Page 125 of The True Garza
“What. The. Fuck?”
“Oh god, oh god,” the sergeant cries. “Thank god, thank god, thank god.”
I chuck Stefano out of my way and advance on Lorenzo again. But faster than I can get to him, he throws the sergeant over the railing. A yowl pierces the air as he falls the six feet down to the swamp.
A splash. And then the cries get louder and louder.
And then there’s silence.
Lorenzo holds his arms out wide. “It’s done.”
“That was my kill, Lo,” I grit out. “He put a hit on my—”
“You don’t get kills,” Stefano says, coming up beside me. “You stay clean so we can stay dirty. We cannot have you Garzas going off the fucking deep end. Or we’re all fucked. We need yousafe. We need youneeded. We need you to be the ‘good guys,’ so we can be the bad guys.” He rests his hand on my shoulder. “That’s the balance, cousin. That’s the balance.”
Fuck.
“You’ll sleep better,” Lorenzo adds. “Promise.”
Shrugging Stefano off, I move to the railing and stare down. It’s nothing but darkness, but the sounds of a reptilian feast can be heard.
That’s for London.
As I get out my handkerchief to clean my switchblade, Lorenzo steps beside me. “How’s my future sister-in-law doing?”
Lorenzo’s developed a sort of twisted fascination with Brook long before London and I ever even met. She’s been marked for the better part of two years now. Those who know stay clear, and those who don’t know eventually do.
“Don’t know,” I reply. “She left me for some tool. Guess he’s ‘perfect’ or whatever.”
“Hm. And you’re good with that?”
I shrug. Slip the now clean switchblade back inside my pocket. Then turn from the railing. “I’m out.”
“Pleasure doing business with you, cousin,” Stefano says, cradling his cub.
I’m several feet off when Lorenzo calls after me, “Do you want her back?”
Like I need my next breath.I don’t break my stride as I reply, “She’s better off without me.”
When I’m outside, I’m only half surprised to find Guy leaned against my SUV, swiping on his phone. Aside from the Castellos, he’s the only one who knew I’d be here tonight.
Torin doesn’t care much what we do, so long as all loose ends are taken care of and there are no blowbacks on Red Cage. The firm is as prestigious as it is because of its outwardly “clean” reputation. It’s one of the biggest reasons that the blood relation between the Garzas and the Castellos is kept secret. Torin never fails to stress the importance of Red Cage remaining stainless no matter what.
Consequently, whenever either of us need to color outside the lines for whatever reason, we include no one else from the team but Guy. He’s thorough with cleaning up any loose strings we might’ve left behind. And if needed, he has the seamless and flawless ability to turn facts into fable, and fable into facts. There’s no better man to have on your side when committing a crime.
It’s not often that I get to see him outside of the office. Behind his computer is where he’s most powerful. Where he can make anything happen, anywhere in the world.
Guy is the most invaluable part of our team.
Yet still an enigma to us all.
“Why aren’t we more worried about how deeply you’re embedded into our lives?” I get out my keys. “If you ever turn on us, we’re fucked.”
He pockets his phone and shrugs. “You’ll have to kill me to fire me.”
No doubt. “You’ve been on me the entire drive?”
“Yup. Good thing I was. Your stubborn ass barely managed the drive out here. You made a dozen stops.” He straightens from the vehicle, tucking his phone in his pocket. “I’ll drive you back.”
