Alejandro (The Santiago Brothers Book Two)

by Chase, K. Victoria

  Audrey was another story.

  Discovering whether or not Trujillo knew Audrey’s identity was on Ale’s agenda today. If Trujillo could identify her, then there’d be no telling what else Lana had confessed to before she was killed. Who her attorney was? The location of Angel’s school? Ale was behind the curve on this one, but he trusted Mel to keep Audrey and her nephew safe.

  He buttoned up the gray work shirt, and then took a look around the garage. There’d be plenty of work today with double the amount of night drop-offs as usual for a Wednesday. He might not make it back to the safe house in time for dinner. A surprising pang of disappointment shot through him. He’d love a good home-cooked meal, especially made by the hands of a certain Audrey Hughes.

  ****

  “Here is the first set of documents relinquishing Mrs. MacGruber’s temporary guardianship. If you’ll just sign on the line at the bottom of the page, Mrs. MacGruber.” A smartly dressed attorney with her hair in a tight bun slipped the lone sheet of paper in front of Mrs. MacGruber. The attorney then handed her a pen. Mrs. MacGruber thanked the woman and proceeded to read the document.

  Audrey let out a nervous sigh. She glanced at Angel, who sat quietly beside her, enjoying a picture book. Audrey’s eyes roamed the conference room at the firm where Penny had established legal guardianship for her son in the event of her death. A couple of fake green plants were the only colors standing out in the monochromatic-styled room. Even though a marshal stood outside the door, Audrey couldn’t help her fear in the cold, impersonal room.

  She lightly ran her fingers through Angel’s thick hair. He kept his focus on the book. Would this be the end? After she became Angel’s legal guardian, she’d find a real estate agent to sell Penny’s house and then get herself and Angel out of Texas. She’d barely slept the nights she was there, knowing she wouldn’t feel safe until she and her nephew were back home in Virginia.

  “Well, again, Audrey,” Mrs. MacGruber began while signing the form, “I hope this doesn’t mean that little Angel here won’t be able to return home from time to time.” She peeked above the rims of her reading glasses and smiled warmly at Angel, who still didn’t know anything else existed but his book.

  “Of course, Mrs. MacGruber. As I told you before, I wouldn’t mind bringing Angel back for a visit, or you could even come to us in Virginia.” That statement had been true before the two men had invaded Mrs. MacGruber’s house the other day. How could she allow Angel to return to a place where he was being hunted? She trusted the gun-toting MacGruber not to endanger her nephew, but she didn’t trust anyone else.

  Mrs. MacGruber nodded. “Fine, that’s fine.” She handed the signed document and the pen back to the attorney, who reviewed the signature and nodded with approval.

  “And now you, Ms. Hughes.” The attorney slid a form in front of Audrey and pointed to a line at the bottom of the page. “You’ll put your signature here, indicating your official guardianship.”

  Official guardianship. Once again she was required to care for a minor child. This time had to be different. Taking the pen firmly in her hand, Audrey signed on the line. It was done. She was now Angel’s guardian. “What about adoption?” she asked the attorney while eyeing the top of Angel’s dark head.

  “Well, you’d have to petition the court for permission because the father is absent. With the father out of the picture, as the child’s legal guardian, you’d have a good case.”

  Audrey nodded at the attorney’s answer. Who was the baby’s father? Penny hadn’t mentioned the child’s father in the letter she’d sent. Did Penny even know the father of her boy? Considering Penny in the arms of a number of men to the point she didn’t know who had fathered her child caused Audrey to close her eyes in silent disappointment. Their parents hadn’t taught them to be so cavalier with their feelings… or their bodies.

  Alejandro. Audrey wet her dry lips, but could do nothing about her parched throat. Her defenses were sorely incapable of safeguarding herself against his kiss. I can’t let him kiss me again. I don’t know him; he doesn’t know me. I have to keep my distance, even if he can’t. The attorney’s voice drew her eyes open.

  “Here is an envelope with your sister’s signed will, and a sealed letter that she requested only you open.”

