by Lisa Cardiff
I didn’t doubt Ryker’s love for me. He would’ve let me rot in that shitty house with the Alvarez Cartel if didn’t love me. Instead, he sacrificed his future for me. But even knowing all that, I was paralyzed at the thought of moving forward without him. Once again, my future had been ripped out from underneath me, and I was damn sick of it.
I shrugged. “Why don’t you go first? You’re the one that’s been keeping secrets.”
Shadows flickered across his face, and his sooty hued eyes looked right through me. “Do you feel well enough to go for a walk around the grounds?” he countered.
My brows pinched together. “Apparently, I’m a prisoner here. Ignacio told me I wasn’t allowed to go anywhere.”
The corners of his lips twitched, and my heart stuttered. Damn his flirty lips. Damn his sinful eyes. Damn my heart for wanting him so much.
“Alone,” he clarified. “I didn’t want you going anywhere alone.” He paused and his smiled widened. Hot, tangled sensations danced down my spine. “Besides, I’d like some privacy. I don’t want to add to Ignacio’s video collection or have him overhear us.”
Heat rushed to my face as last night flashed through my mind. “Oh my God,” I said, bile swirling in my gut in spite of the anti-nausea medicine the doctor gave me. I didn’t want to add to the stockpile of blackmail material Ignacio had of me. One video was enough. I trusted Ryker, but I would never trust Ignacio. “Not again.”
His smile softened, and he peered at me lazily, his eyes hooded. “Don’t worry. I deleted it this morning before anyone woke up. Nobody will ever see it, but I have some stuff I want to talk to you about without worrying that we’ll be overheard.”
He didn’t have to ask me twice. I wanted to talk to him without prying ears and eyes. I scooted off the bed and tugged on the hem of the t-shirt Ryker gave me last night. “I need clothes,” I announced, waving my hand in front of my body.
An amused laugh erupted from his mouth, and he pointed to a white paper bag on the floor next to his dresser. “The housekeeper is washing the clothes you left at the hotel. There’s a dress, panties, and other necessities in there.”
“I wish somebody would’ve pointed that out earlier,” I grumbled as my bare feet padded against the tiled floor. I’d been hiding in bed the entire day due to a lack of proper clothing.
I found a simple light blue shift dress with iolite trim and white lacy panties in the bag. With my back turned to him, I took off the t-shirt and tossed it on the top of the dresser. I slipped the dress over my head and pulled on the panties.
I still hadn’t looked in the mirror. I avoided it like the plague last night in the bathroom, but a quick brush of my hand over my face told me all I needed to know. One of my cheeks was still slightly swollen, my lower lip was cracked, and my hand looked like I had smashed it between two bricks. At least Dr. Mendez bandaged the burns on my upper arm. I couldn’t stand to look at them.
I spun around and finger combed my hair. “I’m ready. Where to?”
Ryker stood less than a foot away from me. He tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. His familiar spicy sea scent washed over me. “I’m sorry I left before you woke up. I should’ve told you everything last night. I shouldn’t have left you alone with Ignacio.”
His apology ignited sparks of anger in my blood, and I curled my fingernails into my palms like razors. “After everything I’ve been through, I can’t believe you abandoned me like that. You didn’t even stay around long enough for the doctor’s exam. If you really go through with whatever fucked up plan you have in your head—”
“Hattie, listen to me,” he interrupted.
“No. I know you think you’re going to make some bullshit noble sacrifice and push me out of your life. But if you do go through with it, it’s over. I will never let you back in my life. You will never know anything about our child. You will never know his name. You will never see his face. We will disappear. Do you understand what I’m saying? This is your last chance. Don’t fuck it up.”
Ryker pulled me into his arms, and his warm, minty breath shuffled through the ends of my hair. The heat from his touch bled through the gauzy fabric of my dress. My pulse skyrocketed, and a shiver of anticipation danced down my spine. I should’ve pushed him away, but I didn’t. I couldn’t. I never could think clearly when it came to Ryker.
He was my weakness.
My Achilles heel.
My kryptonite.
My everything.
“Hattie, I am so sorry about everything that happened to you. You have no idea how badly I wish I could go back in time and make different decisions.” He squeezed me tighter and I could barely breathe. “I’m not going to lie. The thought crossed my mind that you’d be better without me. I still think so. It’s not too late to rebuild your life. I would make sure you had enough money to buy a house, finish your degree or stay home with our baby if that’s what you wanted. I would make it so you never wanted for anything.”
Alarm zipped through my body like a lightning bolt, and a monster sized black hole opened up inside of my chest.
