Page 83 of No Darker Temptation

I look to Diego for help but he presses his lips together, unsure of what to say or how to spin this in a way that we come out unscathed. Realizing I don’t have any options I settle for a half truth.

“Sandro approached a woman I’m involved with and⁠—”

“How involved?” Don Miguel snaps, voice booming from the other end of the room.

Sandro is a dead, dead fucking man for this.

“We’ve been living together for the last seven months.”

Don Miguel swears under his breath and Don Enrique runs his fingers through his hair.

“There’s a reason we have protocols in place,” Don Alfonso says. “To avoid these kinds of conflicts.”

“You have opened this woman up to a world of trouble. You cannot protect her if you don’t give her a place in your family,” Don Cayetano adds. “Those are the rules here, as everyone well knows. Partners, family, and children are untouchable. By living with this woman all this time, exposing her to this line of work without the protection of your family name⁠—”

“Forget her safety,” Don Jose Torres remarks. “What about us and our lack of security? How much does this woman know? She could just as easily be with the SVA. It wouldn’t be the first time a woman tried making her way to us by spread⁠—”

I spin on the balls of my feet, accusatory finger pointed in his direction. “Finish that sentence. I dare you.”

He swallows the lump in his throat and settles back into his seat.

“It isn’t from lack of wanting. Not that I need to explain the very personal, intimate details of my private life,” I announce with a hint of bitterness. “But she won’t ever see the inside of one of our rooms until she’s ready. When that day comes, she’ll have my name and a place in my family. In the meantime, I’ll kill anyone in my way.”

I gesture to Sandro. “That includes him. Investigate him for what he did last summer or not, I don’t give a shit. But know that if he ever gets near her again, I’m going to leave his body in pieces at your doorsteps.”

CRUMBLING CASTLES

Alejandro

“Iwant Walsh and Collins taken care of and I want it done before the end of the month.”

“Saenz is⁠—”

“I don’t give a fuck what Saenz is doing,” I tell my brother. “Because clearly, he isn’t doing it fast enough. If they’re not dead by the first of August, you’re going to answer to me.”

The car door slams shut and Diego hovers on the sidewalk. He takes a composing breath before walking to the other side and getting in. As soon as he does, Dimitrio takes off.

The pressure building in the back of my skull becomes almost unbearable. That mingled with the blistering ache I feel in my chest whenever I draw breath is enough to make me snap. If another person pisses me off today, I’m emptying an entire magazine of bullets in their back.

“Did you bring your painkillers?”

I suck in air between my teeth. “No. They were in Dahlia’s purse, I forgot to⁠—”

“Speaking of the devil.” Dimitrio turns the next corner and points. “There she goes.”

Green isn’t a color she wears often so I almost don’t recognize her—especially from this distance. She’s in a sage green dress made of light, flowing silk that shifts around her figure with each step. Black beading along the bodice and skirt are sewn into subtle floral designs and I notice she doesn’t have her purse on her. When the lights change, she crosses the street and now she’s on the left side, walking up the avenue and paying little attention to her surroundings. I half expect to see Oscar trailing a few paces behind her but I look around and don’t see him.

“Is she alone?”

Diego takes a peak out the window and then points. “No, isn’t that Oscar’s car?”

I follow his line of sight and spot a black Mercedes a few cars ahead of us. It has its blinkers on and almost turns right. Dahlia almost turns right but changes her mind at the last minute. She continues down the avenue and glances up at the streetlights at the same time the Mercedes’s blinkers go off. It no longer takes its right turn and I unbuckle my seatbelt. “No, it isn’t. Dimitrio speed up, don’t let that bus cut you off.”

Dimitrio hits the gas and we almost crash into a delivery truck in doing so. The Mercedes comes to a stop as Dahlia approaches the next corner, ready to cross. I bolt out of the back seat before Dimitrio is able to hit the brakes.

“What are you doing?” Diego calls after me.

“Dahlia!”