The Vargas Cartel Trilogy (Vargas Cartel #1-3)(165)

“You were behind Ignacio’s assassination attempt,” I confirmed.

“Yes, but the whole thing backfired. Juan blackmailed me for the name of Hattie’s hotel. I thought Ryker would rescue Hattie and flee the country, but Ignacio used the situation to solidify his hold on Ryker and find a new successor.”

“So you were working for Juan Alvarez all along?” Rever asked.

“No,” Emanuel scoffed, shaking his head. “I was working for myself. I wanted to weaken both cartels so I could unite everyone under me.”

“Why?” I asked.

“I paid my dues, but no matter how hard I worked Ignacio refused to change his mind. He didn’t think I was worthy of taking the reins.”

“You’re not. You’re a piece of shit,” Rever roared as his fist smashed into Emanuel’s face. His eyes rolled up in their sockets, and his head lolled to the side like a rag doll.

“What the hell?” I said, eyeing Rever.

“I couldn’t stand listening to him for one more second.”

“Didn’t you want to know anything else?”

“No.” He dipped his bloodied hands into a bucket of water. “We have everything we need. Get the camera. Let’s find Ignacio. He can finish this. I can’t stand to breathe the same air as him for one more second. I can’t believe I ever trusted him.”

A choked laugh tumbled from my mouth as I turned off the camera.

“What’s so funny?” Rever asked.

“All of Ignacio’s paranoia was pointless.”

“What do you mean?”

“He focused on everyone else while Emanuel snaked his way into every part of the cartel and betrayed him over and over.”

Rever laughed then too. “You’re right, and Ignacio accused me of being a dumbass.”





Chapter Twenty-Six




Hattie



“I’m surprised to see you here,” I said as I cracked open the door to Ryker’s apartment.

“You haven’t answered my calls for two days,” my dad said as he shifted on his feet. Dark purplish circles stained the skin under his eyes. He wore a wrinkled t-shirt and jeans instead of a dark suit. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d seen him dress casually.

I glanced to the side, unable to maintain eye contact with him. It hurt too much. I had begged him to come over and discuss everything that happened with Senator Deveron after the story broke, but he rejected my invitation.

“I don’t have anything to say to you or Mom.” My voice trembled, and I choked back a sob.

His nostrils flared. “Can I come in?”

“Is Mom with you?”

“No,” he answered, shaking his head. “I thought it’d be better if I came alone.”

“You can come in.” I opened the door wider and closed it behind him. “Do you want anything to drink?” I asked as we moved through the apartment.

“No. I’m good.” He settled onto the sofa in the living room.

I sat on the chair across from him. “What did you want to talk about?”

He ran his hands along the tops of his thighs. “Mostly, I want to apologize for not coming over after the story about Senator Deveron came to light.”

I raised one eyebrow, already feeling drained by this conversation. “An apology. That’s it?”

He pursed his lips. “This is hard for me, Hattie.”

I leaned back in the chair and folded my arms across my chest. “Yeah, I can imagine how hard it is for parents to support their child and believe them. I’d always thought it was something that came naturally, but apparently not,” I said, my voice laced with sarcasm.

My dad held up his hand. “To be fair, your mom didn’t tell me anything about your suspicions of Senator Deveron.”

“Really? I find that hard to believe.” I’d told my mom Senator Deveron had orchestrated my abduction by the Vargas Cartel, but she believed Evan over me and dismissed my accusation as a sign of Stockholm syndrome.

He exhaled and squared his shoulders, staring out the window. “She didn’t say anything right away. She mentioned it during your road trip when we couldn’t get in touch with you for a few weeks.”

“And you didn’t bother to talk to me about it.” The words tasted like ash on my tongue.

“For the most part.”

My brows scrunched together. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I did some digging into a possible connection between the Vargas Cartel and Senator Deveron.”

I unfolded my arms, and tapped my fingers on the armrests. “Did you find anything?”

“Nothing concrete. I found curious coincidences, though.”

“But you didn’t do anything about it.”

“I didn’t have the chance to decide one way or another before the whole story landed on the front page of a trashy grocery store tabloid. Did you have anything to do with that? The identity of the source is protected.”

My gaze darted to the side as I contemplated how much to tell him. “Yes.” I sighed. “I gave them the story along with the backup documentation.”

“Where’d you get the information?”