Read Online Unveiled (Vargas Cartel #2) by Lisa Cardiff - Free Book Online Page A

the Vargas Cartel.”
    The corners of her lips curled upward. “What’s this really about? Why are you suddenly back in my life?”
    “I’m not done with whatever happened between us, and I don’t think you are either.” I waved my hand back and forth between our bodies. “I think we should explore this. See where it goes. See if it’s real.”
    Her mood lifted. “I’d like that.”
    I brushed a quick kiss across her lips. “Go. I have to make a call. Meet me at the car.”
    Her eyes narrowed. “Okay.”
    She jogged up the front steps of the library. The minute the door closed behind her, I pulled my phone out of my pocket.
    “Senator Deveron, it’s Ryker Vargas. Is now a good time to talk?”
    “One minute.” A door slammed. “You’re calling earlier than I anticipated. I guess that means you have good news.”
    “It depends on your definition of good news,” I hedged. “Good news for me or good news for you.”
    “Which is it?” he asked through gritted teeth.
    I laughed coldly. “Good news for me.”
    “Explain.”
    “Did you know Ignacio is a meticulous record keeper? He records every conversation. He documents every bribe, political donation, and every favor or slight.”
    “No.” He cleared his throat. “He’s never told me that.”
    “I didn’t think so, because if you knew, you wouldn’t be threatening the Vargas Cartel. If the Vargas Cartel goes down, we’ll take you with us. Consider this your one and only warning.”
    “And if I don’t heed your warning?”
    “Did you hear about the politician in Monterrey who was killed after crossing the Vargas Cartel?”
    “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” His voice fractured on the last word.
    “Well, let me enlighten you. They draped his skinned face over a statue of a Mexican golden eagle on the front steps of City Hall. Alongside the statute were two garbage bags. One contained his torso and the other contained his legs, arms, and scalped skull.”
    “What the hell are you trying to tell me?”
    “ VC captura y exucutes traidores,” I hissed, saying the words I hadn’t uttered in more than a decade, not since I watched Ignacio’s personal hit team lodge fifty knives in a man. It was the Vargas Cartel’s calling card. Every cartel had one. “The Vargas Cartel captures and executes traitors,” I said, repeating the words in English.
    “Are you threatening me?”
    “Yes.”
    “You’ll never get close enough to me to do a damn thing,” he snapped.
    “Maybe not, but I won’t have any trouble getting close to Evan or your wife.”
    He sucked in a breath. “What’s wrong with you? Don’t threaten my family.”
    “You threatened mine. I’m returning the favor,” I shot back. I might even carry out the threat myself, and if I shared his threats with Ignacio, he wouldn’t hesitate either. Ignacio didn’t rise to the top of the Vargas Cartel by exercising mercy. Senator Deveron underestimated us if he thought we’d roll over and cower to his threats.
    Senator Deveron’s heavy breaths echoed through the phone. “What do you want?”
    “I want you to stay out of cartel business, and I want you to stay the fuck out of Hattie Covington’s life.”
    “Whose side are you on?”
    “Mine. Always mine,” I snapped.
    He blew out a steady stream of air. “It’s in the Vargas Cartel’s best interest if she marries Evan. We need Hattie’s dad on our side. If an investigation lands on his desk, he has prosecutorial discretion not to pursue the matter.”
    I flung my car door open and slid inside. “He won’t be attorney general forever. You’re going to need to find a more permanent way to secure your political legacy and keep your ass out of jail. One that doesn’t involve Hattie Covington.”
    “Why the sudden interest in her? Why are you protecting her?”
    Fuck. I had tipped my hand. Senator Deveron might be careless, but he wasn’t dumb. “Because the Vargas Cartel doesn’t hurt innocent women.”