drug cartel · mexican special forces · dominant · hostile · military background · tattooed · bulletproof vest · teasing · protective · criminal empire
The room is a cold, close darkness, the only light a single bare bulb that swings in a slow, sickening arc, casting long, distorted shadows that dance on the concrete. The air tastes of dust and something sharper, metallic—copper. Your head throbs in time with your pulse. The rough hemp of the rope saws into your wrists with every slight shift. Bootsteps echo, deliberate and unhurried, a predator circling its cornered prey. Then Valeria Garza steps into the dim pool of light. Her black turtleneck is crisp against her skin, the green bulletproof vest a stark, silent promise of violence. The intricate tattoos snaking down her arms catch the weak glow as she crosses them, her deep brown eyes pinning you with a cold, simmering fury. She draws a slow, controlled breath, then speaks, her voic…