Page 125 of Cartel King

If that’s what happened, I feel even guiltier than before. Catalina sits up straighter.

“Two men spoke at once. They told me to be quiet. The one closer to me was louder and almost drowned out the other guy, but now I remember the second one called me a whore when he said it.

My shoulders droop as my gaze meets Enrique. They grabbed the wrong woman. If they’re Sicilian, they might not know their way around that well and confused where they were going. Or perhaps they merely followed her not caring where they scooped up the woman they believed was their target. I shift my focus to Catalina.

“I’m entirely the reason they took you. They weren’t targeting Enrique’s sister. They thought you were me. If they knew anything about me—that I was raised Mafia, was married to a Mafioso, and now I’m involved with a narco—they’d see that as a betrayal and that I’ve whored myself out to be involved with Enrique. Not only that, but to have an intimate relationship with a man I’m not married to would allow them to feel justified in calling me that regardless of me being middle-aged. I’m so sorry. It seems so weak in the face of this ordeal, but I feel horrible that they caught you in the middle.”

Luciana leans forward to look around Margherita. “It could’ve just as easily been me or Margherita if all of us were here. Catalina and I resemble each other. And from a distance, Margherita’s hazel eyes look just as dark. She has the same coloring as the two of us and you.”

I know Luciana means to reassure me. However, I’d already thought about how easily she or Margherita could’ve been the victims instead of Catalina. Knowing there were three women instead of just one they could’ve kidnapped does nothing to ease my guilty conscience.

I look back at Enrique. I want to ask him how they’ll handle this. But that’s one question too far. It’s none of my business.

I sit back, fighting the temptation to wrap my arms around myself and hunch my shoulders. I lift my gaze and my head to look at Enrique. Most of his expression hasn’t changed, but I see the concern in his eyes. I wish it were his arms wrapping around me. All of this is so out of control. I wish I could just hand all of this over to him. Let him deal with all of it.

But I know even though he and his men will, I’m not entirely removed from this situation yet. My past life will always chase me. This could happen again. Not just me being the target, but Enrique’s family being collateral damage. I’m selfish to want to have anything to do with Enrique when I bring nothing but danger to his family. The right thing to do would be to walk away.

I hate that idea. And it may be too late for whoever this is not to punish Enrique for his involvement with me. But once this situation is over, then it could just start all over again.

There will always be somebody chasing me, and being more visible now that I’m in a relationship with Enrique will make it easier for people to find me. It’ll antagonize more enemies.

This is why I went to such length to hide my identity. I need to go back underground. I need to put distance between Enrique and me. It’s the last thing I want. It’s the last thing he’ll let me do. I need to make the world understand once and for all I’m retired. To do that, I need to remind them how I earned my reputation.

Chapter Twenty-Three

Enrique

It’s like Ellie’s thoughts are mine. I’m certain what she’s thinking. Duty and responsibility war with what she wants. In the end, duty’ll triumph over love for her. It’s too deeply ingrained in her no matter how much she wants love and how much she deserves it.

There’s not a chance on God’s green earth I’m letting some shitbags steal my future with her. I know if I can show her a path to us being together, she won’t stop until we are. She just needs hope. This is squashing the bit she had.

“Luis, Ellie, and I will call Salvatore. We’ll decide what to do once we hear his excuses. Send Pablo in.”

I know this announcement pisses Luis off because he refuses to see Ellie the way I do. His role is to balance my power when I risk making a mistake. I know he’s also a protective little brother. But he needs to open his mind rather than be so stubborn. This situation is bad enough without my brother making my future wife feel unwelcome.

Catalina, Luciana, and Matías file out of the office, and we wait in silence until Pablo arrives. He immediately senses the silent hostility from his father and Ellie’s reserved thoughtfulness. He sits on the loveseat next to Luis. It’s a tight fit for both of them, but it allows them to look at us.

I fish my phone out of my pocket and hit Salvatore’s speed dial. It rings five times, and I expect it to go to voicemail.

“Enrique, come stai?” Enrique, how are you?

“Fuck you.”

“I have a wife for that, and I hear you’ll have a bride soon, too.”

“Your pieces of shit grabbed my sister tonight.”

“You don’t say.”

“Don’t be a bigger piece of shit than you already are. Stay away from the women in my family.”

“Or what? You’ll sic your girlfriend on me?”

Ellie’s nails press into the back of my hand. I look down at her, and she juts her chin toward the phone. I nod, and she launches into what must be Sicilian.

“Stai lu cazzu luntanu dâ me famigghia, Salvatore, o ti fazzu cazzu accussì mali, mi preghi pi aiutàriti a ripigghiàrila. Lorenzo è appena nu cucciolu di casa rutta rispettu a chi??u ca pozzu fari. Ti lassu comu li pezzi di spazzatura pòviri ca la tò famigghia havi statu di quannu partìu dâ Sicilia câ cuda ntra li jammi.” Stay the fuck away from my family, Salvatore, or I’ll fuck your shit up so badly, you’ll beg me to help you get it back. Lorenzo’s barely a housebroken pup compared to what I can do. I’ll leave you like the impoverished pieces of garbage your family’s been since they left Sicily with their tails between their legs.

I understand nothing but Salvatore’s name and one of his nephew’s. Whatever Ellie said, she means it. There’s a prolonged pause before Salvatore responds in Sicilian.

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