Page 92 of Corrupted Bride

“Captain? Why is my brother-in-law tied to this chair?”

The old combat veteran turns pale. “I’m sorry, sir, but I didn’t believe him when he said⁠—”

“It’s fine. Take the gag out.”

The captain hurries to yank the piece of gray cloth from Javi’s mouth.

Javi spits and curses. “Fucking told you, asshole.”

I crouch down in front of him. His gaze meets mine and I sense he wants to be defiant, but the look on my face makes him stop.

“I want you to understand something.” I keep my tone firm and clear, struggling to banish the rage itching down my spine. “From my perspective, you are the enemy.”

Javi’s eyes go wide. “Listen, Bass⁠—”

I hold up a hand to silence him. “Think about what you’re going to say. Think and speak honestly. If you go missing, nobody will ever find you, and your sister will never know. I don’t care if you’re my brother-in-law. I will not hesitate.”

He swallows and nods. “I understand.”

“Good. Now. Why were you caught sneaking onto my property?”

“I needed to speak with you in private and I didn’t know how else to get in touch.”

“You could have called Mari.”

His eyes cut to the entrance. “I didn’t trust my phone.”

That catches my attention. I stand and consider him for a moment before moving around the chair to untie his wrists. He sighs and rubs where the rope bit into his skin leaving mottled red-and-black bruising.

“Tell me what’s going on.”

“It’s Ruben. He lost his fucking mind.” Javi takes a shuddering breath and seems to slump forward, elbows on his knees, running his fingers through his messy hair. “I didn’t know he was going to kill his dad. I had no idea he was going to take over the whole family. Now he’s running around threatening everyone, saying he’ll kill Cruz if Mari doesn’t obey, and how he’ll kill my parents too if I make trouble. I don’t know what the fuck to do.”

I want to laugh in his face, tell him I could’ve seen this coming a thousand miles away, but that would be foolish and cruel. Javi believed in his family. He looked up to his cousin. He’s loyal in a way that’s commendable.

I can’t hold that against him.

“Where is Ruben keeping your brother?”

“In their house. I haven’t heard from him though. Fuck, Bass, I never should’ve come to bring him home. I’m so sorry. My parents are worried sick now.”

“Tell me everything you know about what Ruben’s up to.”

Javi speaks, and I don’t think he’s holding back, but it becomes clear that Ruben hasn’t been confiding in him at all.

“Please, if I can talk to Mari and explain⁠—”

I cut him off with a sharp gesture. “You’re going back home.”

His mouth opens in outrage but he shuts it tight. “Why?” he asks through his teeth.

“Because if Ruben knows you came to me, that will cause problems. You need to sit tight and act like nothing’s wrong.”

“But he’s going insane. Seriously, Bass, Ruben’s lost his mind. I don’t think any of this is even about that shipping job you two are working on. I think he wants Marisol. That’s what he sent that guy here for this morning, right? So he could demand my sister? He’s willing to blow it all up to get her. It’s fucking disgusting. They’re cousins.”

I pace, hands behind my back. He’s right, it is disgusting, but not in the way he’s thinking. I doubt it’s about sex for Ruben, though I’m sure he’d happily fuck Marisol if that meant degrading her fully.

No, for a man like him, it’s about power and control. He can’t stand the fact that she got away from him a second time. He brought her home after she escaped with Danny, and now he thinks he owns her. The idea that she’d come to me, live with me, fall for me, that probably kills him.