Page 3 of Kade

The man nodded, unable to take his eyes off his friend.

“As a token of our goodwill, I’ve brought you a gift.” He pointed to Mona. “She thinks she can cross us as well. She’s nothing more than aputa. Show her what it means to be one of our whores then deliver her back to her home. Keep her for a few days if you want, and make sure everyone gets a taste.”

The new leader of this particular sect ofLos Muertosstood. “Gracias, Señor Ramirez. We won’t let you down, and we thank you for the gift.”

“Death will meet you if you let us down again.”

Juan collected the whore he’d taken a liking to and escorted her and the boy out while Mona’s screams began. He smiled once he settled himself in the car. He leaned back and relaxed, his hand gripping his new whore’s hair as she bent down and went to work on his cock.

All in all, a good day’s work.

Kade yawned and let his office chair recline. He’d been working to get the office for Kincaid Security & Investigations up and running for the last three weeks. His little brother, Mason, finally managed to get the computer systems installed and all the programs working. The security system had been a nightmare of its own. The entire brownstone that housed the business needed to be rewired to meet code and handle the new computer and security systems.

And he’d been dealing with this by himself. Viktor was off on a pro-bono case for a friend of their brother, Dimitri. Not that Kade begrudged Viktor. The woman needed help. Her soon to be ex-husband beat her and then moved to their daughter. Kade despised men who turned their fists on helpless women and children. He would have done it himself for free if Dimitri reached him first.

His phone chirped, and he glanced at it. His wife’s smiling face stared back. Angel always brightened his day, but right now he wasn’t up for talking to her. She’d been harassing him to go back to Miami so she could get some closure in her brother’s death. His mother and grandmother ordered him to take his wife there so they could get remarried and put their past behind them.

He snorted. All the women in his life seemed to want to order him around and expected he’d obey without a fight. He’d do whatever he damned well pleased.

Dylan Jenkins, who was a whiz at finding information, stuck his head in. “You got a minute?”

Kade sighed and sat up. A nap would have been so nice. The big man came in and settled himself into one of the two chairs opposite Kade. It was almost comical. Dylan stood about six feet five or so, and he dwarfed the chair. His blond hair and ice blue eyes reminded Kade of some of the serial killers he’d dealt with in his time with the Behavioral Analysis Unit of the FBI. The man’s eyes were always so cold. Viktor assured him he could be trusted, but something about him bothered Kade. He just couldn’t put his finger on what.

He held up a plain yellow folder. “I have some information for you.”

Kade’s spine stiffened and he leaned forward, eager but cautious of what news Dylan brought him. He’d asked the man to look into the cartel, specifically whether he was still on their radar. “Well?”

“It’s not what you want to hear.” Those piercing blue eyes turned colder, if that was possible. “You’re still high up on their hit list.”

“That makes no sense. They could have taken me out many times over the years…” He trailed off at the hard shake of Dylan’s head.

“The cartel never forgets. They’ve been busy expanding their reach, which now includes New York. Before, they were told to watch for you if you set foot back in Miami. Now, they are actively looking for you. I’d say stepping outside your apartment right now is a risk. Going to Miami?” Dylan took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “That would be a death sentence.”

Fuck. Angelneededto go say goodbye to her brother. How was he supposed to tell her that wouldn’t be happening any time soon? He was in for a shit storm when he got home.

“They have people in New York, you said?” Kade glanced down at his phone. Angel was calling again. He let it go to voicemail. This conversation was too important to disrupt.

Dylan nodded, flipping the file open. “I did an in-depth investigation. The cartel started out in Miami in 1976. Very small, very elite. They stayed quiet up until around the early nineties, when they started to show off their power in force. Not long after that, they were the number one cartel in the south. These guys migrated up from Central America, Kade. They mean business.”

“I know. I was embedded in their organization undercover for over a year.”

“No, man. What you saw was like someone window shopping. You think you see the best stuff in the window displays, but really, all the good shit is in the back, just waiting for the rich people to flood in.”

Shopping? This scary-ass motherfucker was talking about shopping?

“I worked retail in high school.” His eyes turned glacial, telling Kade to fuck off with any questions. Fine by him.

“When did they move into New York?”

“Spring of last year. They’ve slowly been taking out more and more of the local drug dealers. They either bring them into the fold, or eliminate those that try to stand up to them. After a few grisly deaths, the rest get the picture and don’t put up a fight. These are vicious people, Kade.”

“They’revicious? Just wait until I tell my wife we can’t go to Miami.”

“Better you than me.” Dylan finally cracked a smile, and Kade scowled.

“You think you’re escaping blame, motherfucker? Shit, no. As soon as she finds out you’re the one who did the research, she’ll come for you.”

The smirk faded from his face, and Dylan’s blue eyes went frosty. “Shit.”

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