Bound By A Promise (Brutal Vows #3)

Chapter 22

Chapter

Twenty-Two

Dante

I followed Dario out the front door. The benches and flowerpots that had been decorating the courtyard were gone, cleaned away by Silas and Viviana, making the space look empty.

Dario turned, facing me, his stern expression giving nothing away. He was in capo mode. I knew this side of my brother. However, usually we were on the same side of whatever situation. “Tell me about the attack.”

“You don’t want to yell at me any more about my wedding?”

“I think we covered that on the phone. I would like to know what was happening between you and Andrés when we arrived.”

“He slapped Camila, and I threatened to kill him if he ever touched her again.”

Dario closed his eyes, and his nostrils flared. When he looked back at me, he had a slight shake of his head. “You’re going to need to work that out.”

“He slapped Camila. She deserves an apology. He also told Jorge he wants the alliance ended.”

“He’s upset. The alliance isn’t ending.”

“Maybe he’s dirty like Gerardo was.”

“Christ, Dante. Are you forgetting that he’s my father-in-law too? He’s Catalina and Camila’s father. He’s not dirty.”

“You said too . You’re acknowledging Camila and I are married?”

“You were smart to have a priest. It gives me something to work with.”

“Camila deserved a real wedding even if it was rushed.”

Dario crossed his arms, the sleeves on his suit coat pulling taut across his shoulders. “The attack.”

“We heard the helicopter before we saw it.”

“You said there were three men inside the copter?”

I nodded. “Pilot, copilot, and the door gunner armed with an MP5 submachine gun.”

“MP5 doesn’t exactly narrow anything down. They’re used by militaries around the world, including Naval Spetsnaz.” When I didn’t respond, he added, “Russian commando frogmen. They’re equivalent to our Navy Seals.”

“Aléjandro said there was recently a shipment stopped at the border. Homeland Security tried to associate it with the Roríguez cartel, but it wasn’t them. It was the Kozlov bratva.”

“The same group responsible for the attack on the Ruiz home a few months ago.” Dario’s forehead furrowed. “Did the bratva plant the shipment to purposely incriminate the cartel?”

“I didn’t ask. Eight hundred rounds a minute were raining down on this house.”

“Bulletproof windows. Glad we’re high in the sky or I’d want to invest in some.”

“If you and Catalina move to the Ozarks, you might consider it.”

“What makes you think I want to leave the city?” he asked.

“There’s no yard for Ariadna to play in.”

“There’s a park.” He shook his head. “I’d only consider it if we could move our mother someplace else.” Dario exhaled. “I want to talk to them inside about the attack before Jorge arrives. First, we need to settle the wedding thing.”

“The wedding thing is settled.” I lifted my left hand. “I’m married.”

“Let’s go inside and convince Andrés so we can utilize the resources of both organizations to once and for all eliminate this Russian threat.”

“I’ll do whatever is possible to keep Camila safe.” I thought about it. Despite Andrés’s reaction, they were my wife’s family. I reconsidered. “All of them.”

“And all of us. Mia is still famiglia.”

“Okay, my capo, I’ll do whatever I can.”

“Talk to Andrés. No shouting. No knives, guns, or threats of violence. Talk.”

“I’d rather infiltrate the Kozlov bratva.”

The front door opened, and Catalina smiled in our direction before her expression turned serious. “Hey, there’s something you two should see.”

“Hey,” I said, going to her and wrapping my arms around her. I lowered my voice as we walked into the house. “I’m pretty sure I have you to thank for my brother not killing me.”

“I don’t think killing was on the table, but maiming was.”

“Thank you.”

Everyone was standing in Aléjandro and Mia’s living room around the large television.

Dario’s eyebrows knitted together. “We’ve gone from bloodshed to watching the wedding video?”

“There’s a video of our wedding?” I asked, going to Camila.

“Yeah,” she replied with a smile. “Viviana took it. But Mama noticed something.”

Em, Andrés, and Aléjandro were standing the closest to the screen. Aléjandro turned. “Come fucking see this. I don’t know how we missed it last night.”

Dario and I walked closer.

“A red dot sight,” he said. My brother reached for my arm. “It’s fucking on you.”

“And the priest,” Aléjandro said. “Briefly, and then you can hear the helicopter, and we all go inside.”

Dario turned to Valentina. “You spotted this?”

She nodded. “After Luis…I’ll never forget that light.”

“They had a red dot sight when your home was attacked?” Dario asked.

Camila’s mother nodded. “I see it in my nightmares.”

Dario continued questioning, “You definitively connected those attacks to the Kozlov bratva, right?”

“And Herrera,” Aléjandro added. “Gerardo was working for Herrera.”

Elizondro Herrera wanted to take over the Roríguez cartel, to incorporate it into his organization. Dario’s gaze lingered for a few seconds on Catalina’s. Right after they were married, Elizondro’s wife invited Catalina to her hotel suite. Thankfully, it was exactly what it appeared to be—two old friends. Dario had feared it was a trap to steal his new wife to Mexico.

