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My cheeks flame. “This is inappropriate to discuss,” I stammer, heading for the sauna’s door.
“Inappropriate, my ass,” Pedro scolds as I scamper out. “That man has you dicked down from head to toe, I’m sure. You can dish all about it when we’re back in Texas. According to Jaguar, he’s sending me back the same day you leave. Plenty of time to enjoyeverythingthat man has to offer.”
His laughter chases me into the dressing room and even into the car.
CHAPTERNINE
After returning to the mansion, I check on Franco, finding him peacefully asleep with the brochure of his chosen school lying on the floor as if he drifted off while scanning the pictures inside it. As I tuck the booklet into a small pocket hidden within the folds of my dress, I reluctantly leave him and check the master bedroom, finding it empty. On a hunch, I head toward the basement, and as I near Jaguar’s office, I hear his voice, low and gruff.
“…get me answers, Gregorio. I’ll stay out here for a few more days. Track the bastard down—wait.” He sighs, the sound bristling with irritation. “Come in, Lupe. Spying like a child is beneath you.”
I hold my head high as I enter his office. He’s seated behind the desk, his expression wary.
“I hope you and Pedro enjoyed my gift to you,” he says, “I told you to steer clear of this room tonight. You must have a damn good reason to defy me.”
I swallow hard. “If you don’t want to hear what I have to say, you can deem it irrelevant. Still, I thought it was important enough to share with you.”
Though it occurred days ago. I have a sinking suspicion that he might appreciate any insight into Braulio’s state of mind.
“I’ll call you back,” Jaguar grumbles into his cell before stowing it in his pocket. As he threads his fingers together behind his head, I take it as my cue to soldier ahead. “Franco heard Braulio yelling the night he sent him away. He said something about flooding the world. Poor Franco thought he meant literally. That’s what I wanted to say. Sorry for interrupting you.”
I turn on my heel.
“Wait. Come here.”
I look over to find him leaning back in his chair, beckoning me with a crooked finger.
A thrill of anticipation runs down my spine. Is it fear? Or something else that makes my mouth water as I advance toward him, step by step…
“Flood the world? Have a seat and tell me what you think it means.”
“Well…” I start to approach one of two chairs positioned before his desk. “I think it—”
“No,” he snaps, stopping me as I start to lower myself. “I didn’t intend for you to sit there.” He nods, making it very clear where he wants me—on his lap.
Easy, Pita.With my chin in the air, I slip around his desk as he leans back, allowing me to perch right over a bulge straining at the front of his jeans.
“His distribution chain,” I say, aware of him leaning forward, so his jaw is closer to mine. “Braulio moves his share of product through drug mules that masquerade as door-to-door magazine sellers.”
That I know from experience.
“I know he has an alliance with you,” I add. “Meant to avoid stepping on your toes, and he cuts you in on his trade—”
“An amiable sixty-forty split,” Jaguar says with a feral smile I catch in my peripheral vision. “It’s only fair, seeing as how he gets most of his supply from me and supplements the rest with local shitheads who clean their cocaine in their grandma’s bathrooms. Everyone is happy. At least until thatpendejodecided to bribe my accountant into moving my money around. Can you tell me why he would do such a thing?”
“To set you up,” I say, voicing the obvious. Then another thought comes to mind. “Or… To distract you. While you’re busy dealing with the resulting investigation, you wouldn’t be able to properly respond to any imminent changes in the market. And if Braulio could somehow get his hands on another supplier with more product than he normally has, he could release enough, at least in the short-term, to push you out of the market.”
In response, Jaguar chuckles, and one of his hands comes around to settle over my thigh. “And he would need a hell of a lot more than door-to-door salesmen with which to do so.” He braces his free hand on the arm of the chair. From the corner of my eye, I can’t decipher the gaze he casts over me next. “Tell me, Lupe. What would Braulio have to gain by doing this?”
It sounds like an easy enough question. “Power,” I say. “Enough power to topple Julian Domingas himself.”
“Oh, chica.” He shakes his head. “If only it could be so simple. My empire is not quite so fragile, however. Braulio doesn’t have the infrastructure to overrun me. To even try would be the action of a desperate, cornered man. Which leads me to suspect that Braulio has been fed a fantasy. A fantasy that would benefit only the bastard pulling his strings. If you were thispendejomastermind, what move might you make next?”
Furrowing my brows, I think it over. “I would have already made it,” I say finally. “Braulio wouldn’t have been my only target. I would have targeted all your allies. As many as I could.”
“Ah…” He strokes his chin. “You would need a hell of a lot of money to do that. And you would need an existing infrastructure to bring in enough product to ‘flood the world,’ so to speak. I doubt a dumb motherfucker like Braulio would have either. Whoever is pulling his strings must have given him the illusion that he is in charge. They set him up to take the fall.”
Damn it,Tiena. Was she working with this mystery opponent?
