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Alejandro stepped forward, but as he did, he lifted the back of his jacket slightly, showing her the gun he had in the small of his back.
Right. If she had to, she’d go for his gun. Nerves jangled and she felt ill. She hated guns. She didn’t know why, but she always had.
Still, this might be the only way to save them.
But that feeling of being ill only grew worse as they stepped into the foyer and she saw Doomy Gloomy.
He was tied to a chair in the middle of the foyer, a bleeding cut on his forehead and one eye swollen shut. There was another cut beside his mouth.
“Bernie!” she cried, trying to move around Alejandro to get to him.
“Cat, quiet,” Alejandro ordered, pulling her back behind him.
“No, no. Let her talk. And do not push her away. I didn’t come all this way not to see her.”
Huh? He was here to see her? But why? She didn’t even know this guy.
Bernie didn’t move. It looked like he’d passed out. Was that how they’d gotten in here? Had they somehow threatened him?
“Why would you come here to see my wife?” Alejandro asked. “She doesn’t have anything to do with my business. And neither does Bernard. So why don’t we let the two of them leave with a guard and you and I can talk about whatever brought you here.”
She glanced around Alejandro’s back to look around. Emiliano was standing right next to Bernie. He was actually a good looking man. Tall and muscular. There was some gray interspersed with his black hair and some lines around his brown eyes that spoke of his years.
He wasn’t holding a gun, but the four men he had brought with him were all armed and aiming their guns right at them.
She gulped heavily. Why were they here? What did they want?
“Why would I do that when she is the one I came for?” Emiliano asked smoothly.
“What the fuck are you talking about?” Alejandro asked, pushing her fully behind him again.
“Get away from her or my men will shoot,” Emiliano said.
“Alejandro,” she whispered. “Please. Step aside.”
There had to be some reason this guy wanted her. She didn’t know what it could be, though. She’d only caught a brief glimpse of him when they were in Mexico. Otherwise, she knew nothing about him.
“How did you get in here?” Alejandro demanded. “And what exactly do you want? Because if it’s my wife, you’re not taking her.”
Emiliano smiled. It was a dark, cold smile. “But I am. Because I have a prior claim to her.”
“What the fuck are you talking about?” Alejandro snapped.
A prior claim? What the hell?
“Getting to you wasn’t easy. However, I’m a patient man and I knew if I sent some men up here to observe you both that a way would present itself. You keep her tightly under wraps, don’t you, Alejandro? That, I understand. Women are fragile and make stupid decisions. They need to be controlled.”
“Whoa, let me guess, you’re single, aren’t you?” she spat out.
“Cat,” Alejandro warned.
“Quiet, child!” Emiliano snarled. “You’ll not speak unless spoken to.”
She opened her mouth, but Alejandro reached back and squeezed her hand. She knew without him saying anything that he wanted her to let him handle this.
“My men observed this one coming and going to a house out in Brooklyn around once a week.” Emiliano pointed at Bernard. “Without any sort of security. That was lax of you.”
Alejandro stiffened at the criticism.
“So I flew up here last week. And we waited until my men saw him leaving this house. We followed him and threatened the woman he was meeting with.”
What? Bernie had a girlfriend?
“I left a man back with his female companion to gain his compliance. Then we had him let us in. Your men were caught unprepared.”
“Are they all right?” Alejandro asked grimly.
“There might be a few casualties,” Emiliano allowed.
Oh God. Who would have been here? Aaron maybe. She didn’t know who else. Lord, she hoped they were all right.
“I also sent some of my men around to deal with your hacker guy.”
Did he mean Nighthawk? Oh God.
“How did you find him?” Alejandro asked.
“I’ll admit, that was difficult. But I have my own . . . talent, let’s say. Your man is the main reason it took me so long to come and retrieve my property.”
Property? Motherfucker was going down! She clenched her hands into fists.
“Is he alive?” Alejandro asked.
Oh God. Please let Nighthawk be alive. She couldn’t believe this was happening.
Emiliano shrugged. “You should protect your people better.”
“Hey, that’s not fair!” she protested.
“Be quiet!” Emiliano roared.
Holy. Shit.
Okay, she nearly peed herself as he glared at her. This guy . . . he was terrifying. There was rage in his eyes. What would happen if he snapped?
“I can see I’m going to have to reprogram you, just as I had to with your mother. She’s been punished for keeping you from me. And she might need to be punished further for allowing you to grow up acting like this.”
