Chapter 14

Last move…

Vee contemplated Sotza's words as she laid on an uncomfortable mattress in the dark, uninviting industrial apartment she was using. She really should just go home, back to her small luxuries. The Venezuelan probably knew exactly where she was hiding out and was laughing at her new circumstances. Well… probably not. He seemed to harbour a weird soft spot for her. Despite her constant defiance, he didn't seem to want her uncomfortable. She shifted onto her back, kicked at the blanket covering her legs and shoved a hand through her hair. She lay like that, hand on her head, staring at nothing.

Whose last move? Hers or his? The thought chilled her to the bone. If it was her last move then she was royally screwed. She had nothing left to negotiate with. Perhaps there were still a few contacts loyal to her, but they would fall. Either by death or switching sides. Most likely death. She couldn't see Sotza allowing anyone to live who would switch loyalties so easily. The man seemed to have a strange set of ethics, but they worked for him. Far more effectively than hers. She was so busy trying to protect the people under her care that she stopped pushing back lest someone else get hurt. She'd sent most of her backup into hiding. Life was looking pretty bleak.

Tears of hopelessness burned behind her eyelids, but she refused to let them fall. Pressed the heel of her hands hard against her eyes to stop them. She stopped crying years ago. She wasn't about to let some asshole mobster break her. Even if he'd broken everything around her.

Perhaps it was time to give up the fight, stop acting out of desperation and start thinking smart. Cut her losses and go. Find a place he'd never think to look. Because as much as she wanted to think he would allow her to leave unscathed, she knew better. A man like that, once he stated his intentions, would always follow through. If she stayed it would be just a matter of time until he scooped her up. If she stayed, more people would die. More of her beautiful city would burn.

Tomorrow, first thing in the morning, she would leave.

* * *

"She's on the move," Mateo told his boss, watching from a window across the street from Vee's hiding place. "Taking two bodyguards and a suitcase. Could be moving back home. Maybe she's done with this low-class shit."

Mateo cast a scathing eye around the place he'd been calling home since his arrival in Miami. He was not impressed. It was dilapidated, dirty, bug-infested and there was no running water. Just a tiny, uncomfortable cot and the nastiest toilet he'd come across in awhile. He suspected Vee's accommodations were similar and was somewhat impressed that the delicate blond he'd been charged with watching would put up with it.

"Interesting," Sotza replied. "No, I don't think she would go back home. It would be admitting defeat."

"Isn't running away from the city her way of admitting defeat?" Mateo pointed out. He was in a high enough position within The Butcher's organization that he'd been invited to submit his thoughts and opinions. No one else could offer such an observation without the boss taking issue.

Sotza chuckled. "Perhaps. But leaving the city to a destination of her choice is admitting defeat on her terms. Staying would be bowing to me on my terms. The lady is far too feisty for that."

"Sounds complicated," Mateo said, watching as Vee and her bodyguards drove away. "She's left the area. Won't be able to disappear though, I'm tracking all vehicles that've had contact with her."

"I never doubted it," Sotza said, satisfaction clear in his voice. "That's the reason I brought you here. Your ability to track is unparalleled."

Mateo was flattered, the boss didn't hand out compliments. Still, he felt compelled to respond. "You brought me here to babysit a woman?" Mateo had anticipated war, a bloodbath, standing by Sotza's side as a powerful regime fell to be replaced by their own command. He hadn't expected his entire job to be following a woman around. Albeit an attractive, intelligent woman.

Silence on the other end of the phone made him think he was toeing too close to the line. Though he was the right hand to Sotza, they weren't friends. No one befriended the man. He was cold, intelligent and vicious. Cozying up to the Venezuelan was like an ant wanting to make friends with a shoe. Impossible. Because no matter how close one got within the organization, no matter how high up, one just never knew when that shoe was going to drop.

"I brought you here to track and protect my future wife. The future of my organization. Her life is vitally important." Sotza spoke with cool authority, but the deadly undercurrent told Mateo that any more sleights against Ms. Montana would not pass.

"Understood," Mateo said. And he did. Though Sotza hadn't shown even a fleeting interest in any single woman since Mateo knew the man, he now understood that the dynamic of the Venezuelan cartel had changed. There would soon be a queen at the top, standing next to Sotza.

"Good," Sotza said, putting the brief but tense exchange behind them and getting back to business. "I want your men on that car. It might have a tracker but that doesn't mean she won't slip away. She's wily." Sotza's voice held a modicum of pride and warmth. Another first.

"I'll get them on it right away, she won't be able to go anywhere without us knowing her every move. What do you want me to do?" Now that Elvira was leaving, and he was assured she would be tracked, his presence at the warehouse was unnecessary.

"I have an extremely important and delicate task for you. I need you to find Vee's daughter and bring her to me."