Page 17 of Cartel Viper (The Cartel Brotherhood #2)

Chapter Nine

Javier

My gaze darts between my windshield to watch the road ahead of me, and my rearview mirror to ensure Maddy’s still behind me and those two fuck nuts aren’t any closer than two cars behind her.

My fingers ache from how tightly I grip the steering wheel.

My heart’s racing. The knot in my stomach threatens to form a lump in my throat. I haven’t been this scared in years.

I have a healthy fear of death. Having a sense of immortality is the fastest way to prove you’re mortal.

I’m not so ballsy as to believe nothing could kill me.

I know how close to death I live every day.

I know how close the men in my family live to death.

It gives me a respect for life. I often fear for the other members of my family, but it’s been a long time since I’ve felt this level of terror.

Not since I was new to killing. I’m used to my uncles, brothers, and cousins being with me.

Men who are trained for high-speed chases and shootouts.

Not being with a woman who’s never been in a situation like this before.

It took most of the ride to Queens to convince myself that it’s safe for me to lead the way, rather than being a buffer between Maddy and whoever’s chasing us.

But she doesn’t know her way around Queens.

I’m certain of that. It’s not like my family knows every single person who comes in and out of this borough.

However, we have a pretty damn good idea of many, since we track plenty of people and often tap into the city’s street cameras, so we can monitor—shall we say—people of interest. I’ve never seen the car she’s driving before or anybody who resembles Maddy.

I need to be certain we can get to the place I have in mind together without missing turns because she doesn’t know how soon they’re coming up. I glance in my rearview mirror again, and she’s right on my bumper. I take the turn I told her about.

“Maddy, there’s a building coming up on the next block on the left.

I’m going to open the gate. You’re going to follow me through.

There’ll be a ramp to an underground parking garage.

I’m going to pull off to the right, just inside the gate.

You’re going to go down that ramp and park as far into the garage as you can get. ”

“All right, Javi.”

Her voice is stronger than it was when she called me, but there’s no disguising the tremor that remains. She’s completely out of her element.

I click the remote on my visor and the gate crawls open.

Never have I wanted a piece of metal to move faster.

I pull through when it’s only halfway open and swerve to the right.

I’m already pushing the gear stick into park as she follows me through.

My car’s barely stopped moving as I fling the door open.

I’ve already unfastened my seatbelt and am climbing out with my gun in my right hand.

I crouch beside my car, letting three other vehicles pass before I stand.

I recognize the vehicle that was following us.

It tempts me to shoot the driver, then ask the passenger questions.

Instead, I inhale a steadying breath and shoot out the two driver’s side tires.

The car careens to the right before it plows into a streetlight.

Men are already running out of the building that’s above the parking garage I told Maddy to pull into.

These are my family’s men. With guns drawn, they charge across the street.

We’re in a neighborhood my family controls, so no one’s going to ask questions about an unexpected car crash that followed two gunshots.

They won’t ask about any more noises they hear.

People will just stay inside and watch from their windows.

I glance toward the ramp and see no movement. As much as I want to check on Maddy, I need to deal with these men first.

“They’re dead, el patrón .”

“What?”

How are they dead? They didn’t hit the pole that hard. My men didn’t shoot them.

I hurry across the street to where the driver’s side door is open.

It’s obvious neither man was wearing his seatbelt.

Maybe they thought about jumping out as quickly as I did.

Maybe they never had them on to start with.

But the passenger is practically through the windshield.

The driver’s head is between the steering wheel and dashboard, turned at an unnatural angle. He’s half out of his seat too.

“Find out who they are. Deal with them. Deal with the car.”

I spin on my heel and run toward the garage.

Now, I not only need to check on Maddy but ensure she doesn’t come up and see this.

I know she’s a nurse, but I also know she delivers babies.

I’m certain she’s seen a dead body or two, but I don’t know that she’s seen anything this grisly.

There’s blood splattered all over the car’s interior, and both of the bodies are gruesome.

