Page 32 of Chris

“Maria is still asleep, then?”

Valeria had expected no one else to be in the kitchen when she walked in, but at least it was just Samuel. He wasn’t as difficult to deal with as Jorge, but she also didn’t feel like she could trust him very much.

“She is—thought I should check because it’s been a long night,” she said.

Her brother-in-law nodded and lifted a bottle of wine. “A drink?”

“Sure.”

Not that she would say it, but that was why she had come down here. Once the late dinner, and party after, died down, the guests had left, and the servants went to their quarters for the night, Jorge disappeared, too. Valeria wasn’t sure where her husband went, but while she had the chance, she planned on taking advantage.

Or rather, five minutes alone.

Soon, Jorge would be back.

That was a guarantee.

Samuel grabbed two long-stemmed glasses from the cupboard and made quick work of uncorking the bottle of wine. Once he had the wine poured through a decanter he’d found under the kitchen island, he held a glass out for her to take.

“Here, chica.”

Valeria took the drink, and sipped, letting the heady flavors soak her palate. “Thanks.”

Samuel didn’t invite her for more conversation as he drank his wine, but Valeria didn’t mind, either. She had other things to worry about, and silence was better than the alternative for these men.

She was almost through her glass, enjoying the silence of the large mansion, when the hair on the back of her neck stood on end. It wasn’t a good sensation, not when dread accompanied it, climbing up her spine with punishing steps.

That was how she knew Jorge was behind her.

Samuel confirmed it by looking over her shoulder and nodding at someone. His words only added to what she knew when he said, “Brother.”

“The Canadians left.”

“Hmm.”

“The deal is good, Samuel,” Jorge said, his voice coming closer to Valeria. She did her best to stay put, drink her wine, and hopefully, her husband would leave her alone for the night. Not that it had ever worked for her in the past, but she wasn’t about to give up hope just yet. “And once it’s done, we won’t need the fucking Garcías for shit.”

“And then what happens when the Garcías realize we fucked them over?”

“You’re asking pointless questions.”

“Or is it you don’t have the answers?”

The pregnant, loaded silence stretched on in the kitchen, making Valeria wish she was anywhere but there. It was rare for Samuel and Jorge to disagree about things, but especially with the cartel. When they did, however, it rarely ended well. She did not want to be the idiot in the middle.

“Who is running this operation?” Jorge asked.

He was right behind Valeria, now. She didn’t need to turn around to feel the heat of his body too close to hers, or the way it made her sick just from proximity alone.

So was her life.

“Papá,” Samuel replied.

“Wrong answer, brother.”

Samuel sighed. “Jorge—”

“He oversees details,” Jorge spat. “Says yes or no, or makes demands. He isn’t on the front lines. He isn’t making the money. I do all of that, and because this is the right choice, whether he likes it, then it is what we will do. The Canadian deal will get rid of our García issue, or at the least, it will negate the problem altogether. It’s a win-win.”