Envy (Criminal Sins 1)

Dante hesitates to obey, staring daggers at me and my hostage while he carefully considers his next move. A tense standoff fills the large empty room before Dante finally

makes his decision. “This isn’t over,” he mumbles, the raging fire flickering into embers behind his eyes.

“Yes, it is,” I respond. Catalina trembles under my arm. Her warm vibrations sink under my skin—I recognize the feeling; it’s what I was chasing down in the dungeon. I want more of it, but I’d rather not have been re-introduced like this.

After one last derisive look, Dante turns on his heels and marches for the ballroom exit. “Come on,” he orders, as he passes by the frozen guards.

“No,” I command in response. “They’re staying with me.”

The two muscle bound men don’t have any choice but to listen. I’m first in command around here, even in the face of my brother’s insolence. I’ll have Juan find out what Dante threatened them with and then we’ll figure out a proper punishment.

The big brutes squirm in their dark shoes as Dante huffs past them. My little brother is almost as tall as they are, but he must weight 100 pounds less—still, he can hurt them in other ways; he always seems to find a way to hurt people.

When Dante is gone, I drag Catalina on my arm to confront the guards myself. They try to remain stoic, but I can sense the terror behind their dark sunglasses. If I wasn’t so pissed, I might almost feel bad for them. I’m sure Dante gave them an impossible choice. Still, disobedience is disobedience and I need to make it clear that I’m still in charge here, no matter what cruel words my brother whispers into their ears.

So, I tell them the words that everyone who works for me dreads to hear.

“You boys are going to have a little visit with Juan.”

Dust and dirt kick up under the limo’s tires as I watch the dark countryside pass by through the tinted backseat window.

It’s a perfect night for a motorcycle ride, and I’m already craving more of Catalina’s trembling body, but I figured she’d already been through enough over the past 24 hours. I wouldn’t want her to fall apart before I can have my fun.

Despite my brother’s jealous outburst, I don’t plan on getting rid of my hostage. She’s mine and, while I’m going to keep her away from Dante, his tantrums will never influence what I do in my personal life.

Hell, if I ever let my brother control any of my decisions, then I might as well just hand over the keys of our empire to him.

I wonder if he’d even take them? I’m sure our operation wouldn’t last long under his reign; I’ve given him responsibilities before, and, for one reason or another, everything he touches always seems to devolve in to chaos.

Catalina won’t have to worry about him anymore, though; I don’t want her worried about anyone but me. She sleeps gently beside me in the limo, curled up into a ball on the plush leather seat with her head rested against the vibrating window.

I watch her with interest. She’s a novel mystery to me. That last name, ‘Alzate’, sounds so oddly familiar, but I can’t quite put my finger on why. I wonder if the history behind that surname has anything to do with why she’s so fiery?

No other woman has ever challenged me like she has. Sure, Catalina broke down like a scared little girl when I showed her my dungeon, but I hardly blame her for that. What really impressed me was how she somehow regained her spirit to fight back, even after I’d already chained her to a wall.

The heat that leaps from her pretty plush lips is intoxicating. I want her to keep fighting back; I want to feel her squirm as I tighten my grip around her...

“Where are we?” Catalina’s tone isn’t so heated as she suddenly flutters awake. My driver turns onto the smooth pavement of the highway and the windows stop vibrating. A soft hush rushes along the outside of the limo, encasing us in a comfy silence.

“On our way into the city,” I tell her. The countryside disappears behind us and I study my balled-up hostage as she unfurls and stretches out. I mentally cross my fingers and hope that there’s still some spice left inside that mouth of hers.

“I don’t live in the city,” she says, wiping her nose. Her movements are slow and heavy, clearly sore from the day’s events.

“Well, then it’s a good thing I’m not trying to take you home,” I say, looking away. Catalina may be growing on me, but I can’t help but prod her. I guess I’m not much better than my brother, after all. He likes to poke his caged animals until they roar; I’m having the same instinct towards Catalina. I want to feel those nails on my skin again.

“You don’t think you’ve put me through enough already?” The low heat in her words brings a sigh of relief to my lungs. She’s not lost yet.

“I haven’t put you through anything... yet,” I tease, trying to see just how far I can push her.

“Just your stupid brother...”

A sudden flash of anger and envy ripples through my chest. As if I’d forgotten that someone else got to make my hostage tremble...

It pisses me off. Dante has lived off the fruits of my labor for far too long already. Catalina isn’t his to torture.

Maybe she’s just the straw that threatens to break the camel’s back, but when I think of Dante ever fucking with her again, I can’t help but imagine finally putting him in his place.

It’s a dangerous thought to have, so I shove it down deep. As difficult as Dante is, he’s still family; the only family I have left. What is Catalina to me other than a curious and sexy piece of meat?