Chapter 2

Catalina

My reflection in the long mirror showed a woman. The navy-blue cocktail dress my mother brought me was more flattering than the one I planned to wear. The hem came to just above my knees, the bodice held the shoulder-baring neckline in place, and the fit accentuated the few curves I did have. Turning from side to side, I assessed the shape of my legs in the higher heeled shoes.

It was difficult for me to fathom that this morning I’d been a woman on the verge of her college graduation with unlimited possibilities before her. Now, less than ten hours later, the infinite choices for my future had dwindled down to one.

Accept Jorge Roríguez’s declaration or…

There wasn’t another option, not if I wanted my father to retain his rank and power. As Mother had explained after my talk with Papá, if a lieutenant can’t control his daughter, how would he deserve the respect of his soldiers?

Patron and Papá had already spoken with Vincent Luciano.

As I added the diamond earrings my parents gifted me this morning to my ears, I wondered if Dario had a say in this decision, or had his father simply decreed the union? He was a thirty-five-year-old man. Surely, he had a choice.

How had he chosen me?

Did Jorge present a menu of possible wives?

At the creak of the opening door, I turned toward the entry to my bedroom, expecting my mother. Instead, I was met with the big brown eyes of my cousin Mireya. Her smile shone as she entered, wearing a light green dress that accented her slim waist and breasts bigger than mine. My first thought was that she was more beautiful. I wasn’t jealous. It was just that she had more curves.

“Wow,” she exclaimed, “Look at you. I loved your dress earlier, but you look…” Her smile dimmed. “Are you okay?”

“You look wonderful, too,” I said before asking, “Do you know?”

She wrapped her arms around my neck and squeezed. “I only found out this afternoon. I heard Mama and Papá talking. I asked, and Mama told me that Patron wants to sell you to the Italians for an alliance.”

Sell?

I could argue the terminology, but Mireya was close.

“Maybe trade?” I collapsed on the edge of my bed. “This whole thing is crazy. I feel like I’ve been thrown a hundred years into the past.”

My cousin sat at my side and covered my hand with hers. “Remember when we used to stay up half the night talking about our Prince Charming?”

“In those scenarios, we chose our own prince.”

“We were too young to know the way things are arranged.” She looked at me and looked down. “Mama said it was almost me.”

“You can have him,” I said without hesitation.

“No, he wants you. I’m damaged goods. I know that. Honestly, I’m sorry it’s either of us.”

“You’re not damaged.”

“I’m not Mama’s daughter. Papá acts like it doesn’t matter, but I know Patron sees me differently than you, Camila, or Sofia.”

I turned my hand and squeezed hers. “You are a Ruiz. That’s all that matters.”

Mireya nodded.

“Besides, neither one of us ever imagined Prince Charming as the future capo in the Italian Mob.”

She forced a scoff. “Yeah, Disney did a shitty job of accurately depicting our future.” She tilted her head to me. “I don’t know what to say. Mama told me not to say anything until it’s announced, but ever since she told me, I’ve been dying to find out how you’re doing.”

“Would you do it?” I asked. “If Patron had chosen you to marry a stranger?”

Mireya looked down at her lap. “I don’t know. I’ve been thinking about it.” She looked up. “I think I would fight it. Remember Ana?”

I nodded. Ana was my age and in my class at our high school. Her father worked for Uncle Nicolas. I remembered when she showed up at school after a break with a huge diamond ring. She was only sixteen. After graduation and her eighteenth birthday, she married a man in Mexico, a high-ranking cartel boss. “I’ve been thinking about her too.”

“She has two children. Papá said their home is almost as big as Jorge’s. He called it a fortress.”

“I don’t know if I can fight it. I’m not being married to someone in the cartel.” I stood and walked to the window overlooking the ocean and took in the beauty. “Kansas City.” I turned and faced my cousin. “I’ve never lived anywhere but here. Mexico would at least be warm. Doesn’t it snow in Kansas City?”

“We liked snow the time we went to Bear Mountain.”

“That was for a week of skiing, not a lifetime.”

“They have summer in Kansas, too,” Mireya assured me. She let out a long breath. “I want to think I’d fight, but I don’t know if I would. It seems unfair.”

“It is,” I admitted.

“Honestly, I thought we were in the clear. You know? Like we were too old for this. I mean, don’t those men want young virgin women?”

