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“Depends,” I said, shoving my hands in my pockets. “Are you going to tell me what the hell happened back there?”
She snorted, wrapping her arms tighter around her chest. “You’ve learned fast. Good for you.”
“Meaning?”
“It’s the cartel way. Answer a question with a question. Never give without getting. Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.” Adriana brushed her chin over her shoulder, a distant smirk pulling at her lips. “Well played.”
I wanted to grab her and kiss that damn smirk off her face. Spending twenty-four hours a day with someone for almost a week stripped away all their plastic bullshit. I knew her well enough to recognize a stone wall when I saw one. Whatever happened with Rosita Vergara tore her apart, and now she’d built a shield around herself to keep me out.
“Well, I did get a crash course this week.”
She whipped around, her cheeks flushing blood red. The violent reaction confirmed my suspicions, and I almost pushed her just to see if I could get her to crack, but that was what she wanted. Provoking me, giving her justification and a clear conscience for shutting me out.
And I was done playing that game.
“They found Leo Pinellas.”
“Oh?”
“Official cause of death was self-inflicted gunshot wound.” She stiffened, but still didn’t turn around. Sighing, I pushed off the glass and stood beside her while staring out at the water. “It took so long to find him because he was listed as a John Doe in the morgue at Houston Methodist.” I turned to face her. “You dropped him off at the hospital?”
She shrugged. “Not personally. Leo had a full wallet. You’d be surprised what a few thugs will do for a couple hundred.”
“Why not just get rid of him?”
“Did you know my mother…?” She sighed. “…I mean Josefina. Did you know she shot herself?” When I shook my head, she glanced down at her feet, her voice losing its edge. “Right in front of me. Esteban was so shamed by it, he didn’t give her a funeral. He just cremated her and tossed her away like garbage. I couldn’t do that to him.”
Her confession was like a punch in the gut, and I couldn’t stop myself from curving my palm around her jaw. “Adriana…”
But the floodgates had opened, and words came spilling out in an avalanche of truth. “Do you know why I was in Leo’s office that day?”
“I have an idea.”
“No, you don’t,” she countered, pulling away. “There was a price on my head for something I didn’t do, so I came to Leo for information. When I heard him on the phone with you, I knew I could get him to tell me anything I wanted to know, and he did.” She let out a dry laugh, a rare breeze blowing her hair across her face. “Sang like the piece of shit canary he’d always been. When he told me you ruined my life just for Eden, that was when I knew I had you.”
The weight of her words sank in. “You were going to tell Val regardless of whether I helped you or not.” It wasn’t a question. “You were going to ruin me, and you didn’t even know me.”
“You didn’t know me either. That didn’t stop you.”
“Why are you telling me this?”
“To let you off the hook. I still think what you did was shitty, but you can stop pretending to like me. No matter what happens, your secret dies with me.”
I let out a harsh laugh. “Is this where I’m supposed to thank you? To be grateful that you’re so selfless to deny what I want?”
Chuckling, she brushed past me while walking into the house. “You don’t want me, Brody. What you want is redemption.”
I stopped her and turned her around. “Redemption for what?"
I saw the wall coming down moments before it slammed into place. “You think you failed Eden,” she hissed. “You’re convinced you failed Leighton and your niece because you couldn’t protect them from your batshit crazy mother. You have a damaged hero complex, and you think saving me will absolve you of your sins.” Anger tore through her as she shoved both hands against my chest. “News flash, counselor, I can’t be saved.”
“Jesus Christ, I’m not trying to save you, Adriana! I’m beating my head against the wall trying to help you, but you keep fighting me for no damn reason!”
“I’m fighting you because you won’t admit I’m exploiting your insatiable need to punish yourself, and you’re using me to make yourself feel better about it!”
Her words burrowed deep into a decayed part of my mind and detonated, severing the last thread of my self-control. My smile was not a gentle one as I stalked toward her. “Well, if you’re going to convict me without a fair trial, I might as well make good on what I’m being accused of.”
Adriana parted her lips, stumbling as she backed up. “What do you mean?”
