by Elisabeth Naughton, Cynthia Eden, Katie Reus, Alexandra Ivy, Laura Wright, Joan Swan
“I heard everything.”
“No,” he said, voice strained. “God no. It’s not…”
She waited. Found herself leaning forward, ready to catch and embrace his answer if it was even remotely reasonable. “It’s not…what?”
He dropped his hands and turned toward her, expression defeated, tortured.
But he said nothing.
Anger and disappointment and hurt collided. “It’s not what I think? Is that what you were going to say?” she asked. “I’d like to think you told your boss what he wanted to hear.”
He opened his mouth. His lips tried to form words. Thoughts and emotion zinged across his face.
But still, he said nothing.
“Though even if you did admit it…” Cassie said, crossing her arms tight over her ribs again, trying to physically hold herself together. “That still leaves the question of: Did you sleep with me before or after he gave you the order to keep me busy in bed?”
Rio straightened. His features hardened.
Since he wasn’t talking, Cassie went on, her anger growing with his continued silence. “Because, from my perspective, if it was after, which I’m suspecting it is by your lack of an answer, how can I know if you took me to bed out of desire or duty? It wouldn’t matter if all there was between us was sex. Because a good fuck is a good fuck, right?”
Rio winced. His eyes fell closed. Head dropped.
“But if there’s more between us, where and why we started matters. Trust matters. Honesty matters.” More silence from Rio. Her pain bubble burst and morphed into fury. She stepped toward him and fisted the lapels of his blazer. “Don’t wimp out on me, Rio,” she nearly begged. “I believe in you. Give me something, something to hold on to here.”
“I told you earlier today,” he said, his tone maddeningly steady. “I’ll tell you when I can, but not yet. I know this looks… You can’t understand…” He blew out a breath. “I can only tell you that…I really, really do love you.”
Anger boiled at her core. She released his lapels with a shove, tipping him off-balance. Rio hit the lattice with his shoulder, but the structure held.
“Goddamn you.” She’d meant to rail at him, but the pain had pushed through the rage and now she just felt weak and defeated.
The staff cast nervous glances their way but didn’t dare interrupt.
“Cassie—”
“Don’t. Just listen.” The genuine plea in his voice, the tortured expression on his face, twisted her guts. And even though she hadn’t had time to look over the estates detailed finances yet, she knew with near certainty what she’d find there. “I finally have what I need to put Saul in prison. And when he’s out of the house, I will spend every dime it takes to uncover every other crime he ever committed.
“I don’t want to hurt you, Rio. I don’t know if what I have will implicate you in crimes too, but I’m not going to let Saul go because you refuse to jump from a sinking ship.” She pulled in a shaky breath and tears pushed out over her lashes. “Please, Rio. Please get the hell away from him, from here. Unless you were involved with Mamà’s and Santos’s deaths, I won’t search for you.”
A flash of anger hinted beneath the pain, and he stepped toward her. “You can’t honestly believe—”
Cassie experienced a sharp stab of fear—a flashback to Sharpe flaring with anger in just the same way. Rio is not Blake. She slapped a hand against his chest to stop his forward movement, but it was shaking.
“I honestly don’t know what I can or can’t believe right now. But I do know I was wrong about one thing.” She met his gaze. “It wasn’t possible for me to love you. I already do love you. It took this for me to realize that I’ve loved you for months.”
His anger vanished. His face lifted with hope. And her heart broke.
Before he could say something that would twist the knife, she said, “If you really do care about me, look out for yourself. It would kill me to have to watch you throw your life away.”
She turned to leave.
“Cassie.” He took hold of her arm and turned her back toward him. “Cassie, God…” Enveloped her in his arms, crushed her against his hard, warm body. “Let’s talk about this, baby. I’ll sign out to one of the other men and come to your room. We’ll sit down—”
“No, Rio, I can’t.” She shook her head against his chest and pushed out of his arms. He released her immediately. “I just…I can’t.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Rio leaned against the front fender of the estate truck and stared at the clinic’s front door, waiting for Cassie to reemerge. How the woman got started so early in the morning when she hadn’t slept for two days, he didn’t know. Between the sex, the stress, and the lack of sleep, Rio was ready to drop. But hell if he hadn’t already followed Cassie to the bank, the bakery, Amigos, and now the clinic.
