Page 107 of Cartel Devil

The moment we hear the rattle, Josue’s out the front passenger door and yanking mine open as I reach across to unfasten Tre’s seat belt. She swats my hand away as she does her own. I unclick mine and slide out. She’s quick to follow me.

“Who’ll be in the house?”

“You think someone breached the security and no one noticed?”

“I mean if they aren’t within one degree blood relation, I’ll shoot if they come near you.”

I reinforce my seriousness by pulling my gun. The other men do the same. Her eyes widen to where it must hurt.

“My dad. Maybe my uncles by now. I don’t think my mom could be home from work this quickly. I don’t know. Maybe my cousins and Tristano.”

Josue eases the door open. I shift in front of Tre as he opens the door wider. We’re greeted with the barrel of Frank’s rifle. Immediately, Josue lowers his gun, but he doesn’t step aside. He’s protecting me as much as he is Tre.

“Dad!”

Tre tries to move around me, but my arm goes out. “Who’s here, Frank?”

“It’s clear.”

“Who?”

“Tom, Santi, and Tristano.”

Reassured, I let Tre go ahead of me. She runs to her father, who pushes his slung rifle around his back. He opens his arms, and she launches herself against him. Her relief at being with her father doesn’t mean she prefers him to me, but I can’t help the flash of fear and jealousy that she believes he can protect her better than I can. When she pulls away, she allays my fears.

“Thank God Joaquin was with me.”

“If he weren’t, you wouldn’t be a target.”

“Dad! We don’t know that.”

“Salvatore thinks so, and I agree.”

Fuck that piece of shit.

Of course, he would.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Tre

As soon as we get in the house, Joaquin asks for a first aid kit.

“Why do you need it? Where are you hurt?”

He hasn’t said anything, so I don’t understand what’s wrong. I didn’t see him get hurt.

“When we were in the stairwell.”

I shift to look at him from each side, and that’s when I notice his suit coat sleeve is torn. I peel it off him and spot the hole in his shirt.

“You got shot?!”

“It’s a graze.”

“You got shot!”

How did I not notice?