My eyes adapt to the dim light after the bright sunshine.

As I look around, I notice she followed my instructions and parked all the way on the other side of the structure.

I almost wonder if she’s gotten out of the car when I can’t see her.

She must see me because her head pops up.

She was leaning across the passenger seat.

She doesn’t open her door, instead winding the window down a couple inches.

“It’s all right, chiquita . You can come out. I’m going to take you inside the building. I have somewhere safe for you.”

“All right.” She sounds much more confident now than she did before.

As I look back up the ramp, I realize she has an obscured view of the car that chased us.

She can’t see the front half or the light post, but she can tell the car isn’t sitting on the street properly.

I look down at her, and she’s watching me with an expectant expression.

I merely shake my head. She glances back toward the street before meeting my gaze and nodding.

“I suppose a nurse won’t help.”

I shake my head again. She winds up her window and turns off her car as I open the door for her.

Once she’s standing, our arms wrap around each other, and I hold her as tightly as I can.

Her head burrows against my chest as she releases a shuddering sigh.

It takes me a moment to realize my exhale matches hers.

I finally have a sense of relief even though I know it’s temporary since there’s shit to sort out.

I have obvious questions for her, but they can wait.

She kicks the door closed behind her since I didn’t open it all the way just in case she needed to slip back in quickly and take off or barricade herself in there. I’m still situationally aware even though I’m focused on her.

“Javi, I’m sure you have to deal with whatever happened out there, but when we get inside, will you stay with me for a minute?”

“ Chiquita , I’m not letting you out of my sight or my reach until I’m satisfied you’re okay.”

She can tell me whatever she wants because I know she’ll try to reassure me once she believes we’re out of imminent danger.

But until I’m convinced she’s safe and assured I can protect her, I’m not going anywhere.

My men will clean up for me. They’ll dispose of the bodies; they’ll sweep the car, then strip it.

There’s a good chance they’ll take it to one of our salvage yards and instead of crush it, set it ablaze.

We have space for controlled burns. Sometimes we need to ensure there’s no evidence left behind, and merely smashing a car isn’t always enough.

I keep my arm wrapped around her shoulders as I guide her into the building.

I don’t expect my cousin to be there, and I barely hide my grimace when Pablo recognizes Maddy.

His eyes widen as his gaze darts between her and me.

I feel Maddy lean against me more, which I didn’t think was possible since I’m practically holding her up.

She’s known Pablo longer than me and was far closer to him for years, but she doesn’t rush to him. She barely acknowledges him with more than a weak smile. I’m the one she still depends on.

Guilt prickles at me for how satisfying that realization is.

“Hi, Pablo, what’re you doing here?”

“I heard the crash, but I was on a call.”

“I’ll explain later.”

I jump in before Maddy can say anything, since I’m uncertain how much I want Pablo to know yet. I’m unaccustomed to keeping secrets from anyone in my family, but this involves Maddy’s safety. It’s not like I think Pablo would jeopardize her, but there are still too many unknowns.

Until I can talk to Maddy about who those men are, I don’t need any extra hands in this cookie jar.

“Is anyone in the office right now?”

Pablo’s watching Maddy as he shakes his head.

I steer us past him, and now he watches me.

I shoot him a look of warning, which surprises him even more, but he says nothing.

He doesn’t follow us as Maddy and I make our way to the elevator.

He understands I want to speak to her alone.

He’ll take it up after we reach the office, and he’ll find something else to do.

We ride up in silence, and when we step into the hallway, I tilt my head away as I spot some of our men outside the back entrance to the storefront that’s supposedly just a liquor store.

Maddy and the general public don’t need to know we run an illegal gambling ring in the basement, which is a floor above the underground parking garage.

We keep men in this interior hallway because our operations here aren’t a well-kept secret from our chief rivals: the mob, bratva, and Mafia. They’ll stay away until I tell them to return. No one in the store’s front will know I have Maddy in the office.