Sebastian
I was going to kill the asshole and I would enjoy every moment of making him suffer. No one ever hurt a woman, not for any fucking reason and the fact that she was my woman? Unacceptable on any level. I was thankful that Cordero drove. I knew that I wouldn’t mind running down a single person who got in my way.
I’d promised her protection, that she’d be safe with me. The conviction had been real, the truth might be something else altogether. I knew she would have a target on her back from several sources. My quick response would at least send out a direct warning.
Yeah, just like I thought would occur with Danton. Evidently, Santiago had a set of balls the size of cantaloupes. Or he was simply fucking arrogant and stupid.
Just the fact she’d limped into the kitchen and remembering the pained look on her face was enough. Realizing that she could have died by the bastard’s hands put me over the edge. I had to believe her that she knew little about her father’s enemies. Learning there had been attempts before brought even more complexity around the possibilities.
“You know I’d never try and tell you what to do, boss.”
I slowly turned my head in Cordero’s direction. “Go ahead.”
“Do you think killing Castillo is in our best interest? I mean, he does have connections and it might seem like you’re running scared.”
He’d never questioned me before, but he was right in doing so. This time. “Interesting thought, Cordero. We will see what Mr. Martinez has to say before I make my final decision.” Using Castillo could be in my best interest.
“Yes, boss. I’m just… I’m sorry.”
“You’re right to question.” There was something going on in the background, an attempt to take over more than just our shipments of party favors. I could smell blood in the water.
The SUV was barely stopped when I jumped out, taking long strides across the parking lot, never even acknowledging the bouncers standing guard at the club’s entrance. Sylvie had earned her weight in gold tonight, hunting down and securing the asshole without backup.
Then again, she was one kick-ass woman.
The heady drumbeats of the salsa music vibrated hard against the floor, swirling colors of the expansive lighting system jazzing the massive crowd. Everyone was in the mood to party.
My partying would be of an entirely different nature.
I was forced to push my way through, heading toward the bank of stairs leading to the offices on the second floor. What very few people knew is that I was part owner of the club, affording me various perks otherwise forbidden to the normal patron. No one was going to fuck with me tonight. They’d been warned.
I burst into the room, giving Sylvie a respectful nod. She’d called in reinforcements only after she had Castillo locked down. Cordero closed the door, remaining just inside the doorway. I took several deep breaths, pacing the floor with my hands on my hips.
Castillo remained quiet, although I could almost taste his fear. He’d been placed on his knees as I’d requested, his hands tied behind his back. He should have known better than to cross me. There were certain unwritten rules regarding poaching. While he was a hired gun, he’d developed his stellar reputation by being politically correct. The entire situation was… unnerving.
I allowed a few minutes to pass by as I contemplated how I wanted to handle this. Killing him would mean questions asked, putting our enemies on notice that I’d become unraveled. That wasn’t in my family’s best interest, but what the fuck did I really care?
“Sebastian, I don’t know what you think I did,” Castillo finally said, arrogant as usual.
I held out my palm, refusing to answer him, the rage building even more.
“I wouldn’t cross you. I think you know that.” Castillo’s voice held no hint of discord, no acceptance of what he’d done.
My reaction was swift, my backhand hitting him square in the jaw, blood spewing from his mouth. I flexed my hand as two of the soldiers righted him, realizing he hadn’t made a sound from the direct blow.
“What I know you attempted to do was eliminate a life. What I will find out is on whose orders.” My words were sharp and laced with anger. I shot my head in his direction, studying his reaction.
Castillo looked from soldier to soldier before bothering to acknowledge my statement. “I don’t know what you are talking about. I swear to God.”
“Don’t tell me bullshit, Castillo. I’m not in the mood.”
“Seriously, what the hell are you talking about?” This time, he had a lilt in his voice, as if I was the stupid one.
I smacked him again, nodding at my soldiers to get him on his feet. “We’re going to try this one more time. If you don’t answer my question directly, then everything that occurs to you in the next several hours is going to be painful. By the end, you’ll beg to die. And you know what? That isn’t going to happen. I’m going to keep you alive and on ice for one hell of a long time.”
