I know I should focus on the meeting, but my thoughts are once again with Tallulah.
Lately I’ve found my mind wandering to the girl more and more. It’s probably because her birthday is coming up, and because the last few years went by so catastrophically. After bringing a date with me to her fifteenth, her parents insisted we meet in public for her next birthday. I brought her plenty of gifts, but the whole thing was rushed as fuck and the first chance they got, Heath and Rain dragged their daughter away from me.
They’re getting more and more annoying with their shitty tactics devised to keep me away from Tallulah. I know they’re trying to get me to shift my attention somewhere else, but they’ll never succeed. My dark obsession with their daughter runs deep.
I clear my throat to force myself to return to reality. In the present, I’m sitting in an expensive leather seat at the head of a long conference table. Men who’ve helped me run the Scorpion cartel for years flank the table on each side. Their troubled eyes are on me, and I can tell my daydreaming hasn’t gone unnoticed.
“I apologize,” I mutter. “Where were we?”
“We were discussing the matter of the Hydra cartel,” my second-in-command, Saul, mutters in my ear.
“Ah yes. Are they stirring up trouble again?”
“Not yet,” Saul shakes his head. “Though we’re worried they will do so if we don’t clearly let them know who owns the property where they’re doing their filthy work.”
“Fine,” I nod. “Send one of our sicarios to the address, along with a few more men. Scope out the place and kill anyone that crosses your path.”
“Won’t you be joining the fight, Xavier?”
I raise my eyes to meet those of my old business partner, Jimenez. The very one whose dick I tried to force Rain to cut off once. Unfortunately for Jimenez, he survived the ordeal, and came to work for me again. I know he hates me, but until now, he hasn’t defied me.
The man is old now, his hair white and his gut even bigger than it used to be. I still can’t stand him, but since he’s done good business for me, I have no reason to blow his brains out. It fucking annoys me.
“No, Jimenez,” I hiss at him, but his resentful eyes don’t miss mine.
“Too preoccupied with a woman yet again?” he snarls in Spanish.
Tallulah isn’t a woman in my eyes, not yet, but I don’t like where this is going either way.
“Why the fuck are you questioning me, Jimenez?” I demand, picking myself up from my chair. A guard reaches for his gun but I shake my head dismissively, making him pull back.
“Because I don’t trust you to run this cartel anymore,” Jimenez says. “You’ve only got eyes for that Tallulah girl and-“
“Don’t you dare say her name, pendejo ,” I get out through gritted teeth.
“Why not? Everyone’s thinking it,” he smirks. “Tallulah-”
He doesn’t get to finish whatever he was trying to say. I’ve already pulled out my revolver and fired a single bullet between his eyes. Finally, Jimenez’s body hits the ground with a loud thud and blood sprays the men sitting closest to him.
Nobody says a word. The men silently mop up Jimenez’s blood before facing me with fear in their eyes.
“That old bastard was asking for an excuse for me to kill him,” I yawn. “I don’t want my personal life discussed. Is that understood?”
Wordlessly, everyone at the table nods.
“Good. Now, let’s meet again next week, same time. Dismissed.”
As people pick up their things, I walk through the glass doors into my office. It’s a show of masculinity, all black and white with bourbon-colored leather accents.
I pour myself a drink just as Saul knocks on the door. Grinning as I face him, I motion for him to come in.
“Here to lecture me about Jimenez?”
“Fuck no,” he smirks. “That bastard had it coming for a long fucking time.”
“I couldn’t agree more.”
We share a meaningful look. This is why I like Saul so much - he matches my darkness and my killer instinct. It’s why we make a good pair to lead the cartel. Heath and his slave hermanito could never be as brutal as we are, which is why we will always rule over the Serpent cartel.
“So what’s on your mind?” Saul asks out loud. “The girl again?”
I nod, downing my drink and sitting behind my desk, pointing for Saul to join me.
“Her seventeenth birthday is coming up tomorrow,” I mutter.
“And you’re finding it hard to stay away?”
Swallowing, I nod.
“Increasingly fucking hard with every day. And there’s still a year to go.”
“Maybe-”
Saul is interrupted by my cell ringing. We share confused glances - nobody has this number. It’s only for urgent matters.
I hold up a finger to stop Saul and answer the call, muttering a dark hello.
“Is this Xavier Gunn?”
“Indeed,” I mutter.
The voice on the other side is distorted, like the person is using some kind of device to change the sound of it.
“We have news about your goddaughter,” the voice goes on stoically. “Someone is attempting to kill her tomorrow. We don’t know the details.”
Saul and I share a troubled look before I bark a response, demanding more information.
“That’s all we know,” the voice finishes robotically. “They’ll do it tomorrow at her parents’ house.”
The call cuts off and I curse out loud, putting my phone down.
“How did they find out about the Palacio?” Saul mutters.
“It doesn’t fucking matter,” I hiss. “We need to get the girl, fucking now.”
“Heath and Rain will never allow you to-”
“I don’t give a shit,” I snarl. “This doesn’t concern them.”
“She’s their daughter-“
“She’s mine .”
My gaze locks with Saul’s, not allowing any room for his questions.
“She’s always been mine, can’t you see that? And I will not let anyone hurt her.”
“Fine,” Saul mutters. “You want me to get her parents on the phone?”
“No,” I answer, shaking my head vehemently. “We don’t need to alert them to this. They’ll just end up doing something stupid. I don’t know who we can trust. We need to get Tallulah tonight.”
“But Heath and Rain won’t be happy.”
“Do I look like I give a damn?”
We face off in a silent war and he finally sighs, shaking his head.
“Whatever you want, boss.”
“Have the car ready in an hour, and make sure the men that are on our payroll are guardian Tallulah tonight. We don’t want any problems.”
“Of course.”
