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“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Instead of swinging your dick around, you should be thanking me.”
He let out a dry laugh. “For killing my informant?”
“For saving your ass!” I yelled, the truth barreling into me like a hurricane. Me. Adriana Carrera did something unselfish. Something that didn’t directly benefit me. Maybe I did take too many punches to the head in that warehouse. “Leo Pinellas was playing both sides—a game I believe you know quite well, if I remember.” I smiled as he shot me a look that said he wanted to tie me to a concrete block and toss me into a river. “It blows my mind you couldn’t see what was right in front of your face.”
A rogue piece of blond hair fell across his eyebrow as he leaned over me. “Bullshit.”
“Pinellas was reporting to the men trying to frame me, you idiot! How you ended up in charge of US operations, I will never know. Dios mío, you’re gullible. Do you still believe in Santa Claus too?”
“How do I know you’re not lying? You were once leader of the Muñoz Cartel yourself. Why would you suddenly turn against them?”
That was just it. He didn’t know I wasn’t lying, and it was the reason he was wound tighter than a nun’s asshole. The biggest sacrifice anyone could make in life was trusting a proven enemy. It was the ultimate gamble. You either walked away with everything, or you didn’t walk away at all.
Checkmate.
“Shipment for seventeen million, right? Disappeared near the Chicago port?” He didn’t answer, but he didn’t have to. “Brody, open your eyes. Every contact you have is being turned. You can’t trust anyone. Not your friends, not your contacts, and certainly not your informants.”
That damn condescending smirk returned. “Not even you?”
“Especially not me,” I shot back, letting go of the table and shoving my hands hard against his chest. The sudden move knocked him off balance enough that he released my hair, and I slipped around him. “I wouldn’t, if I were you.”
I spun around and faced him, ready to do battle. Instead, I met with sculptured lips that twitched with obvious unwelcome amusement.
Or it could’ve been anger.
Or lust.
Or hate.
The gamut of emotions we ran through in the span of ten minutes exhausted me. Or maybe it was the scotch. Both were extremely bad for me.
“So, why bother? I exposed your real identity, Adriana. I turned your life into a nightmare. Your words, remember?” he accused, pointing a finger at me. “I should be the last person you’d want to help. You should want to strike a match, watch me burn, then dance in the ashes. So, again, why? There has to be something in it for you, other than clearing your name and taking down the Muñozes, or you wouldn’t be here.”
“There is,” I admitted, hating the slight wobble in my voice. “I want you to convince Val to accept me into the Carrera family.”
“And I’d like to have my dick sucked by a Victoria’s Secret model every day of the week. We don’t always get what we want, princesa.”
Of course. I let down my guard for one minute and got slapped in the face.
I sighed. “Can you take something seriously for five minutes, please?”
He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the table. “Yes, if I really thought you wanted to be his sister, but I’m not a moron. I see what you’re doing.”
“And what am I doing, exactly?”
“You lost control of the Muñoz Cartel, and now they’re restructuring. You don’t give a shit about Val. You want what comes with the Carrera name, and you’re using this situation to get it. I took your crown, so you want to take his.”
“Are you done?”
“For now.”
The rational side of my brain pleaded with me to not even dignify that with an answer while the batshit crazy side screamed at me to shove his words down his throat and make him choke on them.
Guess who won?
“Let’s get something straight, counselor,” I hissed, my hands fisted by my side. “I don’t give a shit about wearing a crown or sitting on some goddamn blood throne. I was tortured by the same men who used to bow at my feet. If you don’t think I know how easily loyalty can fade, then you can go to hell. You have no idea what I’ve been through. Loyalty is only a word, Brody. Anyone can say it, but only actions prove its worth.”
