The Vargas Cartel Trilogy (Vargas Cartel #1-3)(143)

Suffocated by his betrayal, I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t form a coherent sentence. My limbs trembled like branches in a windstorm. With one hand, I clutched my chest trying to calm the frenetic beat of my heart. With the other, I reached for the headboard to brace my weight, but I didn’t move fast enough. The room swirled before my eyes in a blur of jewel tones and surprised faces.

Pain vibrated up my knees, and my head snapped forward, crashing into the tiled floor. Blood burst from my nose, and streamed down my face. A shower of white stars flickered behind my eyes. I licked my lower lip, and the warm metallic taste of copper coated my tongue.

A hand stroked the back my head. Two sets of dark eyes searched mine. Two mouths moved open and closed. Shouts and rapid-fire questions echoed through my ears, but I couldn’t understand anything. I didn’t want to. It was too hard. I didn’t want to fight any longer. My emotions turned off like a spigot. Numbness slithered through my veins like a lethal injection. I felt so heavy.

Too heavy.

Too tired.

Worn out.

Just like that my eyes slid closed, and I embraced the darkness. I invited it in, and willed it to claim me. Giving up had never felt so peaceful.





Chapter Fourteen




Ryker



“She fainted?” I squeezed my phone against my ear as I ran up the front steps of the Vargas compound. “How the hell did that happen?”

“Calm down,” Emanuel said. “Dr. Mendez took care of her. She’s resting in your room.”

“Is he still there?”

“No, he left, but you can call him if you have any questions.”

I pressed the code to unlock the front door and flung it open the minute the light flashed green. “I’m here. Where’s Ignacio?”

Emanuel sauntered around the corner and slipped his phone into his pocket. “He went to his room to rest. He wasn’t feeling well. He’s still not one hundred percent.”

“Did he do something to upset Hattie?”

Emanuel rubbed the back of his neck as he glanced to the side. “I don’t think he did anything to her.”

Anger vibrated through my nerve endings. “But he said something, right?”

“Apparently, he told her you intended to stay in Mexico and work with Ignacio.”

“What the f*ck? Why would he do that?”

He shrugged. “How the hell am I supposed to know? I wasn’t there. It probably came up in conversation. It’s not like he lied to her. He told her the truth. She didn’t like it. She fainted.”

“I wanted her to hear it from me,” I growled.

“Then you should’ve told her this morning instead of hiding your head in the sand.”

I pointed my finger at him. “You don’t know what you’re talking about. Shut the f*ck up.”

Smirking, he raised one eyebrow. “Or what?”

I shoved him in the shoulder. “Get out of my face or I’ll take this up with Ignacio.”

“Oh please.” He snorted. “Ignacio listens to me. He trusts me. Look what happened with Rever.”

“What are you talking about?” I spat.

“I discredited him.”

“He did it to himself.”

He chuckled. “Maybe so, but I gave him the push he needed. He’s not that smart. I planted ideas in his head, and he took the bait.” He shrugged. “Then lo and behold, Ignacio started doubting him, pushing him, and he spiraled in a mess of his own making. Now he’s holed up in some shithole in Panama with that Alvarez whore.”

I didn’t think. I lunged for him. My hand curled into his shirt, and I pinned him against the wall. His head whipped backward, crashing into the wall like a rag doll. The heel of my hand pressed against his windpipe. His eyes bulged. I wanted to kill him. I was so sick of this shit. I didn’t want anything to do with Ignacio, Emanuel, or the Vargas Cartel.

“You think you’re smart enough to manipulate me?”

“I know I am,” he croaked.

“You don’t know anything.”

He spat on my face. Saliva dripped down my cheek. “I got rid of Rever and I’ll get rid of you too if I feel like it. You think Ignacio’s in control, but he’s not. I call all the shots.”

Poison laced laughter exploded from my mouth. “What happened to all that sanctimonious bullshit about not wanting to lead the cartel and being happy with your lot in life?”

“I could wrestle control from Ignacio in a second if I wanted to.” He snapped his fingers. “That should tell you something.”

I slammed his body against the wall. “That I’d be doing Ignacio a favor if I killed you.”

“Rever was too impulsive, and I’m starting to think you’re not much better.”

My fist had a mind of its own. It landed in the dead center of his right cheek. His head jerked to the side. Fire shot up my arm, and my knuckles buckled, but I didn’t care. I welcomed the pain.

“Listen,” I hissed through clenched teeth. “I don’t give a shit about the Vargas Cartel or Ignacio’s legacy. You can have the cartel. I don’t want anything to do with it, but don’t play mind games with me. You won’t win.”

The veins on the side of his neck bulged, and his jaw muscle ticked. “Is that a challenge?”