She knew he was following her. He’d tried to talk to her twice. And twice she’d said nothing but “give me time” before turning away. He dialed Javier and listened to the phone ring in his ear until Javier answered with a “Yo.”
“You close?” Rio asked.
“Right behind you, bro.” Rio looked to his right, and Javier waved from a small black SUV up the block. “You know I have to report to work by nine, right?”
“Yeah, don’t worry, this will be quick. Just don’t let her out of your sight, or I’ll clamp your balls in a vise.”
“Ouch.” Javier drew out the word in his good-natured tone. “No need to get nasty now.”
Cassie pushed through the glass doors, and Rio disconnected. She heaved a breath when she saw him, her face tight in the shadow of that ratty Padres cap. But even that didn’t hide her swollen eyes and pale face.
God, he couldn’t hate himself more if he tried. Just looking at her tore him apart. With guilt. With longing. With what-ifs. With wishes.
She dragged herself down the steps, and instead of avoiding him as she’d been doing, she headed straight for him. Rio wasn’t sure if he should take her in his arms or protect his nuts. He deserved a good knee to the groin.
But she stopped ten feet away and said, “You’re still here. That either means you don’t think you’re in danger of going to prison or you don’t care enough about me to worry how I’ll feel having to watch you go.”
Lord, she looked even more ravaged close up. He had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep from asking if she’d eaten anything in the last twenty-four hours.
“Nothing’s changed.” His voice came out rough. He ached with all he wanted to tell her. “I love you, and your safety will always be my first priority.”
She closed the distance between them, surprising him. Standing just a few inches away, she lifted a hand to his face and laid it against his cheek. God, her touch felt like heaven. Filled him with hope so extreme he thought he’d float.
He covered her hand with his. The apology, so inadequate, came spilling out. “Cassie, I’m so sorry you had to hear—”
“Don’t.” She slid her hand forward and covered his mouth with her fingers. Those beautiful eyes held his for one more long, tortured second, then she turned and strode to the Jeep.
“Shit,” he whispered at the burn of his own tears, watching her walk away. He put his head down. Blinked as the engine started and the Jeep pulled away from the curb in his peripheral vision. He looked toward the sky to push the remaining wetness back. “I should just let her go. Just let…” He couldn’t say it again. Didn’t know if he could do it. He loved her so much. Needed her even more. But something had changed in her since last night, and he didn’t know if there was anything he could do to bridge that gap now.
At the clinic doors, he took an extra second, drew in a deep breath, and pushed through the door. The thump of hammers came from the rear exam rooms. The buzz of a saw sounded out back. Nina looked like she’d just arrived. She was standing behind the desk, still pulling off her coat, with a stack of files sitting next to the purse in front of her.
She
cast a suspicious glance his way. “Cassie’s not here.”
“I’m looking for Raymie.”
“He’s—”
“Rio, dude.” Raymie, already covered in dust, came out of an exam room and slipped behind the desk to wrap an arm around Nina’s shoulders and kiss her cheek. “Morning, chica.” He grinned at Rio again. “Man, where you been? I’m nothin’ without you. So slow.”
Rio fought for a smile. “Yeah? Hey, can we talk a minute?”
Raymie’s smile fell into a concerned frown—sunlight to shadow. “Everything okay, man?”
“Uh.” Rio wiped a hand over his mouth and scratched his head. “Complicated.”
With a friendly hand on Rio’s shoulder, Raymie led him back to one of the exam rooms. Everything was covered in drywall dust, a fine white powder, and supplies and tools lay around the small space. He couldn’t close the door, as there was no door, but Rio didn’t see any other workers inside, and Nina was out of earshot.
“What’s up, man,” Raymie said. “No offense, but you look like shit.”
