Blood Ties (A Dark Cartel Romance) (Dinero de Sangre Book 2) Read online

  Blood Ties

  Dinero de Sangre Book 2

  Lana Sky

  Also by Lana Sky

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  Drain Me

  Chain Me

  The Complete Ellie Gray Chronicles

  Beautiful Monsters

  Crescendo

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  Mezzo

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  Maxim: Surrender

  Maxim: The Complete Trilogy

  Vadim: Control

  Vadim: Corrupt

  Vadim: Conquer

  Vadim: The Complete Trilogy

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  VII: (Seven)

  I: (One)

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  A Touch of Dark

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  Pretty Perfect

  Crossed Lines

  Dragon Triad Duet

  Moth

  Flame

  The Complete Dragon Triad Duet

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  Dirty Lyrics (Newsletter Exclusive)

  Blood Ties

  Blood Ties By Lana Sky

  Copyright © 2021 by Lana Sky

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

  Cover Design and Interior Formatting by Charity Chimni

  Editing and Proofreading by Charity Chimni

  Contents

  Acknowledgments

  1. Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  A Word from the Author

  About the Author

  Also by Lana Sky

  Acknowledgments

  Thanks so much to everyone who supported this draft along the way, including the many beta readers who provided encouragement! Please keep in mind that this story includes dark, graphic and explicit content matter that is not suitable for readers under the age of 18—or for readers who are uncomfortable with the following subject matter: explicit sex, mentions of sexual abuse, mentions of child abuse, mentions of eating disorders, graphic depictions of violence, and mentions of self-harm.

  Chapter One

  Mr. Jaguar is here.

  Those four words have the effect of a seismic shift—though the destruction seems limited to Domino’s once calm mood. Abruptly, he shrugs me off, lunging to his feet, and, within the blink of an eye, he’s my cold captor once more.

  “Where is he?” he demands of Ines.

  She gestures helplessly toward the hall, just as the sound of distant footsteps advances in our direction—several sets to be exact. My breath catches as the first pair echoes off the walls, heavy and solid. Male? The second is softer, trailing behind.

  Neither visitor, however, seems to have been invited here with Domino’s permission.

  Nervous energy flutters between him and Ines—but I don’t know if I should be alarmed or relieved. Finally, I’ll come face to face with this Boogey Man I’ve been supposedly sold to. A part of me should take some sick glee in seeing Domino so visibly rattled, at least.

  But I don’t.

  “Ada-Maria.” Domino cuts his eyes to me, but they’re unreadable in the semi-darkness. Only his voice conveys a hint of emotion. “Cover yourself,” he growls.

  I grapple for a handful of the sheets, but I’ve barely shrouded my breasts when the footsteps grow louder. Each thud resonates like a morbid drumroll as a man finally appears in the doorway.

  Fear pinches my spine, and I sit straighter. He’s huge. I have to crane my neck to take him in fully and, if he is Jaguar, I’m disappointed. I expected someone who suits the callous, violent description I’ve gotten of him so far—someone physically ugly to match their brutal reputation.

  Instead, he’s as much of a twisted contradiction as my current captor is—beauty and brawn in one intimidating package.

  In fact, he and Domino share so many similarities, I assume the latter lied to me when he denied they’re brothers. They must be. Both sport dark hair, though this man has his cut short. Instead of a haunting green, his piercing eyes are a deep shade of brown that feeds on the shadows in the room.

  Animal comparisons pop into my head. Domino is a tiger, quiet and reclusive, preferring to rely on stealth, but fully capable of making his stand with a fearsome roar when he has to.

  This newcomer is a lion—or, perhaps more literally, a jaguar. Bold, his smile alone is dazzling, his gaze piercing, lingering over my chest. “Morning, little brother,” he says. His booming voice betrays the hint of an accent. Mexican?

  I can’t decipher it by the time Domino replies. “Jaguar. You’re five days early.”

  “What are you saying?” Jaguar raises an eyebrow. “Family can’t just drop by to say hello?”

  “You’re here unannounced,” Domino replies, lacking the same enthusiasm. “I’m sure you brought backup. Ines, why don’t you go make sure they’re comfortable while we have a chat?”

  The woman scurries off, and Jaguar watches her go, his gaze indecipherable.

  “You know,” he says, returning his attention to Domino. “I thought I’d announce my little visit, but then I had a better idea. Why not come see what little Dom-Dom is hiding with my own two eyes? And now that I’ve gotten an eyeful of her myself, I’m impressed—” He winks, unconcerned by the way Domino moves to stand in front of me, further obscuring his view. “No wonder you didn’t want to share her.”

