Page 30 of Scarlet Embrace

“I looked into you, and I know you’ve been single for a few years now.”

Coming up with a reply to that was hard because we both knew it was true. Yes, I have been single for a while now, but that was mainly by choice, not by anything.

“Why are you even interested in me? I’m sure there are plenty of women begging for you to be with them,” I said as he parked right in front of my apartment.

“None of them are as interesting as you, though,” he said with a shrug.

“As if,” I scoffed as I reached for the door. Lucas stopped me and asked me to consider what he had just said. He seemed genuine, but I was not going to fall for that. None of the Cruz family was to be trusted apart from Linda.

“Just think about it and let me know what you think,” he called out to me as I walked away. Lucas didn’t know me as well as he thinks because if he did, I would be the last person to whom he would make this offer.

*****

“What did you tell him?” Carmen asked with interest.

“Nothing. I’m going to turn down his offer,” I said with a shrug as I moved on to the next painting. We were both at an art exhibition Carmen had been invited to.

“Are you for real, girl?” Carmen asked.

“Yes. There’s no way I’m going to play pretend with Lucas Cruz, of all people.”

“Why?”

Because if not for his family, my father wouldn’t have died, and our business would not have been taken over by the Cruz.

Jonathan Rodriguez, the owner of the Rodriguez nightclub, construction, restaurant, and store. Fifteen years ago, my father had made a name for himself in the real estate business as well as other businesses. Somehow, he had gotten on Cruz’s radar, and they wanted a partnership, one my father had turned down. When they saw they couldn’t get him to partner with them, they offered to buy him out, an offer my father refused. It was a mistake, as no one said no to the Cruz. My father had died in a ‘mysterious accident,’ and his properties were sold off at an auction for some flimsy reason. That was the beginning of my vendetta with the Cruz family and the major reason I won’t be with Lucas Cruz on this pretend love of his.

“Because I hate them,” I answered simply.

“Who doesn’t but think about this carefully,” Carmen started. “You might be the only chance at bringing the Cruz family down. We all know how much you hate them, so why not use this to your advantage?”

Destroy them from the inside out. That is a good suggestion, one that I haven’t considered before. If I became Lucas’s fiancée, there’s no doubt that I’d not only get access to him, I might get access to what the Cruz is up to, and I’ll feed it to Roland.

“I don’t know. It won’t be that easy,” I admitted to Carmen.

Yet, there was no denying that it was a rather wonderful idea. In fact, it might be the best opportunity to get the revenge I so much wanted. Anyone who wants to end the Cruz would agree to my plan, or that was what I thought.

“Nope. No way. I’m not taking that risk with you,” Roland said.

“But this will be a win for all of us,” I told him.

“We’ll find another way. I’m not pimping you out to Lucas,” he insisted.

Anger rose within me at his statement, but I tried to suppress it. He was concerned for my safety, but Roland wasn’t seeing the big picture I was seeing.

“First and foremost, I’m not yours to pimp. No one is pimping me out to Lucas. Also, this will be a win for us. I’m not taking any huge risks. In fact, I will be able to confirm or help you plan how to limit Cruz’s operation in the city.”

“Still a no, Elena. You don’t know the risk you are taking,” Roland said as he leaned back into his chair.

Meeting with him at a café not far from the courthouse might not have been a good idea, but then, I was confident that he’d be glad to go along with my plan.

“Trust me, I know, but there’s nothing we can do now,” I told him.

Andrew Cruz already considers me his son’s fiancée, which means whatever Roland was scared about was already in play. Taking advantage of the situation was the only way forward.

“Everything about this doesn’t sit right with me, Elena,” Roland stressed for what had to be the tenth time.

“You’ve made that clear, Roland. Let’s just focus on the next thing.”