She sees that I’m not believing what she’s trying to sell and switches tactics. Hand to hip and with a flip of her long, black hair, she scoffs. “There’s no way she’s married to him. They could barely stand one another.”
“It’s called foreplay,” I reply. “Ever had a good old-fashioned hate fuck? Highly recommend them. Maybe if you got laid every once in a while, you wouldn’t walk around with such a giant stick shoved up your ass. I know damn well Rafe didn’t touch you. He’d rather finger-fuck me in the pantry than lay a hand on you.”
“You skanky bitch!” For a woman on five-inch stilettos, she can move very quickly.
Alejandro catches her by the throat before she can get to me in the cage. He lifts Rita up like a ragdoll and squeezes until her eyes bulge and her face turns a mottled shade of tomato.
“Whatever deal you made with my father, you did not make with me,” he whispers softly, and I quiver at the pure evil radiating off him.
“Julio won’t return my calls, and there’s something important he needs to know,” Rita chokes out as she struggles to pull in air.
Alejandro releases his grip, and she drops like a stone to the floor. Her cry of pain when she lands hard on her ass is music to my ears. Rita also just gave me vital information. For her to be here means we’re somewhere close to the city.
“He’s busy. Tell me.”
On shaky legs, Rita slowly picks herself up off the floor and smooths down her skirt. Her eyes flick to me, then to him. “In front of her?”
A muscle in the side of his jaw ticks, and she hobbles back a step.
“They, um… they took out the New York families. They’ll be coming for me next. I know it. Julio promised me protection. I can’t go back.” She looks at me again. “They’ll kill me once they find out I’ve been passing information to your father.”
My insides warm. Keane and Jax killed the Barones and Riccis. Half my work is already done. Now to exact vengeance on Julio and Alejandro.
“Do you even care that he had his man shoot Rafe? Rafe could die, Rita.”
It’s tearing me up not knowing how he’s doing. Has he woken up and asked for me? Does he think I’ve abandoned him? Or did he slip away in the night while I’ve been gone? I must have been out for more than a day. How many? How much time have I lost? I should be with Rafe by his bedside. I want to be the first person he sees when he opens those gorgeous blue eyes. Because hewillwake up. I won’t accept any other outcome.
“Of course I care! He was my fiancé!”
“He was never your anything,” I growl, growing angrier the longer I’m forced to look at her. “Rafael Santiago Manuel Ortiz has always been mine, you cunt.”
“Enough!” Alejandro shouts, making Rita jump. She backs away another step. “Leave. Now,” he commands, and her mouth gapes open.
“But… but I have nowhere to go.”
“Not my problem.”
“But Julio—”
It’s over before I can blink. Alejandro whips out a gun and shoots my cousin in the head. I cover my mouth with my hand to stop the gasp from escaping.
He spits on her dead corpse. “Like I said. Not my problem.”
When he turns around to face me, I flinch at the crazy in his eyes. Standing before me now is the older brother Rafe would tell me stories about. The remorseless killer. The sadistic madman.
He walks over to the cage and circles it one time, scraping the barrel of his gun along the side as he goes. I never take my sights off him.
“Jesus Christ!” I yelp when he shoots the lock off and it clatters to the ground.
“Come here,” he commands me.
I don’t move a muscle.
Throwing open the cage door, he points the gun at me. “Come here, Alexandria. You won’t like it if I have to pull you out of there,” he warns me.
Perhaps this is my chance to escape. I can knock the gun out of his hand and then lay him flat. He doesn’t know that I can fight. He has no clue the things I can do.
Crawling on all fours, I inch my way to the door and carefully climb out. The bastard must know I’m about to do something because he smashes the hilt of his gun into my temple and I topple over onto the floor, dazed and seeing stars.
