Page 29 of Cartel Rose (Jorge)

Not true.

I absolutely could’ve stopped if she insisted, but her objections were half-hearted at best. It wasn’t like I spanked her indiscriminately, just spanking her as many times as I could before my hand hurt. She got twenty-five, which I know is a lot. I didn’t do it out of anger. I did it as a punishment and to prove a point. I don’t think she noticed the last fifteen were far lighter than the first ten. Her ass already hurt by then.

She needs to understand I take her safety seriously. I’m unwavering in my promise to protect her, even if it’s from her foolish or mistaken choices. She needs to understand my will is unbendable. I’ll consider what she has to say, but when I decide something is for the best, she won’t beg or argue her way out of it.

I noticed how she rubbed her cunt against me for the last few spankings. I bet she was wet by the end. I kept her as close to myknees as I could without her falling off my lap, so she wouldn’t feel how hard I was. Her ass is perfection. Perfectly round, soft to the touch but firm when she clenches. My dick wants me to bend her over the sofa and fuck her from behind.

She may be attracted to me, but she has a boyfriend. One she lives with. It was a moment of weakness for her during an already stressful time. I only added to it by spinning her world around with a spanking. But I’m certain she wanted me to kiss her the first time I drew her against me in the suite’s living room. I think she would have accepted it the second time too.

“Tío,nosotros tenemos una situacion.” Uncle, we have a situation.

I’m certain mytíoEnrique doesn’t want to hear that after he greets me.

“¿Qué pasó?” What happened?

We continue in Spanish. As far as I know, Liesel doesn’t speak the language. Maybe she picked up some while studying in the U.S., but she’s not fluent. I don’t want her to understand anything she overhears. I ordered the food as much to comfort her as I did to occupy her.

“Gunter’s hand showed up in a box on Anneliese’s desk. She recognized his wedding ring.”

“Were you there when it arrived?”

“No. I was in the area when she called.”

“Convenient.”

He knows I didn’t just happen to be there. The drawback to my generation being carbon copies of his generation is that they know what we’re thinking before we even formulate the idea.

“I brought her to my suite. I don’t know what’s going on, but if a courier can deliver a package like that, then she’s not safe there.”

“Do you believe whoever’s the leak is responsible? Do you think they killed Gunter?”

“Either is possible, but I’m not convinced. You know what Gunter’s brother is like.”

“True. Gunter may be pompous, but he always came across as harmless compared to Clyde Schlossberg. Joaquin, check if Clyde is at home in Munich right now.”

I knew I was on speakerphone from the sound quality. I guess at least one of my brothers is there. I figured mytíojust wanted to be hands-free. It’s Alejandro who speaks next, so my cousin is with them.

“We’ve never worked with Clyde before, but Sean has. It was back when he was dating Nicolina. Remember? Her brother—shitbag that Ewan is—was trying to do a deal with them up in Boston. Sean fucked him over with that to get back at Ewan for being a douche to Nicolina.”

“Yeah, and the O’Rourkes made a killing off the goods they stole from Ewan. They invested half through Clyde, so he still made a profit. It wasn’t what it was supposed to be, but Clyde knew not to bite the hand that feeds him.”

The gang’s all here. That was Pablo. I’m sure Javier will have something to say soon.

“Gunter doesn’t seem that smart.”

Javier’s an introvert just like Joaquin and me, but he generally just doesn’t like other people. At least not ones outside our family. He’s an old soul—by sixteen, he was a jaded misanthrope.

“It wouldn’t surprise me if he pissed someone else off enough for them to do this. Joaquin, I still need your help. Did you make any progress?”

“Not yet.”

I swallow my aggrieved sigh. “I’m not prepared to reveal to Anneliese that I tapped her office phone. If I ask her about anything I’ve heard, she’ll know.”

“And when it comes out, she’ll be pissed.”

“Yes, Javier. I know.”Fucking Captain Obvious.

“Snippy.”