Joseph, my second-in-command, raises a questioning eyebrow at me as I storm into the office and lay waste to the pile of papers on my desk, sweeping them onto the floor in a fury. My iPad and laptop swiftly follow. From his vantage point on my black leather couch he regards me with something dangerously close to amusement.

“She’s awake then?”

I clench my fists and lean across my now empty desk, grinding my knuckles into the polished glass. Right now I’d kill any other man who spoke to me with such confidence, but Joseph Grayson isn’t like any other man. We share a history together – a long, violent and bloody one. In our business that creates an unspoken bond, which is exactly why I’m allowing him to open his fucking mouth and still stay breathing.

With my silence showing no signs of quitting, he wanders over to the bar in the corner and pours out two neat shots of tequila. He returns and places one on the table in front of me. “Drink this. You’re going to need it. Emilio wants a debrief.”

“Emilio can go fuck himself!” I pick up the shot glass and drain it in one, slamming it back down on my desk with a crash.

My elder’s brother relentless scrutiny into every facet of our organization is a constant source of irritation to me. It’s unnecessary and invasive. He handles the deals and I ensure that they’re adhered to. Why complicate things further?

Our partnership offers me the opportunity to satisfy certain proclivities of mine. I don’t give a damn about narcotics but I do have a particular skill set. It’s this culture of fear, the one that I’ve built around the Santiago name, which has allowed us to rule this game unchallenged for fifteen years. Still, it’s safe to say there’s little love lost between us. We tolerate each other because it’s mutually beneficial but beyond that the family ties start to unravel.

“He wants to know what went down in Miami.”

There’s a questioning look on the American’s face and the unspoken truth weighs heavily between us. There’s no transparency with Joseph. He knows something’s up, and I know his suspicions are leading him right to the source of my anger tonight. To the seemingly incorruptible angel lying naked in my bed upstairs.

“How did Garcia find me?” I demand, switching tact. “How the hell did he know I was back in the States?”

“One of Nicolas’ men,” he says, tossing me a couple of photographs. “Turns out he was a double-crossing son of a bitch. He’s been passing Garcia intel. You can see from those that he’s already been dealt with.”

I glance down at the blood-soaked images. My cousin has a propensity for knife-work that might even rival mine. Still, I owe him one for getting me out of that hospital alive. I went in expecting to leave a bullet lighter. Instead, I’ve come away with more baggage than I can handle.

“Did he learn anything new?” I say, tossing the photos back to him.

“Not a lot.” He bends down to pick up the remains of my iPad and laptop from the floor. “Garcia’s been lining the pockets of several prominent DEA agents this past year. It explains why his merchandise has been flowing so freely and ours hasn’t.”

“And the leak from the other night?”

Joseph shakes his head. “I’m still looking into it.”

“What about Myers?” I say, referring to Eve’s father. “Is he compromised?”

“Not as far as we know.”

So he’s not a dirty cop, that’s something I guess. It’s true what they say – a code of honor does exist amongst thieves. The lowest of the low are always cops on the take. I decide to keep quiet about their connection for now. Eve’s an innocent in all of this, in more ways than one.

“Who is she anyway?”

“An irritation,” I growl, holding out my shot glass for a refill.

Rejection is a whole new experience for me. I’ve never had to work for a pretty face before. Usually they’re primed and ready just looking at this body, and that’s before they figure out who I am. First, I entice them in with my darkness and soon they’re begging me for my pain. Something tells me the rewards will be worth it with her, though.

I could have stayed kissing her all night. It took everything I had to stop when she begged me too. My frustration came damn near close to overwhelming me. I was right, she has a body of a goddess underneath her clothes – all smooth and ripe and ready for corruption. I wanted nothing more than to sink my dick into her soft folds and lose myself completely.

“I’ll put together a dossier on her straightaway. Name?”

I pause. “Eve.”

“Surname?”

Prick-tease… cunt… angel…

“Miller, I believe.”

As if I didn’t know. As if her fucking name hasn’t been circling around my head for days and days on end. Something odd strikes me then. Why has Eve elected to take a surname that’s different to her father’s? Could my angel be lying to me? My hand convulses around my shot glass. Jesus, I need to calm down.

“I take it she’s the same woman from the liquor store last week?”

My head snaps up. “How the fuck do you know about that?”

“Your brothers’ men aren’t the most discreet,” he says mildly, tipping more tequila into my glass. “They couldn’t shut up about her.”

“They better do or else.” I knock back another. “Whatever you find out I want it kept between us. I don’t want Emilio on one of his paranoid witch-hunts again. I want her kept off his radar. She’s got nothing to do with business.”

“Whatever you say.”

There’s a pause. “Any news from Colombia?”

“The latest PI report came in an hour ago.”

“Give me the highlights.”

“The lead was a dud.”

“Shit.”

It’s a bitter pill to swallow. Fifteen years on and this girl is still eluding me.

“Tell the team to keep searching,” I say curtly, “and I want Garcia and his whole operation eliminated by sunset tomorrow. He’s making a fool out of us. I should have taken my own team in the first place. You and I are heading back to Miami to see to it personally. We’ll start by having a little chat with those crooked DEA agents… Tell Tomas I want my plane fueled and ready within the hour.”

“What about the woman?”

I down the next shot before answering. “She stays exactly where she is. Tell Valentina to keep an eye on her and make sure she keeps the damned door locked. She’s not to leave my room under any circumstance.”

The time for niceties is over. I’m done backing off. If Eve Miller thinks I’m a monster then I’ll happily reinforce that belief. She’ll soon discover just how cruel and manipulative I can be. Forty-eight hours of solitude should give her more than enough time to reflect on my parting words. When I return from Miami I expect her to acquiesce to my every desire, tears or no tears.

When I return she better be begging me to fuck her.