Page 101 of No Darker Temptation

“He was trying to find Ibanez and Montenegro. He never told me the specifics but the sister⁠—”

“Regina?”

Walsh grinds his teeth. “The one that’s always with him. I barely saw the other one; he kept her locked away like a princess in the tower.”

“Montserrat,” I provide. “Her name is Montserrat.”

“The other one then—Regina—was always with him. Always whispering in his ear. Sometimes, it felt more like we were taking orders from her than him. I was under the impression neither of them had planned it.”

Immediately, my back straightens, his last statement having captured everyone’s attention. “What do you mean?”

Collins screams from the top of his lungs behind the rag. He rocks back and forth in his seat and it’s hard enough to make the bolts in the floor tremble. I cross the room in seconds and deliver a right hook that knocks him out cold. Walsh doesn’t flinch but he watches me with renewed interest and curiosity rather than barely concealed contempt.

I grab Collins by the back of the neck and keep his head from lolling to the side as I say, “To be clear, he’s not leaving here alive.”

“Neither am I.”

I study him a moment. Walsh speaks with a matter-of-factness that should send a chill down my spine. All it takes is an image of Dahlia to flash across my mind—of her covered in blood with a kitchen knife in her hand as she leans against the counter in Moises’s restaurant—and I remember it was the fault of these sons of bitches right here.

“Who put the first hit?”

“I don’t know. But I do know, it couldn’t have been them. Sandoval and the sister were upset it happened and I overheard them fighting about it once. Didn’t pick up on much. My Spanish is a little rusty.” He clenches his jaw. “But I remember very clearly. When they found out there was a girl in the car with you, it changed everything. The sister still wanted Ibanez and Montenegro dead but Sandoval became more desperate to find them alive.”

Diego and I exchange brief glances, a silent message between us that we’ll discuss this more in depth later.

“Are you going to protect my Rose?”

My head swings around and Walsh’s expression is dark, eyes staring into mine.

“She doesn’t have anyone. Give me your word you won’t touch her.”

“I don’t kill women. Much less innocent ones. But all right.” I bow my head in concession. “You have my word.”

“Sandoval is coming for everything and not just your empire. He has a…a dark, deep-rooted hatred for you. Never understood it.”

“We have history.” It’s all I offer in response, but he shakes his head.

“No. It’s more than that. Trust me when I say, you have no idea what’s coming your way. The ace card up his sleeve. Because at the end of this, he wants to take everything.”

Walsh leans forward. “Starting with the girl.”

FIRE FORGETS

Dahlia

On the drive back from visiting Don Salazar in Vallvidrera I call Alejandro. Unsurprisingly, he doesn’t answer and I assume he must be caught up in whatever he’s doing so I send a text message instead.

Abuelo is okay. Lettie is going to stay with him the rest of the week <3 She’s going to stop by later tonight to pick up some clothes, she wanted to make sure he was settled first.

Let me know if you’re coming home tonight? I’ll make dinner 😊

And by “make” I mean heat up whatever you have leftover in the fridge

I love youuuuuu

“So how long have you and Oscar been together?” I ask Pedro.

He gives a light shrug, eyes focused on the road. “Almost as long as I’ve been working for the family so…thirteen years?”