So Victor hadn’t been captured and offed by Montilla’s men. Then where was he?

  “Laila?” Trees prompted impatiently.

  Admitting that she’d ditched Victor days ago would only encourage Trees in his insistence that she belonged to him. “I-I…um, have a headache.”

  From the middle console, he pulled out a bottle of ibuprofen and a granola bar. “I thought you might.”

  Laila took the items with a frown. She didn’t understand Trees. He’d threatened her, he’d unleashed his sexuality on her, he’d withheld orgasm, and he’d abducted her. Why was he caring for her now? Being considerate?

  She studied him as she chewed a couple of bites of the bar, then downed a pair of the tablets and drank more of the cool agua. His strong profile, his control of the wheel, his focus on the road… Something about all that aroused her. She shifted in her seat. Her sex burned. “Thank you.”

  As she set the bottle in the cupholder, Trees zipped his gaze her way. “Why, Laila? And before you think of lying to me, I know you hadn’t been with Ramos for a while. Your sister told me.”

  Why would Valeria give up her confidences? Come to think of it, Trees should never have been able to find her…unless her sister helped. Had Valeria divulged her secrets in some misguided attempt to protect her?

  Laila’s ire rose. Valeria must know she was doing her best to keep her family safe. More than anyone, her sister should understand the consequences of failure. Laila had to be the one to get the cartels off their backs. Jorge needed his mother. Valeria must stay alive to raise her son. While Laila often wondered…if something happened to her, who, besides her sister, would even miss her?

  She turned again to look at Trees. He might. This big, dominating bundle of muscle and testosterone seemed determined to have her. To own her. He might mourn her death and yearn for her if she was gone. But why?

  If he loved you two weeks ago, could he have truly fallen out of love after you sent him one awful video?

  Why did the possibility that he still loved her make her heart flutter? Why should his feelings matter?

  Because he did. Because she loved him. Lying to herself about that was foolish.

  “I tried to give Victor’s location to someone in Montilla’s organization in exchange for information that might ensure my family’s safety.”

  He raised a brow. “You tried?”

  “Victor had an informant. Someone in Montilla’s inner circle.” She licked her lips. Her next admission would tell Trees so much… “I offered him the location of his boss’s car and the man who had stolen it if he told me where to find Kimber.”

  Trees sent her a weighty stare. “So you sold Ramos out. Then you called Valeria with the information, and she passed it to EM Security.”

  She nodded. “Now Kimber is safe, yes? How is she?”

  “Better than expected. No one raped, beat, tortured, or starved her.”

  “They would not. She was too valuable a pawn to risk. If they had abducted her to exploit her or to use her as an instrument of revenge, their treatment would have been much different.”

  “Makes sense that they didn’t abuse her. They always intended to exchange her.”

  “For Valeria and Jorge. That is why I tried to beat them at their own game.”

  “Gutsy,” Trees said with admiration, then his expression became a glower. “But dangerous and absolutely forbidden in the future. You won’t do that again.”

  Laila didn’t refute him. It would only start an argument, but she couldn’t afford to let him dictate if or how she kept her family safe.

  “How long before we reach my sister?” She pulled down the visor and stared in the little mirror, blanching at the mussiness of her curls as she tried finger-combing them into submission.

  “Just a few minutes.”

  That was a relief. Sitting this close to Trees, knowing he was furious, yet remembering how he made her feel when he’d touched her… She fidgeted anxiously.

  Who do you think you’ll be with once the visit to your sister is over?

  Trees. And God only knew what he would do to her next.

  “Now answer my earlier question. Is your pussy sore?”

  She changed the subject again. “Where are my things?”

  Trees clenched his teeth in anger. “In the back seat. I cleared out the condo. There’s no trace of you left. If either Ramos or Montilla’s men come looking for you, they’ll find nothing. I even paid the sisters who own the place to swear you were never there.”