“Let me see that frame again,” I said, taking in the video. “Viviana, where were you when you took the video?”

“I was sitting behind Jano and Mia.”

“Come with me,” I said to the masses, leading them out onto the pool deck. “The helicopter came from the ocean.”

Everyone nodded.

“That laser sight?—”

Aléjandro turned, looking at his own roof. “It came from this direction.”

“Our guards were on patrol,” Silas said. “No one was on the roof.”

I looked around. “It’s hard to judge without any of the furniture, but Viviana, can you estimate where you were seated?”

She walked to a spot.

“Camila,” I said, “we were about…”

She came forward and walked toward the edge of the patio, the ocean breeze blowing her long skirt and the small hairs around her face. “About here. It was where the arch was.” She turned and pointed. “I came out that door.”

Silas stood peering toward the sky in different directions. “Red dot sights are typically used for closer ranges, 100 yards or less.”

“Depending on the rifle,” Em added, “they can be adequate up to 300 yards.”

We were all looking up at the roofline. “If the shooter wasn’t on your roof, with the way the second story obstructs a straight view...” I looked from Viviana to Camila. “There. Someone was on your neighbor’s roof or in that window.” I pointed. “That’s the only possible vantage point.”

“Do you know your neighbor?” Andrés asked.

“I’ve met the wife,” Mia said. “Only once.”

Walking to Camila, I wrapped my arm around her. I did it without thinking because she looked chilled. After I did, I noticed Andrés turning away. “Why would Kozlov send a sharpshooter and a helicopter?”

“Why didn’t they shoot?” Andrés asked.

“Because Dante and the priest weren’t the intended targets,” Dario said.

“If those shots would have happened,” Camila said, “right before the helicopter, the sharpshooter would have gone unnoticed. The submachine gun would have obliterated the body or bodies.”

I hadn’t noticed Silas stepping inside, but we all noticed his return and the man at his side.

Jorge Roríguez lifted his hands. “You are all getting along better than I anticipated.” He went to Mia and gave her a hug. “ Hija . How are you feeling, Mia?”

She smiled back at him. “Well. Just tired.”

“And my grandson?”

“We don’t know. You may have a granddaughter in there.”

“Roríguez men father boys. But I’d take a girl.” He turned to the crowd. “What’s happening out here, where yesterday my son’s home was attacked?”

Dario and Aléjandro explained what we’d found, starting with the video. As they spoke, Silas sent guards next door to look for clues to determine if the sharpshooter was where we suspected.

Camila reached for my hand and whispered. “Who would have thought I’d be happy about last night’s attack?”

“They do seem to be more concerned about that than our marriage.” As I spoke, Jorge turned toward us. I lowered my voice. “We spoke too soon.”

I pulled my shoulders back, remembering Dario’s warning for me to make things right. “ Se?or Roríguez.”

He offered me his hand. “Luciano. I didn’t plan on another of our women going to the famiglia.”

We shook. “I’m sure Reinaldo will find a wife.”

Jorge nodded and looked at Camila. “He kidnapped you?”

“No, sir.”

“He forced you?”

She shook her head. “No, sir.”

“What did he do to convince you to disappoint so many?”

I squeezed her hand, fighting my urge to step in and answer for her, but I knew el Patr?n wanted Camila’s response.

“ El Patr?n ,” she said respectfully, “Dante made me feel special.” She grinned up at me. “He loves me, and I love him. I didn’t mean to disappoint anyone. I wanted to marry the man I love.”

Jorge turned toward the multitude of eyes on us, everyone watching our interaction. “Andrés, you called for the end to the alliance.”

Catalina gasped.

Her father’s gaze went to her and back to Jorge. “I overreacted. Dario has stayed true. He’s here today. I too am disappointed in Camila’s decisions. I’m ashamed of her behavior.” He looked at Valentina and sighed. “We know that she will be protected as Catalina is. As a father, that is what I want. My apologies to Rei.”

“I spoke to him,” Jorge said. “We will move forward.” He turned to Dario. “We should talk, the two of us.”

“You may use my office,” Aléjandro volunteered.

After the two bosses walked away, Mia and Catalina rushed toward Camila as the three women hugged, pulling my wife from my grasp.

Remembering Dario’s words, I inhaled and made my way to Andrés. “I hope someday you can be happy for Camila and forgive us.” I offered him my hand.

For a moment, he stared at it. Finally, he took it. “Be a good husband. She has a wild streak in her. She needs more discipline than I gave her. Don’t let her age fool you into thinking she’ll be easy to control. She’s not her sister.”

A smile curled my lips and lifted my cheeks. “I wouldn’t want her any other way.”

Silas returned. “Jano, we found more than we anticipated.”