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“Lucky boy.” He ruffled his mop of hair. “I’ll be over soon to tuck you in.”
“’Kay.” He raced off with Butters on his heels. Easton reminded me so much of Cole when he was small.
“Look at those little legs go.” I laughed.
Location: Cartel House, Rosarito, Mexico
Coordinates: Unknown
Eric
“Where do you want this?” One of the workers struggled to carry a roll of barbed wire through the door.
“That way.” I pointed across the room. “Any damage to my walls or floors and I cut your hands off.”
“Yes, sir.” His face dropped, and he yelled at his guys ahead of him to move carefully. One by one, they brought in the new materials I needed to update the holding cages. Castillo wanted a bonus room set up for something that was coming. I didn’t care; I just wanted these people out of my house as quickly as possible. Every minute that door was open, the suffocating heat crept in and stole the air from my lungs. My shirt was already soaked with sweat, and my skin begged me for an ice-cold shower.
“You dyin’, boss?” Alejandro eyed me from across the room. He was in jeans, a t-shirt, and boots. I shook my head at him in wonder. It was insanity that he could wear that, let alone not even show he had to be as hot as I was.
“I hate your fucking country,” I hissed and grabbed a handful of ice cubes from the cooler and rubbed the back of my neck with them until they were almost melted then chucked them into the trash. “Come on.” I motioned for him to follow me down the second set of stairs to the back room.
I pressed my thumb to the screen and watched it flash green as it read my fingerprint and popped open the basement door. A blast of cool air whooshed over my sticky face, and I took a moment to suck in a deep breath. The fresh air revived me as my tired lungs were brought back to full capacity. I made sure my house had the best ventilation. I couldn’t imagine being able to sleep in the heat.
I ran my fingers along the stones that lined the wall. They were there to hide the soundproof padding. I smiled, pleased at my little operation. I’d spent years building it, and I never cut corners. I was meticulous in every aspect because my life depended on attention to detail.
“And you wonder why I dress the way I do,” Alejandro whispered behind me as he rubbed his arms. I ignored him as he stepped through the door. I spent a lot of time down here, and I needed to be sharp. Heat made people tired and comfortable. I couldn’t risk my guard being tampered with.
“Dexter said Talya showed up to work and she looked like she’d been cryin’. Everything okay with you two?”
Just the mere mention of her name made my stomach roll. The way her eyes fell when I let her leave nearly ripped my insides apart. Twice this morning, I’d picked up my phone to call her, and twice I punched holes in the wall. I never meant to fall in love. I told her that could never happen; she needed to be an afterthought. I had to hate her to get over her.
“All Talya was good for was between my sheets and under me.” The lie burned my tongue as the words slipped over it. “Hand me that hammer.” He did, and I drove a temporary peg into the floor to show the workers where I wanted the entrance of the cage to be.
“I’ll pass that along.” He knew well enough to back off. “What is it with you and getting the sexy Latinochicas?”
“I have a type,” I shot back. “I can’t help it if they love me, too.” I smirked, but it took all my effort to push like hell to get Talya’s naked image out of my head. I stood and waved impatiently at the men who approached. They peered at the cages in the outer room as they walked by. I studied their faces as they entered the room we were in.
“What are they keeping in there?” one of the men muttered to his buddy, who shook his head to shut up. They never thought I could speak Spanish, and I often let them believe that. It usually worked in my favor.
“I want a thirteen-by-thirteen door there.” I used English and pointed to the blue painter tape on the concrete floor. “And I want a half wall by the toilet built there.”
“What about for the shower?” The foreman spoke up. “Do you want a half wall there too? A curtain?”
“Nothing.” I held his gaze and watched as he swallowed hard. He knew who’d hired him, and he knew I was connected to the Cartel. In spite of not being a Cartel member myself, he knew better than to ask any more questions.
“Understood.”
“Good. And over there, in that box, is a table and chair. Set that up outside the cage.” I walked over and stood inside the taped off area and extended my arms. “At least this far away.” The men’s faces dropped. “People seem to get angry when they’re held against their will,” I tossed out there for good measure. They didn’t miss a beat getting back to work.
“Wait.” Alejandro stopped two workers who piled boxes next to the wall. “What are these?”
“No clue. I just drop off.”
“Are these cameras?” Alejandro started to rip open the box on top. “If they are, they can be returned right now.”
“I was told to order those.” The foreman of the job looked at me, confused.
“No,” I eyed the boxes, “no cameras.”
