Page 59 of When Sinners Dare

She storms into the house, forcing the door open, and I follow.

Mariana’s grabbed her arm, stopping her from running.

“Hey, who are you?” She asks, but Mariana only smiles, keeping her in her grip.

“Hello, Naja. Time to take you home. You’ve been missed. Kai?”

My moves are swift and unforgiving, no matter how much she struggles. One hand goes straight over her mouth, and she’s half carried out to the car while she’s kicking and trying to scream for help.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

MARIANA

Iset about shoving tape across her mouth and hogtie her up to stop her from kicking any more.

Smiling, I watch the fear fill her eyes. She starts to squirm and thrash against her bindings, but they hold. The last thing I do is pull off her boots and peel her socks off. She fights the whole way, and I can feel Kai’s eyes on me, wondering what I’m doing. From this angle, it’s perfectly clear; the rough, scarred mark on the sole of her foot, put there by Dante.

“See,” I tilt my head and scrutinise her. Her steely glare tells me she wants to fight, but the fight’s over for her. “I knew you wouldn’t be able to forget. Once you’re a Cortez, always a Cortez.”

Her eyes tear up, and I climb out of the car and slam her door before taking my seat in the front. “Come on.”

Kai gets in the car, and I start the engine, ignoring the crying in the back.

“Mariana?” He doesn’t actually ask me anything, but I don’t need him to say the words. I know he’s questioning what we’ve just done. Or, more accurately, what I’ve involved him in.

“Save it for the plane,” I snap, suddenly filled with anger and vengeance for what she did to Elias, and what she’s done to us.

I grip the wheel, and my skin pulls tightly over my knuckles as I tense and relax over and over again. This plan was hatched from balled-up frustration and anger. Pulling the information together and acting on it because I felt this was the only move I had – the only thing I could do to show my brothers just how important this family is to me and why they should shut up and listen for once.

“Mariana!” Kai shouts. “Slow the fuck up. The last thing we need is to be pulled over.” He stares at me, and then I flick my eyes back to the speedometer and ease off the accelerator.

“Right. Thanks.”

The whining mewls of Naja continue, and I focus on them as I drive blindly back to the jet. The closer we get, the more I relax and the adrenalin levels off. It feels like I can breathe again, properly, and I take the time to try and centre myself with what I’ve just done.

We drive in through the gates and head to the hangar where the jet’s waiting. I turn off the engine, and Naja sets about thrashing and crying some more. Neither Kai nor I get out straight away, and I can sense the toll this has put on his shoulders.

Eventually, I get out and wait for him. He nods at me and opens the door before grabbing her ankle and dragging her out. She’s still tied up, so he lifts her over his shoulder, and we head to the jet, making short work of the stairs and hiding her within.

“Where do you want her?”

“Bedroom. She can consider what’s waiting for her when we get back. I’m sure Carmen will be delighted to have you back.” Naja squirms and wrestles, but she can’t do Kai any harm. He dumps her in the room, and I watch as she stares at me before I close the door and lock her in.

We both take our seats, sitting opposite one another in the plush leather interior. The co-pilot shuts up the cabin and nods before heading to the cockpit. We’re not taxiing yet, so I grab a couple of bottles of water from the kitchen area and drop one in front of Kai. I guess I owe him an explanation as to why, and considering all he’s just done, he more than deserves it.

My fingers fiddle with the cap on the bottle, and I break the seal as I unscrew the lid. “My brothers have developed a network outside of the States for what we do. We have people in Europe and wanted to expand into London.” I start talking. No explanation, just the words I’ve been told. “They had a new club set up, had the contacts working and invested in a new guy – gave him a chance. He had the clients to buy, we set up the property. It was all in hand. Until the owner of the club double-crossed us.”

I look up at him and take a sip of water. He’s watching me intently but doesn’t ask questions, and I’m relieved. "Abel, Knox, Dante and Elias went. A show of strength of who Cortez were. What we expect when doing business with people, you know? Only they didn’t all come back. There was an explosion. Reed took the money, took the girls – all of them, and not just this one.” I indicate Naja. “But he also killed Elias in the process. I don’t know all the details. Abel and Dante keep it to themselves. They came back here, and we’ve been on the backfoot ever since. We’ve not looked at running the same kind of deal again. Or at least they haven’t told me about it if they have.”

“Okay. So, this is all about revenge?”

“Yes. She’s not the end of the story, but she’ll go a long way.”

He nods, but he’s still quiet.

“Do you understand?” I ask, suddenly needing him to see why I’ve done this.

“Honestly, there are things that you and your family do that I’m not sure I’ll ever understand.”

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