  The attorney handed Audrey the letter while she kept the will. Audrey fingered the white envelope addressed to her in her sister’s handwriting. Audrey’s lower lip trembled and her eyes watered. She was helpless to catch the tears splattering on the envelope as the attorney read the last wishes of her sister.

  She had wanted to be buried next to their parents. Audrey closed her eyes again, thinking of the funeral. They could never have an open casket. Sniffing, Audrey wiped the tears off her cheeks and focused her attention on the attorney. If she continued to dwell on how she’d already buried her parents and now she was burying her sister, she’d lose it right here in the office and she needed to be strong. For Angel. He was young, but he knew his mother wouldn’t return to him, and he’d have a long road ahead as he learned to comprehend her death.

  “And she established a small trust fund for Angel, of which the monies will be released on his twenty-first birthday. The amount is as follows…”

  Penny had put away more than twenty thousand dollars in the bank for her son’s future. Audrey gaped at the attorney’s words. A trust fund? How had Penny come into money? How had her sister supported herself?

  Eyeing the sealed envelope, Audrey tore into it. Her sister had kept so many secrets from her. Would this be another one? Pulling out the paper, she silently read the first few lines. A locker at a local bus station held some contents Penny had hidden away. A locker? What would her sister need a locker for? And to hide more letters? Taking the envelope in her hand again, she felt something hard and small in one of the corners. Peeking inside, she saw the key that must belong to the locker.

  “Ms. Hughes?”

  Audrey looked up.

  The attorney spoke again. “Your sister has also penned a small letter.”

  “Please read it aloud,” Audrey said.

  Audrey listened to the words of her sister. An apology for how she’d behaved in those first few years after their parents died. She asked for forgiveness. Although she’d lived how she’d wanted, since the birth of Angel, her heart began to remember the biblical teachings their parents had instilled in them, and she had shared them with Angel. She asked Audrey not to cry too long, for they’d soon see each other in Heaven.

  “It’s like she knew she was going to die,” Audrey whispered. She’d already guessed, but her pain hadn’t been lessened upon hearing her sister announce her impending death.

  “At least she had the good sense to set aside something for Angel,” Mrs. MacGruber said. “Whatever problems she had faced, her priority was her son.”

  Audrey looked at the grim face of Mrs. MacGruber, whose eyes grew colder the longer they stared at Audrey. Yes, her sister had provided for her son, yet not even Mrs. MacGruber knew what Penny had suffered. A knot of emotion formed at the base of Audrey’s throat, knowing her sister was alone in her final days, preparing for a future she’d never see.

  Mrs. MacGruber continued. “I’ve come to know that you and your sister weren’t close, Ms. Hughes, but I hope you’ll remind Angel how important he was to his mother.”

  Audrey opened her mouth to spit a retort, but thought better of it. She clamped her lips shut and instead, kissed the top of her nephew’s head. How much animosity did Mrs. MacGruber hold against her? “Of course I’ll tell him about Penny. She was my sister.” Although she didn’t appreciate Mrs. MacGruber’s subtle attacks, Audrey empathized with the woman’s position. She considered herself a grandmother to Angel, and Audrey was coming into town — only after Penny died — to take the child away from her. However she reasoned Mrs. MacGruber’s harsh attitude, the offense still stung. Audrey hadn’t been an absentee sister by choice. She’d give anything to rewind the clock.

  �
��That concludes the reading of the will,” the attorney said after a few moments of tense silence.

  “Auntie Audrey, I’m hungry.”

  Audrey looked down into the face of her nephew Angel. His big, beautiful green eyes, so much like her sister’s, stared up at her, questioning when they would eat. “It’s almost time for lunch. Can you wait a little bit?” Angel nodded and returned to flipping the pages of his book. Glancing up, Audrey caught Mrs. MacGruber’s disapproving stare. Audrey sighed softly. She had promised Mrs. MacGruber that Angel would return to see her, but now Audrey regretted making the promise. Mrs. MacGruber had no right to judge her. Whatever boundaries she’d set for Angel, she was sure Mrs. MacGruber would remove them.

