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“Taking a hostage.”

“I like to think of it as an opportunity.”

Kruz walked closer. “You might not want to hear this, but we received word this might not be the brainchild of the Turks, although they could be considered an allied partner.”

“Spit it out, Kruz. What are you talking about?”

“The Moroccans.”

“Those pigs are involved in the slave trade industry and little else.” I was appalled, but not necessarily surprised. “Jamal Fassi has been chomping at the bit to bring his sick self into Spain. He’s been waiting for an excuse.”

“Word is they want to branch out,” Navarro added and gave me a strange look. “Plus now, he has muscle.”

I took a deep breath. “True. If the Turks are working with the Moroccans, they could effectively cut off one of our passages. Plus, the Moroccans would have a fresh supply of women to sell.”

“Given they’re both thugs, it would lay a dangerous path for anyone to cross,” Kruz said. He’d obviously been paying closer attention to the possibilities than I’d realized.

“Their alliance would potentially limit our business activities as well.” Navarro buttoned his suit jacket.

Nodding, I checked the ammunition in my Beretta before returning it to my interior pocket. “There are always two ways to skin a cat, gentlemen. However, your concern is duly noted. The question remains. Why kill Julio?”

“Because he had better relations with both France and Germany.”

I shifted my gaze toward Kruz. “They were planning on taking the Morales territory, which would then have us boxed in.”

“Exactly,” Kruz snorted. “There’s something else too. We can’t find much on the Morales Empire.”

My thoughts turned to what little I knew of his business practices. What I did know was that he’d stayed in the background for thirteen years. How strange the timeframe coincided with a personal tragedy. I shook it off, making a mental note to dig deeper. “You’re thinking Morales successfully hid the totality of his business operations.”

Kruz’s eyes lit up. “Think about it. What we might not know the Moroccans may have already discovered.”

The question was. Did Genevieve know?

“That means Ms. Morales is in danger.” I made the statement more to myself. She had no idea how much.

“Perhaps she’ll reconsider doing business with you when she learns.”

I moved toward my desk, grabbing the bouquet of roses I’d asked one of my housekeepers to purchase. “You don’t seem to understand the lovely Genevieve won’t do anything that she doesn’t deem acceptable and I assure you she’d rather take her chances with a Turkish or Moroccan pig than with me.”

What she didn’t know is that as of today, she wouldn’t have a choice.

“She figured you out that quickly?” Kruz asked.

Huffing, I headed toward the door. “Today begins a new chapter. Let’s not fuck it up.”

CHAPTER 11

Genevieve

“Are you okay?” I asked Bella. She was huddling against me, but in the last two days, I’d seen her resolve increase, her strength a source of comfort to me.

“I’m fine. Just tired,” she answered. We were sitting in cold plastic chairs and just sitting here seemed so much more real and defining than the service in the church. I barely remembered anything people had said about him, all the bullshit I’d heard keeping me nauseated.

“Of course you are. Maybe tonight you can sleep.”

She pulled away from me, giving me the first smile I’d seen since hearing about our father’s death. “You haven’t slept either. I’ve heard you pacing the floors.”

“That means you were out of your room.”