But I had a very bad feeling that the shit was getting ready to hit the fan. I stood quickly, staring out the window as I did. “You didn’t mention Fassi.”

  Jago snorted. “One way to determine if my cousin is to be trusted.”

  Sighing, I locked eyes with the man. “If everything goes according to plans, then we’ll continue doing business with him. If not… Then ties will need to be cut.” His gaze hardened.

  “Understood.” I checked my watch. “Now, I need to finalize the contract to present to my bride to be.”

  “All very businesslike.”

  “That’s the way we both want it.”

  Jago shoved his coffee cup away and also stood, flanking my side seconds later. “That’s exactly the way Genevieve and I felt at the beginning.”

  “Don’t go shoving your love affair into my face. Trust me that Christine hates me. I broke into her apartment. I stole her away from her life. I killed the father of her child. Dangerous actions don’t endear you to a woman with an attitude.”

  “You might be surprised. Do yourself a favor, Kruz. Open your mind to possibilities.”

  “Meaning what?”

  He moved closer to the window, staring at the landscape of the vibrant city as I’d done seconds before. “Don’t rely on your past to shape your future. By all rights, we should be dead and buried.”

  “Morbid for only ten-fifteen in the morning.”

  “Maybe so, but you know I’m right. Get the contract drawn up but be ready to make changes. Significant changes. If I were you, I’d use the relationship you’ve obviously already built in your favor.”

  “Meaning what?”

  Jago tipped his head and by the mischievous look in his eyes, I could tell he had something up his sleeve. “Take her out to dinner tonight. Make it special. Discuss the contract there.”

  “A little tough to do when you have a cute kid relying on your attention and I refuse to leave Maverick with one of my men. Maverick will eat them alive.” I laughed because it was the truth. The kid was… amazing.

  “We can handle that.”

  “That? Who are you talking about?”

  “You know Genevieve,” Jago said and headed back to his desk. “She wants to babysit.”

  Hell. Soon the leadership of the Torres Cartel would be considered old family men instead of brutal savages.

  I wasn’t entirely certain how I felt about that.

  CHAPTER 23

  Christine

  “Everyone is looking at you. I guess you are someone famous,” I told my dinner companion.

  Kruz finally took his eyes off me long enough to scan the dining room. Given our table was a distance away from every other patron in the restaurant, I had a feeling he’d called ahead and made ‘arrangements.’ Even the host had ushered us in ahead of several people standing in line.

  “Why would you say that?” he asked.

  “Give me a break. Since we arrived, everyone has behaved as if you’re royalty, fawning over you with both excitement and extreme nervousness. It’s the same reaction we received at McDonald’s. They are looking at you wondering if you’re going to create a disturbance. You have bodyguards, one standing right over there in the corner pretending to be a statue. Don’t you think his presence is particularly oppressive to all the fine diners?”

  His laugh was boisterous. “First of all, I couldn’t care less about what anyone else thinks in this town or in any other city. Plus, I have news for you, my lovely bride to be. Everyone in Barcelona already knows me. If anyone is looking, they’re looking at you, wondering who you are to me.”

  “And what would you tell them if they had the nerve to ask?”

  He offered a smile and a lift of his glass as if in a salute. “I’d tell them I was the luckiest man in the world.”

  “Oh, please.” I rolled my eyes. “You could have any woman you wanted. I see three right across the room that would promise to have your babies for one night with you.”

  “Perhaps I don’t want any other woman. Only you.”

  His heated gaze and the smoky tone of his voice were electrifying, but I refused to be unnerved by the man. Not right now. Not when there was so much at stake.

  He’d insisted we go out to dinner, asking, although I’d say commanding, that I wear a dress he’d had some minion purchase during the day. Granted, it was as beautiful as the one I’d worn to the party, the single item he’d purchased while in the States I’d refused to take with me. Only this time, the dress matched the color of his tie perfectly.

  Tell me that wasn’t planned.

  What were we doing, attending a prom?

  Granted, he was the most handsome man in the room and I felt just like some fairy princess. Even the glorious lights of the city were more breathtaking than before.

  “Plying me with perfection,” I said absently as I gazed through the bank of windows at the shimmering city lights. When Kruz remained silent, I turned my head in his direction. The wineglass was still in my hand, the rich Bordeaux perfect for my mood.

  His expression was more impassive than I was used to, but there was no denying his attractiveness. Dressed in a lighter gray suit with a crisp white shirt and a stunning violet tie, he was the epitome of all things sexy while exuding danger. I hadn’t noticed before, but gray was flirting at his temples, the tiny lines on the sides of his eyes adding an air of sophistication.

  “How so?” he finally asked.

  “I wasn’t born yesterday. You arranged for Genevieve and Jago to babysit Maverick so we could go out. You brought me to an exquisite restaurant easily capable of rivaling anything in Miami. You ordered for both of us, something I would never have allowed in all my years on this earth. You ordered the most expensive wine on the menu. What’s next? Flowers and diamonds?”

  “If that’s what you’d like.”

  I couldn’t help but lift my wineglass in a toast. “Pulling out all the stops. You’re either nervous or simply trying to control me.”

