Page 53 of Devil's Bride

“Hey, I go with the flow.” He was grinning and I was thankful I could trust him and call him a friend. He gulped his drink while still watching me. Always watching me. It’s what he’d done best over the years. He’d never allowed me to get into harm’s way even when I’d been a brat and had tried to escape his measures of security.

“He proposed marriage.”

Emiliano spit out his drink, coughing several times. After wiping his mouth, he cursed in Spanish. “What the fuck?”

“Yeah, I know. That’s basically what I said. But he insists my role as a drug lord won’t be taken seriously. Do you think that’s true?”

He took a deep breath. “I think you have a long road ahead of you, but you’ve made great strides.”

The man had also managed to learn diplomacy over the years. Before we’d left for the United States, he’d been nothing but a crude, brutal bastard. Although he’d always been a sweetheart with me. “Translation. At this point our hitmen have decided against killing me in my sleep. Right? But all bets are off for the future of my health and happiness.” My eyes slanted in his direction.

His grin gave his answer away. “You’re learning.”

“Not fast enough, which could be damning. I don’t know if I could stomach being married to Jago, even by contract only. Yes, I do think our alliance would at least give the Turks and Moroccans pause, but could we actually work together? Even worse. Could we pretend we give a damn about each other?”

“Only you know that answer, but it’s worth considering. Your marriage will send a message if nothing else. That could alert the other mafia leaders and cartels in Spain and the surrounding countries that they need to tighten their security.”

“I guess. I just don’t know.” Groaning, I slapped my fist against my head, maybe hoping to jar some sense into myself. Everything seemed to be spinning out of control.

“Take some time with your family, Madame Morales. You need to ground yourself. At that point you’ll know what to do. I have no doubt.”

“When we’re in private, Emiliano, you can call me Genevieve.”

“Can’t do, Madame Morales. You are the drug lord of a powerful cartel. Everyone needs to recognize and accept that. So you’ve told me.”

“Ugh. Throwing my words back at me again.” I smiled at him, even more grateful I had him in my life. “You’re right about my family. Marco hates me. Bella is so lost. I wouldn’t make a good parent. That’s something I know for certain. What if Jago wants heirs?”

“I think you’re getting ahead of yourself. One step at a time. Remember?”

“I told him I expected he’d burn them in oil,” I said absently.

“I think you meantyou’dburn him in it.”

My glare toward him was harsh, but I also smiled. “You learned that from Papa.”

“He was a great teacher. Try and remember that. He’ll whisper in your ear, but you also need to trust your judgment. You know what you can handle and what you’re good at.”

“What the hell am I good at?”

“I’ve seen you take on a male opponent in a boxing ring and knock him out in less than a minute. I’ve watched you standing in front of a crowd of three hundred students arguing a case and winning when all the odds were against you. And I’d watched you successfully fending off some jerk at a bar by almostbreaking his hand in a flash before I could get to him. You can do any damn thing you want to do if you set your mind to it.”

I stuck out my lower lip. “You were watching me in the classroom?”

He stood, taking his drink with him as he rolled his eyes. “I’ll check on what Antonio knows about this unholy alliance with the Turks. We need to get a handle on what they’re doing. We have too many deals that need handling in the next few weeks.”

“Thank you. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

“How about a raise?”

I waved him off, laughing more bitterly this time. What I was engaged in wasn’t a typical business. Not by a long shot. At this rate, I could lose everything my father had worked for.

As I thought about Marco, I knew I had to find a way to make him an ally if nothing else. Very little appeased him. But I had to try before I lost him forever.

My brother had always been a dark soul, preferring to play video games versus spending any time with family. I couldn’t blame him since he’d had few friends, but the violent games had whetted his appetite for violence. That’s what I’d told my father years before. Sadly, Papa had been too busy to either pay attention or heed my warning. Now I feared it was too late to alter my brother’s mindset.

That didn’t mean I’d stop trying.

I knocked on his door, wondering if he could even hear me over the loud music. When he didn’t respond, I tried his door.

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