Adrik holds up a piece of paper. “As of an hour ago, she is married to me. Eliza Estrada Volkov.”
I have rarely seen my papá rendered speechless, but his mouth falls open as he stares at Adrik. All he can do is shake his head and I feel the tears prickling in my eyes again, as I fear Adrik has won this one.
One man stands. “When I get my hands on you, I’ll—”
“You’ll what, Uncle? Torture me?” Adrik laughs, and it’s that same cold, humorous laugh that makes me sick. “Do your worst. I’ll kill you first.”
The man, who I assume is Spartak Volkov, moves forward only to be stopped by a younger man.
“I don’t take being betrayed lightly, Hernandez,” Adrik says, eyes fixed on Papá.
And then it feels like time actually comes to a halt as I see him squeeze the trigger. I watch in slow motion and yet I can’t do anything to stop it as the bullet flies out of the mouth of Adrik’s gun right at Papá. He hits him square on the forehead and blood spays into the air, splattering my eldest brother’s face.
Both Thiago and Enzo stare in shock at our papá’s lifeless body as the grief hits me like a freight train. I drop to my knees and scream, struggling to sort the muddled thoughts racing through my mind. Tears fall freely as I stare at his lifeless body. Unable to believe that the man who forced me to marry him killed my papá so easily. There wasn’t any hesitation as he pulled that trigger.
“I just married Eliza, which makes me the rightful ruler of the Estrada Cartel,” Adrik announces.
“Is that correct?” Thiago asks, eyes narrowing. “Eliza may be the eldest, but that’s not how succession works.”
Adrik cocks his gun again and fear pierces through my heart. “If you have a problem with it, I’ve got no issue taking you out of the equation, too.”
“No!” I shout, jumping to my feet and yanking at Adrik’s arm. “Don’t, please.”
Adrik shrugs me off viciously and I lose my balance, falling to the floor with my hands cuffed together.
“Do we have an understanding, Thiago?” Adrik asks.
The tension in the room becomes unbearable. I know my brother well enough to know when he’s preparing to fight, and I can see it now. He won’t back down, not after Adrik murdered our papá.
“No, we don’t.” Thiago pulls his gun out of his pocket and aims it at Adrik.
Again, Adrik doesn’t hesitate as he pulls the trigger.
I hold my breath as Thiago ducks and the bullet soars over his head.
Chaos is unleashed as gunshots go off left, right and center, forcing me to stay on the floor. I keep my restrained hands over my head and pray I don’t get hit, tears still streaming down my face. Perhaps death would be best, as I’m shackled to a soulless monster.
The thud of bodies hitting the floor around me and blood splattering across the room are all I can register. Chaos and destruction is what this man reaps.
“All of you will pay for this,” Adrik shouts, before yanking the chain between my hands and lifting me to my feet, pulling me out of the room and shooting as he goes.
I can hardly make my legs work as he drags me forcefully out of a back entrance. And then I hear two women scream as a couple of Adrik’s men snatch them and take them out of the exit.
“Make sure you keep hold of them,” Adrik says.
I don’t know who they are, as he pushes me out into the alleyway. “Take Eliza to the van.” He pushes me into the hands of another man, who hoists me over his shoulder and carries me to the van. I can see Adrik grabbing another girl and wrestling with her.
That’s when another man charges through the doorway, giving me hope that there’s still a chance to stop the monster in his tracks. However, I don’t have time to see what happens, as I’m roughly thrown into the back of the van. My head hits the metal wall and everything goes black.
6
ADRIK
They say heavy is the head that wears the crown, but I’ve never felt lighter. It was my birthright to rule and now I can throw away the mask I’ve worn all these years and become the man I was always meant to be.
As I sit in Hernandez’s office mere hours after I murdered him, ordering cartel members about, I know that this is what all the shit I’ve been through has been leading to.
Eliza is hysterical, but I can’t expect her to be calm. I forced her down the aisle at gunpoint and killed her father in front of her eyes. It will take a little while for the shock to wear off.