Tony opened his eyes as soon as he heard it. He had learned to rely on his animals as a more effective alarm than even the most high-tech security system. He knew every sound of the woods he lived in and when he slept, he always did so with one eye open.
“What is it, Tony?”
She sleeps with one eye open too. Good to know. “The horses. Something has them spooked.”
“Or someone.” She jumped up, pulling on her jeans. “I’m going with you.” When he turned and frowned at her, she quickly spoke before he could change his mind. “If this is going to work”—she motioned her finger back and forth—“between you and me, you’ve got to trust me.”
“You’re right. I’ve got no problem with it, as long as you listen and do as I say,” he practically growled.
“That’s funny, Tony, real funny. None of the women in this cartel thing your family has going on listens and obeys every whim of their men.”
“That’s what keeps us on our toes.”
“Finally, a sign of acceptance. Thank you.”
“I accepted you a long time ago. It’s my father who doesn’t trust you. If you’re smart, you’ll seize this opportunity to win him over.”
“If you’re nice, you’ll show me how.” She gave him her most endearing smile. She reached up and gathered her hair into a messy bun to keep it out of her face.
“I see you’re ready to go to work,” he smirked, pulling his jeans up over his hips.
“Yes, I am.” She followed him out to the truck, ignoring the gnawing in her gut that told her this was something much more dangerous than just horses being spooked.
They rode in silence the short distance to the barn. When they arrived, he left the headlights on for added lighting. “Be careful. The horses can get aggressive when they’re agitated like this.”
Then they heard the horses kicking at their stall doors. She fell in step behind him, knowing that right now the only thing that would calm the large animals down was seeing their owner disperse whatever enemy had spooked them.
As soon as Tony flipped light on, they both saw it: a woman’s body laid out in the opening of the barn. The tarp she was wrapped in did nothing to hide the cause of her death. She had curly, blonde hair that had fallen to the side, making it easy to see that her neck had been savagely cut. The wound was so deep that her head hung at an odd angle to the side. In death, her vibrant blue eyes were frozen in terror, but their usual crystal clear color was now glazed over and dull.
“Oh, no…” Caden said sadly, covering her mouth with her fingertips, tears welling in her eyes.
“You know her?”
“Yeah. That’s Alicia. She just started working at The Club maybe a month ago. God, she was sweet. The customers loved her because she gave off this innocent, untouched vibe but was full-on sexy as hell onstage. She never took guys into the back room, so all of her customers tipped big because they wanted to be the first one.”
“This is Santiago’s work, Tony. He’s gotten word I’m here with you and it’s his way of getting even or expressing his displeasure. He’s going to look at it like you stole me from him. His thinking is fucked up like that.”
“I don’t know, I can see how a man could become obsessed with you.” He cocked his head, looking at her like he was seeing her for the first time. He could understand how Santiago saw her as a savior because Tony felt the same way. Already, she was a positive force in his life that kept him grounded. She was the one thing that kept his mind off all the horrors he’d witnessed overseas.
But Santiago couldn’t have her; he wouldn’t allow it. He wouldn’t share her in any way with anyone, not even in an emotional way or as a source of stability. Jealousy in its purest form gnawed at his insides at the thought of another man seeing her as their salvation. Mine. The thought went through his mind against his will.
“Well, this is not the way to win me over.” Disgust crept along Caden’s skin like a living, breathing thing. This little gesture by Santiago tonight had backfired; he just didn’t know it yet. It was one thing to know he was a killer, but seeing it up close and personal like this made it all too real. She wondered how she ever could have felt sorry for him. He was sick alright, sick in the fucking head. He didn’t deserve her mercy because he hadn’t shown any.
A look of relief washed over his face. As much as he hated it, this had forced her to see Santiago for the animal he was. He hoped she’d hate him by the time it was over. She needed to see the truth of his barbaric behavior. He didn’t deserve to be called cartel. He was nothing more than a man who hunted women for the thrill of the kill. It was a disgrace to the organization—he was a disgrace.
“Oh, Tony, this is going to crush Diego,” Caden continued, her face in her hands as she shook her head. “You know how he prides himself on protecting his Club girls.” She looked up at Tony with misty eyes, “The girls there call him papi, and they really mean it; he’s like their sexy daddy who takes care of everything. They have no worries because they work for him. At least, they didn’t until now.”
Tony was on one knee next to Alicia’s body. “Who knows, maybe that’s Santiago’s ultimate goal, to hit Diego where it would hurt the most: his male ego.”
She shook her head sadly, then frowned. “How did he manage to get past the security cameras? What about the security guards”
“He didn’t. We should have it all on film. He obviously didn’t care about bypassing it. He wanted her to be found quickly. I’m sure he came in through the woods by the back pasture and dumped her body and quickly drove off. In terms of a security guard, he may have just gotten lucky tonight. When Dad and Uncle Antonio find out, the guard who fucked up won’t be so lucky. I pity him, whoever he is.”
“I think he also wanted to send a message, to us.”
“None of this is your fault. Santiago will continue to kill, it’s what he does and it’s who he is. I think I’m going to come at him from a different angle.”
“How’s that?”
“I’m going to do what I should have done a long time ago. I’m going to turn his own people against him. A narcissistic personality like his won’t be able to deal with that. It will be his undoing, especially when he sees how disgusted you are with him. He’s done this for you, so to have you reject him will send him over the edge. He’ll get sloppy, he’ll make a mistake, and I’ll be waiting for him.”
“Good. I want to see it when it happens. No woman deserves this. I guess his dark side didn’t seem real before. I had to see it for myself.”
Tony pulled her in close to him. He wasn’t about to tell her, but he was relieved she was safe. Things were going to get a hell of a lot more dangerous now. Any time a stalker was rejected, they always turned on the object of their obsession. Caden was in more danger now than she had ever been. He’d be there for her and he’d kill to protect her. But right now, the thing on his mind was how pissed off his dad was going to be. The man had an explosive temper and Tony didn’t want to be on the receiving end of it, even if he was just the messenger.
There was one good thing about this: it was going to take the focus off Caden and put it right back where it belonged -- on Santiago.
This would show his father Caden was nothing more than an innocent victim to Santiago’s sick need to kill. It would also confirm that Santiago was back in town. Maybe this nightmare would finally be over and Tony could start a normal life with Caden—well, as normal as a Colombian cartel life would ever be. At least he wouldn’t have to share her with a killer anymore.
Santiago didn’t know it yet, but when he killed Alicia he sealed his fate. Caden seeing his depravity up close and personal had killed any compassion she had ever felt for him. Santiago’s plan had come back to bite him in the ass. His need to impress Caden would be his undoing.