Page 44 of Cartel Devil

“Did you earlier or as we came downstairs?”

“Both.”

“My family trusts my judgment. They know you’re special to me.”

“Pregnant or not, nothing changes the fact I’m a Vizzini.”

Chapter Ten

Tre

Neither one of us has mentioned my family beyond Joaquin asking how many brothers I have. I don’t know if it just hasn’t crossed his mind or it doesn’t matter to him. I doubt it’s either of those. Neither of us wants to cross that bridge, but we’ve come to it.

I observe him, assessing his expression for even a flicker of emotion.

Steadfastness.

That’s what I see. Granted, he won’t let me know a single thing he feels or thinks unless he wants me to. That’s not just shyness but a learned trait. I’ve noticed the New York syndicate men can turn into mannequins when they want. Completely devoid of any outward emotional signs. The Boston men are like that too, but not to the disconcerting extreme the men in this city are. What I’ve seen so far is what Joaquin’s volunteered.

“I know who your parents are, Tre. Tía Elle told me the next day. Your father will try to murder me, but it doesn’t deter me.”

He doesn’t exaggerate. If I’m pregnant, my father will go on a rampage if my mother doesn’t find out either before or at the same time as him. Granted, Mom won’t be much better. She’s likely to lead the charge, but at least I can talk them off the battlefield if they’re together.

“Joaco, it might cause World War III, but no one in my family decides for me. Is your family bracing for that already?”

“Prepared for, not bracing for. They saw us together at the reception. They know I’ve had a crush on you. This—us—comes as no surprise.”

He’s adorable when he says he’s had a crush on me. I don’t know any thirty-something-year-old guy who’d describe his feelings that way. I squeeze his hand.

“I’ve had a crush on you too.”

He winks at me. “I know.”

Fuck. The man is sexier than sin incarnate.

I noticed some of the single women ogling him earlier. He’s the last single man in the family, and I believe the hottest. I wanted to claw the eyes out of one woman who was far too cozy with him. He didn’t reciprocate but neither did he extract himself from her embrace as fast as I wanted.

Now, he’s holding my hand. It was my cunt he was in only minutes ago. I see those same women eying me. It takes everything to keep from gloating, especially since this could be dead in the water if things blow up between our families.

“Tre, my family will protect us no matter what. We don’t do arranged marriage. We’re only with people we l—care about. That means you’re one of us now.”

I stare up at him.

L—

Was he going to say love?

If it was like, he would’ve just said that.

He can’t love me yet, but is that what he wants? What he sees?

“That just means you stand to lose more.”

“As long as it’s not you, nothing could be worse.”

I know he’ll lie to me. Many, many times. Countless times. He’ll lie about where he is, what he’s doing, and who he’s with. He’ll do it with a clear conscience, and half the time, I won’t know it’s a lie. But he’ll do it to protect me, his family, his men, and the families that depend upon his. I get that. I’ve lived with the men in my life doing that since I was born.

However, nothing about his declarations has felt like even a hint of a lie. This is something I don’t think he’d lie about. Besides his mother killing him for something so dishonorable, it’s just not in him. Despite acknowledging how disastrous this could be for our families, I still feel safer with him than I ever have. Safer than when I’m with my father, brother, cousins, and uncles. Safer than I did with Steven when we were both still too young to understand what this life would demand of us.