“Thanks, Carl.”
We made it to my office, and Jessie deposited me behind my desk. I knew what she was doing. Trying to establish some power against her uncle. She tried to walk away, but I grabbedher wrist. “You belong right here with me. I’m not letting you run.”
I expected her to argue. Instead, she sighed and leaned against my chair. As the others filtered in, I noticed that Garcia had left his guards outside. Only the three of them, himself, Jessie’s father, and her brother entered the room.
“Mr. Garcia, let me remind you that when we spoke, I told you I do not sell my horses to just anyone. You, sir, have not made the best first impression. I will assume you knew your niece was here and chose not to mention it on the phone.”
Jessie’s brother put a hand over his mouth, trying to hide his grin. Hudson and Tyson stood on either side of Jessie and me in a show of support and strength.
“I apologize if you feel my actions were deceptive. I assure you; they were not. I did not tell you I knewYessica, because I knew she had not told you herself.”
He fiddled with the cuff on his sleeve. It surprised me to see the head of the Mexican cartel in a pair of worn jeans and a button-down shirt. I’d expected a suit. What I had learned about the men and women of the underworld, aside from the bikers, was that they wanted to be seen a certain way. They believed that a sharp suit made them look powerful.
I thought it made them look arrogant.
“I had assumed you would tell her who was coming and she would confess herself. I see that did not happen,” he explained as he regarded Jessie. “I know my niece is ashamed of her heritage—”
“That is not true, and you know it!” she hissed.
“Jessica.”
“No, Father. He knows why I left, and he knows why I don’t tell anyone who you are.”
I studied Garcia as Jessie argued with her father. The twitch at the corner of his mouth told me he wasn’t angry at her words. Respect emanated from his eyes.
The door opened, and Addie wheeled in a beverage cart filled with mugs, coffee, and tea. “Would anyone like anything todrink?”
“I would love a cup of coffee, my dear,” Garcia said.
“Cream and sugar?”
“Black, please.”
He was polite; I would give him that. He might have shown up here in jeans, but he was still an arrogant son of a bitch.
“Yes,Yessica, I know why you left. I understand why you use your mother’s name instead of ours. But the truth remains. You are ashamed of being connected to this family.” He held up his hand. Cutting off her rebuttal.
I stole a glance at my brothers and was surprised to see Tyson looking as angry as Hudson at the way Garcia spoke to Jessie. His hands were clenched at his sides.
“Does Danny know?” I asked Jessie.
“Of course he knows,” she said flippantly.
“Dante? Ellie?”
Jessie’s shoulders slumped as she looked down at me. “I don’t know if Dante knows. I don’t know how much Danny told him. Ellie only knows that I walked away from my family and that they run illegal businesses.”
“And King?” I glanced quickly at Tyson, then back to Jessie.
“I don’t know. He hasn’t said anything to me, if he does. But I don’t think so. If I had to guess, he would assume Danny ran a background check on me when we became friends.”
I nodded. I would talk to King later and find out what he knew and why he didn’t tell me.
“As I said, we don’t sell horses to just anyone. Being related to Jessie also will not guarantee a sale. We have cabins for you all to stay in for the weekend. Hudson can show you where they are, and we will have dinner in a few hours. It will be something light. We’ve had a long day.”
I took a deep breath. My nervous system was at full tilt between watching Thunder race by with Jessie on his back and finding out my woman’s family ran the cartel.
“Tomorrow morning I will show you the horses. And in the afternoon, we have a cookout planned. The Silver Shadows willbe joining us. Do you have any objections to that?”
