Page 101 of Cartel Rose (Jorge)

“We wish we had more to tell you. For right now, everyone needs some sleep. We’re all exhausted. We know it was impossible for you to relax while you waited, but it’s the best thing we can do.”

My mom’s stare is a million miles away as she heads upstairs. Heidi and Friedrich soon follow her, my sister’s boyfriend carrying her as she silently cries. Jorge slips his hand into mine, and we bring up the rear. Joaquin and Alejandro remain downstairs despite what Joaquin said about them being exhausted too.

“They’ll sleep down here. Joaquin’s practically an insomniac anyway, so I’m sure he’ll check a few things before passing out one of the sofas.”

“Are they guarding the front door? Do they not trust Hisham’s men?” I keep my voice down, not wanting anyone to overhear me.

“We definitely trust the men. It’s just what we do when we’re somewhere other than our own homes. At least two of us are the first line of defense when we’re protecting our family.”

Our family.

It warms me all the way to my toes that they consider my family and me as part of theirs. All three men have since the beginning. It speaks to the deeply ingrained sense of loyalty, honor, and duty they possess.

Once we’re inside the bedroom, we both get undressed and climb into bed. I wrap myself around Jorge’s side, resting my head on his chest. His fingertips trails along my back as he hums a lullaby.

My tears begin with a slow trickle before they’re flowing. I’ve tried so hard to keep them at bay, but the cumulative effect of the past week slams into me now that I’m in Jorge’s arms again.I only cry when he’s here for me to lean on. Around him, I don’t have to be strong for anyone else.

When I shudder a sigh and the tears slow, my mind reaches the point of releasing control. We move at the same time, wrapping my hand around his semi-hard cock. It lengthened when he saw me naked just like I grew wet when I saw him. Neither of us acted on our bodies’ reactions at first. But now we know what we need.

It’s the same thing we did after he spanked me. It’s not sex. It’s deeper than that. When he’s fully hard, I straddle him and take him into my pussy. Instead of just humming, Jorge sings to me.

“Duérmete niña, duérmete tú, antes que venga el currucutú. Duérmete niña, duérmete tú. Antes que venga. El guanaguana. Qui-qui-ri-qui.”

When we come to the end of the song, I kiss his neck and lean back.

“What does it mean?”

“Go to sleep child, go to sleep, you, before the screech owl comes. Go to sleep child, go to sleep, you, before the black skimmer bird comes. Caw, caw, caw, caw. My mother sang it to my brothers and me.”

“I never would’ve imagined you have such a rich voice. It’s like listening to honey.”

He chuckles, and his cock flexes inside me. I moan and rock my hips twice before I settle.

“Thank you,chiquita. I sang in a boys’ church choir until my voice broke. Then in college, I sang in an acapella group.”

“Like in the movies?”

That really makes him laugh. “Hardly, but it was the only time I didn’t feel uncomfortable being in front of people. I actually minored in vocal performance.”

I sit up and cup his face, kissing his forehead, the tip of his nose, and then his lips.

“You’re truly a Renaissance man. Is there anything you can’t do?”

“Well, besides when I’m singing, I loathe being the center of attention, even though sometimes work forces me to be.”

As I study his expression, I know he means more than just presenting before boards or interviewing them. Sharing something that makes him so vulnerable completely calms me. I feel like I can tackle whatever the next conversation will be.

“Tonight was about luring out whoever’s responsible. We focused on the most likely suspects, but we didn’t get anything definitive. I don’t want to beat a dead horse,chica, but I’m going to anyway. I’m sure you must’ve thought about previous clients when all of this started. Was there really no one at all? Not even a twinge of concern? Maybe, just maybe, there’s something you haven’t thought of yet.”

“There were the Kutsenkos, but they were always strictly business, and everything I learned looked like the deals were above board. We had some California tech guys who wanted to invest through crypto. I wasn’t entirely convinced at the time, and I’m not convinced now that the assets were legally obtained. I’m not sure they were theirs to spend, but all of the profit they made from those transactions got reinvested back into their company. I didn’t question it too hard. There were three Spaniards who used us about a year and a half ago. However, all three of them are now in jail for tax evasion that they were already committing, but we never knew about.”

“I—”

“Jorge! Jorge!”

We hear Jorge’s brother thundering down the hall.

“¡Joaquín, no entres!”