Page 57

Maybe the years of being alone had finally gotten to me.

I’d called a meeting at our largest warehouse. We were set for a major shipment heading into several countries in Europe. The deals I’d procured were worth tens of millions. It was risky to ship so much product, but I’d planned it carefully over the last three months.

Given the climate, I wanted another round of assurances nothing would go wrong.

Both Kruz and Navarro were already at the facility waiting, there to provide me with a preliminary report. They knew why I was doing this. It wasn’t about being nervous but about remaining cautious. I’d learned a long time ago never to go off halfcocked with any decision.

I’d seen that happen one too many times; the result always ended badly, usually with a bloody death.

“You’re late,” Navarro told me.

“I had my reasons.”

“Does it have anything to do with Ms. Morales?” Kruz asked. I’d sent them both home, preferring not to be bothered. Plus, I needed them as watchdogs in case on my night off anything out of the ordinary occurred.

“It has everything to do with her,” I admitted.

Kruz whistled. “You spent all night and all day with her? That must have been some kind of meeting.”

I glared at him. I’d spent the better part of the afternoon doing what she asked while calling in favors and discovering everything I could about the Morales operations. They were more refined than I’d originally believed. “What about the shipment schedule?”

“We’re on track,” Kruz offered. “There are no issues, the buyers already wiring the required deposit.”

“Good. Keep it that way.” I glanced around the larger facility. We’d almost been raided twice, both times coming close to forcing my arrest. I’d ordered appropriate hits on family members, the reminder decent enough that the heat had quieted down. What I didn’t know about the Moroccans was whether they’d made connections that could break my stronghold on the police and other operations.

“What about Morales? What is she going to do?” Navarro broached. He was often a man of few words, getting to the point quicker than most. I preferred that in my men. He’d come up through the ranks, still considered my top hitman. He had no qualms pulling the trigger or pulling out any other weapon as ordered.

“She’s considering my recommendations. Did Marco get home safely?”

“He did,” Kruz said, scratching his head. “I’m surprised you allowed him to leave.”

“Every once in a while, finesse is a useful tool.”

“The kid wants to join our operations,” Navarro said in passing. He knew that would never happen.

I laughed as I glanced at the pallets of cocaine. I was eager to get them out of the warehouse. “He has no idea what he wants.”

“What he wants is nothing to do with his sister. He swore allegiance to the Torres family and would destroy his sister if we wanted.”

If there was one thing that pissed me off, it was an ungrateful family member. I’d also had my share of that over the years, including from a cousin currently running a cartel in Mexico. Bastard. “That won’t happen.”

“What are you offering to her?”

I slowly turned my head toward Kruz. “Marriage.”

“You’re kidding me.”

“Do I ever kid about anything involving business?”

The two men looked at each other. Kruz knew better than anyone that questioning me wasn’t good for his physical health. He bore the scars of a discussion we’d had years before.

“I can keep more control over her while expanding operations. In turn, she has legitimate protection and can allow me to do the dirty work. She has a legitimate corporation we can lean on while we have more muscle and stronger pipelines. I’d call it a win-win.”

“If you say so.” I took a step towards Kruz and he threw up his hands. “I’m just suggesting she’s a wildcat. You’ve seen that yourself.”

With a deep breath taken, I thought about how much I hungered to tame the feisty woman while not breaking her spirit. “Yes, I do know.”

What she also didn’t have was a tight core of leaders. While I suspected the two men who’d been with her when she’d arrived at my house the first time were trusted, I had no clue if they were privy to the type of information I allowed both Kruz and Navarro. Maybe that had worked to her father’s benefit.