With a nod, he excuses himself from my office and walks out, leaving me alone. My mind is spinning with everything that’s happened and I’m having trouble focusing on anything other than Tallulah.
She’s in danger, and I’m the only one who can ensure nothing happens to her.
But taking her a year before I was supposed to is risky. Not only because of the wrath of her parents, but also because I don’t trust myself around Tallulah.
The last two times I saw her, the girl looked different. She had turned into a woman, her curves filling out and her looks full of knowledge she didn’t have before. But I can’t let myself lose control around her. I swore to myself I’d keep my cool around her eighteenth birthday, and I will not go back on that promise. Not even now, when her life is at stake.
I spend the hour staring at some photos I’ve gathered of Tallulah over the years. She looks somewhat like her mother, with long blonde hair, though hers is a shade cooler than Rain’s golden locks. Her teeth are gapped in the middle, which is fucking adorable. She’s taller than Rain, but still much shorter than me. Her body has filled out, but she’s also in shape, which tells me she takes care of herself.
I pick up one photo from her birthday celebration last year. In it, she’s gazing at me with pure adoration while I laugh at something she’s said. She’s infatuated with me, always has been. And I fucking love that because it feeds my obsession with her. I can’t fucking wait until next year when she turns eighteen.
But a year separates us from that event. A year when I’ll have to keep my fingers to myself and ensure I don’t touch her or think about her inappropriately. I groan. I don’t want to take Tallulah now, but the threat I’ve just been told about leaves me no choice.
Exiting my office, I head downstairs while my personal guard shadows me. I get in the car, alone, except for the few guards accompanying me. I’m glad Saul won’t be joining me. I need to do this on my own, and I really don’t want him looking at Tallulah to piss me off. There’s been enough bloodshed for one night.
As the car starts toward the Palacio, I think about Jimenez’s demise. Saul was right. The prick had it coming - but that doesn’t change the fact that I need to be cool when it comes to Tallulah.
I can’t risk shooting everyone’s brains out just for mentioning her name. I can’t risk killing people like that, because word will get out of just how important she is to me, and that will put her in even more danger. And someone’s already out to get her, which only confirms my fears.
I already know I can’t let anyone know I have Tallulah. Anyone but Saul, whom I trust implicitly. My eyes wander over the men in the car with me, and I exhale slowly. I don’t know if I can let them live through tonight.
I hate killing my own men, but needs must. Luckily there’s only a couple of us here tonight, which will mean less bloodshed - thank fuck. I’m tired of killing.
The drive takes two hours, and we switch cars twice on the way. Can’t risk being followed. The location of the Palacio is still a relative mystery, and as much as I fucking hate them, I’m not about to put Tallulah’s parents and her kid sister in danger. I have a feeling she’d never forgive me if I did.
We pull up close to the Palacio. The last part of the journey will be on foot.
I join two of my guards, leaving the driver behind as we head to the house. The night is quiet and dark, with only a sliver of the moon lighting our way as we advance to the house. There are two guards already waiting for us when we arrive - men we pay to keep guard of Tallulah while working for Heath. I nod at them and wait while they give me the layout of the house. Tallulah’s bedroom is in the east wing, along with her little sister’s.
The guards get a ladder from me and prop it up on Tallulah’s window silently. I know I can’t scare her into leaving with me - surely she’d want to say goodbye to her parents. The only thing I can do is trick her into leaving her bed.
I gather a handful of small pebbles and start throwing them against her window after ordering the men to hide.
It takes six pebbles until I see movement in her window. She opens the French doors of her balcony and peeks outside. She’s wearing a white nightie that reaches her knees. It’s nearly see-through. Her pale skin looks pearly in the night. I stifle a groan.
“Xavier?” she whispers. “What are you doing here?”
I don’t miss the way her eyes light up when she sees me and I smirk, motioning for her to climb the ladder. She only hesitates for a split second before climbing down. I look away, unable to handle the sight of her in that white nightie.
“What are you doing here?” she asks softly, stopping a few steps away from me. “My birthday isn’t until tomorrow.”
“I know,” I mutter. “But it’s after midnight now, so you’re officially seventeen. And I wanted to give you a special surprise.”
“Oh?”
She smiles at me, the picture of innocence and beauty. I fight the urge to grab her and drag her away with me. Instead, I motion for her to come closer. Hesitantly, she does as she’s told, and I hand her a piece of black silk fabric.
“What’s this?” she asks softly, her hands shaking as she reaches for it.
“A blindfold,” I smile. “Put it on. We don’t want to ruin your surprise.”
Obediently, she places the fabric on her eyes and ties it in the back, waiting for further instructions. I motion for my guards to come out of hiding, two of mine and two that work at the Palacio. I let them accompany us to the waiting car, gently guiding Tallulah along the way. She doesn’t say a word, just follows me obediently. She’s such a good girl already.
“Get in the car,” I tell her softly, and her posture stiffens.
“I don’t want to leave,” she whispers. “What about my parents and Mathilda?”
“You’ll be back with them by morning,” I lie smoothly.
After a moment’s hesitation, she gets in the car, and I close the door before facing the five men.
“Thank you for everything you’ve done for me,” I tell them sincerely. “Your families will be rewarded.”
Before any of them can speak, I pull out my gun, on which a silencer has already been placed. A look of resignation appears on their faces as I fire off five shots, one for each of their hearts.
I feel nothing as their bodies crumple to the ground. I know I had to do this to keep Tallulah’s location a secret.
“What was that?” she asks from the car, banging on the window.
She’s pulled her blindfold down, but the windows are dimmed from both sides so she can’t see a thing.
“Nothing for you to worry about, angel,” I mutter and get in the driver’s seat, leaving the bodies behind for Heath and Rain to discover. “You’re safe now.”