Page 5 of My Desire (Mi Deseo)

Thankfully, my brother keeps his mouth shut, ushering our quaking mother toward the door with me on their heels. As I reach the restaurant’s exit, I turn back and see that my father is now seated and listening carefully to every word Banderas is saying. He looks over at me, his eyes clouded with sorrow. It creates something inside me, something I’ve never felt for the man I have tried to gain approval from all my life:resentment.

I don’t know what my father has gotten himself into, but I have a feeling none of us will survive it unscathed.

I’m about to turn away, making plans to escape the city with my mother and brother, when my attention latches onto Alvaro again. He stares at me, his eyes reaching past my clothing, deeper than the layers of my flesh, and touching on every organ in my body. I feel it in my bones.

Brujo, I mouth, my nervous system lighting on fire when his lips kick up into an evil grin.

I turn quickly and bolt out the door.

TWO

ALVARO

“La Jumpa” by Bad Bunny & Arcángel

I watch the little witch run out the door, her long chocolate hair blowing out behind her as she chases her stupid brother. She’s a beauty, and much nicer on the eyes in person than in the photos I’ve seen. My father had done a lot of vetting during his search for the best financial manager in America, which meant I’d seen plenty of intel on Vicenta Guzmán, and every single piece showed her as nothing but a dutiful daughter with a goal-oriented mind like her father.

Victor Guzmán was the only one who was able to find the fake accounts we planted as a test. Not only was he able to spot them, but he also helped us learn that someone had been stealing from us.

That person—one of ourgenerals—is no longer breathing.

Victor had no idea he was looking into the accounts of the Banderas Cartel, not until it was too late for him to turn down the job.

His intelligence caught my father’s attention and that’s never a good thing.

When Marío Banderas sets his sights on something, it’s never long before he has it. Victor never stood a chance, but until the drama he faces tonight, I don’t believe the man would have turned us down even if he knew who we were.

Not with the amount of money he was earning for his work.

Things were going well with the new American. My father, Marío, had no suspicions that he would betray us. Of course, when you’re the son to the Cartel boss, you learn to be suspicious of everyone. I never trusted Victor, but then again, I never trust anyone who can play with numbers as well as he can.

Unfortunately for him, he's not the only financial manager we have on board and it was brought to our attention that the American accounts were dropping in small and unusual increments. We continued to watch it happen month after month, hoping it was an innocent mistake.

It wasn’t.

I came to America in secret and watched the Guzmán family, along with every member of Victor’s financial team. That’s how we learned that it was not Victor’s doing. He had no knowledge one of his partners had been skimming under his nose. But he should have been paying closer attention.

Tonight, they will all die.

When a black Audi speeds out of the parking lot, I turn back to the table where my father sits with a nauseous Victor.

“I want to apologize once again for my son’s rude behavior. I raised him better than that and I will make sure he understands that his disrespectful display will not be tolerated.Lo siento, Señor Banderas.”

Marío stares at him for a moment, his finger tapping on the table top where thebrujawas sitting when we arrived. My mind replays our short exchange and the cruel smile she gave me. That girl has evil brewing beneath her soft and pretty exterior. She makes me want to tear her apart, piece by piece, just to see where she hides it.

When she mouthed the wordbrujofrom across the restaurant, I couldn’t help but give her a taste of my own wicked smile.

“Did you raise your company to be as disrespectful as your children?”

My father's cold voice pulls me back to the present. Victor looks sincerely confused by the question, confirming what I suspected; he honestly had no prior knowledge of what was going on within his own financial firm. I fucking hate clueless people. They’re a risk.

“W-what? I’m sorry but I don’t understand.”

“That’s the problem, Victor,” Marío says, before reaching behind him. One of the guards takes out an iPad and hands it to him. He clicks away on it before passing it to Victor who stares at the device with wide eyes.

The color drains from his face. “Dios mío, what is this?”

“Look closer,” Marío tells him. “You will recognize your entire team, including theculerowho was stealing from me.”