Page 85 of Hostile Rival
Don’t get distracted.
Christ. I can hear his voice in my head.
I can’t pretend this conversation never happened or ignore the red flags. Sure, I had wanted to know the details. I just never expected my brother to be involved. This whole time I’d thought it was the guys who took care of our drug distribution back then. The street gangs who rarely met with the higher ranks, let alone the men in charge.
That being said, from what she just told me, Tomás never put a finger on her. The damage had already been done long before he arrived. She was more or less dead when he showed up.
We’re in the air, thousands of miles above the world. In reality, I could do whatever the hell I need to do to protect my family. People die if they threaten us.
That’s how it’s always been. Growing up, my brothers were there for me, and in return, I’d do whatever it took to stamp out even the slightest threat toward them. Those are the unspoken rules of family, but they don't say anything about dealing with this situation. Them versus my girl.
I’m staring into silver eyes that dare me to challenge her––and tempt me to slip my tongue inside her mouth. I don’t.
She licks her lips and takes a deep breath, the control of her lungs unphased by the question I’ve asked.
“Well? Now would be the time to be completely honest.” My voice rises.
Her jaw clenches and she pulls away from me, getting ready to stand. How the fuck dare she walk away from me? My hand shoots out and cuffs her wrist. “I asked you a question, Dani. Answer me.”
She violently tugs her arm and growls. “I should have known better than to board a jet and expect you to be anything other than a Souza asshole. Get your hands off me.”
“Stay the fuck in your seat,” I demand, getting in her face. “Talk to me.”
“All this showy shit was a distraction––wasn’t it?” Her eyes narrow and her nose scrunches. “Make me believe you care. Have me tell you things I’ve never told anyone. I should have left the moment the pilot said there wouldn't be any cabin crew on board. It wasn’t a date. It was a trap,” she hisses.
“All of this is for you,” I tell her truthfully. “No ulterior motive other than me wanting to know who I’m falling for.”
She glares at me, her eyes dark like gunmetal now. “Don’t give me your bullshit charm. I’m over it.”
My temper is one degree away from turning nuclear. But I don’t see hatred flaring in her pretty eyes––I see hurt. Despite that, I need answers. I need to hear her real intentions.
“I won’t let you kill my brother.” I assure her.
“Go to hell, Matheus,” she bites out, pushing up from the chair and yanking her arm free. “I’m not scared of you.”
I jump to my feet, reach out, grab her throat, and push her into the wall next to the TV. Her hand sails through the air and slaps me. “Get the fuck off me.”
My teeth grind. I crowd her and drop my face to hers, the tips of our noses brushing, and both of us breathing loudly.
“I don’t need you to be scared of me. I need you to trust me. Now tell me what’s going on in that shut off mind of yours, so I can fully trust you too.” Her muscles strain from holding back her violent tendencies and her eyes narrow to thin slits as she listens. “This complicates things. If you go for Tommy, you’ll have to go through me first. Is that what you want?”
“I never said I was going after him.” She shoves her weight into me. “You jumped to that conclusion all by yourself.”
“So, you’re not planning something?”
She tilts her head and lets out an exasperated breath. “Wouldn’t I have done it already? Come on, smartass, you know me, or maybe that's the point of all of this. To prove we don’t know each other at all. Do I hate your brother? Fucking right I do, because he saw the same things that have haunted me for years. But he walks about like an exalted king and those innocent girls were completely forgotten. It’s like their lives never mattered.”
Her lips turn down at the corners and she sighs. “And before you ask, I didn’t murder your father. Blanco said it was an inside job. That’s all I know. I did, however, do a happy dance when I read the headlines. Karma is a bitch.”
I scowl at her admission, not because she’s being disrespectful about my father’s death. Not many people mourned him, but the part about it being an inside job, that troubles me.
Blanco had told Giovanni the same thing. A coldness runs down my spine. What if he’s right?
Now isn’t the time to jump headfirst into that theory when there are more pressing matters at hand. Like my girl.
I pull back and smile at her. “I’m glad we cleared all that up before the movie. Aren’t you?”
“Fuck you, Mat,” she snarls.
