Greed (The Deadly Sins)

turned to Carter and Geno.

“What’s up?” Carter asked.

“Cops questioned Shy about the murder of some guy name Andrade Ferreira.”

“That can’t be good. The Ferreira’s are The Comodoro Cartel,” Carter said, and Geno dropped his head in his hands. He had heard Valencia mention Andrade Ferreira while she was in the hospital, and then suddenly Shy is questioned about his murder. Since in his mind there is no such thing as coincidence, Geno knew that in some way, somehow, Valencia was involved in this. And as soon as he got away from Carter and Rain, he would find out what her involvement was.

“What the fuck did you do?” Geno asked the second Valencia opened the door.

“What are you talking about?” Valencia asked as Geno pushed his way past her.

“What were you thinking?” he shouted.

“Geno, calm down and tell me what’s wrong?”

“Who is Andrade Ferreira?”

Valencia was caught off guard by the mention of his name, and in that second, she knew that Ezequiel Simmonds had played her again. But why?

“Answer me! Who the fuck is Andrade Ferreira?”

Now Valencia was scared. She had never seen Geno so mad before, and the fact that it had something to do with Andrade Ferreira meant that this couldn’t be good.

“He’s my late husband’s uncle.”

“And a member of The Comodoro Cartel!” he got in her face and shouted.

“No, he’s not!” she shouted back. “He owns a tobacco farm in Brazil.”

“A farm? In Brazil? And you thought that hooking him up with Mike Black’s wife was a good idea?”

That diffused Valencia’s anger. Geno saw the look on her face soften from the exasperation of not knowing what he was talking about, to the resignation that whatever it was, was her fault.

“What happened?”

“Andrade Ferreira is dead, Vee. The police and the DEA questioned Mrs. Black about his murder.”

Valencia said nothing. She dropped her head and went to sit down. “Did they arrest her?” she asked on her way to the couch.

“No.” Geno followed her to the couch and stood over her. “They just questioned her, but she was sure that they weren’t done.” He folded his arms across his chest. “So why don’t you tell me what you know about this?”

“It’s a long story,” she looked up at him and said.

“I got nothing but time,” Geno said, and sat down next to her. “I’m listening.”

“When I married Gustavo, I had never heard of The Comodoro Cartel. Before that, I thought that his family was in the soybean business and he was just a spoiled rich party boy. I didn’t find that out until we moved to his hometown.

She could still hear him shouting, where do you think all this comes from!

“When he got back there and started working for his family, it was like he was a different person. That was when the drinking, and the cocaine and the womanizing began. I can’t tell you how many nights and mornings he’d come home smelling like liquor and perfume.” Valencia stood up and walked to the bar. “He’d be gone for days, sometimes weeks at a time; and if I’d ask him about it, he’d just say that it wasn’t my place to ask him about his business.” She picked up a bottle of Angel Envy’s Rye Whiskey and poured herself a drink. “You want one?” she asked, holding up the bottle.

“Sure.” Geno came and joined her at the bar as she poured, and then handed him the drink. She drained her glass and sat down at the bar. He shot his and sat down next to her.

“So one day, one of his whores, Julieta Sanz, shows up at my house.”

“You knew about her?”

“Of course, I did. It was a small town, and everybody talks; and they couldn’t wait to tell me all about her and his other whores.”