Rio laughed but immediately sobered. He took another deep breath and met Raymie’s gaze. “There’s some bad shit going down.” Rio lowered his voice to just above a whisper. “And it’s going to go down fast. I know this is going to sound crazy, but I need you to get Nina out of here, like now.”
Raymie’s face changed. Right in front of Rio’s eyes, the playful, happy-go-lucky carpenter turned serious in a way that resonated with Rio. As if they were speaking the same language, which was strange, because Rio had done all the talking.
“What’s happening?” Raymie asked.
“Saul wants to hurt Cassie through Nina.” Distantly, Rio registered the sound of the saw turn off. New voices echoed in the foyer, and Rio tensed.
Raymie put a reassuring hand on Rio’s arm. “That’s just my workers. How does he plan on getting to Nina?”
“The less you know, the better. But I need you to get Nina out of here.” He pulled the money he’d brought from his back pocket and pushed it into Raymie’s hand.
“What the hell?” Raymie said.
“There’s five grand here. Use as much of it as you need. Use it all, I don’t care. Make up an excuse and get her out of town. Take her as far away as you can as fast as you can. Don’t go somewhere either of you have relatives, don’t go somewhere either of you love to go. Pick someplace totally out of character, and don’t come back here until…something has drastically changed.”
“What the hell does that mean?”
“You’ll know when you—”
A sound in the hall made Rio freeze. Raymie pocketed the money and in one large step was in the hallway.
“What are you doing?” he scolded one of his workers in Spanish, the man’s shirt fisted in Raymie’s hand.
The worker, a young man, barely out of his teens and carrying a bucket of drywall spackle in one hand and tools in the other, sputtered an apology for interrupting.
Raymie let go, waved him down the hall with another scolding. He turned and shrugged at Rio, but his expression remained tight. “He doesn’t speak English.”
Rio nodded, anxious to get out of here and back to Cassie. “Look, as soon as my truck is gone from the front of the clinic, this place is open game. So think of something fast, and even if Nina fights you on it—”
“Take her anyway. I got it.” Raymie reached out for Rio’s hand and shook it. “What about Cassie? Nina will ask.”
“I’ve got her covered. Nothing will happen to her as long as I’m alive.”
Cassie sat inside the air-conditioned bank for the second time that morning, waiting for the representative to return with the statement copies she’d ordered, outlining details of those mysterious outgoing payments.
The cold air felt good on her hot skin. She hadn’t slept at all, hadn’t eaten and her emotions were running at an all-time high. She knew she shouldn’t make decisions in this brittle, fragile state, but she didn’t have a choice. All she could do was believe she was making the right ones.
The middle-aged woman returned with the manila envelope. “Here you are, señorita.”
“Did all the faxes go through?”
“Si. The confirmation is in the envelope.”
Cassie thanked the woman and exited the bank. Outside the door, she paused to slide her sunglasses on and look around. No Paco, no—
“Could you stop at Miguel’s next?” Rio asked from less than five feet away, making her jump nearly the same distance in the opposite direction. “I’m really thirsty.”
He was leaning against the brick building with one shoulder, ankles and arms crossed. She couldn’t see his eyes behind his sunglasses, but he was frowning. She’d already seen how drawn and exhausted he was, as if he hadn’t slept any more than she had.
She pressed a hand to her chest, barely enough energy to scold him. “Dammit, Rio.”
“Sorry.” He did look sorry. He looked beyond sorry—he looked tormented. “I just wanted to catch you before you ran off again.”
Her phone rang. Cassie’s heart made another hard thump. This was it. Her one and only chance to alter those choices she’d made, decisions she’d put into effect early this morning after a sleepless night of soul searching.
She turned for the Jeep with her heart picking up speed. God, please let this be the right thing to do.
Pulling off her sunglasses, she hit Speaker and said, “Hi, Nat.”
“I can’t believe this,” her friend said in greeting. “I can’t fucking believe this.”
Rio wandered to meet her, hands in his pockets, head tilted in question.
Cassie leaned her back against the Jeep. God, she felt ready to melt to the ground. “It’s all there in black and white.”
