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“No, it won’t. The rest of the Ramirezes and the Mackenzies, Gallaghers, Steeles, O’Deas… they’ll all do whatever they must to crush your father’s claim, as will my family. No one wants him in power. Alejandro has done a fabulous job, and I’m certain you know my brother is loyal to Alejandro, as are the rest of us.” I had a feeling they were, but this is the very first time I’m hearing it myself.
“I had heard rumors, but nothing definitive.”
“Does it bother you? That Ruslan is loyal to your great-uncle?” Eset questions as we’re at a red light, waiting to turn left.
“No, it doesn’t. You know what my father wants isn’t what I want. I have no problem with the current hierarchy within the Ramirez family. The people respect my great-uncle, and why would we cause a rift in the chain of command if everything is working? It doesn’t make sense to me. Though, we know why my father is doing it. He wants his power, and it’s because he wants to feel special. Now, I want to know why you’re going after Lu.” I guarantee it has something to do with Emily’s child and the deceptive ways Lu mistreated her niece… but I want to hear it straight from the horse’s mouth.
The light in front of us turns green, so Eset makes the left and continues driving. “Lu completely ruined Amelia’s life. Lu is her mother, and her mother felt it was acceptable to give her social security number, birth certificate, and other private personal information to her ex-boyfriend. Her ex ended up stealing her identity and racked up so much debt that Amelia wouldn’t even be able to run her credit to buy a cell phone. That’s how terribly it affected her. Her mother knew about it the entire time, and instead of telling her daughter, she didn’t say a damn thing, and he kept ruining her credit.
“If it weren’t for Ruslan paying everything off and handling it all for Amelia, she’d still be having identity theft lawyers trying to deal with it. Then, you go onto Emily. Poor Emily trusted her Aunt Lu to help her in the most delicate of situations. You see, Emily was pregnant as a teenager, and she went to Lu for help. Lu gave her false promises of having a family lined up to adopt her daughter when, in actuality, she put her in your father’s child trafficking program, and lord only knows what her poor daughter had to endure. That is why I am going after Lu because she is a menace to society, and no one needs to deal with her.”
I knew about Emily’s situation, but I had no idea about Amelia’s. I knew Emily’s situation was horrible, and there’s no excuse for what Lu put her through, but Amelia’s situation is just as bad. How could Lu do these things to her own flesh and blood? I don’t understand it. If I was lucky enough to have a child, I’d do whatever I could to protect them, not put them in harm’s way. Sure, it wasn’t anything violent, but Lu did harm Amelia’s credit, which is a big deal.
Eset pulls down into a parking garage and eventually pulls into a spot. “I don’t blame you for anything you’re doing. I’d do the same if given the opportunity, but I am going to ask you if you’ve made a decision yet.”
Eset whips her head around to look at me. “You’re really asking me this right now?”
“Yes, I am. I don’t see a better opportunity. You and I have both said things that could respectably get us into a lot of shit. We’ve torn down walls and told each other very vulnerable things. We have the power to get each other killed, so my question is, do I need to look at you like a potential enemy who knows my secrets, or are you the woman I’m going to marry, who’s going to hold them with her until the day she dies?”
Eset swallows hard and inhales slowly through her nose. “I think we make a good match, but there are stipulations to me accepting your proposal.”
“What would those be?” It can’t be anything too bad.
“You need to have a face-to-face meeting with your Great-Uncle Alejandro and pledge your allegiance to him, thus ripping away any sort of fealty you have to your father. You also need to understand that there isn’t anything romantic between the two of us, Santos. I will marry you and provide you with heirs, but I will not be the love of your life. I am doing this for my family, and that’s all.”
“Understood.” Eset might not realize it, but I am attracted to her in both the physical sense and the mental one. With time, I’m sure our relationship will turn into something more, though I doubt she realizes it.
“I don’t want any more unnecessary bloodshed to happen, Santos. There’s been enough already by your grandfather’s hand, and Alejandro is ruling successfully and has been for many years. Unfortunately, your father is looking to cause chaos in Mexico, and I need you to promise me you won’t let that happen.”
I doubt Eset realizes what she’s asking of me isn’t that difficult. “I promise you, on my life, that I won’t let it happen. You know I’m not supporting his motives. Alejandro will stay as the leader of Mexico until he chooses who his heir will be, and I also promise you I won’t create any rifts in the water when it comes to that.”
“Good, then Julio will be forced to stop in his tracks. He won’t have any support from anyone significant, especially my family’s, and hopefully, he’ll give up on his venture.”
“That, or he’ll become more desperate than ever.”
“What do you think he’s going to do?” Eset questions, cocking a brow in the process.
“I think he’ll become desperate because this has been his plan for a very long time. I don’t see him giving up easily.”
“Then we’ll force his hand, and if he doesn’t like it, he’ll get a bullet between his eyes,” Eset states ever so calmly as she opens the SUV door and gets out, shutting it behind her. I follow her lead and shut the door behind me, sticking closely to the woman who’s now agreed to be my fiancée.
Eset goes to the elevators and presses the down button, and I’m a bit surprised. After all, we’re in a parking garage, so how much further down could we be going? Once the elevator doors open, we both step inside, and the doors close in front of us. Then, she pulls a key out of her pocket and slides it into a slot on the right, and proceeds to click four buttons. The elevator jolts, and then we head down for quite a few levels until the doors open again.
Once the doors open, I’m reminded of an elite club that I’ve heard about, but I can’t recall the name. “Emmett Steele’s wife, Kira, owns Club X. They just opened another location, and given the business practices my brother has with the Steele family, we have our own floor of the facility. With any luck, Ruslan will bring you into the family business once you’re my husband, as long as you don’t fuck anything up along the way. At that time, I’m sure he’ll tell you more about how we operate.”
“I wouldn’t expect anything before then,” I tell Eset, and she nods as we move further down the bright hallway.
There’s a glass wall on the left, with what appears to be a concrete floor, and that’s when I spot Lu lying on the floor with Eset’s resident henchman a few feet away. Goran, I believe, looks up at Eset the moment we walk through the door and cocks an eyebrow when he sees me. I don’t think this guy likes me one bit, though he’ll have to get used to it.
Eset walks around Lu, who’s somehow still breathing, and I don’t know how to take this. Eset appears to be ready to go completely apeshit on Lu, not that I blame her one bit. Lu deserves everything she’s getting. “I’m struggling so hard to not rip that damn knife out of your chest, but I know the moment I do, your body will begin to fade away, and I want you to suffer, Lu. I want you to remember everything I do to you before you die. I want you to know why I’m fucking doing it and regret ever hurting Amelia or Emily. If you didn’t hurt them, you could’ve gone on to live a long, luxurious life… but you fucked with my family, so you don’t get to have that peace.”
“I… don’t… r-regret a-any of it,” Lu struggles to speak, looking right at Eset.
Eset scoffs at Lu. “How in the world you thought that was a good thing to say to me is mind boggling. I’m only going to make it worse on you now.” Eset pulls out a gun from her purse and pulls the safety back, shooting Lu multiple times. She hits with every shot. The knee, the shoulder, the stomach, the arm—every single one of them rattles Lu, and she groans out in complete agony. “This isn’t even a fraction of what my sisters have gone through.”
As much as I think Eset is a strong, independent woman, I worry about my father’s retaliation if he finds out she did it. Granted, I’ll do whatever I can to protect her.
This is the woman who’s going to be my wife.