“Papá said Dario refused to marry a child. My virginity was never questioned.” I fought the prickle of tears coming to my eyes. Mireya knew everything about me as I did her. “I wish I wasn’t still a virgin. I wish I’d given it away to someone I wanted to share it with.”

“We may not be children,” Mireya said, “but we haven’t exactly been given free rein to pick up a guy in a bar or on the beach.”

No. We’d both been protected, attending an all-girls Catholic school and having bodyguards with us whenever our fathers or brothers weren’t present.

“And we’ve both heard how important it is to save ourselves.” My stomach twisted. “What if Dario doesn’t want me? What if he’s been told to marry me like I’ve been told to marry him?”

“Who wouldn’t want you, Cat?” She gestured toward me. “Look at you.”

“Mama and Papá dressed me for this. I feel like a cheap whore from one of the clubs.”

“You don’t look cheap. Will Dario be here?”

“Papá said this is for Patron. He hasn’t seen me since Camila’s quinceañera. Papá wants him to know I’ve grown up.”

“He’ll get the message.”

Soon, Lola came to my door and announced the guests were beginning to arrive. When Mireya and I passed Papá’s office, the grand doors were closed. We looked at one another. She reached for my hand as we both silently wondered if Patron was inside.

At the bottom of the staircase, I received congratulations from the growing number of guests. There were friends from high school, college, professors, teachers, colleagues of my father and their families. It was considered an honor to be invited to a top lieutenant’s home. It made me wonder about my wedding.

Thankfully, despite Mireya hearing about my upcoming marriage, no one else mentioned it, and I wasn’t going to bring it up.

Feeling claustrophobic from both the number of guests and my litany of thoughts, I slipped out onto the terrace. Goose bumps scattered over my arms and legs. The air had cooled with the setting of the sun. I reached for a tall glass from the tray of a passing waiter, stared down at the changing colorful lights within the pool, and sipped my champagne. I was deep in thought when Aléjandro Roríguez appeared at my side. He was tall and what some would consider handsome—no, make that what he considered handsome. The scent of his cologne was washed away by the ocean breeze.

He leaned closer, his warm breath on my exposed skin. “Nice dress, Cat. I suppose congratulations are in order.”

I took a step back and waited for his eyes to find my face. “Thank you. I’m happy to have my degree.”

He smirked. “Not what I was talking about. Besides, it’s not like that piece of paper will do you any good.”

Anger simmered in my chest as I made my faux smile grow. “At least I have it.” Aléjandro, like my brother Em, began his continued education at a young age and never in school after graduating high school.

He lowered his voice. “I’ve met Dario a few times.” Aléjandro lifted his eyebrows. “Your degree will be the furthest thing from his mind.”

Pressing my lips together, I forced myself to stay silent.

He shrugged. “I get that you might be nervous. I’d be happy to test out the merchandise for your future husband. He’s older, and I could teach you things he’d like.”

The taste of copper flowed over my tongue as I bit my lip. Before I could respond, my brother Em arrived at my other side.

“Jano,” Em said, puffing his chest and pulling his shoulders back. “Welcome to our home.”

“Em,” Aléjandro said with a nod. “I was just talking to Cat about her future husband.”

Em replied, “I didn’t know you and Dario Luciano were that intimately knowledgeable of one another.”

I choked on the sip of champagne I had in my mouth.

“I’m sure my father would appreciate your sense of humor,” Aléjandro said, leaning into my brother.

“I’m not sure. How does Patron feel about his son scaring the woman who is about to help the cartel with her sacrifice?” Em reached for my elbow. “They want you upstairs.”

I nodded my goodbye to Aléjandro. As Em and I entered the living room, I whispered. “I know I hate him. I thought the two of you got along.”

“We do.”

I scoffed. “That conversation didn’t seem like it.”

“My sister comes before friendships.” Em led me to a side hallway leading back to the kitchen, away from guests. “How are you?”

“That’s definitely the question of the day.”

“You should know, your wedding has been in the planning stages for about six months.”

My stomach dropped. “And no one told me?”

My brother’s eyebrows knitted together. “Mama wanted you to enjoy university. She pushed for them to wait until you were finished before you were told. Patron and that famiglia scum wouldn’t budge. Dario wants you.”