  Perhaps the old woman was right. Penny didn’t turn out okay… she ended up dead. I was supposed to be responsible for her. She’d sworn to her parents at their gravesite that she’d always look after Penny — that nothing would ever happen to her. She’d failed.

  Sniffing, Audrey folded the letter concerning a box at a bus station back into the envelope. She’d read the rest of the message later. The attorney stuffed the will, Penny’s last letter, and other guardianship documents into a manila envelope and passed it to Audrey, who placed the envelope, still wet with her tears, inside.

  After thanking the attorney, Audrey, Mrs. MacGruber, and Angel walked out of the office.

  Mel met them at the doorway. “All finished?”

  Audrey nodded. “It’s over. I think we’d like to get some lunch now.”

  “I have an appointment I have to get to,” Mrs. MacGruber announced. “But I’d like to see Angel before you leave.”

  Angel threw himself onto the woman’s legs, clutching them tightly. “Don’t go, Nana Gruber!”

  The sight brought fresh tears to Audrey’s eyes. The boy loved his Nana Gruber.

  The woman stooped to hold him in her arms. “I’ll see you real soon, my boy. You behave for your aunt, you hear me?”

  Angel nodded. He turned toward Audrey, his face solemn. Tears stung the back of Audrey’s eyes. Even though the two of them had grown closer over the past couple of days, Audrey still felt as if her status as aunt was secondary to Mrs. MacGruber — that Angel would put up with her only because Nana Gruber had asked him to. Audrey took the boy’s hand in hers and followed Mel to the elevators. Penny had also displayed a begrudging attitude when Audrey was given permission to be her guardian. Why am I always the bad guy?

  ****

  Ale snatched a rag from his back pocket and wiped the grease off his fingers. “Try it now,” he ordered his coworker behind the wheel. Ale watched the engine as the car revved to life, bringing a smile to his face.

  His coworker laughed as he exited the vehicle. He slapped Ale on the back, acknowledging his work on the engine.

  Well, at least something’s going right today. He fixed car after car, with little chance to see Trujillo. In fact, Trujillo arrived late to the garage and left after an hour. He’d been back only once before taking his lunch break. Typically, he’d run his schedule by Ale. What’s he keeping from me now? The more Trujillo concealed, the more Ale’s nerves were on edge.

  Chatting with the guys yielded nothing new. None of them had done any “overtime” for Trujillo, which meant whoever followed him to Lana’s was an outside contact. Ale replayed the scene between himself, Carlos, and Trujillo the night before. Carlos had been visibly upset when informed of Lana’s death. He’d known her years before. What was the nature of their relationship? Asking Carlos about how he knew Lana would raise a red flag, but Ale decided to risk the consequences. Perhaps he’d discover more about Trujillo in the process.

  After work, and a clandestine meeting with DEA contacts, Ale was still considering his plan when he walked into the safe house long past nightfall. For the first time in months, he felt as if he could sleep standing up. Tonight, he’d finally rest.

  Setting the keys to his motorcycle on the kitchen island, he suddenly remembered dinner. He wished the meal hadn’t come to mind because just then, he heard his stomach growl — loudly. Too tired to cook, he searched for a packet of cookies when he spotted it. A note on the microwave. Snatching the sticky note, he read the short memo written by a feminine hand. Dinner in the microwave. “She didn’t.”

  “I did.”

  Ale jumped and rotated to find Audrey standing behind him, arms crossed over her chest, a mock scowl on her face. “Honey, you’re late.”

  Ale laughed so hard he’d consider the embarrassment later. He was tired, and she wouldn’t have to say much and he’d have another laughing fit. “I don’t believe it.”

  Audrey pointed to the microwave. “Check it, if you want.”

  Feeling the same level of excitement as when his mother used to cook his favorite meal, Ale quickly turned toward the microwave and eyed the buttons. “I’m not sure how long—”

  “Here, let me.” Using her hip, she nudged him out of the way and set the timer.

  After about a minute, he inhaled the warm scent of — no — beef roast? Really? When did she have time to fix a roast?

