Or maybe the polluted blood running through her veins disgusted him.
“I’ll help you bring him down,” Essie promised. “Destroy his entire empire.”
“How?” Xander locked in on her like a launched missile on its target.
“I don’t know, but whatever you need, I’ll do it. I swear.”
Xander’s intense gaze flicked over to Brandon. “We’re not giving her to Mitch.”
“Fuck,” Brand hissed. “Mitch is going to be pissed. And I really don’t want my future father-in-law to be mad at me.”
“So let’s flip this around,” Xander suggested. “Give him something to be happy about.”
“Like…?” Brand sounded doubtful.
“Let’s set a trap,” Xander murmured, voice silky, and Essie’s fingers tightened on his knees.
Everything began to click in her head, and she knew what she had to do.
“And I’ll be the bait,” she stated.
Slowly standing up, she began to pace. Walking back and forth, laying out the facts as though she were in a boardroom presenting a plan for a hostile takeover. The way both men now gave her their full, undivided attention made her confidence soar. “José wants to marry me off to Manuel or Joaquín Cardenas in order to unite what’s left of the Lazaro clan with the Cardenas clan. His ultimate goal is to create the Barrera Cartel.”
“Shit,” Brand murmured. “We can’t let that happen.”
“And I’m the clincher,” she finished. “The one who’s going to make it happen through marriage.”
“Over my dead body,” Xander growled.
She stopped pacing and turned to face him, hands on her hips. “Not yours. His. And I’ll do whatever it takes to stop my brother, once and for all.”
Xander gave a slow nod, and Brandon abruptly stood.
“Time to bring the guys in,” Brand announced, checking the large watch on his wrist. “We’ll call Mitch and come up with a game plan. Can you get to Old Glory in thirty?”
“We can be there in ten,” Xander stated, dark blue eyes flashing.
Essie shivered, feeling the shift in the air. Things just reached the point of no return. And she was smack dab in the middle. Quite frankly, a very scary place to be. But she was determined to hold steady and see things through to the bitter end.
Chapter fifteen
Exactly forty-five minutes later, Xander and Essie sat at the corner table in Old Glory, a fire burning in the brick fireplace beside them. He’d always liked the bar’s vibe, and since it wasn’t open yet, they had the place to themselves. It seemed like just yesterday he’d sat there with his friends, laughing and drinking whiskey. At the same time, it felt like forever since he’d been with the men he considered his closest and only friends.
Looking around the scarred wooden table, he realized how much he’d missed the banter. The way they’d welcomed him into their dysfunctional fold. Perhaps only because they didn’t know how thoroughly fucked-up he was on the inside. How hellbent he was on revenge. To the point where it was the only thing he could think about.
It ate him up like acid, and other than finally destroying Barrera, he didn’t know how to deal with it. But when he looked over at Essie, an unsettling thought occurred to him. What if killing Barrera didn’t bring him peace of mind? What if it wasn’t enough to quiet his inner demons?
Across from him, Jayson turned his laptop around as it connected to General Mitch Evans. On the plane ride home, Xander had heard all about Sabrina—the woman Jayson had met, fallen in love with and married recently. While Xander had been stuck in his own hell on earth, Jayson exorcized his own demons to claim a bit of heaven for himself.
In fact, all of the men surrounding him seemed to be trading in their bachelor status for husband status. Even father status, he thought, glancing over at Chaz. He and Lottie were expecting a baby very soon, and he’d adopted Reya, Lottie’s little girl from a previous relationship.
Yeah, times were changing. But Xander couldn’t picture himself settling down with a woman.
His gaze slid to Essie who sat beside him, her hands folded so demurely on the dark wooden table.
Don’t even go there, Hawke. She deserves so much more than your twisted darkness.
She smiled at him, and something in his chest lurched. In such a short time, they’d developed such a complicated relationship. It made his head hurt, his heart curious and his dick ache.
