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People are coming for me. They might be coming after her too.
In a dog-eat-dog world, I need to be the alpha. The uber-predator. And I need her to stop looking at me like I’m not one of those monsters.
We need some distance from each other before we get too tangled up in the chemistry between us.
I can’t get close to her and risk losing her.
As soon as the car is parked, Zoe gets out and hurries over to a bush.
She throws up as I open the trunk and look at the body there.
When she straightens up and wipes her mouth, I lift the man out.
Zoe looks like she is going to throw up again as she stares at the man I have draped over my shoulder.
“Come on.” I head toward the house. “You need to see this.”
She hugs herself, her eyes wide and shining with unshed tears.
My stomach lurches as I approach the retina scanner for the cabin and wait for the door to open.
Zoe enters behind me, though she looks like she is about to run.
The door slams shut behind us as lights come on, revealing stainless steel tables, white walls, and an assortment of saws and knives.
Zoe stands in the corner with her arms wrapped around her body. Her skin is pale, and she sways as she stands.
I’m not sure that she’s going to be okay, but this is the reality of life in the cartel. One way or another, she is going to learn.
As I put the body on a table and step into a white jumpsuit, she lets out the first whimper.
“This is what has to be done, Zoe.” I pick up a butcher’s knife and one of the saws. “I want you to watch this. You need to understand that this is what happens to those that cross me.”
Anger flashes in her eyes. Her jaw tightens and she gives a sharp nod.
“There’s a suit over there.” I point to another white jumpsuit. “Go put it on and then come over here. Do it fast. I don’t want this to take all night.”
Zoe looks at me, her bottom lip quivering. After a moment, she goes to grab the other jumpsuit.
I watch as she pulls it on with shaking hands.
Even though I wish I didn’t have to be this man to her, I need a safeguard. If I go down because she decides to run to the cops, then she goes down with me.
As she walks over to the table, I begin to cut the man’s arm off, knowing that my relationship with Zoe is never going to be the same.
12
ZOE
Camila sits beside me in the library early in the morning, her mouth pressed into a thin line.
“Ruben told me what happened last night. He had to go up there and burn the bush you threw up in after Christian brought you home. I’m sorry that he did that to you.”
I stare at her, too numb to say anything right now.
Last night, I watched a man get cut into tiny pieces. I became an accomplice to a crime.
Christian dragged me deeper into his world than I ever wanted to be.
