Page 73 of Brutal Enforcer

I hummed in agreement. “But did you know the fine print?”

Matteo’s brow wrinkled in confusion; he stared at his father. “What did you do?”

He was definitely going to be useful to me. His father’s obsession with being the top dog was going to drag him under, but the son still had potential. He was sharper than I thought, and his memory was top-notch. In two or three years, he could be truly formidable. “Luis agreed that if Lyse didn’t hold up her end of our bargain, the Rojas business operations would pass to me.”

If I had hit Matteo with a two-by-four, he couldn’t have been more surprised. “Why would youeveragree to those terms?”

I couldn’t contain my chuckle. “I didn’t exactly give your father much choice,” I said. “Your father wanted my connections, and now, he has them. And he understands full well that with a few phone calls, I could have all of you rounded up like the rats that you are and put in Federal prison.”

Luis bared his teeth, rage clear on his face. “Your sister will pay for letting me down. The Castillos will pay for what they’ve done.”

I clicked my tongue against my teeth. “You’re still thinking like a little fish, Luis,” I taunted. “We’ve done things your way for years, and you’ve made no progress out of the small pond.” The older man’s eyes were full of fire and hatred, but they steadily dropped to staring at the ground, submissive. “I think it’s time that we do things my way,” I said. “I’ll help you get rid of the Castillos for good, clean up all of the mess that you’ve made. I won’t even make you tell your pathetic family that someone else is pulling your strings. But all of the decisions from here on in are mine. “¿Entiendes?”

Luis nodded, and I heard a strangled sound leave Matteo’s throat. “Entiendo,jefe.”

CHAPTER38

Lyse

Four Months Later

Two pink lines: there were twopinklines. I checked the box for the hundredth time, and the meaning of those two pink lines didn’t change. “I’m pregnant.” Saying the words aloud made it real. “I’m pregnant with Omar’s baby.”

A flutter of joy went off in my belly at the same time a heaviness settled on my shoulders. “Are you okay,mi amor?”

Helena was standing in the doorway of the bathroom. She had gone to the mainland for our biweekly grocery order, and I’d asked her to get the test for me. It was only right that she got to know the results. I handed her the stick. Helena’s eyes grew shiny, and her mouth stretched into the widest smile I’d ever seen.

“Are you ready to be anabuela?” I asked. “Because I can’t think of anyone else who I’d want for that role.”

She laughed and swooped me into a hug. “My darling girl!”

“Do you think Omar will be happy?” I asked. “We haven’t really talked about children before, you know, and it wasn’t like we were trying.”

Helena shushed me gently. “I think Omar will surprise you,mi amor.”

She was right, but there was still that bubble of trepidation in my belly. “Could we make his favorite dinner tonight?” I asked. “Make breaking the news a little easier.”

Helena didn’t think it was necessary, but she agreed to help put the meal together. We stood, side-by-side, as we prepped the vegetables. I sank the blade of my knife into a white onion, and the moment the smell hit my nose, my stomach twisted. Bile rose in my throat, and I stepped away from the counter.

“Mi amor? Are you okay?”

I wanted to speak, but opening my mouth was a legitimately bad idea. “I think I need to—” My stomach turned, and I had to run to the downstairs powder room. Throwing up was never pleasant, but now my head swam sickeningly, making the nausea even worse.

Someone knocked on the door as I gagged. “Conejita? Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” I called out, but I sounded pathetic.

Omar swung the door open. His face softened as he stared at me. “Are you sick?”

I shook my head minutely, careful not to move too quickly so that I wasn’t at risk of upsetting my tummy again. “Not…quite.”

“Do you need some help?”

“I’m fine.” I pushed myself to my feet and turned to rinse my mouth out in the sink. Omar didn’t exactly hover, but he didn’t leave either.

“Did you eat something that didn’t agree with you?”

“No. It was more of a smell that made me sick.”

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