  “What if I said a little of both?” He presented his signature grin that could be misconstrued as a scowl of warning.

  “Then I’d believe you.” A waiter suddenly appeared, whisking our dinner plates from the table. “Why don’t we get down to business? I’m certain you’re not interested in playing pretend.”

  Kruz leaned forward, placing his forearms on the table. In the flicker of candlelight, his skin glowed, his eyes more luminous than usual. The man could easily place me in a spell, but I refused.

  “How did you enjoy being at the corporate offices?” he asked, ignoring my request.

  “You are excellent at deflecting. Is that how you handle business?”

  “When absolutely necessary.”

  “I thought you simply went out and took what you wanted.” I realized as soon as I’d made the statement how it must have sounded. Another heat flash almost derailed me. I’d enjoyed the time spent with Genevieve much more than I’d thought possible. The woman was a force to be reckoned with. She’d taken me on a tour of the office and there wasn’t a single person who had greeted us who hadn’t had respect for the woman and all she’d accomplished.

  Was the morning and afternoon spent with glow and show? Absolutely, but when she’d presented financials detailing the last two quarters, I’d been more than impressed. She’d taken what deep down I knew to be a bogus consulting firm to launder money and turned it into a thriving legitimate business by diversifying. Buying real estate. Buying companies and either dismantling them or recreating their mission with significant success.

  To say I was impressed was an understatement. What she didn’t discuss was the illegitimate practices. She didn’t know me. How could she trust me?

  Kruz laughed and swirled his whiskey. “Usually, but not always.”

  “Such a covert answer. I will say Genevieve has lofty goals to shift a portion of an already successful business into import and export diamond sales.” I was baiting him, at least to a point. I’d sensed from a few things Genevieve had tossed out like carats, not the edible kind, that something was in the works.

  Instead of continuing down the path of fear, I’d become excited. Maybe it was the need for revenge rearing its ugly head. What I refused to do was to get in the middle of something without learning all the details.

  If allowed by my future husband.

  A knot formed in my stomach. We were getting married. The moment I signed on the long, black line, I’d be his property. I suddenly glanced away, uncertainty crowding out the excitement.

  Using a single finger, he guided my face back to center. “What is it?”

  “Nothing.”

  “Not nothing. Weren’t you the one who insisted there be no secrets?”

  He had me there. “I just remembered I’ll soon be married to you.”

  “Answer me something? Will it be so terrible?”

  The answer wasn’t as easy as I wanted it to be. “Not really, but…”

  “But you’re one of those who believe in fairytales. Right? Knights in shining armor?”

  “What’s wrong with that?”

  “Nothing, but I’m no hero and I’ll easily admit that.”

  “No, you’re more like the antichrist.” He had no idea what to make of my statement, but if I wasn’t mistaken, I noticed a flash of something akin to pain in his eyes. “I was kidding, although you are a dangerous man. I can’t forget that.”

  “Do you honestly believe I’d hurt you or Maverick?” He rubbed his bent finger from one side of my jaw to the other.

  “That’s not the kind of danger I was talking about.” Before he asked, I pushed my glass aside. “Do you have the final draft of the contract?”

  I could tell he was disappointed. At this point, I didn’t want to get too comfortable with him. Genevieve had offered a few pieces of advice and for several reasons, including that she was a badass, I chose to trust her. One was that whatever was going on with Kruz, I needed to handle business first. Doing so the other way around would make the business aspect of our relationship complicated.

  I’d almost told her it was too late, but even though he looked edible, I was holding my own. Meaning I wasn’t interested in engaging in anything passionate. I took that as a win. Second, she warned me that Kruz was the most self-absorbed man she’d ever met. While she hadn’t gone into any explanations, I’d taken that to mean he had no interest in developing a strong relationship with anyone, in business or pleasure.

  What I couldn’t tell anyone, especially Genevieve, who was now my new boss, was that her words brought a wash of sadness. The whirlwind of caustic decisions and actions had yet to allow reality to sink in. Until her words. Finally, I’d pushed aside the fantasy about finding the perfect man and falling in love, living happily ever after.

  Being with Malcolm should have done that, but no, I’d been a glutton for punishment. No longer. This was a business arrangement, a way to ensure Maverick had an amazing life and could do anything he wanted to do.

  Nothing more.

  Kruz seemed unnerved that I was pushing hard to finish the business he’d told me we’d come to discuss in the first place. Maybe he was just such a control freak that he hated that I was taking the lead. He’d better get used to it.

  “What is your position within the Morales-Torres Empire?”

  That wasn’t the official name and I heard the disdain in his voice. “Vice president.”

  He snorted. “So Jago was right.”

  “What was he so right about?”

  He pulled a group of papers from his briefcase, sliding them in my direction. “That Genevieve was determined to make you an executive.”

  “Don’t you think I can do a good job?” I was mostly teasing although I didn’t appreciate his sudden aloofness.

  I was shocked when he suddenly wrapped his huge hand around mine, leaning in far enough over the table I gathered a whiff of his drink.

  “You can do anything you set your mind to. However, I don’t like you taking the job,” he gritted out. Jesus, if his eyes weren’t burning a significant hole in mine.

