Page 87 of Devil's Property
Maybe we’d had a death wish and simply hadn’t admitted it.
As with life, every aspect of day-to-day operations and our expectations had been required to change, or our powerful organization would have been left in the trenches.
Emails.
Spreadsheets.
Employee benefits.
Online meetings.
Overseas banking.
Stock options.
Fuck. We were a regular Fortune 500 company.
Every high-ranking member of the combined Torres-Morales Corporation was filthy rich with money to burn.
“I still think putting a bullet in Eduardo’s brain is the best course of action,” I told him just as the voice on the GPS on my phone barked out directions. We were less than two miles out from the turnoff. Another modern convenience that kept the wasted hours to a minimum.
“You’re living in the dark ages, my friend. Maybe having some feminine style in your life will smooth out the rough edges.”
“Right. Just like occurred with Genevieve. I’m curious. Has she insisted on being one of your MMA contestants?” I threw out. Jago owned a seedy bar that doubled as a sports bar where the entertainment was based on men beating each other for sport and money. Even in my mind, the game was barbaric.
Or maybe just boring.
“Very funny. Speaking of which, are you bringing Fallon to Spain?”
“You keep asking.”
“You keep ignoring. I don’t think you have a choice given what you know about her lineage.”
Lineage. As if she was a prized piece of china passed down within the family for generations.
“What happened to the Aldero fortune?”
“The estate was sold at auction, Pops taking over the territory. Why? Does Fallon want to get into the family business?”
“Maybe so.”
He snorted. “I guess she is coming to Spain after all.”
I’d had less than five minutes to explain what I’d learned and discovered. Including the threat she’d received. We’d talked about Fassi and the possibility Salvatore Aldero was working for him. We agreed it was vital we figure that out. What I hadn’t pressed was the possibility that lies had gone much further than either one of us knew about.
We’d spent far too many years recovering from losses, the man right by my side when his father had ordered the retaliation hit on Valentino and the man’s family. The two of us had been the front runners, tracking Valentino’s activities and providing the necessary details to ensure a successful strike. We’d made it happen.
“Just in case you forgot, I’m sitting right behind you and I happen to have excellent hearing. Why would either one of you think I have any desire to head to yet another country? My life is in California. Although…” Fallon hesitated on purpose just to taunt me.
Jago and I glanced at each other at the same time, a smile on his face. Her father had purposely kept his daughters from learning anything about their past lives. Doing so had been meant to protect them, which I understood. What he hadn’t comprehended was that keeping them in the dark had left them unprepared for how to handle their pasts when faced with the truth.
What had she discovered in the man’s things?
Once news of their survival was presented, there would be some within other cartels and crime syndicates in Spain as well as several other countries who would enjoy acting on their own need for revenge.
Rafael had learned after Valentino’s murder just how far his acts of betrayal had gone. From what I remembered, the treacherous man had been intent on crushing other smaller crime syndicates as well as overthrowing the Torres Empire.
How could I explain to her that once the news spread, there was nowhere on earth where she or her sister would be safe?
