“It is, and it’s not like we wanted to see if we’d get the seven-year itch. I was establishing myself with ourjefeand then I was establishing myself here. I didn’t want to make Liliana a widow too young if something went wrong.”
“And she agreed with that?”
He snorts a second time. “Again. Have you met her? Of course she didn’t agree with me. But she knows her safety is more important to me than anything. Yes, I’ll always obey yourtíobecause he’s myjefe. The same as I would any other person in your family, especially yourmamáandtíasbecause they terrify me way more thanel jefeor yourtíoLuis. But Liliana and our family will come first. I believe yourtíosunderstand that.”
“Yeah, well, all the women in my family terrify me far more than the men, so you’re smart to know that too.”
“Liliana gets where I’m coming from and has been patient. She knows it’s not because I didn’t love her or didn’t want to commit to her. I just wanted to be sure I had enough tucked away for her and that I was in a good position before we got married. You know, just in case.”
“I get this life is far too unpredictable. And on top of that, you’re living a double life.”
He nods. We’ve pulled up outside his place.
“Thanks, Alejandro, for putting up with all of this. I know it wasn’t your idea of fun, even if you did have a pretty girl flirting with you. We’re running a huge risk as it is being seentogether in public, but it means everything to me that you came,hermano.”
We clasp hands and lean in for a manly embrace, slapping each other on the back.
“Hermanos para siempre.” Brothers for life.
I’m an only child, and he’s the closest thing to a brother I have outside of my immediate family. Our parents raised myprimos—cousins—and me more like brothers thanprimos.Tres J’scould practically be triplets, so their bond differs from the one they have with me or with Pablo. But the five of us have been through so much shit together. Plus, we enjoy each other’s company. Pablo had a younger brother, Juan.
Thatpedazo de mierda. If he hadn’t been part of the family, Pablo probably would’ve beaten him to death when they were still children. None of us really liked him. He was a shit disturber and spiteful. The only person who ever got along with him and really liked him was their next-door neighbor, Laura Doyle—well, now Laura Kutsenko. They were only a few weeks apart in age. They grew up like siblings.
Pablo still sees Laura as a younger sister. And now that Javier married Laura’s younger sister, Madeline, they really are family. But Juan fucked around and found out what happens when he targeted Laura. He got butthurt at her rejection when she married the New York bratva leader—the same Maks who’s a pain in my ass right now. I know my cousins and I miss Juan because he was a relative, and we were used to him being around for holidays, but none of us—not even Pablo—miss spending time with him.
I don’t envy mytíoandtía’sheartbreak over losing a child. But even they weren’t surprised with what happened to their younger son, since Juan was always such acabroncete—little fucker. Pablo and I grew really close when we were still young.He was like the big brother I didn’t have, and I was the little brother he wanted.
I watch as Julián slips into his house. I know he’s doing a full sweep of the downstairs before he’ll head up to his room where Liliana probably is. I wait until the single downstairs light is off before I tap the intercom button and tell my driver to take me back to the hotel that’s twenty minutes away.
It’s not somewhere obvious, so I’m less likely to be noticed than in a hotel in downtown Chicago even if I found a modest one. I can’t help but wonder how long it’ll take Tiffani with an i to find me.
You have a sick sense of curiosity. A lap dance won’t be the only thing she’s offering this time around. She’ll probably try to kill you.
Death by lap dance.
What a way to go.
Since my driver is one of my guys from New York, and this is a rented town car, I doze on the way to the hotel. It’s one a.m. when I get to my room, which means it’s three a.m. at home. It’s still the middle of the night, but I’m certain Joaquin is awake. The man’s practically an insomniac. He can run off of the least amount of sleep of all of us, and that’s saying something since far too often we’re awake thirty-six to forty-eight hours, even longer than that if we’re on a mission that goes sideways. I also know he’s expecting me to check in and let him know I survived. I give him a quick call before deciding on a shower.
It’s not that Tiffani made me feel dirty; it was the entire experience. Plus, as I look in the mirror while I brush my teeth, not only do I see the lipstick on my neck and shirt, but I also see glitter there too. It’s going to annoy my dry cleaner as much as it annoys me that she stained my custom-tailored shirt. These aren’t cheap, and neither is my dry-cleaning bill. The guy doesn’t ask questions and can get out anything, including blood—whichhe’s had to do plenty of times—but only when it’s mine. If it belongs to anyone else, the clothes get incinerated since we don’t need to leave any evidence somewhere.
As I lather the bar of soap over my body, scrubbing my neck in particular, I can’t help but think about tonight. I run through the whole thing from when we arrived at the docks until we returned. Whatever’s really going on doesn’t stop me from getting hard all over again as I picture my naked Italian beauty.
As I think about her, my memory flashes to her giving another man a lap dance. That irritates me, and the jealousy is there all over again. I sure as fuck am not thrilled any of those men saw her naked but the fact that another man touched her—that she touched another man—bothers me far more than it should.
I wrap my hand around my cock and stroke, picturing her sucking me off, kneeling right in front of me as the water runs over our bodies. The idea of coming down her throat or splattering my cum across her tits makes me jerk off even harder. I want her in front of me, turned around, hands pressed against the wall as I spread her ass cheeks and fuck her pretty little pink pussy, watching my cock slide in and out of her. That pushes me over the edge, and I come hard, shooting ropes of it over and over. Maybe I should’ve taken her card after all.
I’m so fucking relieved to finally be headed home soon. I’ve been in Chicago four days now, and I accomplished everything I set out to. But I didn’t solve the unexpected mystery Tiffani presented.
I sweep my gaze across the airfield as I board my private jet. My family has a larger one we share for business and pleasure.But I travel a lot between Colombia and New York, especially now that mytío abuelo—great-uncle—is dead. My mother’s uncle finally outlived the last speck of usefulness he had. He violated his nearly forty years of house arrest to come after Pablo and his wife, Florencia. Now I’m the one who oversees just about everything in Colombia.
MytíoLuis deals with men in prison who need a reminder of just how powerful his older brother is. Pablo’s father, mytíoLuis, isTíoEnrique’s younger brother.Mamáis their younger sister, and mytíaLuciana—mamátoTres J’s—is the youngest of the four siblings. They all grew up in Colombia along withPapáandTíaMargherita, Pablo’s mother andTíoLuis’s wife.
The men are glad to be on their way home. I have a quick word with them after we take off.
“When we get back, we’ll debrief the mission. After that,jefewill give you the next three days off.” My cousins and I always use ourtío’stitle when we address our men.
“Thank you.” There’s a round of appreciation from the guys.