Swallowing, he blinked several times, finally nodding to give me a sign of respect. “I’ll answer you if I know what you’re talking about.”
There was a damn ring of sincerity in his voice. “Why were you at the fashion show?”
“I had a mark.”
“Yeah, that much I know.”
His quizzical look wasn’t contrived. The man had zero idea what I was talking about.
“It was an enemy of a client of mine.”
“An enemy,” I said, laughing. “We all have them.”
“The dude didn’t show. I’m still on the hunt. He’s South American scum who killed my client’s mistress. Satisfied?” Castillo glanced around the room, no doubt intent on escaping. “Who the hell are you talking about?”
I debated telling him anything; however, the easiest way to find out the truth was throwing out a bone. “The innocent daughter of a very prominent businessman. What I want to know is the name of the man who hired you.”
“What the fuck?” he exclaimed. When I remained quiet, he swallowed again. “And you know I can’t divulge my client, Sebastian,” he said, flinching in anticipation of my retaliation. “Look, I’ve killed women before. You know that, but only the kind who deserved to die. Killing innocent women is not something I’m going to sink to the level of doing.”
I sucked in my breath, playing the evidence through in my mind. “You actually expect me to buy that it was coincidence that you were at the fashion show?”
“So help me God on my daughter’s life,” he half whispered. This time, he was exasperated.
I pulled out my Beretta, merely holding it in my hand. “Your daughter. Ah, yes, you have an eight-year-old little girl. If I remember correctly, she attends a very posh private school.”
“You bastard. If you dare try and lay a finger on my daughter!” he snarked.
I held up my hand, shaking my head. “Like you, I’m not into violence against women or children; however, I’m certain that Ashley would like to see her father again.”
“Fuck, Sebastian. Fine. Whatever is going on, I’ll find out information. There has to be some shit on the street about a hit. You know the players.”
Castillo was right on certain levels, although there were always new players attempting to take a piece of the pie. I walked away, rubbing my forehead. “Then this is what we’re going to do. It’s your lucky day. I will allow you to live at least for the moment but given my kindness, you’re going to do something for me.”
He eyed me warily. “All right.”
“Put word out on the street that I’m pissed. Then you’re going to find the two motherfuckers who attempted to assassinate Carmen Garcia.”
He narrowed his eyes. “The daughter of Santiago Garcia?”
“Exactly.”
“That’s right. She was at the show. Fascinating, Sebastian. Isn’t she the lovely young lady you spent time with during your visit to Cuba?” Castillo’s eyes twinkled. “Yes, I’ve paid attention to your… career.”
As I knew he would. “So it would seem,” I stated without any emotion.
“Whoever the asshole is has balls attempting to take out the daughter. Garcia is a powerful man with very influential friends. Anyone fool enough to attack one of his family members has a death wish.”
“So it would seem.” I kept my tone even. “If you didn’t attempt to assassinate her, someone else has moved in on your turf, my friend. My guess is that you’re not pleased that shit is happening.”
“What do you want me to do with that information if I find out this asshole’s identity?” he asked.
Either he was a better liar than I knew him to be or he had no idea who she was.
“You come to me. Ifyou do that, your daughter will get to enjoy her father’s next birthday. Ifnot, I will hunt you down.” I gave him another hard glare, inching even closer.”And Castillo? You know my reputation. You fuck with me, you die. You attemptto run, you die. You as much as lay a hand on Carmen’s beautiful body, I willcut you to ribbons. That’s a damn promise.”
The ring of a cell phone drew my attention as Cordero yanked his phone into his hand.
“Yeah, okay. I can do that. What’s this girl to you? Develop feelings for her, Sebastian? You know that’s a dangerous path,” Castillo stated.
He knew better than to ask or insinuate anything. “She means nothing other than leverage. I want this information in twenty-four hours. Enrique, let him go.”
Enrique half smiled before moving to untie him.
Castillo shifted and I shoved the barrel of my weapon under his chin. “Shit, Sebastian. I’m not your enemy here.”
“I’m not fucking with you on this, Castillo.”
“Boss, we have another problem,” Cordero said, grumbling under his breath.
I backed away, finally turning toward my soldier. “What now?”
“Another shipment has been hijacked.”