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I’m cornered, and they’re using Eddy’s suffering to drive their point in.
But instead of making me afraid, it makes me angry. Eddy doesn’t deserve to be abused like this. They don’t have to keep beating him up and sending videos to me about it. Simply kidnapping him and holding him for ransom was enough to send me running across the border with their precious drugs. Everything else has just caused undue misery, and it’s time they paid the price for it.
I shoot off a quick text to Diego, warning him not to hurt Eddy any further. If they kill him, the deal is off. They’re being evil and cruel for no reason.
Even Nikolai, the heavy-handed and formidable Bratva boss, has a code of honor. He’s respectable, even if he is a criminal, and that makes the Cartel look even worse in my eyes.
They don’t deserve to exist in the same world that men like Nikolai exist.
I want them dead.
Every last one of them.
I’ve never wished such harm on anyone before, but the shy girl inside of me has withered away, and she’s been replaced by a burning ball of pure rage. I almost want to call Diego just to scream at him, but I need to keep Eddy’s safety in mind.
We’re getting him back tomorrow.
Upon this realization, relief rushes through me, and I drop my phone on the ground. Tears well in my eyes, and I slump down against the brick wall, burying my face in my hands in a feeble attempt to hide my emotions.
I hear someone say something to me in Spanish, probably thinking I’ve been stood up for a date or some other meaningless trepidation that pales in relation to what I’ve really been through.
The truth is beyond what anyone else could understand, aside from Nikolai. He’s the only one who knows me now. He’s the only one who can make me feel anything but sorrow.
I pick my phone up off the ground and walk back into the club, smearing my makeup as I wipe the tears from my eyes. I can tell people are looking at me, but that doesn’t bother me as much as Nikolai’s expression when he sees me. His laid-back smile melts into a look of deep worry, and I want to run away as he rushes toward me.
“What’s wrong? What’s going on?” he asks, holding me at arm’s length and looking at my face as I try to hide it.
“We need to leave,” I say, shaking my head. “We can’t talk here.”
His whole body stiffens, and his voice drops an octave. “Let’s go.”
He takes charge of the situation, taking my arm and escorting me out of the club and onto the street. I think he’s going to ask me what’s wrong immediately, but he takes me back to the hotel before saying a single word.
Once we’re there, he shuts the door and turns to me, studying me like he’s trying to figure out if I’m hurt.
I’m not hurt physically, but emotionally I’ve been bludgeoned.
“What happened?” he asks, his eyes wide and bordering on frantic.
“I just got a message from Diego. Well, rather several messages. They’ve beaten up Eddy pretty badly, and they’re saying that they’re going to kill him if we don’t meet up tomorrow morning to make the deal.”
“We can’t go tomorrow. Gabriel isn’t ready,” he says, running his fingers through his sweaty hair.
“I’m sure that’s what they want, to catch us off guard.”
“We can’t do that. Tell them we’re not close enough, that we agreed to meet Monday and that’s what we’re doing.”
“No,” I blurt, taking a step back. “We can’t do that to Eddy. They said they would kill him.”
A bitter laugh escapes his mouth. “They’re not going to kill him. They’d lose the drugs and the deal would be off. Tell them we’re sticking to Monday. It’ll give us time to blast their asses out of this country once and for all.”
“I’m not taking that risk,” I reply firmly. “We’re going tomorrow.”
“We’re not,” he says, his voice rising dramatically in volume.
“He’s notyour cousin!You don’t get to make that kind of choice!”
“It doesn’t matter,” he says, jabbing his thumb into his chest. “I’m the one in charge here.”
