Page 104 of Faded Gray Lines

Brody shifted in his chair and frowned. “You don’t believe he killed Hector any more than I do.”

“What does that have to do with anything?” I snapped, slamming the dishwasher closed.

“Everything, Lil’ Bit. He’s being set up, and you know it. This is the only way to help him.”

He didn’t get it. Maybe in another lifetime this would be what I wanted, but not now. What he was suggesting should be entered into with a promise of love and security, not force and threat. Besides, we weren’t only playing with fire, we were playing with lives.

I threw a heated glare over my shoulder. “I’m not being forced to marry anyone, Brody.”

Leaving his chair, he stood beside me. “If he gets on the stand, they’ll rip the cartel wide open. Me included. But that’s just a small part, Lil’ Bit.”

He didn’t have to say the words out loud. The sorrow in his voice matched the one burrowing its way into my heart. He knew as well as I did that if this went to trial, Stella’s name would be dragged through the tabloids, forever linked with international scandal. She’d never have a normal life. Everything I sacrificed for her would be for nothing.

“I’m sorry I never told you who her father was,” I whispered.

Brody’s hand covered my back. “I’m sorry you never told me about a lot of things. I could have protected you both.”

I stiffened, the regret and pain in his voice sending a chill down my spine.

Oh, God, he knew about Finn.

“No one could have saved us,” I assured him. Visions of my mother’s stone face burned into my memory.

He turned me to face him. “Our family can keep her safe.”

Looking straight into his eyes, I smirked. “Mommy and Daddy? No thanks.”

“No,” he said, his fingers squeezing my shoulders. “My new family. Yours now too.”

Jerking away from him, I walked back into the dining area and stared out the window. “Don’t lump me in with your cartel world, Brody.”

“Mateo told me he loves you. Do you believe him?”

I watched traffic rush below me. “I don’t know what to believe. I’ve been lied to my whole life.”

“I watched his face when he saw you at Caliente,” he said, moving to look out the window beside me. “The man is as steeled as they come, but the moment he laid eyes on you, he crumbled.” He hooked a finger under my chin, turning my face toward him. “Do you trust me?”

I nodded. “With my life.”

“And I trust him with mine. More importantly, I trust him with yours and Stella’s. I make no excuses. He’s done some fucked up and immoral things, but so have I. Our way is ugly, but it always evens the score. However, mostly, our way protects its own.”

I laughed. “Val said the same thing.”

“You spoke to Val?”

I nodded. “He asked me not to implicate Mateo.”

“Did he threaten you?” Brody’s hands fisted by his side.

I smiled. “Not any more than you just did. What kind of criminal organization are you people running here anyway?”

By the look on his face, he didn’t find my joke amusing. “One that lays down their lives in the name of family…not takes it. Do you understand the difference?”

I thought about Mateo and his promise to die for a daughter he’d never met. “More than you know.” A beat of silence passed between us before Val’s parting words echoed in my head. I placed a hand on his arm. “I need to see your tattoo.”

He tensed under my fingers. “What?”

“Please,” I whispered. I hoped he wouldn’t make me grovel, but if that’s what it took, I would. Thankfully, it didn’t come to that. Without another word, Brody slipped off his jacket, and opened his shirt, dragging it over his shoulder to reveal a skull tattoo covered in black roses.