Caden was surprised when Tony pulled up in front of an exotic animal refuge. Tony grinned at her as he cut the engine and turned toward her.
“The cartel owns this place. We started it and we fund it. My family is full of devoted animal lovers. My aunt, Roxanne, was the one to come up with the idea. My hard ass uncle had it built for her, kind of like her own wildlife Taj Mahal. He is head over heels in love with that woman. After nearly three decades together, he’d still do anything to keep her happy.
“When we love, Caden, it’s for life and we hold nothing back. It borders on obsession. And we don’t fuck around on our women like a lot of gangsters do. Our wives aren’t just our wives, they’re our best friends. They are our partners in crime—an integral part of what we do. I know my philosophy may appear sexist at first glance, but it’s really not. My family and I believe women have a sixth sense, and we use those powers of intuition to our advantage. The only weakness the Ramirez men have is our women, and even then, we possess them -- whether they want to be possessed or not. Our enemies would like nothing more than to get to us through our women, so we are protective in the extreme. You need to understand that once you’re on our radar, there’s no escaping. You’re prey whether you want to be or not. We don’t know anything but mad love. So, marry me.”
“Tony. You’re asking me to marry you when we’re going to buy spiders to kill somebody.”
“Damn straight, I am. There’s nothing normal about me. Why should I propose the way a normal man would? Give me your hand in marriage and I promise you, I’ll rope the moon to keep you happy. I won’t be weak, and I’ll likely be crazy as fuck along the way, but I’ll love you with an everlasting love.”
“Oh, Tony. You are irre-fuckin-sistable. How could I say no to a man like you? I love you, but I desperately need to change my life. I want you to be part of that change, but I need to know you’re serious here. Will you take care of me? Will you make me yours? Will you make sure I never have to use my body to pay my bills again?”
“Caden. Baby.” He grabbed her, pulling her more roughly than he intended into his body. “Yes, I will. I want nothing more than to protect you from men using you. Those other guys at The Club fell for Foxy, your stage persona, but that’s not me. I saw you, baby, right from the beginning. I want you – the real you. I want to protect you. I want to make you mine. You are my only weakness, but if it means I get to have you, I’ll be whatever I have to be.”
“Then let me work with you,” Caden said earnestly. “Don’t keep secrets from me. Treat me as an equal and I’ll say yes. I won’t marry you today or tomorrow, but in the future…yes.”
Tony pulled her into his arms and kissed the breath out of her. When he pulled away, his smile felt a little patronizing, but Caden shrugged it off and wasn’t going to let it ruin a beautiful moment. There was still a part of her that wasn’t willing to rush into marriage. She told herself that she had a choice, that Tony would accept any answer she gave him -- that she was safe from being forced into marriage. But deep down inside, she knew no Ramirez man would be put off when they wanted something badly enough.
“You’re more than an equal, you’re the other half of me now and I can’t live without you. Stick with me, baby; together we can rule the world.”
“You really believe that, don’t you?”
“Damn straight, I do.”
“Yes! I’ll marry you, you crazy fuckin’ Colombian gangster”—she rolled her eyes at him—“but not today or tomorrow. In. The. Future.”
“A conditional yes,” he said quietly, scowling. “Well, it’s not a no, but I’m going to keep asking until you say yes and only yes.”
It seemed to appease him for now, but for how long remained to be seen.
Tony hopped out of the SUV and cocked a sardonic brow at her. “Are you ready to meet the ten most venomous animals known to man?”
“Yeah. I’m just glad none of the ten most venomous creatures known to man are my worst fears.”
“Oh, don’t worry, baby. I’ll figure that out. I trust you, but it’s better that I have the upper hand. I’m not letting you go anywhere. Like it or not, you belong to me and I will do anything to keep you.”
“You’ve got me, okay?” she grinned, squeezing his hand. “Now, come on. You’ve got me curious about these spiders. I have to admit, your family buying a refuge for exotic animals is a surprise. How can you guys be so cold as far as cartel business is concerned, and yet so merciful when it comes to animals?”
“I told you, humans are the most deceitful animals there are, they deserve to be tortured. At least you know where an animal is coming from. Humans are deceitful. They lie. Animals are true to their primal nature. Whether it’s as loving as man’s best friend or as lethal as a mountain lion, they remain true to who they are.”
“Then let’s go see these primal creatures in all their glory.”
He came around and opened her door for her, taking her hand in a firm grasp. “Let’s do it.”
