Page 6

I push away and take several steps back. I run my hands over my pants and around my waist to straighten my shirt. I rake my fingers through my hair, which I hadn’t realized he fisted until he had to let go as I shifted from his reach.

“You think you’re going to knock me up, then force me to marry you? Consider this the only chance you’ll ever have to touch me. It was a mistake I won’t make twice.”

“I’ve never forced a woman to do anything, and I definitely won’t have to force you to marry me.”

“You arrogant bastard.”

“When’s the last time you kissed Domingo like that? ... Thought so.”

I hesitated a moment too long.

“Domingo is none of your business. I’m leaving.”

“Because you assume you know the type of man I am.”

“Because I’m marrying someone else in a few weeks.”

That makes me want to vomit.

I push against Esteban’s chest as he pulls me against him again. It’s half-hearted at best.

“Did you dream about me the last two nights like I’ve dreamed about you? Are you going home to fuck him while you picture me?”

“You are a twisted, arrogant bastard.”

“That’s not a no.”

“You planning to fuck some bitch while thinking of me?”

“Definitely not.”

I raise my foot to stomp on his foot.

Cabrón . Asshole.

“Lucy, I’m not fucking anyone who isn’t you.”

His declaration surprises even him. We stare at each other.

“I can’t do this, Esteban. It’s so fucking wrong. I have to go.”

“Purely because Domingo is waiting for you?”

“What I said earlier about Domingo is true. He’s all of those things, but most importantly, he’s loyal to my father. That matters more to me than anything.”

“That’s very valiant of you, but his loyalty won’t make your happy five, ten, fifty years from now.”

“My happiness doesn’t matter to you.”

“For reasons I haven’t figured out, it does.”

“I’m not making an observation.”

He grins, and it’s the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen.

“Are you commanding me, chiquita ?”

“Stop calling me that. Why do you call me that?”

“Commanding and demanding. I usually don’t find those so alluring, but I’ll make an exception for you.”

“ Cabrón .”

“Such a dirty mouth. I can think of something to wash it out with.”

I move faster than he expects. I stomp on his foot, and my elbow goes to his sternum as I twist. I know I can’t easily punch him in the face or even the throat, so I go for his diaphragm instead.

My brothers taught me that. I take one step toward the door before Esteban hauls me back against him.

His cock wedged between my ass and his breath against my ear make me shiver again.

“A dirty mouth and a dirty mind. Soap, chica .”

“You say that now. We both know what you meant before.”

“You jumped to that conclusion, which tells me you’re thinking about us.”

“There’s no us. You work for my tío . That makes you utterly despicable. Maybe you’d be good for a quick fuck now that I know you kiss like a porn star, but you’ll never prove it because you’ll never touch me again.”

“You only know what you’ve heard about me, Lucy. Make sure you heard right before you assume you know me.”

He lets me go and slips out of the room like he was never in here. Like we weren’t practically mauling each other. Like I didn’t practically commit adultery.

What the fuck have you done?!

I’ve never cheated on any guy before. Never. Not even come close to it, even when I’ve found other men attractive. Not even when I’ve been too drunk to make good decisions.

I want to regret it. I know I should regret it.

But I don’t.

That makes me a horrible, horrible person.

I’m in a committed relationship. I’m marrying Domingo in like six or seven weeks, and I just had another man’s tongue down my throat. As though that isn’t bad enough, I liked it. I’d do it again if not for Domingo and my tío .

Esteban, Esteban wherefore art thou Esteban?

Why does he have to be him? Why can’t he be someone—anyone—besides a man who works for Tío Humberto?

I fish around in my purse for my phone before pulling up my contacts and hitting the second one.

“Ana? Is everything okay?”

“Enrique, what do you know about Esteban Cardenas?”

I can’t believe I just blurted that out.

Why isn’t he answering me immediately? I’m certain he has to know who he is.

“How do you know Esteban, Ana?”

“Don’t answer me with a question. You’re trying to give yourself time to come up with a lie. Tell me the truth. What do you know about him?”

“His family is from Medellín. They control the poppy fields up there. His family works with ours.”

“ Papá or Tío Humberto?”

“ Papá .”

“Then why have I heard his name linked to our tío ? Why did he enter the restaurant I’m in with three of tío’s men?”

“He isn’t his father. He chooses who he works for.”

My brother’s being purposely vague. It means he knows a shit ton more than he’ll tell me. I assumed he would, but this is a sign there’s nothing good that can come of this conversation.

“Did something happen with him, Ana? Did he scare you?”

“No.” That’s the truth.

“Did Domingo do something, and Esteban stepped in at the restaurant?”

“What? No. Why would you think that?”

“Tell me the truth, Ana. I know papá ’ s asked you this, but I don’t believe you’ve told him the truth. Does Domingo have a temper?”

“He’s never hurt me, Kiko.”

I’ve used that nickname for my older brother since I started to talk but couldn’t say Enrique.

“That isn’t what I asked. I know he won’t hurt you. You’d stab him or shoot him if he did. But does he have a temper? Will he try to intimidate you? Scare you?”

“You’re avoiding the reason I called.”

“No, I’m not. I want to know if the real reason is because Domingo did something.”

“How do you know I’m with Domingo? I only said I was in a restaurant. I didn’t say who with.”

“You think I haven’t pulled up your tracker and Domingo’s? You call me at nearly eleven at night asking me about an enforcer, and you don’t think I looked up where you are and where your fiancé is? Did Esteban do something, and Domingo didn’t protect you? I’ll ki?—”

“No. Nothing like that at all. Stop, Kiko. Your imagination is running away with you. It made me nervous to see Paco, Chuy, and Cokie walk into a restaurant with him.”

Francisco, Jesus, and Jorge Hierro are men Enrique and Luis can’t stand.

The three brothers used to pick fights with mine until Enrique put Paco in the hospital for nearly a month with a stab wound to his kidneys.

Chuy thought to defend his older brother and went after Luis, not knowing Cokie would try to attack me while Luis and I headed to tennis courts in our neighborhood.

Luis lost his mind when he saw Cokie reach for me.

He was half an inch from slicing Chuy’s jugular and didn’t finish the kill, so he could get to me.

Cokie discovered my brothers weren’t the only ones who carried knives.

He’s legally blind in his right eye because I almost skewered it.

I only had time to nick it before Luis launched himself at Cokie.

“Leave now, Ana. I don’t care if you and Domingo haven’t finished dinner. I don’t want you around the Hierro brothers.”

“I know. But should I fear Esteban because he’s with them? I’ve seen him around a few times recently, but he wasn’t with any of tío’s men. He is tonight.”

“No. You don’t know Esteban, but I do. He won’t touch my sisters.”

I suck my lips in as I look over my shoulder at where Esteban and I stood as we practically dry humped each other.

“If you say so.”

“Ana—”

“Yeah?”

My brother rarely pauses when he’s speaking. If he has something to say, he’s already thought it through.

“If anything happens, you can trust Esteban. He’s the only man anywhere near Tío Humberto that you can.”

“What do you mean? Why are you telling me that? Kiko, is something going to happen?”

“No. I know how things appear, but you know in our world it’s never that simple. Esteban and Matáis are the only men outside our family I trust completely.”

What the fuck? He didn’t say Domingo.

“Why are you letting me marry a man you don’t trust?”

“Luciana?”

How much did Domingo hear?