Dominick looked at the bartender, who approached and took the paper from Sean. He left the atrium.
Dominick leaned back. “How do you know Dante?”
“Kane.”
“Friends?”
“I wouldn’t say that.”
“Enemy?”
“I wouldn’t say that, either.”
“I’ve always wondered why Kane never slit his throat.”
Sean shrugged. “If you know anything about me, you know I’m just the pilot.”
Dominick laughed. “Just the pilot. Is that like the Hollywood movie, the one where the guy is just the cook?”
“I don’t go to the movies much.”
“Is it true that you escaped under intense gunfire outside Santiago a few months ago?”
“They were bad shots.”
“I’m sure they were. But your plane was totaled, was it not?”
Sean didn’t like how Dominick knew these things about him. If he knew about Sean, he knew about Lucy.
A man in jeans, a polo shirt, and Nikes ran into the atrium. Dominick looked irritated.
“Dom, Jasmine is here.”
Dominick tensed. “At the house?”
“On her way. She landed thirty minutes ago with a fake passport. She has a girl and baby with her.”
Dominick spoke in rapid Spanish. He was not happy, but Sean’s Spanish wasn’t good enough to translate, especially not so fast. But Sean caught the end. “When will she arrive?”
“Ten minutes.”
“Is this Alberto’s kid?”
“I guess so. Jasmine hasn’t been chatty lately, she’s really pissed off.”
“Fuck.”
Dominick looked at Sean. He wished he could read the crime lord’s mind, but he couldn’t. He had no idea who Jasmine was, or why Dominick would be scared of her-which he clearly was.
“What do you want to do about her?” the guy asked. He was taller than Dominick but had the same basic facial structure-a brother? Very possible.
“Greet her at the gate. She likes you the best, Jose. Keep her away from Samuel. Oh-and tell your girlfriend to disappear for a while. Jasmine hates the Romeros.”
“Why?” Jose asked.
Dominick looked at Sean pointedly, then said, “No need to air family business in front of our guest.”
Jose was so young that for a minute Sean thought he might be Dominick’s son, but he didn’t call him Dad and was more likely the youngest brother.
“She’ll understand,” Jose said. “Where do you want me to put Jasmine?”
“She’ll want to see me first, but try and convince her to rest. I don’t need to have her interfering with tonight’s business arrangement.” He paused a moment, looked around the atrium, then said to Jose, “Tell Flora to prepare the Rose Suite.”
“And the girl and baby?”
“Alberto’s whore and kid, he can put them in his rooms.” Dominick swore again, profusely, then said, “Have Alberto go to the gate with you. I don’t want to see the girl. I told Jasmine not to bring her and her bastard here.”
“Alberto wanted her.”
“Alberto can’t fucking keep his dick in his pants, he wants every damn whore he sees.”
Dominick was deeply angry. In fact, Sean suspected that Dominick was doing his best to keep his temper in check. Just what Sean needed-an angry crime lord who might decide to keep the money and kill them all because he was pissed off at family drama.
“I’ll take care of it, Dom.” Jose left. Typical younger brother, wanting to keep his older brothers happy.
Sean could relate.
But now he had more information, which was always good. Jose was the brother Gabriella had seduced in order to get into the Flores operation. Jose actually seemed like a genuine guy-but he was still in a crime family, and one thing Sean knew better than anything, blood won.
“Once you have confirmation that the money is where I said it was, perhaps you can let Kane and I slip out,” Sean said. “We don’t need to interrupt whatever it is that’s going on here.”
“You have more family than Kane, do you not?”
Of course Dominick would know, so Sean nodded.
“Yes, your brother and sister in Europe. Interesting fellow, that Liam. And the other one, I don’t remember his name. He doesn’t come down here.”
Sean didn’t tell him.
“Family is complicated,” Dom said.
“But you love them anyway.”
Dominick relaxed, just a bit. “Yes. We understand each other. Which is why it’s difficult for me to simply let you and Kane slip out of here.”
“I’ve heard you are a man of your word. I wouldn’t have made this deal if I didn’t believe that.”
“I am, true, but Kane has been a thorn in the side of me and my allies for years. I’m sure you’re aware of that.”
“Like I said, I’m just the pilot.”
“We had a vote. It was split. As it generally is when it’s an even number of voters.”
“Yet you agreed to take my money.”
“Kane is no longer welcome south of the border.”
“He never was.”
“But this time, I have you.” Dominick stared at Sean, his face hard. The killer beneath the suave businessman showed himself, and if Sean were alone in this plan, he would have been terrified. As it was, it took all his control to bury the fear and hope Dominick couldn’t see his nerves. “If Kane interferes with my business again-any of my businesses, including the business of my allies-not only will the bounty on his head increase, but I will put a bounty on the head of every Rogan. Including you. Including your fiancée.”
Sean saw red. The fear turned to rage. He wanted to strangle Dominick where he sat.
“It’s not a bluff,” Dominick continued. “I know everything about you. I know everything about Lucy Kincaid.”
Through clenched teeth Sean said, “Then you know who her brother is.”
“Of course. And you know he no longer travels south of the border. The Kincaids are off-limits, as long as Jack minds his own business. But Miss Lucy is going to be a Rogan, so she is fair game, whichever side of the border she is on.”
Sean leaned forward and whispered, “If anyone touches her, the wrath of a thousand gods will rain down on you and yours.”
“Now you know how I feel if your brother continues to interfere with me.” He didn’t break eye contact, but leaned forward, almost as if he were going to kiss Sean. “I could kill you both and be done with you, but like you said, there are others who may seek retribution. This is the agreement. Take it, or die.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
Kane picked the handcuffs with the pin Gabriella had slipped him earlier. Flores wasn’t stupid-he hadn’t left Kane alone in the room. A guard inside and a guard outside.
But still, only one to deal with at a time. Small consolation.
Sean had given Kane the signal-by requiring proof of life. When Kane saw Sean with Dom, he knew the plan was on. That his little brother got this far was a testament to his talents, but they were far from out of the woods. Even if this was an even exchange, they were still at risk. That Kane intended to destroy the Flores crime family tonight just added another element of danger. Because in no scenario that he and Jack could conceive would they be allowed to walk away with Jesse Spade without a distraction. Not with the fortress the Flores family had built and the people they’d bought. If they could have grabbed him at the stadium, it would have been much easier.
Little in Kane’s life was easy.
The outside guard came in. He said, “Jasmine is here.”
“No shit?” the inside guard said. “Fuck, I wish I could go home.”
“You and me both. Dom is furious. He didn’t know.”
“He didn’t?”
The guards found that interesting, and it weakened their boss in their eyes. Dominick Flores was supposed to be all-knowing, all-seeing… that his own sister was here without his knowledge would taint his authority.
Kane didn’t know much about Jasmine, the illegitimate daughter of Don Flores. She lived in the States; her mother had been a nurse in Corpus Christi when the elder Flores met her forty-plus years ago. Flores had kept the nurse in style for years, and had apparently loved her so much that her death from cancer when Jasmine was in college had devastated him greatly. He’d left a substantial settlement to Jasmine and her younger sister in his will. As far as he knew, the younger Flores had no connection to the family, moving far away to the Northeast. But while Kane had heard that Jasmine had a relationship with her half brothers, he’d never heard that she was involved in their business affairs.