AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Before I can react, Louis bursts out laughing and turns to face the Mexicans. “Do you think it will be that easy? No, Señor Gerardo. First, you have to tell us what you’re ready to pay to get your princessalive.”
A moment later, Louis takes out his gun and points it at Jacinta, still keeping his mocking gaze on Gerardo. At the same time, Hector takes the cover off her eyes and removes the gag from her mouth, allowing her to cough and gasp for a deeper breath. Something in my chest tightens as I watch Jacinta try to blink through the lights blinding her when Hector follows Louis’ cue and presses the barrel of his gun to her temple.
Shit, shit, they can’t—
“You are animals!” Gerardo yells all of a sudden, making everyone startle. He still tries to keep his expression calm, but his rage is so strong it turns his face into a grimace. “You aren’t worth a tip of her toe. How dare you treat her like that?”
Following his lead, the rest of his men start yelling at us in Spanish, cursing over each other and pointing their guns at us, probably threatening us to let her go. But none of them shoots a single bullet—because they all know that it may cost Jacinta her life.
Goddamnit.
It may cost Jacinta herlife.
I feel sick at the thought of losing her tomy own men—but I know I can’t just take her away. Not anymore. Neither Louis nor Gerardo will allow me to save her from the danger; in fact, if I make an attempt at kidnapping her again, they may shoot both of us. Shit. Think, Paolo,think.
“God, those idiots,” I hear Louis grumble before he tries to push past me to the Mexicans, but I don’t let him. I push him back, and Louis looks at me with frustration. “Paolo, I told you—”
“I know, I know.” I pat his shoulder, clearing the air between us, and look at Gerardo. “Let me handle this.”
Because it’s the only thing I can do to make sure Jacinta remains safe and alive. If I can’t keep her to myself, I have to get her out of here—and that means going forward with the negotiations as if it was the original plan. Even if it means that, to satisfy both Louis and Gerardo, I have to lose Jacinta forever.
For a few seconds, Louis studies me with a hesitant frown, but in the end, he nods and steps back, giving me a free pass to the center of the circle. Well, it’s time to play. As soon as I step forward, a few Mexicans point their guns at me, urging our men to do the same in defense, but Gerardo raises his hand and switches his attention to me.
“Are you ready to talk now?” He purses his lips, still bearing the traces of frustration, and steps forward as well.
But isn’t that too bold for a man in his position? I raise my chin and quirk an eyebrow. “I’m ready to listen.”
For a tense moment, Gerardo simply looks me in the eyes, testing my nerve, but I grew up in the most powerful crime group of Chicago. This is nothing to me. I don’t budge, keeping my shoulders straight and my gaze calm and collected, and eventually Gerardo huffs and looks to the side, glancing at Jacinta.
“What do you want? Tell me the price, and I’ll pay it.”
Oh, that’s funny. I chuckle and shake my head, hearing amused huffs behind my back. “Why would I want your money? We have enough to last for decades.”
“Then what?” Gerardo snarls, glaring at me. “I want my daughter back, so—”
“And I want my men back, but you and your fucking rats killed them.”
“So what?” He laughs with a screech of steel in his voice. “I am a criminal, you are a criminal, everyone here is. We’ve all killed each other a hundred times,sowhat?”
“So now, I’m tired of your bullshit.” I take a step toward Gerardo, holding his gaze and ignoring multiple clicks of gun hammers. “Step back and leave my people alone, or the next murder on my list will beher.”
I point at Jacinta without looking back, and I see Gerardo’s gaze instinctively follow the motion and dart to his daughter. God, I hate putting Jacinta in this position, I hate making her the target of our attention—but she’s the only person who can force Gerardo to accept my conditions. And it works.
He clenches his jaw and frowns harder, clearly fighting himself. His gaze remains trained on Jacinta, and I have to give him credit, it looks like he genuinely cares about her. Because after a few seconds of tense silence, Gerardo spits on the ground in front of me and looks up.
“Deal.”
I quirk an eyebrow. “No, that’s only the first part of it.”
“Who the hell do you think you are?” Gerardo immediately shoves me away, and I hear the men around us immediately start yelling at each other. Even Louis calls me back, clearly ready to agree on Gerardo’s conditions, but I don’t respond.
I step back, fix my jacket, and look him in the eyes. “I am the one who holds your daughter’s life in my hands, so if I’m saying it’s not done, it’s not fucking done.”
Gerardo glares at me for a long moment, but eventually, he says through gritted teeth, “What else do you want?”
“Our territories. All of them. You have no right to claim them as yours.”
“We’ve fought for them!”