“But…this? I knew Saul was depraved, but…to hire Sharpe to attack you? Then pay him to keep his mouth shut in prison?” Nat said, her voice pitched high. “That’s freaky enough, but to have Sharpe date you first? Get close to you, try to seduce you? I’m a damn lawyer, and even I think this shit came straight out of a Lifetime movie.”
Rio stiffened. His hands came out of his pockets, and he whipped off his sunglasses. “Cass—”
“God, I wish Mike was home to hear this crazy shit. He went out on some op. Won’t be home for a few days, but…” Natalie spoke over Rio, her voice filled with excitement. “You…you did it. Saul will go to prison for this. You’ll get the house back.”
“But I made too many sacrifices to get it.” Cassie didn’t feel any joy, only relief. “Did you get in touch with everyone I asked you to contact?”
“Yeah, yeah.” Natalie sounded distracted. “The attorney you wanted is one hundred percent on board. Ray was a professional friend of his, and this guy was in the Mexican military for years before going back to school. He’s fully aware of the risks and is, as he puts it, ‘armed to the teeth,’ with skills to match.”
Rio rubbed both hands down his face.
Cassie swallowed a push of emotion. Tears burned behind her eyes. “And the investigators?”
“I hired that private security team you asked for, the ones I’ve used before. Ex-military, all experienced in overseas intelligence,” Natalie said. “They’re costing a damn mint, but they’ll turn every stone Saul has ever touched. They’ve already got boots on the ground.”
“And my special instructions?” Cassie’s heart picked up speed. God, please let this be the right decision. “You made them crystal clear?”
Natalie sighed. “Any evidence uncovered involving Rio Santana or linking Rio Santana with anything illegal is to be destroyed.”
Rio’s gaze snapped up from the pavement and drilled into Cassie so hard he could have been physically pinning her to the Jeep.
“Are you sure about this, Cass?” Natalie asked. “Saul hired this Rio guy too.”
“I’m sure.” Cassie pulled air in through a tight throat and held his gaze. “Rio is not Blake.”
As soon as Cassie disconnected
from the call with Natalie, the waning strength she’d been using to hold herself together evaporated. The enormity of all she’d lost, of all that still lay ahead fell on her shoulders, and Cassie caved under the weight. Her legs lost strength, and she slid down the side of the Jeep.
Rio’s arms came around her before she reached the sidewalk. He tugged her up and pulled her against him. She didn’t have the strength to wrap her arms around him like she wanted to, only grabbed at his shirt and leaned into him.
“Cassie, baby.”
So many emotions, so much understanding vibrated in those two words, Cassie lost it. Years of loneliness, months of ignored grief and built-up pain, weeks of anger, days of frustration—they poured out in the safety of Rio’s arms. Sobs jarred her ribs and tore at her heart.
“I don’t want to do th-this anym-more.” She choked into his shirt. “God, I c-can’t. I can’t live without the-em.”
“I know it’s hard. I know it hurts.” He pressed his face into her hair. “Hang on to me, baby. I’m here. I’m right here. I’m not going anywhere.”
It felt like hours passed before her sobs melted into hiccups, but probably had only been at most twenty minutes, and only then because she didn’t have the physical energy to continue, not because the pain had ebbed. Her family’s loss and all the turmoil surrounding the tragedy was still red-hot and raw.
At some point, Rio had opened the car door and pulled her sideways into his lap. He’d continued to stroke her hair. Wipe her face. Whisper.
Now, he was quiet and still. He’d probably fallen asleep, they’d been here so long. His chest rose and fell, slow and steady beneath her shoulder. His thighs lay warm beneath hers. His thick arms circled her waist, sure and strong, fingers laced at her hip. And his chin rested on top of her head.
She could stay like this forever—if she didn’t think back. If she didn’t look forward.
A push of emotion came from nowhere, and she hiccupped a gulp of air to keep from sobbing again, to keep from waking him. But his hand lifted slowly and stroked down her hair with a, “Shhhh, baby. I’m here.”
