[1] Midnight Lips | Ghost

𝐂𝐇. 23

VALENTINA
༻❁༺

     Apparently, I gave them all the right answers. Valeria looked pleased when I stepped into the elevator with her and Diego, but there was something in her eyes that made me uncomfortable.

"Los Vaqueros is moving fast," Diego spoke in Spanish.

"I'll be in the penthouse with Sin Nombre," Valeria said through her teeth.

Talking about him... "When do I get to see El Sin Nombre?" Because that was why I was here, wasn't it? To meet him.

Diego's head turned to me, his eyes flickering back to how they were when he first laid them on me. He was looking at me with eyes that told me he wanted me to mess up. Too bad, he was finishing his day disappointed because I wasn't going to.

He took a step closer, closing in on me. The elevator wall met my back, my hands shook with the urge to hurt him and make him respect my personal space.

"Ahh." There we go again... Diego clicked his tongue. "Why don't you let me give you a tour of my house and see if you're still so eager to meet the boss after?"

"You're disgusting." I couldn't help myself.

Diego's eyes hardened. He moved to grab me but didn't get too far. Valeria edged between us. Diego instantly took a step back as her body protected mine. "Careful," she warned in Spanish. "You want this chick to yourself, you go over my body. You know Sin Nombre doesn't like taking advantage of women."

Oh, really?

"Besides, she may benefit us in some way. I'll find that way." She spun her body around, now it was her turn to stare at me up and down. "I have a feeling El Sin Nombre will be... very interested in keeping you intact for now," she said in English. "So remember to give your thanks for saving your pretty ass."

I didn't miss the way Diego regarded her. The way his body responded to being close to her, to her words, to her threats, like she was the authority whose wish was his command or else she'd take care of him in a not-so-good manner. Was she really that scary around here? Because to me at this point, she wasn't.

The elevator pinged right then and the doors flew open. Relief hit me hard, along with the hot Mexico air as I found Alejandro waiting on the other side. With his eyes being the only display of his face—and I was getting really good at reading eyes—I could tell he felt the same relief, his worry vanishing away from his chest.

Diego grabbed my shoulders and pushed me into Alejandro's arms, just then I saw the other cartel man next to Ale. "This is where you wait, Valentina." He uttered my name as if it tasted like sour in his mouth. "I'll be in the ofrenda. No interruptions."

When the doors closed and the sight of Diego and Valeria disappeared from my eyes, Alejandro told the remaining guy that he was needed outside. "I got this." And then he took me into his arms and whispered in my ear, "You're alive."

"You didn't have any faith in me, did you?" I teased, but I didn't get the playful Alejandro back just yet.

"It's not that." He tugged me out of the lights instead, closer to the patio of the house, where he handed me a ski mask and told me to put it on so that I could move around, and gave me back my OTF knife which was so sweet. "I already arranged the comms."

While I put the mask over my head, I asked, "Did you know El Sin Nombre's personal sicaria?"

"I just found that out," Ale's eyes narrowed. "I didn't know, to be honest. Kinda surprised me. I never thought El Sin Nombre would need a sicario. But of course, no one has ever seen his face so it was an option—radio check."