Page 90 of Nemesis

I stepped between his spread legs, and my fingers surged forward, nails digging into his chin to bring his attention back to me. “And don’t you dare look at her. You lost that right a long time ago.”

“What the fuck do you think you’ll be able to do? You’re both just pathetic women.” He continued to berate us despite his vulnerable position.

Men.I scoffed to myself.

I raised my fist and punched him across the face, my ring creating a tear on his upper lip.

“Pu—”

I cut him off, jamming my fist into his face again. He gasped on air.

Elena chuckled at my side and Morales turned his attention to her again, so I used the tip of my blade to drive his attention back to me.

I cocked an eyebrow. “Do I have to repeat myself?”

He roared in response, spitting the blood that had gathered in his mouth, the drops landing on my fingers.

With a sigh, I cleaned the blood off my fingers with the blade and pried his mouth open. He sucked in a sharp breath.

“Open,” I ordered.

He cursed, refusing, but I used the small window of opportunity to bring the flat of the knife over his tongue, swiping his blood against his tongue.

“Swallow,” I said, gripping his cheeks tight to keep them closed. He jolted against my grip, but his throat finally bobbed when he saw Elena aiming her gun at him.

I stepped back and crossed my arms over my chest. “Now that we’ve washed down your inappropriate manners, tell me why you killed my parents.”

Thoughts of that night crept into the moment, making me remember the first time I’d laid eyes on this man.

I crept down the stairs,making sure not to wake anyone, since Baba had a press conference in the morning to announce a new legislation. Me and Mama were supposed to go on a girls’ retreat, but she felt bad leaving Baba behind.

I barely made it to the last stair when I froze in place, as I stared down the barrel of a gun, a vicious sneer on the other end. From the corner of my eye, I could see Mama and Baba bound and slumped on the floor.

The scream died in my throat when the barrel of the gun slammed against the side of my temple.

I was joltedout of the memory, the sound of Morales’s laugh grating against my ears.

I looked back at where he was sitting, his laugh baring his blood-tainted teeth. “Why would I do that? You’re gonna kill me an—”

He didn’t get the chance to finish his sentence when his laugh was replaced by a piercing scream, the sound soothing against my eardrum. I turned my attention toward Elena, only to see her silencer aimed at his knee, smoke billowing from the muzzle.

I knew I loved her.

I nodded in her direction, silently asking if she was okay, and she replied with a shy grin. Valentina had been training her, but shooting a target wasn’t the same as shooting a living being.

“Jesus,fuck,” he screeched.

I stared back at him. “Yeah, he’s not gonna be much help,” I snarked. “I’m gonna ask you one last time. Why?”

Spittle flew from his mouth as he grunted, choking to get air in.

“Your father had been messing with the cartel and my business for years. He kept changing the laws, making it difficult for us to deal. We tried bribing him, but he wouldn’t budge,” he confessed, sounding almost bored.

“Too much of a saint,” he spat.

Pain seared down my middle at his revelation. For the past eight years, my life had been leading to this moment. I’d survived and searched for answers but could never figure why anyone would come after my family.

I lost my life simply because my father was a disruption in their little endeavors, and they needed the obstacle out.