Chapter 17

Hadina

“Bringing someone to meet my daughter without telling me first was a risky move, Hadi.”

Hadina rolled her eyes. Why did men always think they knew better and could intimidate a woman? The last time she had quivered in fear and thought I should ask for permission was… Well, she wasn’t sure that had ever happened.

“ No te respondo, pendejo. I don’t have to run shit past you.”

Darío’s piercing eyes flashed with unchecked rage. “You do when it’s about my daughter!”

She got up from where she sat on the sofa, standing to her full height and straightening her back, showing just how little she cared about his pissy anger issues. “ Recuerda con quién estás hablando, hermano. You only get so many passes because of fear or stress before I will put you in your place. ?Entiéndeme? ”

The cartel Don registered her words and though Hadina could tell that the itch to continue fighting was still brewing beneath his skin—an itch she currently shared—he forced himself to breathe and take a seat in one of the plush armchairs facing the sofa.

It hadn’t been long since Hadina had last seen Darío and yet, so much about him had changed. His handsome face, all sharp angles and lines, was as untouched by time as it ever was. His full lips were still pulled into a straight line as he stared hard at his hands. But there was something different about him and Hadina knew in an instant that it was the same changes she had forced herself to go through.

“What’s their name?”

Darío looked up at her in confusion. “ ?Qué? ?Cuyo nombre? ”

“I want to know the name of the person who has you all twisted up inside. You’re agitated and I know it’s the face of worry when you’ve left someone you love behind.”

“You meddle too much for your boss bitch image, you know that?”

She dropped back down to her seat on the sofa, barking out a laugh as a small smirk twitched at Darío’s lips. “Perhaps. Now stop avoiding the question.”

“Vicente Vargas.”

“Vargas? As in–”

“One and the same.”

Hadina barked out another laugh. “Oh, you’re fucked. Not only did you let yourself fall in love, you did it with a fucking Vargas? Literally a descendant of one of the most notorious cartels and he falls in your lap?”

“Well, actually,” Darío said with a shit-eating grin on his face, “he hasn’t done that part yet.”

“ Hijo! I don’t need the details, you horny little shit.”

Darío threw the middle finger at her, his shoulders trembling in silent laughter. “ No finjas que no te estás tirando a esa linda chica blanca. I’m only cachondo because I’m not getting any.”

“Ay, watch your mouth when you speak about my woman.”

“Your woman, huh?”

“ Sí, soy de ella. ” Hadina grinned as Peyton’s fingers curled over her shoulder, squeezing down territorially. She reached up, placing her hand gently over Peyton’s. “I don’t speak Spanish, but I know when someone is calling me a white girl in any language. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Darío, but if you try to assume I’m some basic hoe again, I’ll have my knife at your throat and not even my beloved here will be able to stop me.”

Darío sucked air through his teeth before a grin matching Hadina’s spread across his face. “Damn, Adis, you got yourself a feisty one, huh?”

Posturing, she straightened her back and pulled Peyton down for a long, slow kiss. Once she was done, her woman walked around the sofa and took her seat beside Hadina, crossing her long legs. Hadina entwined their fingers before she turned her attention back to Darío. “Yes, I did. Now, hermano , why don’t you tell me what you’re doing here?”

Darío visited Texas unannounced only when there was something wrong. Normally, he told Hadina ahead of time and it meant that she had time to prepare. Him turning up was great in theory because it meant seeing Itza happy, but it also alerted Hadina to some danger she was unaware of. Something had unsettled the Puerto Vallarta Don and from the look in his eyes, she was about to gear up for war.

“I got a note, like I told you on the phone. Threatening Itza.”

Hot, burning fury shot through Hadina’s veins like a wildfire. “What do you need? My team will be ready the second you need them.”

Darío held up his hand, shaking his head slightly. “I don’t need anything yet. You know you are the only person I trust to keep Itza safe, but I had to come and see her for myself. Calling ahead of time was not safe to do.” He took a deep breath, blowing it out shakily. Reaching into his breast pocket, he pulled out a cigar, clipped it, and lit it up. “The note said she wouldn’t make it to her quinci?era. That’s only a few months away, Hadina.”

