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“In a way, yes, he does. He believes the two of us getting married will cause the Ramirez family to offer him a peaceful transfer of power versus the alternative. However, he’s said things to me, such as him being prepared to do whatever he needs to do to get the power he so desperately seeks.” In telling Eset this, I know I’m putting my neck on the line, though I don’t see another option. She knows I need this marriage to gain my own freedom.
“Your father is a rabid dog, Santos. He only cares about getting the bloody flesh in his mouth, not about the path he must take to get the meat in the first place.”
“Yes, and I’m not like him in that way,” I confirm.
Eset’s taking in my information, not saying a word. The longer she’s quiet, the more nervous I end up becoming, but I quickly pull myself out of that. There’s absolutely no reason for me to be nervous. Eset knows why this marriage is a good option, and I’m sure she understands I will be by her side, supporting whatever she needs from me if she chooses to move forward with this union. For my sake, I hope she does… and for our families.
“You’re giving me an awful lot to think about, Santos Ramirez,” Eset quips, keeping her eyes locked on mine. Still, I wonder what’s running through her mind.
The two of us know if she agrees to this proposal, it won’t be about having my father as an ally. She doesn’t like him, and I doubt the rest of her family does since I know the Umarovas were behind a break-in at my father’s holding facility. There has to be another angle she’s looking at when it comes to us, though I don’t know what in the hell the angle is. After some time, I’m sure I’ll begin to understand what her motives are… but until then, all I can do is be patient and wait for Eset to tell me.
Regardless, I know the two of us can be a powerful couple.
I also know we’ll be the wrong people to fuck with, so our enemies will need to watch out. Between Eset and me, we’re two carnivorous beasts.
Chapter Six
Eset
It’s hard for me to believe that I’ve been sitting across from Santos for almost four hours, discovering more and more about him in the process. I had suspicions that Santos was only concerned about his own hide concerning what his father wanted him to do, and I was right. Santos doesn’t want his father to take over control of the Mexican cartel. If anything, he sees it as a massive risk like the rest of us do.
We both happen to be staying at the Dorchester in London and agreed to meet at the restaurant on the rooftop, which has received rave reviews. It’s a little over fifty degrees Fahrenheit, and it’s pouring, but the restaurant offers something I haven’t seen in very many places. They have these sorts of pods that are private and cover the dining table and your chairs completely. There’s a sliding glass door, so your waiter can get inside, making it a very intimate experience between you and the rest of your party.
In our case, we’re not in a pod that has actual chairs around it. Instead, ours is a sort of booth design with plush pillows lining the back of the booth. We both have a glass of white wine, and there’s a red pot filled with cheese fondue in the center of the table. We have numerous items we can dip in the cheese, from a variety of bread, fruits, and vegetables to even a collection of meats. Every bite I’ve had has been absolutely decadent, and I’ve come to the realization that any time I’m in London, I’ll make sure to make a pit stop here.
It’s killing Santos that I haven’t given him an answer yet on his proposal. I’ve been debating it, and I’m more than likely going to accept it as long as certain precursors are made. While Santos has said he’s only been doing as his father has asked because his father has power over him… I’d like to get something out of his claim. He needs to prove himself to me, and he will. I have a great idea of what I’m going to get him to do, and if he’s being truthful with me, he won’t have any problem doing it.
“I’ve heard that your family has issues with my father’s girlfriend.” His father’s girlfriend is Lu, Amelia’s mother and Emily’s aunt. Lu is arguably as vile as Julio. Julio deals in a lot of child trafficking and has been for many years. Emily had gone to her aunt Lu for some help because she’d gotten pregnant as a teenager.
Her aunt gave her false hope by saying a family was prepared to adopt her baby. So Emily, who grew up in a very small rural community in America, could keep her pregnancy a secret. But when she gave birth, her aunt took the child. Only very recently, Emily discovered her daughter was taken into a child trafficking situation run by Santos’ father. Lu knew exactly what she was doing, and you’d think that the baby being of her own blood would make her actually try to help Emily and the child, but it didn’t matter. Lu didn’t just do this to Emily and her daughter, Sierra, but to many other children as well. Thousands, in fact.
“We do.” I don’t beat around the bush with this. Santos has claimed to be honest with me, and now I feel as though I can give him small bits of honesty from me as well.
Santos clears his throat and takes a sip of his wine before he says anything else to me. “She’s in London. I figured that information would be valuable to you.”
I take a sip of my own wine and nod. “It is. Do you know where she’s staying?”
He blinks once before he answers me, “Here, the same hotel as the two of us.”
“I see. Is your father in the city with her?” I wonder if his father came here to micromanage the meetings with Santos. He might feel as though it’ll go better if he’s close by, but little does he know his son has intentions of betraying him. The simple fact makes me want to smile, but I refrain from doing so.
Santos shakes his head. “No, he’s in Mexico currently.”
“So, he sent your almost stepmother to babysit you.”
Santos cackles lightly. “He said it was a coincidence, but you and I both know those don’t exist.”
“Yeah, they don’t. He sent her to watch your every move, and I guarantee she’s up here with us, watching the two of us smile and laugh, reporting back that everything seems to be going well to daddy dearest.”
“I wouldn’t be shocked in the least bit.” Santos grabs one of the dipping sticks with bread on it and dips it into the cheese, twirling it around for a moment before taking it out. He lets it rest for a moment before he brings it over to my lips. “Let’s give her a show then.”
I smirk and bite into the cheesy wonder. Fontina, white wine, and garlic explode over my tastebuds while the hint of nutmeg hits me at the last moment. As I finish chewing, I clear my throat. “We’ve been sitting here for hours at this point. I’m sure we’ve given her quite the show already, and I do have some business to tend to while I’m here.” I’m lying straight through my teeth. I don’t have any business to handle while in the city except my meetings with him, but since I know Lu is here, I’m going to do everything in my power to make sure this woman suffers.
She didn’t just betray Emily in the worst way possible, but she also betrayed her own daughter. Lu gave Amelia’s ex-boyfriend her social security number, birth certificate, and whatever other information he needed to steal her identity. In doing so, he put her in thousands of dollars of debt, which my brother paid off, so she could start her life over. The kicker is the boyfriend didn’t just take directly from Amelia. He got greedy and planned this whole subversive operation to steal money directly from the safe at the club she had just started working for at the time. He was a piece of shit, and Lu is a genuinely bad person. I won’t feel bad for anything I do while I’m here. She deserves everything that’s coming to her.
“I understand. I’ll text you, and we can meet up tomorrow or the day after.” For the first time, Santos isn’t speaking with questions behind his words. He’s speaking like the man I know he is beyond his father’s shadow.
“I’ll be in touch. Thank you for dinner. It was lovely.” I grab my wine to finish the rest of my glass, place it on the table, and lean over to place a kiss on his cheek before going to the pod door. Goran is watching from the restaurant and opens an umbrella, walking across to the pod. I open the sliding door as I walk underneath the safety of the umbrella.
