Keep it together,he warned himself. Things were going to shit fast, but the first opportunity he had, he’d report back to his team. They would reset on the fly, divide and conquer, getting both Essie and Tomás.
But looking now at Essie with her head held so high, doing her best to be brave, sent Xander into a fucking tailspin. He didn’t want her alone with those bastards for one goddamn minute. But he had to stick to the mission. Kill Barrera. Get revenge. Save his girl.
“You’ll finally prove your worth, Estrella, and embrace your fate.” Barrera’s lips curved into a smug smile. “By uniting our families. Once the Barrera Cartel is formed, I’ll be able to crush the Villarreals.” His obsidian eyes filled with a vengeance so palpable it radiated from him.
Xander took an unsteady step back as the ugly look on Barrera’s face hit him like a brick to his head. Or like he was looking at his own twisted reflection.Is that how I look? Like a monster, consumed with nothing more than rage and revenge?
He’d been willing to give up everything in his tenacious pursuit of vengeance. But now, for the first time, he considered what his baby sister would want. Wherever she was, certainly some kind of heaven, had she been looking down at him the wayXander was now staring at Barrera? With contempt. Disgust. Knowing he was beyond redemption.
His gut churned. It was the last thing he’d want. All this time, holding on to his anger had been like clutching a thorn—it only hurt him. As the fog of vengeance clouding his head began to lift, Xander knew what he had to do.
Only one thing truly mattered.
If he was going to die, it wouldn’t be while trying to kill José Barrera. It would be while protecting Essie.
The woman Xander was falling madly in love with.
Essie tried to remain calm and subdue her panic when José ordered two of his men to haul Xander away. Then he moved closer, focusing on her. “Leave us,” he told the Cardenas brothers without so much as a glance in their direction.
They silently exited, and other than one guard, she was alone with José.
“You’re lucky I don’t kill you for disobeying me,hermana.”
She lifted her chin, trying to appear strong, but fear nipped at her. What if Xander and his friends couldn’t save her little brother? Desperation clung to her. “Promise me you won’t hurt Tomás.”
He shrugged. “We live in a dangerous world, Estrella.” His passive, unfeeling tone sent terror careening through her. “Anything could happen to poor Tomás.”
“Send him back to school,” she pleaded. “Tomás has done nothing. He isn’t a threat to you—”
“Everyone is a threat to me,” he hissed, swooping in close until they were practically nose to nose. His black eyes churned with hate, and a shiver ran down her spine. “Everyone is jealous of what I’ve accomplished. All they want is to steal my empire. But I won’t let that happen. It’s mine. All fucking mine.”
“You are the devil!”
He tossed his head back and laughed. “Oh, Estrella. Always so pious. More devoted to her saints and angels than a nun. Every day, down on her knees, saying her prayers.” His lips curved up, twisting his features into an ugly mask. “I’m sure the Cardenas brothers will enjoy having you on your knees.”
Essie slapped him across the face. Faster than a striking snake, José grabbed the side of her neck and drove her down to the floor. She cried out when her kneecaps slammed into the hard wood. “You need to learn some respect.”
Staring up at him, unable to move because of how he held her, she gasped as his fingers dug deeper, bruising her skin. “You’re a monster.”
“I’m the most powerful monster you will ever meet,hermana.” He sent her a chilling smile. Then he grabbed her necklace and ripped it off.
No!It had the tracker on it. The cross was the only way Xander and his team would be able to find her. She made a grab for it, but he pulled it out of her reach, dangling it between them.
“I never understood why you wasted so much time praying to a higher power when I’m the one with all the sovereignty and influence. The one who always held your fate in his hands. You should’ve been worshipping me,hermana. Beggingmefor mercy.”
“Please. Give it back.”
Instead, he threw it across the room. Essie’s heart fell, along with her hope of ever seeing Xander again.
“I think I’ll melt it down. Add it to my pile of gold.”
“José, please—”
“Time to go, Estrella. Your groom is waiting.” He grabbed her wrist and tugged her toward a future she wanted no part of. One far away from the man she was falling for so completely that it should’ve scared her. But it didn’t. Not even a little.
Xander Hawke may be a moody, brooding man who tended to be more than a little bossy, but she preferred him exactly the way he was. He encouraged her to be herself. Accepted every single part of her, even the flawed pieces—just as she accepted him. She refused to let their story end when it was just beginning.
José dragged her out of the sunroom, and she dug her heels in, trying to twist away.
