Page 86 of Devil's Property

The Alcarez Cartel’s compound was in the middle of fucking nowhere, the area surrounded by wasteland, wild animals, dead bodies, and angry spirits. So the local folklore suggested. What they had in land they’d lost in security, the drone pictures indicating the cartel leader had faith that his exotic predatory wildlife would maintain a safe zone.

Not on my watch.

Animals were flesh and blood, nothing a bullet wouldn’t take care of.

“You’re certain you want to do this?” Jago asked.

What I was certain of was that men would die today by my bare hands.

I was driving to burn off some goddamn steam, Jago beside me. Kruz was in another vehicle while the star of the show, my sweet yet frustrating guest was sitting in the back. Dressed in dark fatigues like we were in a war. She had her hair in a ponytail, the knife she’d used to try to gut me attached at her hip.

Had I been trusting enough to provide Fallon with a gun? Yes, I had. Now I was uncertain the decision wouldn’t come back to haunt me. The one thing I could say with certainty was that she looked the part of an assassin.

That bothered the hell out of me. Maybe a slight part of me was more chauvinistic than I’d ever thought before.

She shouldn’t be in the line of fire. Fallon should be sitting by the fire nursing a drink, waiting patiently for my return. Like rescuing a girl held like some crazed criminal and killing anyone who stood in my way was a typical day at the office.

Exhaling, I rubbed my finger across my bottom lip while still staring in the rearview mirror.

The moment I felt a tingle of heat in my chest, I knew she’d caught my gaze. Our brigade was far removed from civilization, few lights along the way, but I didn’t need to see her eyes to know they were laced with the same venom as our first night together.

With an added dimension.

Continued lust.

Perhaps considering this war was how I should think about what we were doing. Headed to a war. There would be a battle tonight and someone would lose.

And it wasn’t going to be our party.

“I’m not certain about anything except I want the motherfuckers burned to the ground.”

“Hostile today. It’s funny how being around a powerful woman can do that to you.” He laughed and I gritted my teeth, my hold on the steering wheel tightening.

“I’ll handle her. But she’s not to be placed in harm’s way.” As if that was possible.

“I’ll see what I can do.”

We were headed into a desolate area, a location known only as the Devil’s Point. Any why? Because the Alcarez Cartel leader was a true sadist, what many of the locals called thebestia demoniaca del infierno. Demon beast from hell. Catchy. The locals had yet to learn we were the true lords of hell.

“What did you say or do to Eduardo to encourage him to provide us with additional troops?” There were at least a hundred and fifty of Eduardo’s soldiers trailing behind us, every man prepared for a shit storm and a possibility of excessive funerals. That was the way of our world, something that couldn’t be avoided.

“I simply told him his empire was in peril. I have no issues taking control of his territory even from Barcelona. We’ll simply keep a handful of our men, nurture others to join with decent incentives and provide a permanent leader. Eduardo isn’t a stupid man although he does ridiculous things. He knows I’m dead serious.”

“I won’t be volunteering for a bump in pay.”

Jago laughed. “Don’t worry, Navarro. I wouldn’t dream of it. You’re not cut out for living in squalor.”

I threw him a look, shaking my head. “I’m not the one with expensive tastes. I am curious. What incentives would you offer?”

“All the usuals. Better pay. Better benefits. More vacation and matching their investments.”

“You mean you explained to him we were attacking the people responsible for putting him in the hospital.”

Jago snorted. “Something like that.”

If anyone would have suggested twenty years ago that at some point in the future the world of the Torres Cartel would be handled like any other legal corporation, I would have put a bullet in their brain. We’d been ruthless in our activities, true savages who left broken bones, destroyed families, and bodies in our wake.

We’d worked hard and played harder, acting as if we had the world in the palms of our hands and that no one could touch us.