The Vargas Cartel Trilogy (Vargas Cartel #1-3)(83)

I balled my hands into fists. “Then what?”

Ryker raked his hands through his already disheveled hair, bringing attention to his bloodied and cracked knuckles. “The U.S. government would supply a steady stream of AK-47s to the Alvarez Cartel, along with other small favors that would give them the advantage. They’d finally have the manpower and weapons to overpower the Vargas Cartel.”

“Ignacio will figure it out. He’s a survivor. He said as much to me many times,” I spat, packing as much disdain as possible into my words.

“No, he won’t. He won’t last three months,” he countered, his voice harsh.

“What do you mean?” I asked, struggling to make my face as expressionless as possible.

“He’ll be killed, or the U.S. Government would indict him on drug trafficking charges along with a hundred other things.”

Remorse trickled through my veins, but I clamped down on the emotion before it took root. Even though I didn’t like Ignacio, I didn’t want Ryker to suffer. “You really believe that would happen?”

Ryker exhaled loudly, deep lines bracketing his mouth. “I know it would. Senator Deveron told me as much. The minute he rips the veil from the Vargas Cartel, it’s over.”

“So what are you going to do?”

“I’m not going to hand you over to Evan or Senator Deveron, if that’s what you’re asking. I tried, but I’m too selfish to give you up.” His voice was simultaneously soft and rough, like the syrupy nectar dripping from the prickly blue agave plant.

Relief coursed through me. “You’re not?”

“No.” He grabbed my hand, threading his fingers through mine, and this time I didn’t resist. “I told you. I choose you. I want you. We’re going to make this work.”

I chewed on my lower lip. “Then what’s going to happen?”

“If he follows through with his threats, I’ll take him down.”

“How would you do that?”

He shrugged, but his metallic eyes glittered with anger. “I’ll expose him.”

“Does he know that?”

Ryker rubbed the back of his neck, and the muscles in his jaw constricted. “He knows. I told him.”

I gazed at him for a few agonizing beats, processing the implications of his words while my heart splintered. I hooked my arms around his neck to steady my anxiety as a puzzled frown creased my forehead. “Won’t that mean exposing you and your family too?”

He hauled me against his chest, eliminating any space between our bodies, and a frisson of desire zipped through my nerve endings. “It might, but I’m more concerned with keeping you safe. I’ll figure out the rest as we go.”

I nodded, inhaling his scent, absorbing his nearness. Being around him, touching him, made me feel safe again. I wanted to forget about all the dirty details he confessed and trust Ryker to make everything right. He said he’d take care of it, and he hadn’t let me down yet. Blindly believing him might make me na?ve, but I didn’t want to worry about it right then. “What now?” I whispered as I pressed soft kisses against the thick column of his neck.

“I want to take a shower, and then I believe I owe you dinner.” His face radiated intensity, desire, and something primal. Suddenly, the air crackled with lust instead of anger and betrayal.

With a tremulous smile, I brushed the pads of my fingers over the cut on his lower lip. “Okay.”





Chapter Thirteen




Ryker



Without second-guessing myself, I guided Hattie into the bathroom with me, my hand pressed into the small of her back. All week I wanted to move beyond a few heated kisses, but I’d been waiting. For what? I didn’t know. The right moment. With the way things were going, I didn’t think it’d ever happen, but it was virtually impossible for me to walk away from her and never look back. She had chiseled her way into my heart, infecting me with her smile, long legs, and her golden, cat-like eyes.

I closed the bathroom door behind us and turned on the shower. She leaned against the bathroom counter as I scrubbed the blood from my hands. Steam filled the bathroom, fogging the mirrors and sheltering us from the outside world.

I unbuttoned my shirt and tossed it on the floor. My shoes, socks, pants, and boxer briefs followed. She still hadn’t moved, but her eyes tracked my movements beneath the fringe of her lashes. With her lips pursed into a straight line and two deep grooves between her brows, she looked conflicted, as if she didn’t know if she wanted to stay or go. She didn’t need to worry. She was definitely staying. I’d already decided. She just didn’t know it yet. I needed to claim her again, remind her she was mine. But more than anything, I needed to be inside of her again. It’d been too long.

Not allowing her to fight the magnetic pull between us, I trapped her against the bathroom counter with my hips and framed her face with my hands. Suspended in the moment, steam billowed around us as my lips hovered just inches from hers, and then I pulled her toward me. When my lips crashed against hers, a muffled moan escaped her lips, throwing fuel on the lust I barely held in check over the past week. Damn, I missed her. I had tried to close the box on our time together, compartmentalizing it and burying it, but it never disappeared. It never faded.

My tongue curled around hers, rough and demanding, taking her, showing her she was mine. I didn’t hold anything back. The fruity taste of her wine lingered in her mouth. Her breathing accelerated in time with mine, and my stomach tightened with desire. By some sick twist of fate, we were meant to be together, and I intended to take advantage it.