Thankfully, he didn't have the strength to argue when I scooped him up and brought him here. After six months of rehabilitation, he took to training like he was born to protect. Now, he’s a lithe beast with a shiny coat, bright white teeth, and a home to guard.
There’s a familiar glaze to his chestnut eyes. A stern glower I can’t figure out, like he’s hurting inside or lost in the same mayhem as I am.
I like space and so does he. We have an understanding. Brutus might be thoughtful, but he’d rip out the throat of any fucker who entered the compound uninvited. It’s savage loyalty that reminds me of Uncle Angelo. The sort of insane dependability I treasure.
Knocking the scotch back, I savor the burn as it travels into my stomach. “Is he alive?” I ask, uncaring if the Mexican survived or not.
“Yeah.” He nods, slouching forward and dragging a hand over his disfigured face. “He’s gone underground for surgery.”
I eye him as he takes another sip. “Then we have a big fucking problem, Shane. We met with him in secret, which means someone close to us planned this.”
He holds my stare, the whites of his eyes sparkling in the dim light. “Where’s the girl?”
“Upstairs.” Sniper rests his chin on my knee. When I pat the empty space beside me, he immediately accepts the invitation, jumps up, curls into a ball, and sighs with contentment.
Shane swills the scotch, coating the inside of his glass. I know what he’s thinking. We’ve always been on the same page and a woman won’t change that.
He’s the closest thing I'll ever have to a best friend, even though I’m his leader and he’s my second. We’ve done some shady shit together since we first met in Boston.
I was a traumatized kid under the care of my strict grandfather, and Shane was my cousin. My mother’s Irish bloodline runs in his veins, the son of her eldest brother. We bonded over competitive target practice and a love for traditional homemade potato bread. I trust the guy with my life and I’d take a bullet to protect his.
It’s an unsaid meeting of minds between two men raised in a deadly world where emotions lead to vulnerability.
“Look into her exact movements since you dropped her in Bogotá after she left my father’s plantation. Find out where she lives and get intel on everyone she’s been in contact with. Get me security footage from every establishment in that area. I need her bank accounts too. And the last place she ate. Map out every single step she’s taken.” Shane falters a beat, a question sitting heavily on his tongue. I give him a tired glare. “Go on, spit it out.”
His shoulders bounce. “It’s unusual for you to be so…” He raises his eyebrows. “Lenient.”
I can see where this is going. “I know.” I admit. “Papá said she was a traitor. My gut told me she wasn’t. And now I've seen her again, I can’t help thinking she’s here to serve another purpose. She wasn’t sent to execute Papá.”
“Serve another purpose?” he muses. “And by that, you mean be your fuck toy?” The asshole laughs into his glass. “You're a horny son of a bitch, Tommy. We’ve had hundreds of women, so what makes this one any different?”
She takes my breath away every time I look at her. “Fuck if I should know. Angelo taught me to listen to my instincts, not interrupt them.”
Shane blows out slowly, his eyes heavy with tiredness. “It's okay to like someone, Tommy. You have a habit of collecting broken things. But you gotta look at the full picture.”
“She’s not broken…” I take a gulp of my drink. “It’s something else…the way she...”
His brows pop up. “What—sucks you off?”
I shake my head and chuckle, pretending his comment is absurd when really that’s it in a nutshell, with one other thing. “I’ve never met anyone who could settle the chaos within me like she can. It’s either a gift or a curse.”
Shane eyes me with caution before he speaks. “Then what’s gonna happen if she really did shoot Elias?”
I let his question settle before I reach for the bottle and refill his glass, then my own. “I guess you’ll have to follow me into Hell. If I can’t trust my instincts anymore, then everyone’s a threat. I’ll end up as paranoid as Papá was.”
Shane lowers his lashes with compassion. “Will you finish her if she’s a threat?”
He tips the glass to his lips and drains the contents. I swallow hard, get up, and pace the wall of windows. “Show me the CCTV footage the second it lands.”
“Tommy... you’re not alone, mate. You know that, right? Whatever you need from me—I’ll do it.”
I look over at him to find his shoulders pushed back and his spine rigid in a business-like posture. He’d kill her for me except, he’s sorely mistaken. I know what he’s thinking, that she’s the one to tame me. The guy should know better.
The bullets I had gifted Angelo and Elias were out of love. Family bonds are the only threads that keep me grounded and look at what I did to the two most powerful men in my life. If that’s what I’m capable of, then there’s no need to question what I’d do to a sexy teenager with the body of a goddess.
“In the grand scheme of things, she’s simply another woman who keeps popping up. She might interest me now, but we both know that’ll wear off soon enough. If I have to get rid of her, I’ll do it. No hesitation.”
I return my gaze to the midnight blue sky, aware of Brutus’ wet nose nudging my curled fist. He sits at my bare feet, the two of us staring at the heavens in silence.