From the moment they entered the refuge, she was impressed. Everything was pristine. The animals weren’t kept in cages but in open environments that mimicked their natural habitats. She approached a glass enclosure for one of the larger habitats and stood mesmerized by a white Bengal tiger. Tony stood behind her and rested his hands on her shoulders. The tiger watched them yet meandered around, at ease in the habitat that had been created for him.
She looked up to see a man dressed in jeans and a faded T-shirt headed their way. His facial features were cut in sharp, severe angles, but his tousled dark brown hair and soft blue eyes gave him a laid back, relaxed look.
“Don’t let his looks deceive you,” Tony murmured. “He’s one of the deadliest men in our organization. We call him King, because this is his jungle, and, yeah, he’s the king of it. It started out as a joke, but it stuck so we just kept calling him that.”
“I see you’re filling her in on the history of my nickname,” King said as he ambled up to them. “You must be Caden,” he said, shooting Tony an approving look. “Welcome to my jungle. C’mon, let me show you around.”
“What got you interested in doing this?” Caden asked.
“He’s a fucking brainiac,” Tony laughed, answering for him. “He just looks like one of the cool kids. He’s been into studying exotic animals since we were kids in school. Back in the day, we also called him the Tarantula Whisperer. He’s just got a way with creatures of all kinds.”
“Very funny, man. Well, here, let me put my glasses on so I’ll look the part.” Caden was surprised to see he looked just as good with the black framed glasses on. She couldn’t help but wonder why he didn’t have a ‘partner in crime’, as Tony had worded it.
As if reading her mind, Tony said, “Now all we have to do is find him a woman.”
“It’s going to take a certain kind of woman to put up with my line of work. I don’t know many girls who wouldn’t be freaked out by all the spiders and snakes here. Speaking of spiders and snakes, let’s head over here.”
Caden squeezed Tony’s hand for some much-needed confidence. She wasn’t scared of spiders per se, but she wasn’t eager to get too close either. Their first stop was an aquarium that held a lone fish. He looked harmless enough.
“This little guy right here”—King tapped the side of the tank and the fish immediately puffed up—“is a puffer fish. Some people consider them a delicacy. Personally, I refuse to eat something that’s going to kill me if it isn’t cooked right. I might know all there is to know about puffer fish, but I don’t know jack about whether the chef knows what he’s doing or not. But, hey, to each his own.”
“I have to agree with you,” Tony said, eying the fish warily, like he wasn’t convinced it couldn’t get out of the sealed tank.
They moved along, getting impromptu lessons on poisonous dart frogs, black widow spiders, and deadly snakes. “Your boy, Santiago, likes snakes; fancies himself a collector.”
“That’s one reason his own cartel is looking for him. When he disappeared, he left all those lovely snakes behind looking for their daddy,” Tony said with a shudder.
“I can see how that wouldn’t go over well with his men. Now, these little babies?” He pointed toward the collection of spiders. “Our boy is terrified of these. I got something to show you, Tony. Made it myself.” He leaned down and grabbed something from a cabinet beneath the terrarium. When he straightened, he was holding a plastic box with an opening at the top. It was an odd-looking contraption and Caden was eager to hear King’s explanation.
Tony grabbed it, testing its weight. He studied the craftsmanship, not overlooking any detail. “Plexiglass?”
“Yep. You wouldn’t want that bad boy breaking and those spiders getting loose. You stick that bastard’s head in this, open the divider, and let those spiders feed on his face and do their job. When they’re done, they’ll move back into the reservoir area and you can seal it back up. Don’t wait too long, though, because his head’s gonna probably swell up and that can get tricky. Then just slide his head out, burn his body, and bring my babies back home in one piece and your job is done. By the way…make sure you count them. This should hold ‘em, but they’re sneaky little suckers and they can get in or out of just about anything. I’m convinced they have cognitive abilities.”
“What do I do if one gets out?” Tony asked with a scowl.
“Kiss your ass goodbye.”
As they were leaving, they passed a terrarium full of cockroaches. Caden jerked her hand free and ran outside around a corner. Tony followed her and when he saw her throwing up, he pulled her hair out of the way. Well, now I know what you’re terrified of. He would wait until later to question her about why she was terrified of something that wasn’t even poisonous.
“I’m sorry, I need to go to the bathroom.”
Tony walked her over and waited outside the door for her.
“That’s a first. I’ve never seen a girl get sick over roaches.” King approached, shaking his head like he just didn’t get it.
Tony frowned, thinking out loud. “Yeah, there’s something going on there. I’ll find out what it is.”
“Like I said…it’s a first for me.”
“Yeah, me too, man.”