  Audrey busied herself in the kitchen, unwrapping something covered in foil and placing it into the microwave on the plate of food before the timer resumed the countdown. When the bell chimed, Audrey used a potholder to remove the plate of steaming food. She set the plate down on the island in front of him, and then added a napkin, fork, and knife, and ended with a tall glass of iced tea. Tea. Did he have tea?

  Beef roast, mashed potatoes, green beans — and a roll. Mouth watering and sleepiness gone, Ale eagerly snatched up the fork and knife, unsure of where to start. When was the last time he had a home-cooked meal? Cooked by someone so…

  Robe.

  Audrey had on a thick robe, which probably hid that alluring nightgown he so clearly remembered from the previous night. He smirked. Guess she was making it obvious that a repeat of last night wasn’t going to happen tonight. As if a robe could stop him.

  “You’re not hungry?”

  Meeting her eyes, he nodded. “This looks…” He paused, unsure if his choice of words would accurately describe his gratitude.

  Audrey sat on a stool opposite him. “Just eat. And thank you.”

  Forgetting his table manners, Ale wolfed down the greens first, and then inhaled the mashed potatoes, leaving the best for last. He took his time with the roast, savoring each tender, juicy bite as if it were made by loving hands for his personal consumption. Meat fit for a king. “What happened at the attorney’s office?” he asked between bites, becoming aware of Audrey’s stare as he ate.

  With downcast eyes, Audrey smoothed the same tendril of hair behind her ear as if she’d missed it the first few times. When she found her voice, it held a mix of sadness and exhaustion. “Penny had arranged everything — as if she knew she wasn’t going to live much longer.” Audrey coughed and put her hands over her eyes. Before he could move from his chair to do what he swore he wouldn’t do — hold her — she dragged her fingers through her hair and continued. “Did you know my sister had more than twenty thousand dollars saved?”

  Ale paused mid-chew. “How much?” he asked around the food in his mouth.

  “Twenty thousand. She established a trust fund for Angel.”

  “Where did she get twenty grand?”

  Audrey shrugged, clearly perplexed. “I was hoping you could answer that. Was she a paid informant?”

  Another one of his mistakes in handling Lana. He didn’t even pay her. In fact, he hadn’t offered her a dime for her services, and she had ended up paying with her life. Ale swallowed the flesh in his mouth, his appetite dwindling. “No, I didn’t.”

  “Well, now it’s Angel’s.”

  They lapsed into silence. Could the money have come from Trujillo? Lana was his woman, but that was five years ago. Perhaps he gifted her jewelry, which she sold. “Where’s the will?”

  Audrey hopped off the stool. “I’ll go get it.”

  In less than a minute, she ret
urned with an envelope. Without thinking, Ale took it from her hand, and in the process, managed to brush a few of his fingers over hers. Strange, her hands were cold. He gave her a quick glance. Still in that robe. She had to be warm, or at least comfortable. Her hands weren’t cold last night—

  “There isn’t much to it other than the trust fund and a few personal belongings that are most likely at her house. I assume I can’t return to pick them up?”

  “Not yet.”

  Audrey sighed and waited for him to finish studying the form.

  Like she said, nothing there. “There wasn’t anything else?”

  Audrey bit her lip, her eyes going to the ceiling. She let out an audible pause. It was a simple yes or no question. What was she hiding?

  “Audrey?”

  She shook her head. “Other than the morbid good-bye letter, I don’t think so. Why? Wouldn’t she have told you everything she knew about Trujillo and the drugs?”

  Apparently not. Only Lana would know how much in the dark he was about Trujillo — and now Carlos. “She may have left a few things out.”

  Audrey nodded. “Like Angel.”

  “Like you.”

  Audrey blinked. “Huh? What would I have to do with any of this?”

  Swallowing the last of the roast, Ale made a grunting sound of satisfaction before leaning back and lazily crossing his arms over his chest. “I don’t know, you tell me. Why would she contact a sister out of the blue, whom she hasn’t spoken to in how many years? And ask her to take her child?”

  “Wait a minute—”

  “You said it yourself — she hated you.” He hadn’t meant to sound so accusatory, but Lana’s actions didn’t make any sense, and he couldn’t take the chance she might have told her beautiful sister something that Trujillo now knew — if Lana talked.