Page 123 of Cartel King

“Gareth O’Brien is young and inexperienced and mildly stupid, but he’s also not brave enough to use another syndicate’s building without someone insisting he must and providing some reassurance he could survive the job.”

“Does he owe Salvatore something, or is Salvatore using the O’Briens to get back at the O’Rourkes?”

“Either? Both? We’re not sure yet.”

“All right, so what next?”

“We’ll call Salvatore after Catalina and Matías fill everybody in on what happened.”

“Ms. McCann, I owe you an apology. As you were putting the privacy glass back up, my phone rang in my pocket. I didn’t recognize the number, so I didn’t answer it. The person calling sent a text when I didn’t pick up. It was a vague warning something would happen to Catalina, so it distracted me. It’s why I wasn’t attentive enough to walk to the door with you. It’s why I didn’t sweep the backyard properly enough. Just after Enrique arrived, the other car pulled up. Men climbed into the back seat of mine. They’d already killed Pedro and Diego. The men in the car beside me showed me photos of Catalina bound and gagged as men dragged her from our house. She hadn’t even set her purse down before they attacked her.”

I look at the woman who sits with her husband’s arms wrapped around her. Her eyes are sunken, and she’s paler than she was while we sat at the table. Reliving this is obviously unpleasant for her, and I feel badly that she has to, so the rest of us can know what happened.

“What you and Enrique couldn’t see was the gun at the base of my neck while Enrique spoke to me. Gérard and Johann insisted I follow you, but I did my best to slow down and lose you a few times in the neighborhood. However, Gérard climbed into the front seat and threw some punches to make me more cooperative. They couldn’t kill me because they didn’t know their way around here. The bruises—” He gestures to his face. “—weren’t as bad as the photos of Catalina they showed me. She was bound and gagged, but I couldn’t tell if they had injured her. I couldn’t make out what kind of car she was in or where they took her. I didn’t think it was a warehouse. I did what I had to keep from antagonizing them. I worried they’d punish Caty instead. I needed to stay alive for her sake and Alejandro’s. I wish I could have put you and Enrique first, but she’s my wife.”

“Matías, I understand this world, and I understand the oath you probably swore was something similar to theOmertà, but I will never fault a person for putting their children and their spouse ahead of others. You risked a great deal to protect your wife and to protect Enrique and me.”

Catalina opens her eyes and looks over at me.

“I wish I’d been warmer to you when we met. I realized what it must have looked like when you saw Matías and me talking, then looking at you. I have to imagine with everything that happened that was disconcerting. I’m certain we left you with more questions and doubts than either of us intended.”

She shifts her gaze to her brother and grins before turning a more subdued expression toward me.

“Matías and I were wagering how long it’ll take Enrique to marry you. Before all of this happened, I said the end of the month. Matías said next month. I wish to adjust my bet. I say the end of this week.”

Enrique chuckles and playfully clears his throat. We’ve barely acknowledged our feelings for each other, and they’re ready to marry us off. But that’s what I alluded to earlier. So much has happened in the past twenty-four hours, never mind the past week or the past few months. I went from being staunchly opposed to being in a committed relationship to now considering remarrying.

I have to give that more thought, but my intuition screams I should seize the opportunity the moment it’s available. I tighten my fingers around Enrique’s hand, his thumb continuing to stroke the back of mine.

“Catalina, did they hurt you?”

“No. I kept waiting for them to, but they were far gentler than I expected. When I stopped fighting them because I realized they were doing their best not to manhandle me, it got much easier. It was never about me. I was merely a means to an end. Luciana would have been an easier target, but they needed leverage over someone.”

I glance at Enrique’s other sister, my heart aching for her with another reminder she’s a widow. The reminders are constantly there. I don’t know how she manages. She’s made peace and moved on, or at least, that’s what it seems. She may mask a world of hurt she wants no one to see. Or maybe she’s hiding it because I’m here, and she’s not ready for somebody outside the family to see her pain. I don’t know her well enough to wager more than a guess, but I hope I can get to know her, and she’ll come to trust me and see me as a friend. Perhaps I can make it a little easier for her sometimes.

I look to Enrique, waiting for him to step in and question his sister. I don’t want to be the one who bombards her, asking her for information. He understands my cue and shifts his attention to Catalina.

“What can you tell us about the men who took you?”

“They barely spoke. When they did, I’m pretty sure it was in Sicilian.”

“Did they say anything that hinted whether they’re from New York or New Jersey?”

Catalina shakes her head. “No, they could’ve easily been from either place. They had no American accent when they spoke Sicilian.”

I’m dying to ask whether she understood any of it. Enrique’s gaze flickers to me before he looks back at Catalina.

“Was there anything you could repeat?”

“No, I didn’t understand any of it. It sounded like Italian, but there was too much that made no sense to me for me to follow along.”

“Did they say anything to you in English or Spanish?

“No, they didn’t say anything to me in either when they first arrived. When I tried to resist them, one snapped ‘cállate’ at me.”

That’s not the politest way to tell somebody to be quiet, but it’s hardly the worst thing they could say.

“It was strange they didn’t blindfold me. They gagged me and restrained my hands and feet, but I saw their faces. I think they wanted me to see how far away they were taking me.”

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