Instead of answering, Guillo walked out of the office.
“Hijueputa.”
Javier slammed his fist onto the desk. Ignoring the pain in his hand, he picked up his phone. The door opened once more. It had better not be Guillo with his taunts again about Javier’s failure to discover who’d killed Ivan. He’d had enough of his cousin. Instead, a tall, athletic man with thick black hair and scruff on his chin entered.
The man closed the door behind him, took one look at Javier, and spun the lock.
“Was Guillo just here?” the man’s deep voice penetrated the angry cloud in Javier’s head.
“Yeah.”
“What did he want?”
“The DEA intercepted another shipment, Talon.”
Talon frowned and sat in the chair directly across from Javier. “You know the fucker is behind this, don’t you? He’s deliberately trying to undermine your authority.”
“You don’t think I fucking know that already?” Javier snapped. “If you really want to help, tell me who the fuck killed Ivan.”
Talon was silent, hurt flashing in his eyes. Javier cursed, surged to his feet, and stepped between Talon’s thighs, then cupped the other man’s face between his hands.
“I’m sorry, mi amor.” He kissed the corner of Talon’s mouth. “Forgive me.”
“Is it already happening?” Talon asked. “It’s just been a month, and you’re changing on me.”
Javier caressed the side of Talon’s neck, over the tattoo. A flock of blackbirds in flight. “This will never change.”
“I just don’t understand why you didn’t let him have it. Why did you want it so badly?”
Why did you choose it over us?
Although Talon didn’t speak the words, Javier heard them anyway. They’d already fought about this before.
“Because nobody wants to admit it, but Ivan was ruining us all with his reckless deals. Times are changing, Talon, and we need to change with them.”
“But why do you have to be the one to effect these changes? I worry for you, Jav. I worry I won’t always be at your back to prevent the knife that we both know will be coming.”
Javier rested his forehead against Talon’s. “But that means you’re the one who’d be hurt.”
“You already know I’d die for you.”
He’d proven it too. Javier pressed a hand to Talon’s chest and caught his man’s lips with his. The second their mouths touched, all Javier’s problems ceased to matter. Nothing else did but this man he’d fallen in love with. This man whose life was in danger because of their secret affair.
Should anyone find out…
He stepped back, his body still warm from the power of Talon’s lips. “Later,” he promised.
Talon nodded. “So what are we going to do about your cousin?” He took Javier’s hand and rubbed his thumb across the knuckles.
“What can I do?”
“I can take care of him for you.”
Javier smiled. “I know. But if not Guillo, it will just be someone else. They’re going to test me until they find out they’ll have to remove my corpse from this chair if they want me gone.”
“Javier!” Talon chided. “You’d go so far without leaving, knowing how that would affect me?”
When Javier didn’t answer, Talon jumped to his feet and walked away. Javier went after him and wrapped an arm around Talon’s trim waist. “Don’t be mad at me because I refuse to watch my family fall to their own stupidity.”