“Except you.” My voice was tight with suppressed tears. “Is loyalty to your father more important to you than your unborn child or me?” I slipped my hands between our bodies and shoved him, but he didn’t move.
“Fuck no, Hattie. That’s crazy.” He buried his nose in my hair and inhaled. “You mean everything. That’s the only reason I considered leaving you. I didn’t know what to do. I needed to think. I needed a plan.”
I tipped up my head, pinning him with my eyes. “And you have one now?”
Silence ticked by, and I bit my lip, wishing I felt stronger, more confident. Instead, I wilted under his unreadable gaze. He exhaled and took a couple of steps back, his hands slipping from my shoulders. I immediately mourned the loss of his touch. Guilt etched lines into his face as he ran a hand through his inky hair. His normally vibrant gray eyes were stormy.
“I have ideas, but I’ll need your help. We’ll need to work together,” he said, his voice low and cautious.
I rubbed my hands over my face and my throat constricted. My head pounded, and sadness poured through my veins like a drug making me tired and weak. “I don’t know how I can help. I’m kind of out of my depth here.”
“Come on. Let’s take a walk.” The pads of his fingers whispered like silk down my arm, and he laced his fingers through mine.
I hesitated for a moment. A small sliver of me wanted to flee this whole mess, but I didn’t think it’d do any good. I had to trust Ryker to guide us through this just like he had with everything else we had faced. Despite all the ups and downs, he hadn’t failed me yet.
“Okay.” I said, my lips trembling. I swallowed hard, struggling to swallow the sadness and fear creeping up the walls of my throat.
His lips quirked up, and he kissed the tip of my nose. “We’ve got this, Hattie. We’re going to fix this.” I stared into his eyes and drank in his too sexy smile. “I love you. You’re safe. I’m safe. The baby’s safe now, and I’m going to do everything to keep it that way. That’s all that matters.”
Chapter Sixteen
Ryker
I closed the door behind us and wandered to the pool with Hattie. I hated summer in the Yucatan. The wet air licked every exposed inch of skin, and the sun felt close enough to touch, almost like standing next to a brick oven. Each step outside was like drudging through a steam shower fully clothed.
“Are you going to start this conversation or are you waiting for me?” Hattie asked as we circled the pool for the second time.
I halted mid-stride near the tree line framing the edge of the pool area. I tipped up my head, squinting at the bright blue sky above us. The birds chirped. The bees buzzed. The jets in the pool hummed. A rare breeze shuffled her hair, and individual strands danced around her face like flames. The scent of chlorine tickled my nose, but I froze. Every time I opened my mouth, the words wouldn’t come out. I didn’t know where to begin. My mind was as blank a
s the day I was born. Words were my enemy.
She squeezed my hand tighter, and I found the courage to move forward. I cleared my throat. “Let’s sit here,” I said, pointing to the bench beneath a row of palm trees.
Her eyes searched my face, and the corners of her lips turned down. “Just say what you need to say. You’re scaring me.”
I rubbed my free hand down the side of my face. “You have to go home. The sooner, the better. Maybe I could find a flight for you tonight, but no later than tomorrow morning,” I blurted out.
“No.”
I arched a brow. “It’s non-negotiable.”
She ripped her hand out of my grasp and straightened the hem of her dress. “Wait. I’m confused. We’re back to that?” Betrayal bled from her words. “I can’t believe this. All those pretty words and promises you fed me a few minutes ago were nothing more than a pile of meaningless syllables strung together to appease me. I don’t get. Why’d you bother?”
I rubbed my palms along the sides of my thighs. “Hold on, Hattie. You’re jumping to conclusions. It’s not what you think.”
She pressed her hand to her chest like she wanted to stop her heart from breaking. “Then tell me what I should be thinking right now because all I’m hearing is that you want me out of your life as soon as possible. I can’t believe that after everything we’ve been through, you’re ready to throw us away without fighting for us. For me. For our baby.” She shook her head and sucked in a few monster breaths. She tried to act strong, but I heard the tremor in her voice. I hated hurting her.
“Okay. Okay,” I said, holding up my hands in mock surrender. “Let’s start from the beginning. I’m not trying to throw anything away.”
“You thought about it. You admitted it,” she accused, her voice laced with contempt.
“My main concern is your safety, and if sacrificing our relationship is the only way to keep you safe, then I will do it.”
Sadness haunted her face, and she closed her eyes for a beat. “So that’s it? You made up your mind,” she said, her lips trembling.
“No.” I dragged a hand through my hair. “If you still want me, I’m going to fight for us.”
She sighed, and her brows lifted, prompting me to continue. “Okay. That’s what I wanted to hear. That’s how you should’ve started this conversation.”
