Page 90 of Hostile Love
Rage spikes in my chest. I glance at Matheus, silently asking him if he wants me to finish the job. His nostrils flare and his brows snap together, processing the cryptic clue.
He brings his mouth to the side of Fintan’s face from behind, still holding his jaw tight.
“I think you're full of shit, Fintan. As for luck, that’s the one thing you’re all out of.”
Matheus holds my gaze and nods.
This is it.
“Wait!” Carina calls out. “Tomás will want to know who killed his father. Keep him alive. He’ll interrogate him.”
Matheus shakes his head. “This fucker won’t tell us anything. He’ll be dead in a minute.” He points out, his voice void of emotion, but firm in its delivery. “He messed with Dani. She deserves payback. That’s the only thing that matters here.”
I dart my eyes to his, my heart beating out of my chest.
“Go ahead. Do it,” he urges, straight faced. “I sentence him to death for breaking The Covenant oath and for what he did to you, and you alone.”
Not Elias, just me.
In my head I’m whisperingI love you. Thankful he lets me be me. Grateful he gives me independence while being a dominant force in my life too.
I nod and do as he had told me. Even though I have to use my left hand, I still manage to hack the blade from left to right. It’s a little messier than usual, but who cares?
Once it’s done, I sit back to watch life dissolve from behind Fintan’s eyes as blood pours out of him.
Matheus shoves the corpse off his front and sits himself on the step, placing his elbows on his knees and stares off into space.
I climb a couple of steps to sit beside him. Taking his blood-stained hand in my good one, I link our fingers together. His eyes find mine and his head cocks as if he’s found an anchor to stop his past from catching up with him.
“You, okay?” he asks, his deep voice a husky rumble.
I nod. “You?”
His eyes drop to our hands, a frown creasing his forehead as he thinks.
“I don’t give a fuck who killed Elias, or who gave the order to do it. If it was one of us, then it’s because they had more of a reason than I did. I was sixteen when I first thought about blowing his brains out with a rifle from my bedroom window. I just couldn’t bring myself to do it, because I stupidly wished he’d change when I turned eighteen. Mama bought me a cool motorcycle as my gift and my brothers took me to Vegas for a week. Elias didn’t even call to wish me a happy birthday.” He exhales sharply down his nose. “He didn’t try to be a father.”
I rest my head on his shoulder, not saying anything. Fintan’s words run through my head.
There’s no loyalty between Souzas.
He’s focusing on his pain, whereas I’m mulling everything over. Whoever issued the kill order probably had every right to assassinate Elias––but why wouldn't they come clean and are they a threat?
I understand why Matheus demands all or nothing, and I’m fully committed to giving him what he deserves.
My loyalty, honesty, and my whole heart.
“We need to go,” Carina urges. “Lozano paid him off. Who else did they get to?”
At that moment, a voice booms through the hollow space and Carina charges straight into her fiancé’s chest.
“Tomás!”
The cartel boss wraps his arms around her body, tight and possessive, his lips pressing to the crown of her head.
His finger still rests on the trigger of his handgun, his shoulders moving up and down as if he’s out of breath.
The ferocious expression he wears comes across as unfriendly, even though I can literally feel the love vibrating from his suited body to hers.