  He’d thought of everything. Laila supposed she should be grateful. She hadn’t wanted to admit that she might be in over her head, but she couldn’t afford to stop, not until Montilla and Victor were both dead.

  “Thank you for packing up everything.”

  He cut her a glance as he rolled down the highway. “But not for taking you from Mexico?”

  Since she would rather not lie to him, she pressed her lips together, not saying a word.

  He sighed. “You know, once we’re done here, I’ll take you home. Then you’ll answer to me.”

  “You do not own me.”

  “I don’t. But I’m responsible for you.” He slid his free hand to her thigh and his fingers tightened. “I’ll do whatever I need to keep you safe. And let me be clear. The corrective discipline I mentioned in Mexico? That’s still coming to you. Is your pussy sore? I’m not going to ask you again.”

  Laila remained mute as Trees pulled into the parking lot of an upscale apartment complex, drove straight to a building on the edge of the property, then turned to her, his expression sharp. “Laila?”

  “My sister has been staying here?”

  He nodded. “Since she and Kane arrived from Florida. Sit there. I’ll come around for you.”

  Did he think she was going to run?

  With a sigh, Laila let herself out of the vehicle. When he rounded the back and saw her on her feet, he glowered. “You don’t listen well.”

  “I heard you.” She smoothed down her dress.

  When she looked up, he was against her, pressing her against his Hummer. He took her chin in his grip. “Then you need to learn to obey.”

  She raised a challenging brow at him. “You need to learn that I will bow to no man.”

  “I don’t want you to bow, honey. I want you to kneel.” He shocked her by leaning in and raking his tongue up the side of her neck. “To learn to trust me to keep you safe.” Then he smacked her ass with his big, broad palm. “And to fucking answer my questions.”

  “You do not—”

  “Get to tell you what to do? We’ll see about that—after you visit your sister.” Trees gripped her arm and led her up a flight of stairs, to a nondescript front door, then knocked. “And you’ll be very sorry you refused to answer me.”

  The fear and thrill that jolted her veins startled Laila.

  Before she could think of something to say, Kane Preston answered and ushered them in, scanning the lot before shutting and locking the door.

  “We’re clear,” Trees said.

  Kane nodded, then turned to her. “Hi, Laila. Valeria is eager to see you.”

  Oh, she wanted to speak to her sister, too. “Where is she?”

  “Changing Jorge,” he added. “She’ll be out in a minute.”

  “Thank you.”

  Kane offered them a drink, which they both declined. Together, they made their way to the sofa and sat in uncomfortable silence. Thankfully, Valeria emerged with her long hair piled on top of her head and Jorge in her arms, looking adorably fresh from a bath with slicked-down hair and a dimpled smile.

  Laila jumped up from the sofa. “Sobrino!”

  Valeria handed Jorge to her with a soft glance of love. “He missed you.”

  “I missed him.” She clutched the boy close, basking in the hint of his powdery baby smell. “It has only been three weeks since I saw him, but he has grown so much!”

  Her sister nodded. “More every day, it seems.”

  “He is recovered from his illness?”

  “Completely.”

  “Good.” Laila swallowed, then looked at her sister with a million questions in her eyes. She didn’t dare ask them in front of Trees and Kane. And if she switched to Spanish, Kane would understand. They needed privacy. “Where can we talk?”

  Valeria hesitated. Clearly, her sister knew she was displeased.

  “The bedroom?” Kane offered.

  Laila nodded to her sister. “I will follow you.”

  Clutching Jorge, she kissed his little head as she and Valeria made their way to the back of the small but comfortable unit. Inside, she sat on the edge of the bed and bounced Jorge on her knee.

  Valeria shut the door. “We are alone.”

  “Why did you betray me? Why did you tell Trees where to find me?”

  Apology softened her face. “Because I am worried about you.”

  “I am doing all I can to keep you and Jorge safe.”

  “If you had asked me, I would have told you not to risk your life. I pay EM Security to do that.”