Exhaling, I closed my eyes and opened them. “Why didn’t you tell me before?”

“Mama forbade it.”

We both knew that never stopped Em.

He forced a smile. “It wouldn’t have done any good. The decision was Papá’s. Mama did the best she could, and fuck, Cat, the only person I can disagree with is Papá but only when we’re alone. I wanted you to know—before you went upstairs—that this wasn’t some whim. There’s no stopping this.”

I inhaled. “Have you met Dario?”

Em shook his head. “No, but that will change in two weeks. I heard Patron tell Papá the Lucianos will be here two Saturdays from now. Dario wants to meet you and present you with your engagement ring.”

“Two weeks,” I repeated disbelievingly, realizing that would be close to Christmas.

“I wish I had more power. I’d stop this.”

I reached for my brother’s hand. “Don’t tell me that. Papá would say you’re being weak.”

“I’m not weak.” His nostrils flared. “I’m your brother, and if I had my way, you’d be free of this world, not baptized in the blood spilled by the fucking famiglia.”

There had never been love lost between the cartel and the Mafia. “Why the Mafia?”

Em’s expression twisted. “Make a list. They want our product. They have more money than God, and they’ve worked longer at padding the pockets of people who will turn their backs if we make this deal. The fucking Russians and Taiwanese are working to cut us out of our own backyard. It’s time to make the yard bigger and bring in new bullies.”

“The KC Mob is the bully you want?”

“Want? Fuck no. But it’s a bully who will help.” He grinned his familiar brotherly smile. “Are you ready to face Patron?”

“No.” I reached for his hand. “Let’s go.”

***

Em didn’t knock before opening the doors to Papá’s office. Patron and Papá stood as I smiled at the assembly of both powerful men and their wives.

“Catalina, hermosa. You are a stunning woman,” Josefina Roríguez said with a smile and a thick accent.

It was hard to believe such a lovely and pleasant woman would have raised a son who was an ass like Aléjandro. The jury was still out on Reinaldo. He was Camila’s age.

“Gracias, señora.” I turned to Patron. “Buenas noches, señor.”

After a look from my father, Mama stood and guided Josefina out of the office, making a comment about showing her around the house and getting her some of the delicious food. Em shut the doors after stepping out of the room. The end result was me standing in front of Patron and my father, feeling vulnerable in the navy dress.

“Catalina,” Patron said with a smile, his eyes traveling from my shoes to my hair. “Your father told me what an accomplished young woman you’ve become. I remember your quinceañera. You were to be a woman, but I never could have predicted how well you would turn out.”

“Thank you, sir.”

“Cat,” Papá said, “have a seat.”

The two men weren’t sitting around Papá’s desk. Instead, they’d been sitting with their wives in a grouping of chairs near a fireplace. I took the seat my mother had vacated.

Patron sat forward. “Your father tells me you have agreed to do what is needed.”

Trying to keep my focus on Patron, I stole a quick glance at my father. “Yes, sir. My loyalty is to Roríguez. If it is your will that I marry Dario Luciano, I will do it.”

He sat back with a growing smile as he spoke to Papá. “If I had daughters, I would want them to be like yours, Andrés.”

I forced my smile to stay in place as my father was praised for selling his daughter like a rancher selling off a prize filly. It seemed Mireya was right; sold was a more accurate description.

“Cat?”

My eyes opened wide. I must have been blocking their conversation. “Yes.”

“Jorge was confirming your willingness to meet Dario two weeks from yesterday.”

Do I have a choice?

Swallowing any retort, I smiled at Papá. “I’m sure you’ll work out the details.”

“Vincent,” Patron said, “has requested that the wedding take place at his country home.”

My gaze went to Papá. Wasn’t it customary for the bride’s family to take care of the wedding? Wouldn’t he want my wedding to be here?

I saw too soon by Papá’s reaction that he would acquiesce. Apparently, this too was already planned.

“He has a mansion in the Ozarks,” Patron said. “Summer would be best.”  

“Summer. This summer?”

“Yes, in June.”

Six months from now.

There it was. My wedding day was set in a place I’d never been to a man I’d never met.

“Thank you, Cat,” Papá said as he stood. “I’m sure your guests are waiting for you.” He smiled. “Let’s keep the engagement announcement under wraps until you have a ring.”

Not a problem.

“I won’t say a word.”