Page 50 of Hostile King

Yet, I couldn’t not look. I couldn’t turn away as it unfolded like a bad romance, except I’m glad I saw it all. Every single second, because I’d manipulate those painful memories to flip my love for him to a hate so strong it would blacken my heart for ever more.

Giovanni opens the car door and stands behind us like a shepherd overlooking his flock. “The shit is about to go down any second, Dré…” he urges.

Swinging me around, André’s eyes are no longer playful. They’re shadowed and lawless, battering me with so much irritation it makes me go rigid. He grabs the revolver tucked neatly in his waistband and rams cold steel into my tight ribs. “Do you love him or not?” He crowds me.

“Yes…”

“Then trust him. Now get in the fucking car before…”

Boom!

15

CARINA

“What the…”

I shirk out of André’s arms and face an enormous mushroom of evil in the azure sky, its breadth engulfing ornate buildings at the far end of the main street. Charcoal smoke chokes the atmosphere with villainous darkness.

A skin crawling silence captures every breath in a vacuum and then spits it out in a blast. Sirens, horns, screaming—It’s a cacophony of destructive misfortune.

My lungs cramp from trapping a shocked gasp in my lungs. It’s fearful energy gusts free when my thoughts switch to Tomás. I push up on my tiptoes to hunt for him, desperately trying to catch a glimpse of his face in the crowded chaos. My intense worry for his safety crushes my insides and my heart slams faster than a shot of adrenaline.

Finally locating his impassive gaze, I witness his hands clasp, cupping the back of his head with elbows wide and jacket splayed open. Men I’ve never seen before rally around his rigid posture as he stands perfectly still on the pavement outside of the hotel, thoughtfully watching the tail end of a car bomb in the distance.

“What the hell just happened?” I whisper on a shaky breath, my gaze locked on Tomás who’s too far away to reach.

“Not bad, Gio.” Matheus pops his head out of the black SUV parked on the curbside. The vehicle André and Gio ushered me towards. “I’d give that explosion a seven. Could’ve used a bit more Semtex.” He taps the screen on his phone and answers, “Yes, Mama. We’re leaving now.”

Giovanni sighs like he’s dissatisfied. “Yeah. Maybe a six and a half. The flames were mediocre. I expected them to have more oomph.”

I catch André’s eye the second a wild expression passes over his face. “Could’ve been better. It’s too close for comfort though, Tommy needs to get the fuck out of here, and so do we.”

Chills scurry down my spine. “What are you guys talking about?”

“Bianca’s bomb,” Matheus deadpans. “Fuck, that’s a good name. André, you should create a cocktail later to celebrate. Instead of a Dark and Stormy, we’ll toast with a Bianca’s Bomb. What liquor did she like?”

The trio laughs. “He killed Bianca?” My words rush out in a single short breath of panic. “You guys murdered her?”

“We didn’t do anything. The bomb blew her fancy Mercedes-Benz to smithereens,” Matheus says matter of factly, before speaking into the phone that’s still pressed to his ear, then looks up at André. “Mama wants all of us in the car and on the highway. Now—so let’s go.”

I stay deadly still and stare, temporarily paralyzed, stuck to the pavement as innocent people ramble past us, hurriedly moving away from the creeping gray smog. My hands tingle and my chest tightens. Amidst the mayhem, I no longer see him.

It’s a free-for-all.

Fear and pandemonium swamp the city workers and street vendors.

“You assassinated her?” They most absolutely freaking murdered her. They actually blew the woman to pieces in broad daylight. In Mexico, a city they don’t rule over. A woman who posed a problem. A young girl like me.

Only moments ago, I’d held my breath as Tomás had kissed her knuckles like she meant something to him, and a minute later her body was incinerated by a blast so significant it set off every alarm in the entire street.

The visual havoc twisting my stomach to knots is disturbed by raucous gunfire. Putters and pings startle my dark thoughts where Tomás’ demons live. Bullets spray the halted vehicles on the road beside the Souza's SUV. Terrified passersby wail, duck, and crawl over the pavement to seek cover.

A large hand crashes on my skull from above as Dré forces me to lower. “Get down, Carina.” He orders, using his body as a temporary buffer.

I mindlessly obey, sinking to my hands and knees on the dirty sidewalk. Matheus jumps out of the vehicle with the vigor of a tornado brandishing a revolver while the twins pull out their weapons.

“Who the fuck is shooting?” Gio hisses, his aim jumping to the top of a building. “A street war wasn’t part of the plan. Where’s Tommy?”

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