Page 39 of Cartel King

Nothing about this is going to be a good voyage.

Chapter Eight

Enrique

It’s been a hell of a week. Leaving Ellie in the middle of the night to go deal with some bratva bullshit wasn’t how I envisioned our first time together. When I went over, I had no expectation of what would happen besides letting her know of the danger she faces being with me.

I didn’t know I would confess as much as I did. I didn’t expect her to share as much as she did. I didn’t expect us to fuck or to—dare I say it—make love. It wasn’t just vanilla that second time. I’ve had plenty of non-kinky sex in my life, and it wasn’t like that. It’s never been like that.

I’ve never felt so connected to somebody in my entire life. It has never felt that intimate before. It left me feeling raw—not a feeling I’m opposed to.

I could get used to it if I know I’ll have Ellie in my arms at the end. That she shares the same feelings I do. From the look in her eyes, I believe she did. And that’s part of why I miss her so much. I don’t recall the last time I missed somebody during one of my trips. I miss the fun of being around my family. I’ve missed the familiarity and comfort of being with them. But I don’t recall missing a person the way I do Ellie.

I’ve already gotten used to the sight and sound of her. Her floral scent that often wafts to me while we’re walking. Now I’m already used to her feel and taste. She’s a sensory overload. One I’ll happily enjoy once I see her again.

First, I’ve got to deal with this meeting.

“Luis, I don’t know what the hell is going on with the fucking bratva. But they’ve got a hard-on for causing us problems right now.”

“Yeah, that’s not anything new. Theirpequeña pollasare always doing jumping jacks to fuck somebody else over. Just happens to be us this week.” Little dicks.

“I know, but it’s been a while since they’ve done any business with Ignacio. As a courtesy to Pasha’s wife, they’ve kept her family out of it. But now they’re up to their greasy little palms with the Brazilian nuts they’re sucking.”

“Rather than sending Alejandro down to Colombia or Bolivia, our best bet is to send him to Rio. Ignacio owes us that product. We’ve already put the down payment on it. Alejandro will get him to either cough up the shipment or get our deposit back.”

“And that’ll fuck over the Vizzinis in the process. I don’t need anybody in Boston breathing down our necks right now.”

“That’s too fucking bad, Enrique. That’s their problem, not ours. We’ve got people in our neighborhoods who’ll look elsewhere to get what they want.”

And that’s exactly what the bratva’s counting on. They’re going to cause a problem at the top of this food chain. And let it trickle down, so they can step in and save the day in neighborhoods that are ours.

“Luis, you’re not telling me anything I don’t already know. It’s not like this is news to anybody. We need to come up with a solution no one has in the past.”

I sit back in my desk chair as I watch my brother do the same in the armchair across from me. Our mannerisms are so similar that from a distance people often confuse us. But his hair is several shades lighter than mine. Too many extended stays in Colombian prisons leave him a solid fifteen pounds lighter than me. He may be thinner than me, but he’s no weaker than I am. My money will always be on my brother. Not only is he strong, he’s scrappy.

“We could’ve dealt with this sooner,mano, if you hadn’t been distracted.”

If anyone else spoke to me like that, even my nephews—who wouldn’t dare—they’d be scraping their own shit off their kitchen floor. I’d scare it right out of them.

“I can focus on more than one thing at a time, Luis. Keep her out of it. You know as well as I do the bratva has been working on this for months.”

“And we missed the extent of it. We only scratched the surface of their plan.”

“And that falls on all of us.” I gesture between the two of us.

“But we could have acted sooner if you were attending all our meetings the last couple of months.”

“The last couple of months? I’ve been gone for an entire week dealing with this shit. I didn’t plan that trip to Colombia for the pleasant weather. Never mind the two weeks last month that I was down there.”

“Before that, then. When you aren’t out for your walks with her, you’re thinking about her.”

“So, you don’t think about your family during the day? I have never called them a distraction.”

And I haven’t. I never called Margherita a distraction when they were newlyweds, and he couldn’t keep his hands off her. I’ve never called her a distraction during all of her treatments. I never called his son Juan a distraction when he was royally fucking everything over for our family and nearly brought us to our knees.

“I’m notel jefe.”

“You’re not, but you’re still my second-in-command in Colombia. You know you have the authority to decide when I’m not around. You do it down there all the time. You do it when it’s necessary if I’m away from here. What is it? What do you have against Elodie?”

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