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“What’s the plan?” I asked. “Please tell me it involves taking out whoever’s behind this.”
“It would if we knew who it was. Costa and Cristiano think it’s one of the Maldonados’ rivals . . .”
I frowned. “But you don’t agree.”
He flicked his thumb and middle finger a few times, then flexed his hand. “There are pieces of the puzzle that don’t make sense.”
The only new variables in Papá’s business were the Maldonados and Cristiano. But Cristiano was more than a puzzle piece. He was the puzzle. Nothing about him was clear—not his involvement in my mother’s death, his unusual business practices, his patched together past, nor the men he surrounded himself with. “Cristiano is the wild card,” I said.
“Exactly.” Diego sat forward and looked back at me. “Jesus, Talia—I swear, you’re the only person who gets it. You should be in charge around here.”
I blushed. “It’s not that big of a leap to make.”
“You’d think.”
Cristiano had once been the best man to protect us. He’d known our weaknesses. Then, possibly, he’d exploited them. Had he returned to right the wrongs he felt had been dealt him as Diego had suggested? Did Cristiano actually hope to reposition himself in our family?
A pit formed in my stomach at the thought that he had a greater plan. I didn’t trust Cristiano, but I did trust he could accomplish anything he set his mind to. “So how does your Maldonado deal fit into his plan?”
“That’s what I’m trying to figure out. My gut tells me it’s some kind of power grab. Like we talked about the other day, an alliance between the Calaveras and the Cruzes would be formidable.” Diego leaned his elbows on his knees and ran both hands over his hair. “My father plotted to steal your family’s territory. He would’ve done it if Costa hadn’t put a bullet in him.” He glanced back at me. “History repeats itself.”
“But your father’s plan was to kill mine,” I said. “Not unite.”
Diego shrugged, but not casually. “What’s to stop Cristiano from anything once he’s gained your father’s trust?” He gestured toward the darkness concealing the compound before us. “If they merge, Cristiano will replace me. And once I’m out of the picture, there’s nobody in his path.”
“His path to what?”
“It’s a tale as old as time, Natalia. It’s only a matter of time before a prince fantasizes about being king.”
“He’s king of his own cartel,” I said.
“Cristiano’s anger has been simmering for many years. Maybe he still feels like a prince who never got what he was owed. The taste of power lingers eternal on a man’s tongue. Now that Cristiano has his own kingdom, I have no doubt he hungers for a second.”
“Are you saying . . .” My throat went dry, and the first image that popped into my head was Cristiano and his bucket of sand. I grimaced. “Are you saying Cristiano wants to usurp my father?”
Diego balled his fists, still leaning forward in the chair. “He’d have to earn Costa’s complete faith first. Then, Costa wouldn’t worry about turning his back to him. And that’s when Cristiano slips the knife in.”
With a sharp pain in my jaw, I unclenched my teeth. Cristiano had already taken one parent from me. History would not repeat itself. I wouldn’t let it. “We have to tell my dad,” I said.
“Costa won’t hear it. I’ve tried. Cristiano’s reach is too far and too deep. He has to be cut off at the root.”
“You have no time left.” I knew how stubborn my dad could be, but if I caught him at the right time, maybe he’d listen. “I could talk to Papá.”
“And say what? The minute you start asking questions, he’ll assume I sent you, put you on a plane, and come looking for me.”
I massaged my palm with my thumb as I thought. “What happens if I return to school and one day, I get a call that Cristiano succeeded in taking out everyone who means anything to me? And I’d done nothing?”
“What you did was keep yourself safe. That was the whole purpose of you going to school in the first place.” Diego bit his bottom lip, looking over his shoulder at me. Anxious as I was about what he was telling me, his concern for me was kind of sexy. “You’re out of this life, Natalia. Why dip a toe back in?”
“To help you,” I said quietly.
Diego blinked at me, then reached over and tucked my hair behind my ear. “That’s not your responsibility. I shouldn’t even be worrying you over this—it’s just that nobody else sees the truth.”
“If I’d defy my own father to marry you, why wouldn’t I do everything I could to save your life? Even if it meant going to Cristiano myself?”
“Going to Cristiano? No. I’ll figure this out, Natalia,” he said with conviction. “Believe me. Just the thought of building a life with you fuels me. I’d marry you tomorrow if only I could predict how this deal will end.”
