groaned and leaned over to grab it off the nightstand, immediately answering it when she glanced at the screen. “What is it, Ignacio?”

I sat upright against the pillows.

“Okay. Send all of them to me. I’ll tell them. Keep your phone on you,” she said sternly before hanging up and turning to me. “The cartel is planning a massacre. They want all of the Mancinis dead. The babies too.”

“The babies?” I replied, hardly able to say the words.

Gabriela raked her fingers through her hair as she shook her head. “He’s gone insane! All he knows how to do is spill as much blood as possible. He’s addicted to it,” she spat in disgust.

I climbed off the bed without a word, grabbing my phone to call my sons. They all needed to be here. If the Castillos were prepared to commit such an atrocity, we needed to put a stop to it before it even started.

Within an hour, all of my sons filled the dining room with grave looks on their faces. I even allowed Ignacio to join us since Gabriela trusted him. We needed all of the help and information we could get right now.

“We need a plan,” Lorenzo said as we all circled the table. No one was relaxed enough to sit down.

“The best thing to do would be to strike now before they join together and prepare to attack,” Ignacio told everyone. “They’re all scattered right now. They’re vulnerable, and they don’t know you’re aware of their plan.”

I crossed my arms and nodded. “We need to take them by surprise. That’ll give us an edge that we need,” I replied before turning to Gabriela. “You’re sure about this? There will be death, Gabriela. Your family will be in the middle of it.”

Gabriela breathed in deeply and nodded. “They’re not my family. I didn’t get a say in that, and I certainly wouldn’t have chosen them,” she said before looking at everyone in the room. “You are my family. I fight beside you or no one at all.”

“Sounds like they wronged you terribly,” Lorenzo commented.

Gabriela chewed on the corner of her bottom lip for a second, sinking in thought. She then looked at my sons. “My father has taken away everything I’ve ever loved. My past lover when I was sixteen. My twin babies the moment they were born. He left me as an empty shell and Alberto has filled that void. Experiencing the love and loyalty of your family has given me hope, and I didn’t think that I’d ever feel that again.”

Shock was written all over Lorenzo’s face as he listened to her. He shared a sympathetic look with Marco, who nodded. They both turned to Adriano.

He had his eyes on Gabriela. He was the one who could relate to her pain the most. Adriano faced me. “You heard her. Let’s figure out how to take them out,” he said.

The corner of my mouth curled up slightly. Here was the Adriano I knew. I looked over at Ignacio, believing he was an asset like Gabriela. They knew the Castillo cartel well, and information was as powerful as a weapon. “Are you willing to join forces with us?” I asked Ignacio. I was asking for something huge. He had to officially turn his back on the cartel.

Gabriela stepped closer to her cousin, giving him a comforting smile. “Please, primo. Take a stand,” she said.

Ignacio nodded after a moment. “It’s time for them to pay for all they’ve done. I’ve seen my own cousins, uncles, and my own father do things that made me sick to my stomach,” Ignacio murmured as he lowered his eyes. “When they said they would kill babies, I just couldn’t take it anymore. They’re not human. They’re monsters.”

“You’re better than that,” Gabriela told him.

“I don’t want anyone else to die by their hand. This ends today,” Ignacio stated before turning to me. “I’ll join you, along with some others who don’t agree with Santiago’s actions. Not all of the Castillos are rotten. There is a group of them and they follow Santiago’s every move. I know their locations. I don’t care if we’re blood. I’m not them. I don’t want to be.”

“There’s our plan. We can split up and hit all of them at the same time. They won’t be able to call for help,” Lorenzo spoke up.

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