Demand (Careless Whispers #2)(4)

“Ella.”

At the sound of Kayden’s voice, I turn to find him standing just at the top of the stairs, and he’s also wearing black jeans and a black T-shirt, with a double shoulder holster, the attire seeming to confirm my concern. This is war.

“What’s happening?” I ask, hurrying to the landing to join him, one main worry overtaking all else. “Please tell me Enzo’s not dead.”

“He’s alive, thanks to you.” Kayden motions down the hallway to his right. “We moved him to a bedroom and Nathan’s working to stabilize him.”

“If he’s not stable, why was he moved?”

“Gallo triggered the alarms, snooping around outside the gates. He can’t get onto the grounds, but the timing is of enough concern that we can’t ignore it.”

“Did he see something when you were rescuing Enzo?”

“Nothing that we’re aware of. But where Gallo is concerned anything is possible.”

“Damn you, Adriel!” Giada yells on a sob, and I twist around to watch her march toward the east tower while Adriel walks toward us.

“It’s time that girl is relocated,” Kayden murmurs irritably. “No matter how Adriel feels about it.”

I turn back to him. “She’s afraid he’s going to fight and die, like Kevin, her father, and maybe Enzo. Has the cartel found us?”

“If things go as planned, we won’t be fighting.”

“Considering you’re heavily armed, I’m not comforted. What does that mean?”

“You’re safe here now. I contacted the cartel and headed off an attack.”

“You did what?”

“I don’t do the sitting-duck routine well, sweetheart. In fact, I don’t do it at all. And as it turns out, Raul’s brother was trying to challenge his role as king. Raul now wants to share an expensive bottle of tequila with me tonight, to celebrate his brother’s death.”

“No. No, this is a setup. This is a trick. You’ll get there and he will kill you. Tell me you aren’t considering this.”

“We confirmed the rift between him and his brother. This is a good gamble.”

“Gambling is for Vegas, not your life. Do a virtual toast with the man and forget the tequila already.”

“It’s not that simple, sweetheart. Nothing with these people ever is.”

“Again, what does that mean? I’m pulling teeth here! Just tell me everything. I need to know everything, Kayden.”

“The way Raul sees things, we’ve disrespected him by trying to steal from him.”

“But you didn’t try to steal from him. You told Enzo to find the painting and report the location to his client. Not take it.”

“Whether Enzo followed orders or not, he is my man, my Hunter, and by default, I’m responsible for his actions. I now owe Raul a favor.”

“You killed his enemy brother.”

“Which many of the cartel will see as grounds for war, even if he secretly doesn’t.”

“What does he want from you?”

“He won’t disclose the details over the phone.”

“Because he can’t kill you over the phone.”

“That’s not how this works. You need to understand that the cartels, like the mob, have rules. This is about honor to them.”

“Honor among criminals? Seriously?”

“As hard to digest as that is, honor is everything to them.”

“It scares me that you know that.”

His eyes glint hard and he steps closer to me, anger crackling off of him. “You want more truth? Well, here it is. It should comfort you that I know about their rules and honor, because if I disrespect them, they will kill my Hunters. More truth: I am a part of that honor circle. Without hesitation, if the mobs or the cartels disrespect me, I will not hesitate to kill any one of the criminal asses reporting to them, leaving the world a better place. And if I don’t act that decisively, and they don’t fear me, I can no longer protect anyone.”

“You’re testing me, to see if I can handle this world, can handle this life. I told you: yes. But do not lie to me, directly or indirectly.”

“You held a gun on me, Ella,” he says, the anger he had not shown in the shower now front and center.

“But I didn’t shoot you,” I say, repeating his words.

“And that means what?”

“It means that you shook my trust, but you didn’t destroy it.”

He snags my hip and pulls me to him. “I did not lie to you.”

Like lightning, my anger shifts. “Tell me later,” I say, my throat thickening. “After you cancel this meeting.”

“You just said you can handle this, as long as you have the truth. So here is the absolute truth. There will be times I walk out of the door that are high risk. Saving Enzo was high risk. Meeting Raul Martinez is not. He wants something from me. If I’m dead, I can’t give it to him.”

“When it’s high risk, will you say it’s high risk?”

“Will you accept that it is, without doing what you’re doing right now?”

“Yes. I will. Unless it’s on a night I tried to stop one of your men from bleeding to death.”

“Fair enough. Then I will tell you.”