  Laila huffed. She understood her sister’s perspective, but as before, they saw this matter differently. “They have yet to succeed. If I do it myself, I know it will be done.”

  “At what cost?” Valeria took Jorge from her, set him in the playpen, then turned back to her. “You are my only sister. Other than Jorge, you are my only family. You worry about us—”

  “Of course I do.”

  “We worry about you.”

  “So you sent Trees to stop me?”

  “I sent Trees to make sure you stop baiting dangerous men who would make your end terrifying and awful simply for the sport of it and leave me without the sister I love. We have been apart for too long. After I escaped, I felt incredibly guilty that circumstances did not allow me to bring you along. I could not save you for nearly two years. I did not risk everything to get you free so that you could throw yourself back to the wolves in some misguided attempt to save me. Stop sacrificing yourself for everyone else and start living for yourself.”

  Laila sighed. Of course Valeria saw the situation that way. And she could hardly tell her older sister to care less. “As Emilo’s wife, you did not see the worst of his men, of their plans. You do not grasp how they think. You do not understand just how ruthless—”

  “They can be?” Valeria laughed bitterly. “My husband did not love me. He did not even like me. To survive, I had to learn his business, hoard information, figure out how to manipulate him and those around him to provide for my own comfort, as well as yours and Mamá’s.” Then her sister seemed to remember Laila’s reality, and her voice grew small. “Or I tried. I had no idea what was happening to you…”

  “We have been over this. You could not have known. Emilo made sure of it.”

  “But I should have guessed.” Valeria did not often cry, but she looked close to breaking down.

  She had also inadvertently made the point Laila had been trying to. “You did not because you do not understand the criminals and degenerates of that horrible cartel.”

  Her sister fell silent, gripping the side of the playpen as if she needed the support and strength. “If I could tear the whole thing down, I would. Today. In one fell swoop. I would wipe it off the planet and I would laugh.”

  “I know.” Laila would like that, too. But she understood full well that something more violent would only grow and metastasize into that criminal space. Because she was a realist, she had been happy to settle for eliminating the people who wanted her and her sister dead. “Why did you send Trees after me?”

  “I did not. He came to me, desperate to find you.”

  Laila hadn’t expected that. “And you told him where to find me? I trusted you.”

  “He loves you.”

  “Did he say that?”

  Valeria frowned. “Has he not told you?”

  He had…before circumstance had forced her to break his heart. “It does not matter.”

  “It does,” Valeria insisted. “You have the one thing I never will, a man willing to give you his whole heart. Trees stood here less than twenty-four hours ago and promised to bring you back safely if I told him where to find you. So when he admitted that he loves you, I spilled everything.”

  “That was yesterday?” After she had sent him the video? Apparently, and she shouldn’t really be surprised. Hadn’t she wondered on their way here if it was possible Trees still loved her?

  “You can be angry if you want, but I would do it again. For you, hermana.”

  “What if I did not love him in return?”

  Valeria’s gaze was softly chiding. “Why ask when you do? I had only to see the way you looked at him just now to know how you feel. But you are afraid. Is that why you fight him?”

  Laila considered her sister’s question. The truth smacked her in the face. “Except for you and Jorge, everyone I love has been taken from me. It is easier not to love anymore.”

  “Easier but empty. What sort of life will you have with no one in it? I can tell you. Meaningless. Jorge gives me purpose and a child’s love, but what I would not give for a man’s strong, protective arms around me. For him to give me more children and stand beside me as we raise them. I threw myself at Mr. Preston.” Valeria looked embarrassed. “He would not have me.”

  Empathy softened Laila. Valeria had never expressed any of these feelings, and she was stunned by her sister’s loneliness. “I am sorry.”

  “If I upset you, I am sorry, too. But I meant well.”

  Valeria had. She always had. And Laila now had a lot to think about.

  “Trees means to take me back to his house for ‘corrective discipline’ until I learn to stop playing cartel games. Do you not worry what that means?”

