Page 13 of Bound By A Promise
Dario nodded. “No one was aware you stayed in California. I had to convince them you weren’t part of the invasion.”
They thought I might be involved. “No wonder they all sent death stares as I entered Andrés’s office.”
Dario walked to the highboy and filled his coffee cup. Turning to me, he lifted his eyebrows in a silent question, regarding coffee.
“No, I already drank a pot. As for the invaders, the cartel killed three of the Russians. There was a fourth one. They took him to the basement at Wanderland for questioning.” My lips curled. “I would have been happy to stay in San Diego and help with the interrogation.”
Dario’s millisecond of an expression change was the first hint that his face hadn’t turned to stone. Even his voice was a tad lighter. “Did you offer?”
“I did. They turned me down.”
“From what I’ve been told, our new brother-in-law excels at the same thing.”
“Yeah, but if I were there, we could cut off appendages twice as fast. It could be brotherly bonding.”
Dario shook his head. “Your suggestion wasn’t the only one turned down. I offered to send some of our men.”
Lifting my eyebrows, I asked, “Andrés turned you down?”
“It’s not Andrés’s call. It’s Aléjandro’s. I even had a short conversation with Jorge. He’s not happy, but thank God they caught the Russians.” Dario’s shoulders relaxed. “El Patr?ntold me the same thing about the Bella. Mia is safe on his boat.”
“I heard it’s secret and strategic.”
“It is,” Dario replied. “The boat is a fucking superyacht, like something oligarchs own. Whenel Patr?nis on the yacht flyingthe Mexican flag in international waters, he isn’t subject to US laws.”
“So, our sister is floating someplace…what twenty-five to thirty miles off the coast of California?”
“Roughly.” Dario paced behind his desk. “Aléjandro turned down our men, said they had to deal with it their way.”
“Probably better.”
“Why?”
“Mia and Aléjandro’s house. Catalina’s family. Aren’t you seeing the connection?”
“Yes, I’m seeing it. That’s why we should have men out there. Mia is still a Luciano.”
A smirk came to my lips. “Just like Catalina is still a Ruiz.”
“No.” He sent daggers from his stare. “Yes. Fuck you. I want to do something. They’re suffering because of our alliance.”
“You’re doing something. You’ve taken in Catalina’s sister and mother.” I looked around the stately office. “If this place had been attacked, wouldn’t you feel better if your wife was somewhere where you knew she was protected?”
“Allies…fucking family were attacked. I don’t want to babysit my mother-in-law and a child.”
“Camila isn’t a child. She’s the same age as Jasmine.”
“Oh, right, they’re fucking adults.”
“By definition.”
Dario’s jaw tensed. “I don’t want definitions. I want to track down whoever is behind this.”
“You want blood.”
He nodded. “I want fucking blood.”
“I would assume that’s the same thing Jorge and Aléjandro want. Our new brother-in-law isn’t second-in-command because of his annoying personality or because he’s a pompous ass who won’t accept help. He’ll get the job done.” I stood. “Listen, when the negotiations started for Mia’s hand, I wasn’tsure…” I lifted my hand to stop Dario’s rebuttal. “…I mean, I kind of kicked his ass at your wedding. But as we learned more about him, I became convinced. Mia’s safe on some multimillion-dollar yacht, and the two Ruiz ladies will be here. That gives Aléjandro and the rest of the cartel the peace of mind to get their job done.”