Page 54 of Great White
I hearDove and Stefania arguing behind the club office door.
I knock before I enter. When I step inside, I find more than I’m expecting.
Marco is standing in the middle of the two women.
I’ve only seen him in surveillance pictures, and one time in the distance when I dropped Stefania off outside of the city to meet him. But that was enough to recognize him now.
No one argues with my entrance, so I take the liberty of standing behind Dove. It isn’t clear yet what they’re arguing about, but if Marco is here, it’s something significant.
“What’d I miss?” I ask, the question directed at anyone who will answer.
Dove crosses her arms and bristles. I look to Stefania who is also perturbed and sour-faced. My last try is Marco.
He puts his hand out. “Marco Rayas.”
“Tate Donovan.” We shake. At least there is one calm person in the room.
“Ah, the infamous Tate.” Marco slides his dark eyes to Stefania, and then to Dove. The way he looks at her is much more unforgiving. I don’t like it.
There is nothing like an unwelcome cook in the kitchen to add salt in the wound of an already uncomfortable situation. Stefania and I always knew what was happening between us was purely physical. We made no false pretenses. We always knew where our hearts belonged. Unintentionally on my end. But Stefania is perceptive. She knew it was more than just a physical attraction for me. That’s what she whispered in my ear the night she kissed me. “Si no podemos tener los que queremos, al menos podemos tenernos el uno al otro.”
If we can’t have the ones we want, we can at least have each other.
I wasn't in a position to say no. The queen of the cartel propositioned me. It was my duty to accept, no matter my feelings for Dove. I’m here for one reason and one reason only. Gather intel. That’s my objective. That’s my focus. Even if this is the most challenging undercover operation of my life.
“Marco has this wonderfully idealistic idea that the Rayas cartel should absorb the Deltoros. He wants us to merge operations,” Dove explains with unbridled hostility. “And Stefania is considering it.”
I look to Stefania. This is news.
“I merely said it was something to think about,” Stefania defends her position.
“It’s suicide. They will destroy us.”
“No,” Marco argues. “If my father believes you are no longer a threat to his business, he will leave it alone. He will let Stefania and me be together. It is a win-win for all of us.”
“It’s fucking selling out. You will lose everything and become a Rayas pet.”
“That is absolutely ludicrous. Stefania will have a prominent position in the family. As will you,” Marco asserts.
Dove takes a menacing step in Marco’s direction, and I follow. “I wouldn’t trust your father if he were the last man with a match, and we were all condemned to darkness. He’s the devil. There is a reason he chose that symbol to mark his people.” Dove points to the tattoo on Marco’s neck. It’s a cursive R with two devil horns. The mark of the Rayas.
“My father is an evil man.” Marco doesn’t make any excuses for Raffi. “But he does have honor, and if he says merging our families and our businesses will squash the feud, I believe him.”
“You’re naïve. He doesn’t care about squashing a feud. He wants power. He wants what Stefania built. He killed her family, and he’ll kill her, too, if she doesn’t submit to him.”
“Then, that’s exactly why she should,” Marco explodes in Dove’s face.
I pull her back, keeping a firm grip on her arms. “Why don’t we all just relax.”
“I refuse to lose the woman I love because you are too stubborn to accept the solution.”
“It’s not a solution. It’s an ultimatum.”
Marco growls and makes the sign of the bull with his hand, stabbing them at Dove. “Deltoro, for sure.”
“Enough,” Stefania finally interjects. We all bring our attention to her. “There is much to think about.”
“Think about?” Dove hisses.
