Page 18 of Ashes

Omar’s hands curled into fists at his sides and Antoni’s shoulders stiffened as he braced himself for what was about to unfold.

Barrera broke the silence first. “Antoni,” he bit out, his eyes narrowing as he looked over at Sienna’s father. Barrera’s body was exuding rage in waves and the tension in the room could be cut with a blunt knife.

Before Antoni could respond, his daughter chimed in once my words finally filtered through her mind. “Collect?” she questioned, her gaze going back and forth between me and her father.

Dread settled over Antoni’s features.

J’ai hâte d’être témoin du chaos que sa confession va créer.

“Sienna, forgive me,” he said, giving her an apologetic look, his tone full of remorse.

“Forgive you for what,Father?” she muttered, spewing that last word. “What is he talking about?” she asked, furrowing her brows, attempting to put the pieces together.

I noticed movement at her side and looked down to find her index finger drumming against her thigh in a sequenced motion.

Interesting.

“You, love,” I answered in his place, turning my attention to her.

Her tapping paused and she whipped her head around, glaring at me. She clenched her teeth and the drumming resumed. “I wasn’t talking to you,” she snapped right as Barrera’s men came out of their hiding places and pointed their guns at me.

I tsked and fixed my gaze on the man who might be the answer I was looking for. “I wouldn’t let your men do that if I were you.”

“You don’t know who you’re dealing with,” Omar replied in a cold tone.

Being face to face with Barrera made me want to put a bullet into his brain, but Kai’s voice nagged at me to remind me that killing the head of the Moroccan cartel wouldn’t bode well for me.

I’d never been told much about what had happened the night of the fire and since I had hit my head pretty badly that night, my concussion had caused the majority of my memories before then to grow blurred and distorted.

But throughout the years, fragments of the past, ofwhispered arguments between my parents fought back to be remembered.

Noah had always reassured me that there was nothing to worry about and that the fire was accidental, but something deep inside pushed me to look further into it because things weren’t adding up.

Their case files were sealed, but since the media was in a frenzy back then at the bureau coming after such an influential family, I was able to find who my dad and Noah were after.

The Barreras.

However, the cartel was only a piece of the puzzle. I needed to find out exactly who had ordered to turn my family into ashes.

“I know exactly who I’m dealing with, which is why the more you prolong your little”—I waved my finger around the room, pointing at his men—“theatrics, the worse it’ll be for you.”

Omar nodded at his men and their fingers twitched over their respective triggers. “I?—”

I cut him off. “Why don’t I save us some time and tell you exactly how this is going to go. I just need to grab Sienna, since her dad owes me, and you can all go back to enjoying the rest of your evening.”

“And what if we don’t?” Omar’s tone was condescending. He thought he had the upper hand, but he was about to find out just how wrong he was.

Let’s toy with him a little.

“Open your accounts and see for yourself.”

He laughed at me. “What accounts?”

I didn’t dignify his foolish question with a response and quirked a brow up.

He laughed at me again, but it quickly died down when I didn’t react to his patronizing behavior. He gave me an incredulous look. “You’re lying.”

I tilted my head. “Why don’t you see for yourself.”