  Her sister cocked her head. “No. Anything he does to you would be far less than the cartel. He is not a bully, Laila. He is not Victor Ramos. And if he teaches you to value your own safety, why should I balk at his method?”

  “So you condone whatever he means to do to me?”

  “I suspect he will do it with a loving hand.” She sighed. “Has he given you pleasure? When he took you to his bed, did he not show you the good parts of being a woman?”

  “Yes.” Laila couldn’t lie about that.

  “Then you have nothing to fear…except your heart surrendering itself to him.”

  Laila was afraid her sister was right.

  Chapter Seven

  Laila visited with Valeria and Jorge for far longer than an hour. Trees hadn’t minded. She’d needed the opportunity to connect with her sister and cuddle her nephew. And he’d used the time to ask Kane questions about Valeria’s habits, actions, and communications. His fellow operative didn’t think Valeria was up to anything, much less no good. That told Trees Laila had likely hatched her schemes alone.

  Now he intended to find out what she had up her sleeve next and put a stop to it—before it killed her.

  They left the apartment as twilight was falling. With his palm lingering on the small of her back, he reviewed his plans. While he’d waited, he’d sorted through possibilities, discarded ideas, and settled on a strategy. He knew exactly what to do when he hit his door.

  The forty-five minutes between now and the minute he had her naked and tied down for his punishment were going to chafe.

  He drove fast, heading straight toward the setting sun. Silence prevailed.

  Laila surprised him by breaking it. “Thank you for taking me to see my family. I have missed them.”

  She seemed quieter, more thoughtful than earlier. Softer. He liked it. But he didn’t expect it to last. As soon as she understood his intent, she would fight back. There would be fireworks.

  “Of course. They’re important to you. I would never keep you from them.” Unlike Victor Ramos.

  Trees didn’t say that aloud. The dig served no purpose now. He had to stay focused on his objectives. Still, he couldn’t stop wondering… When she’d left his place with Ramos, had she really become the thug’s whore again, eager to take his cock hard and raw? Did she miss Ramos after selling him out to Montilla for her family’s safety?

  Laila sent him a faint curl of her lips. “Where are we going?”

  “My house.”

  “How long do you intend to keep me there? I know I cannot stay with my sister; it is too dangerous for her and Jorge. But Victor is still alive, and he knows where you live.”

  Was she saying in a roundabout way that she was worried about him? Or just her own hide? “Oh, I hope he steps foot on my property again. I will blow his fucking head off.” Ghost and Matt had offered to watch his six tonight to ensure Ramos couldn’t creep up on him. “Does the possibility that I might kill him upset you, Laila? Or did you stop caring about him and the rough sex he gives you once you sold him out?”

  She dodged his question. “You cannot keep me against my will.”

  “With me is where Valeria wants you. Right now, it’s the safest place to be. So you’ll stay with me until you learn to stop running headlong into danger and the people hunting you are either dead or behind bars.”

  She hesitated a long moment, and Trees wished like fuck he knew what she was thinking. “What will you do to me once we reach your house?”

  “Take you to my dungeon.”

  “But—”

  “No.” He stopped at a red light and turned to her. “You can’t be surprised. I told you in Mexico to make a choice, easy or hard. You didn’t. The same way you wouldn’t admit you were wet. You were stubbornly mute again when you refused to tell me if your pussy is sore. You’ve run from me. You’ve lied to me. You’ve stabbed me in the back. You’ve put yourself in danger again and again. I gave you every chance to trust me. To open up to me. You didn’t. So I’m going to peel you back, layer by layer, until you fucking get honest.”

  Once he’d stripped away her emotional defenses, she would have nothing and no one to rely on but him. Then he’d find out what she actually felt for him…if anything.

  What if she doesn’t love you in return?

  It would suck, but that wasn’t the point of this exercise. He couldn’t force her love any more than he could force her trust. What he could compel? Obedience. Honesty. Communication.