Look Before You Jump
Page 19
Zeke made introductions. “Victoria Bohanan, may I present Mr. Julio Benito Juarez, Mexican Ambassador to the United States.”
The sad dark eyes perked up at the introduction. My heart skipped a beat. I glanced from Zeke to the ambassador before I remembered my manners and stuck out my hand.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Ambassador Juarez,” I said.
He also quickly looked back and forth between me and Zeke for a beat before grasping my hand in both of his and placing a delicate kiss across my knuckles. “Seniorita Bohanan, the pleasure is all mine. It is truly an honor.”
“An honor, sir?”
Before I realized what was happening, Zeke spoke into his cuff and the three of us stepped behind the double doors into a back hallway. I was so stunned when Ranger Taylor then walked to the jog in the hall and stayed there, I didn’t even think to ask why he’d not only introduced me to a suspected drug lord but left me alone with him. But fear and anger dissipated with the tears glistening in the ambassador’s eyes.
“I have so much to thank you for,” Juarez said, “and so little time in which to do so.”
“Thank me?” I stuttered.
“For clearing my son-in-law’s name. For befriending my daughter, and placing yourself in harm’s way to catch her killer.” I didn’t even flinch when he drew my hair to the side to touch my neck near the muzzle burn. “And my grandson’s as well.”
I stared over his head into Zeke eyes. He offered a barely discernable nod in return.
“I don’t understand,” I said to Ambassador Juarez. “Why kill Amy? She had nothing to do with the…family business.”
Okay, I may be a little scatterbrained after the head trauma, but I’m not stupid. I wasn’t about to accuse the man standing in front of me of involvement in a less-than-reputable international enterprise.
“I’ve spent a lifetime distancing myself from the family trade. I took great pains to hide my daughter’s existence and keep our contact confidential. But someone in my family discovered my secret and used her to force my involvement. What with my political ties and all…” Juarez drifted off.
Did the discovery happen to coincide with Bobby and Amy’s mission activities in Central America? If so, how?
“Who tipped them off?” I asked.
Juarez’s eyes hardened into obsidian disks. “That is what I intend to find out. Without Amy, my family now has no leverage against me. I plan to turn state’s evidence against them to shut down the cartel that has destroyed not only so many other families, but my own as well.”
I was speechless for once in my life. And this time it actually went on for some moments.
The ambassador offered a sad smile. “Now not only Ranger Taylor knows my intentions, but you also. I trust you will guard that knowledge?”
“I will, Mr. Ambassador,” I promised, finally finding my voice again. “And thank you for sharing with me about Amy. She was a joy to know.”
If only I’d gotten a chance to truly know her.
“If you ever have need of my assistance, you have but to call my direct line as my daughter did.” He slipped a card from his wallet and handed it to me before touching my cheek. “I can see why she liked you.”
Ambassador Juarez then swept from the hallway and returned between the double doors to the awaiting party. I just stared at the wood as they closed. So many questions I wanted to ask burbled through my brain – but at least I had a little better understanding of why Amy had died. Then a realization crept over me like a crawling spider. For all Amy’s talk of openness in her marriage with Bobby, it seems she’d kept at least one secret from him.
Her knowledge of and contact with her father.
But it made sense in a way, especially considering how much the senior Vernets already despised Amy. I’d heard firsthand how much. If Dennis and Mary Jo knew this, they’d probably both have side-by-side coronaries. Now that would be a moment I’d pay good money to see.
Sorry, Bobby. I guess even in an open and honest marriage, there are still some things best left unspoken. With that knowledge, it didn’t make me think any less of Amy. Actually, I respected her more for it. Her desire to conceal the relationship with her father was in order to protect it – a visible representation of the command to honor thy father.
Now me? Okay, you can stop laughing. It’d take more than – than – can I get back to you on what it would take to honor my father after all the crap he’s put me through over the years?
Zeke’s arm draped across my shoulders and ceased my musings. “Just thought you might want to know.”
I swiped my eyes – and then remembered the make-up covering the bruises. “Thanks, Zeke. I really appreciate you arranging this.”
“So I guess you owe me now,” Zeke said with a nuzzle to my ear.
“I don’t think so,” I corrected, trying not to let my legs give out from underneath me. “There’s still the matter of two dollars and seventy cents you haven’t reimbursed me for from getting Amy’s records.”
He sighed. “I don’t carry small change on duty. Too much jingling.”
“Then I guess you still owe me.”
Zeke gave me a devilish grin, kissed the top of my head then pulled me back into the crowded ballroom. “We always did make a good team.”
Team? Uh-oh. That hit my intimacy radar faster than a politician denying his latest scandal. Faster than a defensive end rushing the quarterback. Harder than the ‘b’ in boyfriend.
Gee, do you think I’ll ever get over my commitment issues?
Don’t answer that.
Begging, Pleading, and Other Shameless Nonsense
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About the Author
Sometimes life emulates fiction.
Life is filled with tragedy and Ms. Bale's writing reflects this reality. However, there is always a silver lining...even if one must spend their entire life searching for it.
In her previous career, Ms. Bale traveled the United States as a Government Relations Liaison, working closely with Congressional offices and various government agencies. This experience afforded her a glimpse into the sometimes "not so pretty" reality of the political sphere. Much of this reality and various locations throughout her travels make it into her writing.
She dreams of the day she can return to visit Alaska.
Connect with her online
Facebook: D-A-Bale
Twitter: @DABale1
Blog: DA Bale Publishing
Email: dabalepublishing@cox.net
Additional Works by D A Bale
The Bartender Babe Chronicles:
Look Before You Jump
Think Before You Speak
Knock Before You Enter
Die Before You Wake coming 2017
The Deepest Darkness Series:
Running into the Darkness
Piercing the Darkness
Rising from the Darkness
The Study, a novelette
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