Stealing Beauty (Stolen 1)

I’d been consolidating power here over the last year, building my wealth and a small army of men. When I had the resources that I needed to get her out, I intended to steal back my Valentina. I planned to rescue her.

Those plans withered and died as the events unfolded on the screen before me.

“I got you a present, cariña,” Hugo purred. He held out an opulent gold necklace. Diamonds and rubies glinted in the romantic candlelight that illuminated the bedroom.

Valentina’s smile broadened. “It’s beautiful,” she said as he clasped it at her nape. The jewels adorned her slender neck like a collar, dripping down between her breasts.

“Do you like it?” he asked, curling his thick fingers beneath her chin to lift her face to his.

“I love it.”

“And me?” he pressed with an oily smile.

“I love you, Hugo.”

My stomach lurched, bile rising in the back of my throat. The world went hazy around me, the horrific images playing across the screen filling my entire reality.

“Show me how much you love your husband,” he rasped, taking her hand and leading her to the bed. He laid on his back, and she eagerly climbed on top, straddling him.

She moaned, her head dropping back in bliss as she sank down on his cock.

I grabbed the laptop that played the nauseating display and flung it across the room. Her ecstatic cry rang out before the computer shattered against the wall.

My anguish left me on a maddened shout as I proceeded to destroy everything around me.

All this time, I’d thought she was a prisoner. I’d plotted and planned, my entire life consumed by the objective of rescuing her.

But she’d decided to give herself to Hugo. She’d traded her soul for the cushy lifestyle he offered.

In doing so, she destroyed what was left of my own soul, black is it might be.

More images played through my mind, each disgusting scene burned into my brain. I’d been sent a new video every year on their anniversary, helplessly watching Valentina fall deeper in love with the man I hated. I’d known the videos’ contents before I watched, but I couldn’t stop myself from playing the feed. It was my only glimpse at Valentina, and I obsessed over every frame, even as my hatred for her festered in my heart.

“Where are we going, jefe?” Mateo’s voice snapped me out of my miserable memories.

I took a breath and focused on our current perilous scenario. We had to get out of Panama City. Obviously, my father’s reach extended beyond Colombia. I needed to get Valentina closer to my territory. We were still vulnerable here. It was time to ask a favor from an ally, risky though that might be.

As much as I hated the woman at my side, I’d still risk anything to keep her. Now that she was back under my power, I’d never return her to Hugo. I’d punish them both by tearing them from one another. If she loved him, she’d never be allowed to see him or speak to him again. Maybe her heart would break, too.

That thought provided me with some measure of savage satisfaction. It helped calm me enough to finish making my plan.

“Head for David,” I ordered Mateo. There was a small international airport in the northern Panamanian city. “I’ll have a plane waiting for us by the time we get there.”

He eyed me in the rearview mirror. “You’re calling in your jet?”

I shook my head. Ordering my own private jet to pick us up wasn’t an option. The second my plane took off from California, I was certain my father would flag it and track the flight plan before it could even reach us.

“I’m calling in a favor,” I told Mateo.

I retrieved my burner phone from my pocket and dialed the familiar number. Stefano Duarte answered on the third ring.

“Who the fuck is this?” The head of the most powerful cartel in Mexico usually exercised a little more subtlety. But I supposed I’d be suspicious if an unknown number called my phone.

“It’s Adrián,” I replied coolly. There was no need to say my surname. The balance of power in this relationship was tipped in my favor, and Stefano was very aware of who he was dealing with when I put in a call.

“Adrián,” he said, more brightly. “Good to hear from you. I heard you got into some trouble with your old man.”

I bit back a growl. The last thing I needed was rumors flying that I was in a power struggle with Vicente. Especially when my disappearance over the last several days would make it look like I was in the weaker position.

As long as I was isolated from my resources in America, I supposed that was true.

I swallowed my pride. “I need a favor,” I said bluntly.

“Anything, my friend.” I could hear Stefano’s smug smile over the phone. As soon as this favor was granted, I’d owe him one. He’d always worked with me to move our product through Mexico, taking a nice cut for himself. But ultimately, his ties were to the Rodríguez Cartel, which was still technically controlled by my father.