Page 49 of Violent Attraction
That can be a legitimate possibility, right?
My father is capable of doing that and letting me marry this man, right?
Everything in me is telling me no.
That’s not the kind of person that Ronaldo Morales is, but a girl can hope.
Really hope.
Or maybe the reason he is summoning me has nothing to do with me and my relationship at all. Maybe it has to do with planning an event or something.
My father definitely loves to drop events I want nothing to do with on my lap.
I keep myself as composed as possible as we walk through the estate and to my father’s office.
So many scenarios are running through my head and all I can hope is that it’s the one scenario where Santiago makes it out of this meeting alive.
When I approach the office, I knock on the gigantic wooden door and wait for a second before it opens and we get waved in by my brother.
I knew that Leo was here because Santos is on the property but why am I being summoned to a meeting that he’s present for?
Nothing is making sense.
As I pass the threshold, my whole body is on high alert.
This time because inside the office, are two other men besides my father and brother. Two men that I have never seen before and don’t look familiar at all. The more I look at them, the more I can see that they are father and son.
But them looking alike doesn’t tell me who they are or why they’re here?
Let alone why I’m here.
“You wanted to see me?” I give my father a smile, trying not to alert him to tension that keeps riding up within me.
“Close the door, Santos.” My father orders and seconds later I’m closed into a room that holds the five men and myself.
I keep myself composed as much as I can, but that’s on the outside. On the inside, I’m filled with fear and maybe a tinge of curiosity.
As soon as the door is closed, my father holds out a hand for me to take, which I do.
“Isabella, I want you to meet Frederico and Emilio Castro. They run a small cartel out of Jalisco.” He waves at the two men standing at the edge of the room.
I want to let out a snort.
Small cartel. It’s only small because Ronaldo Morales won’t let any other cartel grow as big as his. The Muertos cartel runs Mexico, and he will do everything in his power to keep it that way.
But what do these men from a small cartel in Jalisco have to do with me?
“Mucho gusto.” I offer them a small smile, because right now that is all I can muster.
The older man approaches me and my father and starts looking me up and down as if he were accessing me. Like he has x-ray vision and can see through my clothing and sees every single flaw that I have. I step into my father’s hold slightly as if to shield myself from this man's gaze.
After what feels like the longest thirty second of my life, the man finally meets my questioning stare and gives me a bright smile. One that twists something in my stomach.
“It’s very nice to finally meet you, Isabella. Ronaldo has spoken very good things about you. I can see that he was right when he described you as a beauty.”
The man, Frederico if I had to guess, has a thick accent, one that mirrors my father’s. That tells me that this man has spent the majority of his life in Mexico and only speaks English when absolutely necessary.
He has dark hair that has sprinkles of grey and a full beard with a mustache that covers most of the smile he is giving me. Something about this man doesn’t sit well with me.