That animal never shows his face until it’s time to kill—the only question I want an answer to is this; who at this table is his mark?
I know there’s no way I’m going to get my sister’s attention unless she’s willing to give it, so I’m going to have to fucking take it and get us both the hell out of here.
I climb up onto the table and walk quickly down toward her, resting my hands on Ana Sofia’s shoulders when I reach her. She holds up a finger because she hasn’t been given an answer yet. I crouch down and whisper into her ear that Guillermo is here, and she turns her face slightly to glance over at him.
As soon as they lock eyes, he stiffens in his chair and she blows out her breath.
“No one in this fucking room leaves until I say so,” she warns them getting to her feet and hopping down to the floor. “Get down, Tati.”
I nod as I walk toward the edge of the table only to be swiftly met by Enzo, who’s holding his hands up toward me with a smile on his face. I don’t know how many times I can embarrass him in one day—maybe that’s his thing, to be humiliated—but I decide to let him have his way just this once.
“Gracias,” I say to him quietly when he helps me down and he nods, shoving his hands into his pockets. We both turn to look at Ana Sofia who’s tapped Guillermo on his shoulder and motioned for him to follow her.
“I wonder who’s going to make it back into the room,” he muses out loud.
I whip my head back in his direction and give him a dangerous glare which elicits a chuckle.
“Calm down, Tati. Out of those two animals, everyone knows it’ll be Sofi.”
I immediately shove him as hard as I can, watching him stumble on his feet, then regain his balance. When he makes a move to come toward me, I stick a finger into his chest, and tear into Lorenzo, reminding him who he’s fucking with.
“My sister isn’t an animal, Enzo,” I begin through clenched teeth, “and I don’t care whose asshole you’ve been licking to get this cushy job you have now. If you make one more disparaging remark against Ana Sofia ever again, you won’t have to worry about how she’ll react because I’ll tear you apart before she even finds out.”
“That’s enough,” Thiago De León, the son of one of the most prominent men in Tetaroba says, getting up from his seat and comes to stand between us.
Thiago is the only person here who isn’t connected to a family of killers; he’s more the one who keeps the peace in Altata out of his own good will.
And he’s also the only one I would fuck if given the chance.
Thiago is a tall, beautiful sight to behold. Roughly six feet in height, with light and warm brown eyes that remind me of freshly baked gingerbread cookies, black hair that looks like it’s rarely ever been combed, and the most flawless, sun-kissed skin I’ve ever seen a man have.
Enzo turns his eyes toward Thiago for a moment, grinding his teeth as he does his best not to spit profanities at him, and I smirk. One word from this man and we’ll have to find a new place to call neutral ground which isn’t an easy thing to do in this fucking country.
“Amazing, isn’t it?” I remark to Thiago. He gives me a curious look as I turn my eyes back toward Enzo and place my hands on my hips, “How the threat of being told to play nice or else can silence a pendejo like this, I mean.”
“I was talking to you too, Tati,” he states, his eyes darkening in confusion.
“I know, chulo,” I say as I reach up and tuck my hair behind my ears. Out of the corner of my eye, I can see Enzo stiffen at the compliment and shrug. “I’m gonna go see what’s keeping my sister.”
Before either man has a chance to protest my walking into a potential death match, I make my way toward the door.
These motherfuckers are gonna learn one way or another that the women in these families are to be feared more than their male counterparts sooner rather than later.
Chapter Seven
I become morethan a little distressed when I walk into the hallway and see no trace of either Ana Sofia or Guillermo. I have no idea what reason they would have for leaving, but as I begin to walk quickly through the empty building, toward the front door, I can feel myself becoming sick with worry.
Guillermo is a sadist who enjoys making people suffer, and while Ana Sofia can have her moments, it’s almost always only when someone has deeply betrayed our father.
As soon as I reach the front door, a hand gently grips me by the elbow and I turn quickly, ready to defend myself.
“You’re gonna need some help breaking this up if that’s what’s going on,” Enzo tells me quietly, Thiago by his side.
I look down at his hand and give my arm a gentle shake, when he lets go, I look into his eyes again, “Thank you.”
My tone is soft, genuine, and I can tell by the way he damn near melts that all he really ever wants is to be appreciated; even for little things like helping me untangle two killers if the need arises.
“You stay here,” I say to Thiago as I push the door open.