  “You all but told me I had to take the job.”

  He squeezed my hand almost to the point of pain. “I was wrong.”

  “I thought you were never wrong.”

  “Don’t push me, Christine. We’re not playing a game.” Tonight, his voice was gravel and smoke from anger.

  “Isn’t that exactly what we’re doing? Both you and Genevieve are happy to use what I know about diamonds and the relationship between my father and Skyler Worthington to your benefit. In turn, I’m going to get exactly what I want. Stone cold revenge. Isn’t that a win-win?” I purposely pulled my hand away. “Plus, I was able to prove how much of learning about my father’s craft I was able to maintain. That makes me a real asset to this great big dangerous empire. Worth its weight in… diamonds. Don’t you think?”

  He slowly sat back in his seat, this time reaching for his glass instead of my hand. However, he was purposely tapping his finger on the rim while I glanced at the contract. Just skimming the paragraphs, I was easily able to see most of the first page was basic legalese. I’d seen more than my share of contracts when I’d worked with my father, even though I’d tried to forget everything I’d learned.

  “Very clever, Christine. However, I’m certain you’ll find the terms, most of which you’ve already established, agreeable.”

  “I’m certain I will. You’ve already determined I’m not the pushover you initially believed.”

  I flipped to the second page where more of the meat of the contract was spelled out. His silence was followed by heavy breathing.

  Lifting my head, a cold shiver skated down my spine from the way he was looking at me. “What?”

  “I never said you were a pushover, Christine. Quite the opposite.”

  There was no reason to acknowledge what he was telling me. I continued reading. “Do you have a pen?”

  “Why?”

  “Because I need to make some changes.”

  Every scowl he gave me had an entirely different effect than I knew he wanted. I was filled with excitement instead of discord. Plus, I wanted to pinch his jaw on purpose. Maybe it was something I shouldn’t do tonight.

  “We agreed to twenty thousand a month. That’s in addition to the salary I’ll be making at Morales-Torres Enterprises.” I used the real name of the company on purpose.

  “I am curious. What will your salary be?”

  “Two hundred thousand dollars a year plus benefits.” I returned my attention to the paperwork, biting back a laugh when I heard a slight gasp.

  “You should have asked for more,” he said, which surprised me. “You’re worth much more.”

  Hesitating with my pen in the air, I wanted to believe what he said, but why should I? I was sitting in a gorgeous restaurant negotiating a contract for what could be a good portion of my life. Even in my jaded world, that didn’t make for a trustworthy atmosphere. “I’ll ask for an increase when I prove myself.”

  “I’m certain you will.” He laughed. “You’re a tough lady, but remember, this is a world you know nothing about.”

  “Nothing?” I asked, scribbling another note. When I lifted my head, I noticed he was looking at the paperwork, obviously curious what I knew. “Are you certain about that?”

  As he’d done before, he leaned over the table and it felt as if he was trying to intimidate me. We’d gone way past that at his point. So I leaned over as well, unfortunately, until our lips were almost touching. I tried not to allow it to bother me.

  Even if my nipples instantly hardened, my stomach clenching. “I know your main source of income is in illegal drugs. If I had to guess, you import from other countries, organizations you hire to produce the product. You’re the middleman.”

  “Is that right?”

  We were far enough away from people that I didn’t feel concerned someone would overhear us, but I tried to keep my voice low. “Yes, that’s right. I don’t see you owning sweat shops producing the coke. That’s beneath you. However, my guess is you do cut the finest quality rock from time to time. You then turn around and sell at a premium to very influential buyers, the kind of men and woman who pay highly for quality and anonymity. If I had to guess, I’d say you’ve toyed with selling illegal weapons but find it distasteful. How am I doing so far?”

  He lifted his hand, bending his fingers and shifting his arm closer. However, he stopped just before caressing my skin.

  I arched my back in response, daring him to try to kiss me.

  The moment lingered for way too long. Now my heart was thudding against my chest. I had a feeling he knew exactly what he was doing to me but chose to pull away.

  “Clever.”

  “I read. I pay attention,” I countered. “Am I right?”

  He took a deep breath before answering. “You are.”

  I was the one to breathe out the hot air he’d just consumed. Hearing confirmation of the truth should bother me, but I felt more elation that I was right than anything else.

  “Doesn’t that frighten you, Christine?”

  “Should it? I doubt I’ll be handling the fine powder. You won’t allow me near it, not that I’d want anything to do with that side of the business. And Maverick is never to know. Never.”

  “No, you are correct and I wouldn’t dream of allowing Maverick to learn anything about our business. Finish going through the contract.”

  Was he filled with amusement or annoyance? I couldn’t be certain. I continued going through the contract and the entire time as I turned from one page to another, a heavy weight fell on my shoulders. I was really doing this. I was selling my soul to get back at my father. Was that really the only reason? Was I that vengeful that I wanted my father crushed like a bug?

  Or was there more to this?

  The verbiage was straightforward and made a mockery out of a marriage.

  We’d live in the same house.

  We’d have a joint bank account.

  We’d sleep in the same bed.

  We’d eat regular meals together.

  We’d be seen out of the house together.