Page 33 of Cartel Devil

“The limo’s that way, Joaquin.”

Tre points between our shoulders and looks back over hers. Marco steps forward and puts his hand on my shoulder. I drop it and pull it forward, so he’s no longer touching me.

“I’m taking Tre home.”

I meet her gaze and wait for her to object. She stares up at me before looking at Sera.

“You’re headed to Queens. It doesn’t make sense for you to take me the opposite direction from where you need to go. I’ll be fine with Joaquin.”

Marco appears skeptical, but Sera winks at her.

Wonderful.

The women hug, and Marco and I glower at each other. Par for the course. Once we’re in the car, I glance at Tre. She looks so damn good. She felt perfect against my side, and I would’ve savored the moment if I hadn’t been more concerned with getting her to safety.

“Toria got nervous when neither you nor Sera returned her texts.”

“She sent you?”

“Alejandro asked me to, and I said yes.”

“None of you trust Marco?”

“He’s satisfactory.”

She stares at me, then grins, thinking I’m joking. When I don’t smile along with her, her expression falters. She realizes I’m serious.

“I was fine with him, Joaquin. Even with the fight breaking out, I would’ve been all right. There were guards with us too.”

“I know, but he wouldn’t have been able to adequately protect both of you. I wouldn’t rely on a Mancinelli man to put on a Band-Aid.”

She stares at me before leaning back in her seat. She knows I’m not exaggerating. Not about my feelings toward the Mafia guards or that Marco couldn’t protect both of them equally. If he had to, he’d choose Sera because she’s family. It’s not a slight against Tre; it’s just fact.

I know where she lives from movie night. We ride in silence most of the way because I can’t come up with anything to say, and I think that pisses her off. She doesn’t feel like making conversation if I won’t either.

“I’m sorry your night got cut short with Sera.”

I keep my eyes on the road, but I know Tre looks at me before she responds. I didn’t know what else to say, so I went with that. I feel like an idiot now.

“It’s not your fault. I’m glad you were there though. I know Marco would’ve done his best, but you were right.”

“I’m certain you can defend yourself, but I’m glad I could help.”

“I can, but it doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate someone looking out for me. Thank you.”

“Any time.”

We lapse into silence again. It’s the opposite of how easy it was to chat at the reception. Maybe that was a fluke, and we talked about everything we could come up with. Maybe the shitty dinner and craptastic movie experience have killed any interest she might have in me.

“Joaquin—”

Tre’s phone rings and interrupts her. She pulls it out of her purse and glances at the screen before muting it.

“Joa—”

It rings again. This time she answers it with an apologetic expression.

“Hi, Dad.”