  “I was to have a week,” Domino snaps. I hate him, and yet his unease drives my own dread, sending my pulse racing as I grip the sheets tighter to myself.

  Perhaps he hasn’t been exaggerating about what he’s hinted of Jaguar?

  That he’s no savior.

  As the thought crosses my mind, the man enters the room fully. If I doubted his identity, he wears a short-sleeved black shirt that exposes his muscular arms—along with the full sleeve tattoo of a familiar feline predator crouching beneath carefully shaded leaves on his left bicep.

  The rest of his outfit is simple. His plain dark wash jeans are marred with various spots of grease and grime that remind me of the mechanics my father hired to se
rvice the luxury vehicles he kept on his estate. His hands bolster the image, gnarled with scarred knuckles and fingernails sporting hints of dirt beneath them.

  I carefully inspect every inch of him that I can, but the longer I put off one glaring realization, the more obvious it becomes. I hate myself for noticing, though why should I? I have no loyalty to the man beside me.

  And if I were vain enough to care, Jaguar is just as handsome. His face is remarkably expressive, displaying every observation to cross his mind. Irritation. Amusement. Lust.

  His eyes keep coming back to me, drinking in longer glances with each pass.

  Until my captor steps forward, putting himself directly in front of me. “What do you want?” he demands.

  Seconds pass before Jaguar replies. “Don’t be so cranky, Dom-Dom. You can still have your week,” he says, and I realize that his extended silence was for deliberate effect. He wanted Domino to watch him watch me.

  And not say a damn thing.

  Unlike those hours when he’d stand emotionlessly by my father’s side, Domino is an array of twitching muscle now, practically lurching on the balls of his feet as if he’s physically restraining himself from lunging.

  “But,” Jaguar continues, “I don’t want you to get too comfy here, skirting your duties, ignoring your role in the Guarida.”

  Guarida. I file away that term, sure I’ve heard it uttered before.

  “Is that a threat?” Domino asks softly.

  Jaguar chuckles. “No. It’s a… Let’s call it a suggestion. I’ve decided you need a reminder as to what you’re missing.” Inclining his head toward the door, he raises his voice, “Baby, get in here.”

  “Coming!”

  It’s my turn to lurch forward, barely concealing my disgust at the sound of that low, feminine purr. No...

  But yes—I smell her before she even saunters into the room, her hair perfectly coifed and styled in a blowout, her outfit pretty much nonexistent. Wrapped in a sheet, I’m dressed more conservatively.

  Some things never change, not even after ten damn years. Alexi Rojas is just as beautiful, her perky breasts jiggling as she comes to stand beside Jaguar. Her heavily lined blue eyes sparkle, her glossy lips pursed in a forced grin. It’s an act, of course. She’s no better at hiding her real emotions than I am. Like a snake, her gaze slithers over Jaguar before darting in my direction.

  That single glance conveys all the anger one might suspect from a woman who’s made it her mission to fuck every man I interact with.

  Even my captors.

  The bitch. She’s still smiling, seemingly unsurprised by the sight of me, battered and bruised. Considering that she’s running her hand down Jaguar’s chest, she’s been in on their plan from the start.

  The shock I feel is too dull to really make an impact, though. Unlike Domino, I never put betrayal past Alexi. I’m just surprised her smile isn’t half as wide as I’d assume it would be.

  “Hello, Domino,” she says huskily. Her eyes lower to his hips, and considering I’m faced with his bare ass, she seems to be enjoying the view from her angle.

  “You see?” Laughing, Jaguar pats her head before looping his arm around her tiny waist. He’s so strong, that simple gesture nearly takes her off her feet. “Everyone’s happy. We’re all in for a good, fun time, eh, Dom? Little Lexi-Lex will stay here and party for a few days. You have my permission to wear her the fuck out. Give Ada here a rest, eh?” He winks, but Domino doesn’t seem thankful.

  “You think I need a babysitter, Jagger?” he asks, his tone dangerously soft.

  “No.” Jaguar’s smile falls, and he shrugs Alexi aside. “I think you need a fucking reminder as to the price you agreed to pay, Domino. You roped me into this mess, and I gladly agreed to help you because that’s what brothers do, si? But let’s not pretend like I couldn’t take her right now if I wanted to.”

  “Is that why you’re here?” I can’t see Domino’s expression from here, but I sense the subtle challenge in his tone.

  Jaguar laughs. “I haven’t touched her, have I? Have your week if it’s that important to you. Play your little games and fuck to your heart’s content. Just don’t forget our bargain, the one you initiated. You want out? You buy your ‘freedom’ with blood. Adios.”

