Page 53 of Vicious Little Liar
Fine by me. The sooner we settle this matter, the sooner he can leave and stay out of both my and Leticia’s lives.
“Te crié mejor que para actuar como una puta.” He barks out his words, each one slicing into Leticia like a knife. She flinches under the onslaught but offers no response. Good girl. She knows better than to show weakness in this room. If not for her being in my arms, I wouldn’t feel the slight tremor in her body. She’s afraid. But only I know it.
“That’s enough. You won’t speak to her that way.” My voice is calm but filled with warning.
“I will speak to my daughter however I see fit,” he snaps.
“No.” I tell him. “You won’t. Leticia is to be my wife, and you will show her the respect she deserves.”
He barks out a laugh, but I see the moment his eyes flash with barely contained rage. “Your wife? Never.”
Waving Adrián forward, he deposits a contract in front of Ruben, who snatches it from the table as soon as my brother’s released it.
“What is this?”
“A marriage contract.”
With a dark chuckle, he throws the contract onto the floor.
My nostrils flare.
“She’s already engaged. Why would I sign this?”
My smile is slow and cruel. “Haven’t you heard the good news?” I ask him. “The wedding has been called off. Sidorov is no longer interested in a Castro alliance.”
“Lies.” He says.
“Go ahead, call him. Assuming he’ll bother taking your calls.” My words hit their intended mark, and Ruben’s face turns a ruddy red.
“Interfering in another man’s business comes with consequences,” he warns.
“As does killing a man’s father,” I retort.
“That is the past. Grow up and move on.”
I’ve heard enough.
“Satisfy the debt you owe my family and sign on the dotted line.” I demand.
“Or what?”
Glaring at the man, I make sure he sees the hatred in my gaze. “Or I will paint the streets of Richland red with your blood and the blood of your men.” Shifting beside him, his enforcers radiate anxious energy. None of them like the threat of my words. Good. If it should come to that, they’ll have to decide if Ruben is a man worth dying for.
If I had to guess, it wouldn't be a difficult decision for them to make.
“You think you can threaten me?” he reaches into the inside of his coat but not fast enough. Before his gun is out, Rio, Adrián, and half of my men have their weapons trained on him.
Castro freezes, and the tension thickens in the room, brimming with hostility.
“Aztlán—“ My brother jumps to attention. He retrieves a second copy of the contract from a folder and places it before Castro.
“Sign the agreement,” I demand. “Then you can walk away.”
His icy stare slides to mine. “I will not have a DeAnde in my family.” He spits on the floor.
“Good. No sooner would I have you in mine.”
“Then it’s settled. Return my daughter to me and I will forget this offense.”
