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His bloodshot eyes watch me warily, but there’s a comical quality to the alarm that transforms his features. His lips twitch as his tanned skin turns several shades paler. Like he’s seen a ghost. My heart pangs. He must think I’m Tiena. Is this further confirmation that she’s dead?
Unfortunately, I can’t ask him.
“Tiena?” Jaguar prods.
“He is Niles Rickman,” I say, and he nods, pleased.
“Ah, yes. I’m sure you know what he does for your ex-lover—”
“Senior Domingas?” Niles struggles to speak around his swollen lip. “Mr. Braulio has no issue with you. He prizes your good relationship—”
“Exactly,” Jaguar murmurs with a nod. “Then why has he been rushing to leave the country ever since my friend Ronaldo got a little too liberal with my books and drew my notice?”
Niles stammers an incoherent reply, but I feel my eyes widen.
Suddenly so many things click into place that it’s overwhelming. Jaguar wasn’t toying with me all this time. He was suspicious. Sending me to Ronaldo wasn’t a ploy. It was a test, but not in the way I’d originally thought. He took my silence not as an abundance of caution but out of loyalty to Braulio. As his woman, I would know if he were the one paying Jaguar’s accountants to turn him into the feds.
There is one flaw in that logic—Braulio isn’t reckless. He’s greedy. His motivation for going rogue had to go beyond simply wanting to upset the status quo.
Jaguar must be of the same frame of mind. No wonder he wanted to feed me to a pet panther. I meet his gaze, knowing he’s watching my every reaction.Finally, he is giving me a taste of what I asked him for. A chance to prove my loyalty.
“That was very clever, finding the source of the discrepancies, chica,” he praises, stroking his chin. “I must admit, I was skeptical when the whore of the bastard screwing me over comes begging me for help. Even you can’t blame me for that. You should count your blessings, Tiena. That pretty little tongue has saved your life twice over. You handed me the information to ensure that Braulio has a very hard time leaving the country any time soon. I hope you’re satisfied.”
I’m not. I feel as though he kicked me in the stomach, and I regret eating anything. In a dizzying wave of nausea, it all threatens to come up as I relive the nightmare of Gatita’s cage. God, I want to scream at him. Vomit in his face and dare him to punish me. I want…
For now, I want to live for Franco’s sake.
Focus, Pita!Shaking my head to clear it, I hold his probing stare.
“I don’t know what he does in his business,” I admit in a rush. “But I told you the truth as I believe it to be. You are a powerful man. I avail myself only to powerful men.”
And I can only imagine what might have happened to Francisco if Jaguar had burned Braulio’s world to the ground and I hadn’t been able to negotiate his safety in time. Would this man stoop to killing a child?
I’m sure he’s done far, far worse.
Even his smile is violent. “Such sexy words you spin, chica,” he says. “I hope you continue to be useful to me. You can start by joining me tonight. We’ll have a lovely time, but I want to pick what you wear, beauty.Claro? Your current ensemble is a bit too edgy for my tastes.”
I bristle at the extended timeline rather than the dig at my fashion choices. I’m already pushing it as it is if I want to be at the airport before my flight leaves. “I don’t think someone like you would forget about my flight, Jaguar,” I say.
A grunt of disapproval rumbles from his throat, making my heart skip a beat. “Oh no. You aren’t going anywhere,Tiena—” His hands thud against the table, echoing like a gunshot. “Not until we get a few more details of our arrangement ironed out. Get this piece of shit out of here. I’ll deal with him later.”
The two men grab Niles and haul him from the room, but his eyes still dart to me, puzzled with confusion. It takes all the resolve I have to remain seated. What the hell does he know about Tiena?
I consider coming clean, and asking Jaguar to pump him for information—wherever he’s taking Niles, I suspect it isn’t to treat him to a meal and a tour of his home. One thing holds me back.
Francisco. As his supposed mother, I have a greater claim to him than as his aunt. Jaguar might be less willing to risk his life if the truth is revealed—and I’m all Franco has left if Tiena is dead. I can’t let him stay in Braulio’s hands, either.
Especially if the bastard has gotten himself into a bigger mess than I would have ever thought.
“You think Braulio is the one who paid off Ronaldo to steal from you,” I say to Jaguar once his minions have left.
“‘Paid off’ makes it sound so harmless.” He sits forward and steeples his hands together, propping his chin atop the point. “I think our friend Braulio is many things, chica, but stupid is not one of them. If he’s making a move against me, he won’t do so alone. Someone with far more balls than he has must be whispering in his ear. I’m sure you don’t know who it could be?”
I shake my head. Rampant speculation isn’t what he wants. Still, there is one suspicion I can’t resist exploring.
“You thought I kept my silence about Ronaldo because I was in on the plan.”
He chuckles without revealing an answer either way. “Those were very fancy calculations, chica. Capable of only someone who had a degree from some private ass college. But the methods he used? Oh, those were very specific. Braulio himself prefers those shell companies and fake LLCs. Almost as if whoever advised him in his own money dealings had tipped off straitlaced Ronaldo on how to get creative when hiding his theft from me. So, imagine my surprise when the woman rumored to handle Braulio’s numbers shows up pledging her allegiance to me under a fake identity. Your saving grace is that evenheisn’t that sloppy.”