“Do you know who is behind the threat?” Peyton asked.

“Maybe. We have some avenues I’m looking into but I have to be careful before taking action. I won’t risk my daughter’s life.”

Peyton nodded, a sadness hanging in the air around her, and Hadina squeezed her hand. She knew that Peyton was wondering what had went wrong in Demi’s fucked up brain to make her burn out the maternal instinct that society projected onto women. She didn’t blame the woman for not wanting kids, but Hadina blamed her—and wanted to kill her—for the absolute hell she had caused Peyton.

The sound of Itza’s laugh echoed throughout the large house, breaking the tension in the room. Darío leaned his head back, taking another puff of his cigar, a small smile on his handsome face.

“She’s happy here, huh?”

The question was a loaded one that made Hadina’s heart break a little. Darío wanted his daughter to be happy, but it was bittersweet for him to know that she was happy in a home so far away from him. He loved and missed his daughter, Hadina knew, and it broke him to not see her very often.

“She is…” Hadina answered, treading carefully. “She loves the home I’ve created for her here. But–It’s not really home when her father isn’t here. She may not know you properly, but she loves you.”

“I want to bring her home.”

Hadina began to laugh but stopped abruptly when Peyton tensed beside her. Darío’s face stayed stoic and dread hit her gut like a gunshot. “You’re not joking.”

Darío shrugged. “Like you said, this isn’t home. She belongs with me and I belong in Puerto Vallarta. I want her to come home with me; to be with me and my family.”

“You would be taking her from all she knows,” Peyton said softly, squeezing Hadina’s hand as though she knew that the fire within her was about to burn out of control. “That doesn’t seem fair.”

“ Fair? I have had to live without MY daughter for years. How is that fair?!”

Unwavering and without flinching at the anger in his voice, Peyton stood up, facing Darío at her full height. “You have lived without your daughter because of your actions. Hadina has been the one to raise your child, keep her safe, show her what unconditional love is. Hadina gave your child a family and now you want to rip her away from that.”

“She’s right, hermano ,” Hadina agreed, standing beside her woman. “I understand how you feel—really, I do. But ripping her away from her life here isn’t the right thing to do.”

Darío puffed from his cigar, his fist clenching and unclenching by his side. He stood and began pacing, his body stiff and tense. “Who are you to tell me what the right thing is? Itza is mine and I will make the decisions for her and her future.”

Shaking her head, Hadina took a step forward, moving herself into Darío’s space. “Firstly, I’ll remind you who you are talking to. Here, you are in my country and my home. The home I made for your daughter. The daughter I raised. I swore to protect her for you, to love her when you weren’t here to do it, and I’ve done everything you have asked of me.” The slight crack in her voice betrayed the emotion Hadina was usually so good at burying beneath the surface. “But Darío, I love that child. She may not be mine—not by blood—but I love her as though she was. And if I truly thought you taking her to Mexico was the best thing for her, I wouldn’t stand in your way. Believe me when I say, this is the wrong decision. You can’t take her from here and force her into a new, dangerous life overnight.”

“ Chinga tu madre! You don’t get to tell me what I can and cannot do. My child belongs with me!”

Hadina threw her hands into the air. “How about you ask Itza what she wants?”

“How about you–”

“Enough!” Peyton yelled, positioning herself between Darío and Hadina. “Stop squabbling like fucking children! There are way more important things happening right now that require immediate attention. This can be discussed later.”

Darío sighed, stepping back. “ Sí, ella tiene razón. We have business to attend to; enemies to kill. But Hadina,” he warned, “You have to get used to the idea of my daughter being with me full time. I’m hosting the annual horse races back home in about three months, and Itza will be one of my riders. She’ll be in Mexico with her family and I have no intention of her leaving us again. Three months, hermana , and then I want my daughter with me.”