Risky (Torn Between Two Lovers #2)(56)

“I’m glad to hear it.” His eyes glittered. “Your food is outstanding, I must say.”

“Why am I not surprised that you’ve been there?” She warmed with pleasure at the compliment.

“I’m thorough, if nothing else. I tried Floor Fifty-Five before I flew here to check out the lovely owner for myself.”

“Why?” she asked, curious.

“Because I wanted to get a feel for the woman behind the success. A taste of you, if you will.”

The way he uttered taste was damned erotic, rolling off his tongue—just as he meant for it to be. Arousal stirred, and she suddenly wanted to be somewhere private with him, finding out firsthand exactly how good he tasted. “And what did you learn?”

“That you love beauty and bringing others pleasure. You have a fine eye for exquisite detail. And you work much too hard, according to your staff. This vacation was long overdue.”

“Amazing. I don’t think I even have the energy to stay annoyed with you for dissecting me like a bug.”

“I study people. I can’t afford not to.”

“That’s how you built a billion-dollar hotel and casino empire,” she said in a low voice so others wouldn’t overhear.

“So you know something about me.” He looked extremely pleased by this.

“Gray told me.”

His smugness popped like a balloon. “I can imagine what else he had to say.”


“That you’re the devil’s right hand? Sure.” After taking one last bite of her fish, she laid down her fork and sipped at the remainder of her wine. “Why don’t you tell me about you, in your own words?”

He gazed at her for a long moment, as though weighing his words. “I have two brothers, Manny and Rio, and a sister, all younger than me. Our sister, Cori, broke free of the family, worked her way through nursing school. She’s married to a firefighter named Zack Knight. They gave me a beautiful little niece.”

The genuine love in his voice stole into her heart. “You must love them all very much.”

“I do. And I would do anything to protect them. I almost went to prison years ago for a crime I didn’t commit. I took the rap for killing Cori’s abusive ex-husband after he nearly beat her to death, when in fact Cori had shot him in self-defense. I couldn’t let her go through any more pain.”

Anna sucked in a sharp breath. “My God.”

Pointedly, he went on. “A couple of years ago I took a bullet for Cori and Zack, and had to kill my half brother Rafael to stop him from murdering them and me. I’d do it again. I love all of my family, even my idiot brothers.”

Joaquin had killed someone. Not just anyone, but his own flesh and blood. She swallowed hard and tried to wrap her brain around that fact. As she struggled, his expression became wistful, a bit sad.

“I’m not a good man, Anna, at least by most people’s definition. I just do what I must to keep my loved ones safe and happy and keep my business afloat. I’ve had to make some tough decisions and be a real bastard sometimes to survive.”

“That doesn’t make you entirely bad, either.” As she said it, she realized it was true. “People do things when their backs are against the wall that they normally wouldn’t. I’d do anything to protect my mother, so I get where you’re coming from about family.”

“Thank you for that,” he said, his voice low and warm.

“So, why is Gray so determined to throw you in prison? Is this vendetta personal?”

He sighed. “For him maybe, but not for me. Your agent has had it in for me ever since my old man died a few years back and left all of the Delacruz holdings and businesses in my control. Gray had been attempting to bring my father down, quite unsuccessfully.”

“And you inherited his crusade,” she guessed.

“Exactly. I won’t lie to you, Anna; the Delacruz name was dirty when my father passed. The FBI just couldn’t make a case against us because Dad was too f*cking smart for them. Kept the wagons circled tight around his family and our employees, which frustrated the feds to no end. When I was growing up, I hated all the subterfuge. As I got older, I also began to understand how his dealings put the whole family in danger.”

“So as soon as you could, you took steps to fix that.”

“Yes, and it hasn’t been easy. When my father died, I started implementing changes that have pissed off everyone. And I mean that quite literally.”

A chill crept over her skin. “What changes?”

“For the past few years, I’ve been slowly eradicating all criminal activity from our businesses. This hasn’t made anyone happy—not the FBI, who’s determined to nail us, nor my father’s old cronies, who are afraid that my going legit means I’ll eventually turn on them. I’m dangerous because I know too much.”

“Have they threatened your life?” she asked softly.

He chuckled, but it wasn’t a sound of amusement. “Raged, threatened, cut off money and supplies, even killed some of the guard dogs that patrol my estate. There have been a few attempts on my life as well, but nothing I can’t handle.”

A few attempts? Nothing he can’t handle? She blinked at him. “You say that like you’re talking about a bad case of the flu.”