Needful Surrender

ESTEBAN

Deep, guttural moans sound from behind me. I glance over my shoulder to see Rodrigo attempting to push himself up.

“What…?” he asks.

I turn back to the window facing the main house. I’ve been standing in front of it, staring out from the pool home they’ve kept us in for the last two hours. “Welcome back.”

“What happened?”

“I’d like to ask you the same thing,” I say, watching as armed security guards pass in front of a set of French doors. I would swear I just spied a hint of blue through the window panes, the same shade of blue of Aurora’s shirt.

“I was attacked,” Rodrigo says. “Several men—”

“Overtook you. I know.” I move away from the window, pacing the room in much the same way I’ve done since we were brought here.

Rodrigo finally manages to sit and touches the back of his head, where he was hit. “Pendejos got me.”

“You’ll live.”

He flicks his gaze toward me with annoyance. “If you’d listened to me and left when I told you to—”

“Save your bullshit,” I interrupt. “They wouldn’t have known where I lived in the first place if it wasn’t for you. I should have smothered you while you slept.”

His eyes widen in shock. “What the fuck are you talking about?”

Allowing the corners of my lips to pull up, I sit in the chair across from him. “I had a very interesting conversation in the car that brought us here. There I sat, your bleeding head on my lap, while I had to listen to the asswipe that manhandled Aurora tell me exactly how they ended up at the house in the first place.

Rodrigo, one of the strongest men I’ve ever met, looks away from me now, his breathing deeper than a few moments ago.

“So it’s true then?” I clench my jaw, waiting for his response. Wanting him to belie the story Jaime told so well.

Rodrigo didn’t escape them shortly after his car was shot up. He was, in fact, captured and dragged into a nearby house, where he was interrogated for hours. That’s when Santos himself showed up and convinced him I needed to accept the partnership. Rodrigo told him everything he needed to know, including where I resided and about my true relationship with Aurora. The only thing he seemed to have left out is the fact that my mother is still alive.

It wasn’t until he’d spilled it all and was given a bit of freedom that he decided to bolt.

“That’s why you slipped past the guards at the house. It wasn’t them you were afraid would see you, it was Cruz’s men.”

“I tried to get you to leave,” he hisses.

“Because you felt guilty about what you’d done!” I shake my head in disgust, my chest tight. “I trusted you, and you betrayed me.”

“I did what had to be done to save you from the path you’re on. You cannot succeed in this venture on your own!”

“What?” I ask in complete disbelief. “Be careful, Rodrigo. You’re starting to sound just like my father.”

“That isn’t fair, and you know it.” He wipes his palm down his face before he drops his head and peers at his boots. “I’ve always been loyal, Esteban, but not just because you’re my boss. You’re like a brother to me. If I keep my mouth shut when you do something stupid, it’s only because I think you’ll figure it out. But this…” He rams his fingers through his hair, wincing when he accidentally touches his wound. Then he stands and goes to look out the window at the men. “You have achieved so much more than your father could have aspired to. I think he was afraid of that. Of being surpassed by his own son. You’ve built something monumental. An empire.”

“And I’ve done it without the help of a cartel,” I remind him.

“You have,” he agrees. “But if I’ve learned anything from all of this, it’s that you will not be allowed to keep it without them. The Diablos del Sur isn’t the only powerful cartel, and soon, you’ll be on all their radars. But with Cruz by your side, they’ll think twice before attempting anything. You need him.”

“If that’s how you truly feel, then why did you escape from them? Did you change your mind? And why didn’t you tell me about all this when you came to the house?”

“I didn’t change my mind. I still believe you’re better off partnering. But I realized I’d made a mistake. It needed to be your decision, not mine. And I didn’t tell you, because I wanted you to get to safety first. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have listened to me. Fuck, you still didn’t.”

Cracking my knuckles as I consider what he’s said, I let out a breath that doesn’t quite seem to relieve the pressure building in my chest. “You put Aurora at risk.”

“I’m aware of that. If the concussion doesn’t kill me, I will give you the chance to do it yourself.”

I roll my eyes. “You’re not going to die. Not today, at least. But when this is over, we will discuss your future.”

Standing in front of me, he drops to one knee and bows his head, and then he does something I’ve never heard him do before. He apologizes.

But the thing is, it no longer matters. With Aurora in Cruz’s hands, there’s no question of what I’m going to do.