Page 76 of El Malo

“My father is David Daza. A criminal. A bad one.” Her nostrils flare. “Like you, baby.”

I arch a challenging brow at her, but she doesn’t waver. Whatever it is she’s saying, she won’t stop now. Pride surges through me at her bravery.

“He went to prison for his crimes and left my mother all alone to take care of me. She loved him. When I was younger, I didn’t get it. I didn’t understand how she could love a monster.” Her fingers tenderly stroke through my hair. “But I understand now.”

Tears well in her eyes as she remembers her mother, but she doesn’t stop. She continues, lifting her chin. “Criminals like my father shot up the restaurant we were visiting. My mother was a casualty. From that moment on, I decided I wanted to avenge her death by going after every Mexican mafia monster I could. I studied hard in school. I remained focused. Eventually, I was accepted into the Central Intelligence Agency.”

“Rosa—”

“I said be quiet,” she bites out, her brown eyes flaring. I have this woman in my arms blabbing her most hidden secrets that could affect whether she lives or dies tonight, and still, she’s fearless. “Four years ago, I was assigned under my superior, Michael Stiner, to go deep undercover. The agency wanted me to infiltrate Javier Estrada’s organization. I was to spy and learn everything I could from the inside while Michael gathered intel from the outside.” She frowns. “I worked so hard. So diligently. I hated you and everything you stood for.”

A growl of warning rumbles through me, but she’s not fazed by it.

“But then…things changed. You looked past the maid façade and saw Rosa. Your interest was piqued, and to be frank, the moment you took notice, I wasn’t immune to your charm. I fell hard for you, Estrada. So damn hard.”

I should kill her.

A smart criminal would.

He’d snap her neck and toss her body over the balcony.

Avoid all the heat she could bring down upon me if she chose to.

But, apparently, I love danger too.

“And now?” I ask, my voice husky.

She draws my head closer to her, our lips nearly touching. “And now, I’m yours. I think I was that night when you looked after me in the kitchen. That’s when I awoke from the fog I’d been drifting along in. Everything was so clear and I finally felt alive.”

“Rosa Daza,” I murmur, trying out her name aloud, but certainly not the first time. “I know.”

Her brows furl together in confusion. “What?”

“It took some digging, but Arturo finds people. He started sniffing you out the day you put the smackdown on Julio. Marco Antonio was just sure you were a professional. Turns out, he was right. At first I was angry, but you were so goddamned brave. Prancing around for years in the Estrada house, sneaking information. And, truth be told, I needed to be sure before I did anything. Before I dragged your pretty ass and ended you in the shed, I needed to know if the things that were happening between us were real. By the time they had information on you, I was in love, manzanita. I kept waiting for you to bring down the hammer and it never came. At that shop, I was just sure you were going to call in reinforcements and everything between us would have been a lie.”

“We were never a lie,” she breathes, her voice firm and fierce.

“But I had to be sure.” I rest my forehead against hers. “I had to be sure.”

“I know.”

“Rosa?”

“I’m sorry, Javi.”

“I know, mami.”

“Are you going to kill me now?” She tilts her head and regards me.

“Never, manzanita. You’re mine.”

She smiles. “I had to be sure.”

“I know.”

“You’re quiet,” she murmurs as she turns in my arms to face me. Her huge belly separates us, but I don’t mind. It’s pretty fucking cool when my son kicks me for getting too close to his mother. “Everything okay?”

“Just thinking about you.”

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