“I don’t want you to get the wrong idea about my proclivities or me. You’d think your tears would kill my hard-on, but instead I’m like a fucking steel pole. It’s not like I get off on your misery,chiquita,but the need to console you and have us feel like we’re one with no ending and no beginning keeps my dick up.”
“You’d think crying would make my pussy dry up, but what you described is how I feel too. I know you need to be in control. I know you need to console me as much as I need consoling. When we’re like this, there is no end and no beginning. We’re one.”
“Always,chica.”
I believe him. But all of this would be so much easier if we could just find my father. Neither of us is in a rush to get off, but eventually, we both get restless. I lean back, and he sucks my right nipple as his hands guide me to grind my clit against his pubic bone. We’ve both been aroused for so long that we’re coming in a matter of minutes.
“I don’t want to rush us, Liesel, but we need to go back downstairs. Joaquin and Alejandro won’t care how long we’re up here, but I need to check in and see if they’ve made any progress.”
“I refuse to be embarrassed, but it’s hard not to be. I also want to know what’s going on. I needed this, so thank you.”
“Any time, little one.”
We share a quick kiss before heading back downstairs. It’s only a couple minutes after we join Joaquin and Alejandro that the doorbell rings. All three guys pull out their guns. Joaquin heads to the front door. I have to imagine it can’t be anyone with nefarious intent since there are guards staked out around the house, and they’ve allowed us three visitors now. It’s only a moment later that I recognize Hisham’s voice. Alejandro, Jorge, and I go out to greet him before we move to the living room.
“I didn’t expect to be back here so soon, but I got news less than a half an hour ago. I was in the car at the time, so I came here directly. My informant figured out some of the banking information Joaquin sent over to me. I learned more about the route the laundered money’s taking.”
I hadn’t realized he’d done that, but it must’ve been while we were all working. I focus on what Hisham’s telling us.
“The amounts change for each transaction, but they eventually add up by the time they make it to the bank in Italy. It’s being laundered through several small merchants in France, then you, Anneliese, along with the banks in Switzerland and the Caymans.”
Both countries prioritize protecting their customers’ anonymity, so that makes those obvious choices.
“So, what does that mean now?”
From the protracted silence, I can tell Hisham’s said all he’s going to. I shift my attention to the other men, and Jorge, Joaquin, and Alejandro all make the same grimace. It’s Alejandro who speaks up.
“That means we have some business to take care of back home. We need to callTíoand see what he thinks of all of this.”
I look around, understanding I can’t listen to the call they must make. I’m not sleepy anymore, so dozing against Jorge won’t occupy me. I don’t want to sit and stare at the walls.
“I’m guessing you don’t need me down here anymore.”
“There’s a TV in the primary bedroom. There are streaming services already logged in.”
“Thank you, Hisham.”
Jorge wraps an arm around my waist and kisses my forehead. With an audience, we won’t do more than that. It reassures me enough to help me get by. I hug him before stepping away. Hisham says his goodbyes and heads out. Alejandro, Joaquin, and Jorge have practically supersonichearing. I’m certain they don’t speak again until after I shut the door upstairs.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Jorge
“From what Clyde told Liesel and me, and from what Hisham just shared, this has to be a major player. At this point, it would shock me if this isn’t coming from back home.”
My brother and cousin both agree with a grimace. The last thing we want to do is deal with the bratva, mob, or Mafia. We need to figure out if any of them play a role is in this.
It rings twice before we hearTíoEnrique’s greeting. We give him a rundown of everything that’s happened since we spoke to him earlier.
“That’s a lot to take in,sobrinos.”
“It is,Tío, and we’re still muddling our way through a lot of this, but it’s more information than we had when we woke up this morning.”
“Do you think any of it is actionable?”
“Not yet. I think we need to plan for how we’ll strike these various groups before we’re back in the States.”
I know that means talking to Liesel about our future, and I don’t know how that conversation will go. We may want to be together, but I can’t guarantee the logistics of it. It’s a precarioustightrope I’m on right now, since I know she won’t leave Germany without getting her father back, and I won’t leave here without her. I’d prefer her to be in the States, regardless, because I can protect her better there. We have the full force of all of my family’s resources in place.
