Page 4 of No Darker Temptation

“And why is that?”

“Because,” his cousin replied. “You won’t be seeing her after all.”

THE LION’S DEN

Alejandro

Vallvidrera, Spain

Nine Years Later

October

In order to reach the heart during an operation, surgeons make an incision down the chest over the breastbone. This is usually done when the patient is under anesthesia and with the help of a team of medical professionals to ensure the body on the table stays alive.

There’s no anesthesia or medical equipment here. No team of doctors to ensure Juan De La Vega’s survival at the end of this interrogation. Then again, if there were, that would defeat the purpose.

His chest is completely caved in, the cartilage connecting the breastbone to his ribs torn to shreds. The ribs that aren’t broken stick out at odd angles, appearing more animal than human, and the ones that broke in the process of tearing him open are covered in blood and puncturing his lungs. He’s dead by the time I tear his heart out of his chest, valves and all, and a portion of the left atrium gets left behind. It looks like a wild animal took a bite out of him; like a man who got trapped in a lion’s den.

Diego sighs above me, arms wrapped around himself. “Don’t you think that was excessive?”

I rise to my feet, Juan’s organ still in the palm of my hand, and drag my arm along the bottom half of my face, smearing the blood there. “Proved my point, didn’t I?”

I kick Juan’s body aside and he rolls down the concrete driveway, finally stopping by the sidewalk where the slight hill evens out. His accomplice, Miguel Franco, dry heaves on the asphalt but nothing comes out. Lettie grips him by the nape of his neck and forces his head back. We’re eye level as I kneel in front of him, extending his friend’s heart.

“Let’s try this again. Who sent you?”

“N-no one!” He breaks down and starts crying. “I swear to God, no⁠—”

“Wrong answer.”

I pinch his nose and cut off his air supply which forces him to open his mouth to breathe. When he does, I shove Juan’s heart inside and Miguel lets out a blood curdling scream that even has Lettie wincing and turning away. She drops his head and steps back, unable to watch as I grip the back of Miguel’s neck and force the rest of Juan’s heart down his throat.

“I’m going to let go in ten seconds. And when I do, you’re going to tell me what you were doing outside our grandfather’s house. Understood?”

He nods profusely, gagging on the blood and flesh until I finally release him. Miguel throws himself onto the ground, heaving and vomiting, staining the concrete red. His body folds into a fetal position as he cries, tears and dirt streaking his pale face.

“Don Sandro asked the De La Vegas for a favor. S-said he wanted to know if his s-sister was…was betraying him…”

Seems Regina hasn’t been as careful as I thought. Then again, knowing her, she always thinks ten steps ahead. When she helped me find Ibanez and Montenegro over the summer, we both knew it would come at a price—her brother’s trust. I neither know nor care what goes on in their family but I draw the line at her endangering mine.

I reach for the gun holstered at my side and before Diego can snatch it from my hand, I put a bullet through Miguel’s temple. My brother snatches the weapon from me and I rise to my feet.

“It’s escalating,” I say.

Diego glares and the apples of his cheeks burn red with frustration. “You can’t keep fucking killing everyone we encounter, Alex.”

I run my fingers through my hair but the strands are soaked with blood and cling to the sides of my face. “Not everyone. I didn’t kill the guy at the corner who cut us off.”

“You’re out of control⁠—”

“Dimitrio.”

Our head of security swings around and looks at us over the roof of the car. I gesture toward the dead bodies in Abuelo’s driveway. “Before morning. I want it gone.”

He nods without a word and retrieves his phone from his pocket to place a call. I stalk toward the house and pay my siblings little regard, each of them with gripes of their own.

“Do you think we’ll have a problem with Sandro because of Regina?” Lettie asks.