  With a wave of his hand, he turns on his heel, storming from the room. “Have fun, Lexi-Lex. When you get dressed, Dom-Dom, come find me for a little chat. Don’t take long.”

  I nearly collapse with the force of the sigh that leaves my chest. I must have been holding my breath all that time. Then I remember the woman watching from the doorway and stiffen, meeting her hateful stare.

  The last time I saw her as anything other than an enemy was nearly a decade ago, in the aftermath of Pia’s disappearance.

  “She’s missing, Ada! What the hell is wrong with you? Don’t you even care?”

  Aged ten years, she holds my gaze now for a split second before turning away. “Let’s have fun, Domino,” she murmurs, sauntering over to him with a familiarity that has me clenching my jaw so hard it aches. Her manicured fingers run down his arm in a gentle caress. “I’m yours until Tuesday—”

  “Not now.” He bats off the hand she tries to place on his chest. “Get out.”

  She blinks at his stern tone, but scampers obediently into the hall. I can’t help but wonder if she also has had a taste of his temper. His collars. His whip. His cock.

  “Don’t forget what I told you,” Domino warns, turning to face me. He must have snatched the pair of slacks in his hand from the closet. As he tugs them on, his eyes rake over my body, devoid of the hunger he displayed last night. He looks conquering instead. A general, surveying land he’s already claimed as his. The way my father would look out at the city of Terra Rodea as he gave his political speeches.

  “Nothing he said factors into my arrangement with you,” he adds, his voice low and tight. “Don’t assume that you leaving here negates what you owe me, Ada-Maria. You are mine until the moment I choose to release you.”

  For a second, I’m not sure if that was a promise. Or a request.

  Then I see how his eyes blaze, and I know for sure—it was a threat.

  “Why sell me, then?” I croak. “If you still think you own me?”

  It’s dangerous to play word games and semantics with him. A part of me can’t resist anyway. I’m as genuinely curious of the answer as I am terrified by the implications of what he means.

  I own you.

  “Money and blood are two very different currencies, Ada-Maria.” He steps forward, brushing his hand along my cheek. There’s no warmth in the motion. It’s as chillingly possessive as the way he held me last night, cock buried deep. “I recommend you not forget that. Now get dressed.”

  He turns for the hall, and I sigh, still clinging to the bedsheet. My stomach lurches at the thought of trying to make it to my room with just this thin slip of material to cover myself with.

  Only as he crosses the threshold does Domino call back, “Pick your clothing from my closet. Not yours.”

  I remain rigid on the edge of the bed. From his closet. Does he mean for me to wear his clothing?

  Warily, I stand, creeping toward the portion of the room in question. As I open the door, I realize the request wasn’t intended to limit my options.

  Hanging neatly beside his modest selection of masculine apparel is an array of dresses and other clothing items sized for a woman.

  The strangest part is that I can’t tell if they all were taken from my closet or newly purchased with my body specifically in mind. The general color scheme is familiar—white, black, and cream—but with a new, bold hue that catches the eye, the same color he made me wear after he whipped me.

  Red.

  He must have had these brought here recently. Perhaps Ines snuck them in during those twisted moments when he had me on the balcony, naked in the jacuzzi. I wouldn’t be surprised if, while buried inside of me, he lorded over the knowledge that he’d soon deploy another met
hod of control, just as damning as his collar.

  Fuck him.

  Anger seems irrational to feel in lieu of everything else—like terror—but I embrace it fully as I tear through the nearest selection of hangers. Deliberately, I overlook anything remotely feminine and focus only on what I know to be his—the shirts and pants and boxers folded neatly in a built-in chest of drawers.

  At random, I pick a gray button-down and a pair of black boxers I have no chance in hell of fitting into properly. It’s the principle of the matter.

  Unwelcomed visitors aside, my original plan hasn’t changed when it comes to Domino Valenciaga. My only means of defeating him lies in trying to seduce him. Unnerve him.

  Then stab him.

  Stab him.

  Stab him—repeatedly with his own knife, all while gazing into his eyes so that he knows I was the one who twisted the blade. Me.

  Ada-Maria Lucia Pavalos.

  I will have the last laugh. God, I swear I will. Until then, he can lord over my body as he pleases. I won’t break.

  “You will use this bathroom.”

  I flinch as his voice drifts from the direction of the bedroom. I find him there, casually lifting our torn, damp clothing from the floor. A grunt of appreciation dies in my throat, and I hate myself for the way my gaze finds the firm curve of his ass.