Page 54 of Blood Diamond
This was the real source behind his amusement when he found me here earlier. Not because I was in his precious inner sanctum, but because I had been stupid enough to trust him as he ripped my life apart.
“I could kill you—”
“Easy,” Jaguar warns, his tone a fraction sharper. He grips my wrist and wrestles me to a stop, but he doesn’t go further than that. “No need for threats. I still haven’t given you your surprise. Here.” He adjusts his phone again, but this time when he holds it out to me, it’s in the process of video calling someone who has yet to pick up.
Diego?
I stiffen as a face comes into view, but…
“Francisco!” I grab the phone , and Jaguar relinquishes it, letting me retreat to the furthest corner away from him. “Baby, are you okay?”
“Mama?” He sounds confused, but I nod and plead with my eyes for him to play along.
“I’ve missed you so much. Are you okay? Where are you?”
He looks to his left.
“Somewhere safe,” Jaguar says from behind me. “No need to worry about the details just yet. I’ve arranged for him to be taken someplace far from any chaos. Say goodbye for now. You will speak again when he’s at his destination.”
“I love you,” I tell him. “Don’t be afraid. Trust me. I will never let anything happen to you, I promise.”
He nods, and far too soon, the call ends.
Eyes blazing, I whirl on Jaguar. “Is this all a game to you? Traumatize a child to prove a point?”
“I’m not above it,” he admits, taking the phone from me. “But in this instance, Tiena, I wasn’t the one who launched the attack. Which brings me to a very good question. Who did and why? You seem to have plenty of enemies, chica. Braulio cares for the boy, but if anyone wanted leverage against the bastard, they would kidnap him. Not kill.”
But I know someone who wouldn’t give a damn either way.
“You’ve gotten my attention,” Jaguar says. “Let’s hope neither one of us regrets it.”
“What does that mean?” I demand. “You continue to yank me around, demanding answers?”
“No.” Gone is any playfulness in his expression. He’s the cold, calculating figure lurking behind the sadistic narco mask. “It means it’s time for you to get Braulio out of your head,Tiena. I’m taking you up on your initial offer—so you better make plenty of room in that skull forme.” He slips his forefinger into his mouth, and I belatedly realize it’s the same one he touched me intimately with just minutes prior. As my cheeks flame, I tell myself that disgust is the cause. “I’ve decided you might be a worthwhile toy to play with after all.”
I flinch. Any other time I would interpret those words the way I should—as a dangerous, blaring warning sign. The last thing on earth that I need is another Diego…
“You don’t look pleased,” Jaguar scolds. “I thought this was what you wanted, Tiena? Me, the man you so eagerly pledged your pussy to.”
“I pledged it to the man IthoughtJaguar was,” I blurt out. His eyes flash in that unsettling way, but it’s too late. I can’t play the game anymore. Not with very real consequences on the line. Having him toy with me is one thing. But he doesn’t seem to be joking now. I need to know what’s truly at stake. “I don’t know the first damn thing about Julian Domingas.”
He cocks his head. “Don’t you?” As he advances, a barrage of guttural laughter rumbles from his chest, easily cornering me against the nearest bookshelf. He reaches out, palming my cheek with one hand. “You were smart enough to see through my bullshit act. To notice my ‘intelligence,’ as you call it. To expose me to my fucking face. No one ever has, little Lupe. You can take pride in that.”
Admiration isn’t what I find in his gaze. Anger is. For the first time, he lets me see how irritated he is by my constant needling. I’ve seen through his façade, but not because he allowed me to.
“You think that makes you smart. Sexy.” He strokes along my jawline until he can seize a fistful of my hair—hard. He tugs on the mass, bringing my face inches from his. “It doesn’t. It makes you a liability. A threat. You claim to see through me so easily, but I can see through you. A woman living under an assumed name who is nothing like what she should be. I don’t mean that as a compliment either—” He wrenches me closer, his teeth bared, breath hot on my throat. “The supposed whore who feels like a fucking virgin. The supposed calculator who can’t decipher the most basic fucking numbers presented before her. A stone-cold man-eater who betrays a bastard she is still in love with.” His nostrils flare excitedly as I feel all the color drain from my face.
“Oh yes, Tiena,” he breathes. “You thought I couldn’t see it? You put on a good act, but it’s written all over you for those who know what to look for. The way you flinch at my touch. The faraway look in your eyes. The way you jump at the mere mention of him…”
I hold my breath, prepared for the inevitable. He lied to me—he’s been working with him all along.Diego.
“Braulio,” Jaguar says. I blink, confused. Another mind game? No. His expression is far too serious. “He has your soul on a leash, chica. You flaunt yourself like you can be won, but you’ve already been bought and sold. You have no interest in anyone else. Do you want to know what gave you away?”
He presses into me, heedless of my back. With my resolve already rattled, I can’t silence a whine. Fear ratches up, constricting the air in my lungs. Will he hurt me?
He raises his hand, and I recoil against the hard spines of the books, bracing for impact. My face isn’t where his fingers finally land, however.
He grips my inner thigh instead, aiming for the flesh still slick with his seed.