“Have them ready, but keep them offsite.I’ll need all three of you to come by the station tomorrow.Formal statements.”Ibarra scratched his thick neck.“The day after, I mean.Congratulations on the wedding, Enrique.If Zayas is smart, he’s long gone.”
Enrique shook his head.“No.He’s unhinged.His actions tonight were emotional.Not strategic.Rage like that doesn’t go away.He’ll strike again, and he’ll keep escalating.”
Rubén stood and extended his hand.“Thank you for coming, Patricio.”
The detective shook it.“You know where to find me.”He hurried out and barked at the forensic team.“Wrap it up!”
Crime scene techs darted back and forth to pack equipment and tag the last bits of evidence.Uniformed officers trailed out behind them.
Once they left, Enrique shut the door with a sharp, defiantclick.
Rubén exhaled through his nose, then turned to Enrique.“We find Zayas before anyone else does.No arrests.No interrogations.We take him off the board.”
“Sounds good to me,” Enrique stated.“Regardless, the police are going to talk to his ex-wives, his associates, and anyone directly or indirectly involved with him.They might as well be banging down our own doors.”He ran his fingers through his stiff, gelled hair.The anger burning in his gut flamed hotter.“If he’s caught, he will talk.He’ll burn every one of us and cripple our operations.”
Santiago plopped down in the chair in front of his desk.“What about his second-in-command—Lieutenant Gimenez?Can we trust him, Ricky?”
“I think so.When I called him earlier, he claimed he hadn’t seen or heard from Zayas since yesterday.Gimenez and I served together a while back.He has a strong sense of loyalty, but he doesn’t give second chances to fuck-ups.His men are on red alert in the Nogales plaza.If Zayas returns there, Gimenez will reach out.”
“What a fucking mess?”Rubén rubbed his hand down his drawn face.“Santi, whatever you need to get this place back on its feet, do it.”He flashed Enrique a tight smile.“Some bachelor party.Let’s go home.We’ve got a wedding tomorrow.”
The sooner that was over with, the better.As much as he wanted to take Lourdes as his wife, he needed to wipe Zayas off the face of the planet.His memory of her ducking behind that table, terrified, with a stranger’s blood splattered across her skin, burned a hole in his skull.He was supposed to protect her.Shield her.Not put her in the line of danger.
Zayas was already dead.He just didn’t know it yet.
****
An hour later, Enriqueguided his half-asleep woman through his penthouse suite.With a flick of the dial, the recessed lighting in his spacious bedroom cast a soft white glow across his dark-wood furnishings and deepened the corner shadows.No, not his bedroom.Theirs.How many times had he imagined this?Lourdes sleeping in his bed, sharing the same air as him?
He coughed to clear his throat.“I’ll give you the tour later.Right now, get to bed.”
“Bossy, bossy.”Lourdes yawned behind her hand and crawled onto the mattress.A moan escaped her lips as she curled up on the blanket and hugged a pillow.“Hmm, smells like you.Citrusy, fresh, decadent.Intoxicating.”
He grinned and removed her sexy shoes.“You’re the intoxicated one.”
“On one drink?Please.”She swatted at the air and rolled to face him.Her sleepy eyes blinked open.“I always talk crazy when exhausted.We’ve been awake for almost twenty hours.Just yesterday, we were in your cabin, a world away.I wish we were still there.”
“Me, too.”He placed his holstered knife and gun on the dresser, then leaned against the wall to untie his shoes.As he shucked off his clothes, the heat of Lourdes’s gaze swept down his chest and legs.Gooseflesh followed the trail of her perusal.
“You’re too handsome for your own good.”
Her murmured words puffed his chest.Clad only in his boxers, he rested his hands on his waist and winked at her.“All this hotness is for you, princess.”
She laughed, then choked on a sob.“It’s our fault.Everyone at the club—their lives will never be the same.Those who died, if not for us, they—”
“Stop right there, Lourdes.Zayas acted of his own free will.We are not responsible.”
“I’m so angry.”She sat up and rubbed her flushed cheeks.“I want him dead.All the pain he caused tonight, Diego deserves to feel it himself.He deserves to suffer.”
“Oh, he will.After I get my hands on him, he will beg for mercy.”
Lourdes hugged a pillow to her chest and hunched her shoulders.“Tell me about your alias.Why do your enforcers call you El Tajador?”
He braced his hip against the edge of his footboard.“I’m good with knives.That’s all you need to know.”
“Enrique, no.Do not shut me out over something as simple as a name.”
“There’s nothing simple about it.”He pinched the bridge of his nose.Maybe she was right on this one.Even though he had to keep certain secrets to ensure their mutual safety, what was the harm in telling her about his alias?She already knew he was a criminal.A killer.Swallowing hard, he forced his words through his tight throat.“I’m comfortable with blades.Knives.I know how to inflict pain and injury without pushing my victim too close to Death’s door until I want him there.Use your imagination, Lourdes.”