I laughed. “Good to know.”
She perched on the edge of the gray concrete bench and crossed her ankles. “Go ahead and explain what you’re thinking.”
With my hands deep in my front pockets, I paced back and forth in front of her for a few seconds, considering my words. Then I crouched down in front of her. “Ignacio already told you I agreed to help him with the cartel if he helped me rescue you.”
She angled her chin to the side, and her eyes narrowed a fraction of an inch. “Ignacio said as much, but I didn’t know whether I should believe him. I don’t trust him.”
“It’s the truth. He’s planning to groom me to be his successor.”
She dropped her head into her hands, and a fractured breath wheezed through her lips. “Oh God, Ryker. Why would you agree to that? What were you thinking?”
I gently brushed the hair away from her face. “I was thinking about you. I didn’t have any options, and there was no way in hell I would let you rot in that safe house begging for Juan Alvarez’s mercy while I came up with an alternative.”
“I appreciate what you did, but you don’t want this.” She puckered her lips, and her cheeks hollowed. “You hate this place. You hate everything the Vargas Cartel stands for.”
I squeezed her knee. “You’re right. I do, but it was the only thing I had to offer Ignacio.”
“So what now?”
“I need you to leave. I don’t want Ignacio or anyone else to use you as leverage against me. When this is over, I’ll find you.” I curled my hands into the hem of her dress, struggling to calm my racing heart. The thought of either Ignacio or that piece shit Juan Alvarez getting near Hattie or threatening her made me crazy.
Her head shook back and forth and strands of her brown whipped in front of her face. “No. Absolutely not. It’s not happening. Don’t even try to force to me leave. You’ve already done that once.”
“Why not?” I grumbled.
Her entire body tensed. “I won’t be any safer there than I would be with you. In fact, I think I’ll be in more danger. I’ll be a sitting target for any of your enemies and the Deverons.”
I rested my head on her knees for a minute gathering my thoughts. She was right. We had so many enemies.
Ignacio.
Juan Alvarez.
Senator Deveron.
Evan Deveron.
Emanuel.
And those were just the ones I knew about. As more people got wind of my connection to the Vargas Cartel, I’d have enough enemies to fill a ballroom.
“I think you need to deal with Senator Deveron and Evan and I’ll find a way to make sense of Ignacio and Juan Alvarez.”
“What do you mean deal with Senator Deveron and Evan?”
I sat on the bench next to her. “We need to expose their connection to the cartel. Then, they’ll be discredited or worse. Senator Deveron won’t have any power to hurt you anymore, and you won’t have to worry about Evan.”
“And how are we going to do that?”
He rubbed his lips together. “You’ll leak information and evidence corroborating the connection to any newspaper or website that will listen.” I’d have to search Ignacio’s office, which wouldn’t be easy, but I’d find a way to do it without alerting him. I needed at least a week to put the rest of my plan in motion before Ignacio discovered my deception.
Hattie didn’t move or speak for a few drawn out seconds. “And you want me to go back to D.C. to do it.”
My chest tightened. I didn’t want her to go anywhere. I wanted to chain her to my side forever, and never let go. “Yes. I think it’s the smartest way to get this done,” I said instead.
She closed her eyes and bowed her head, even as her hands fidgeted in her lap. “And you won’t come with me?”
“No. I need to stay here and take care of Ignacio and Juan.”
Hattie stilled, and her eyes blinked open, wide and alarmed. “I can’t do it alone.”
“I know. I was planning to send Noah with you,” I said quietly.
The words tasted like ash in my mouth, and something inside of me splintered. I didn’t want Noah anywhere near her. I saw the way he looked at her this morning. He wanted her, but I trusted her, and I hoped to hell it wasn’t misplaced. Either way, she deserved to be happy regardless of who made that happen. My lips twisted in perfect synchronicity with my gut at the thought. I shook my head, trying to eradicate the jealousy from my mind. The jealousy could wait. The rest of this mess wouldn’t.
“Who will help you?”
“Don’t worry about me.” I placed my hand on her lower belly, and she pulled her bottom lip through her front teeth. “Just take care of yourself and our baby, and I’ll find you when this is done.”
She leaned her head against my shoulder, gazing at me. Tears shimmered in her golden eyes. “You promise?” she said quietly, her voice breaking on the last word.
Our gazes held, and I smiled softly, my heart drumming hollowly in my chest. I slid my hands into the silky strands of her hair. “I promise. I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
It’d be damn hard to keep my promise. If Ignacio got wind of what I was planning, he’d kill me, but there was no turning back. She’d always be my soft spot. My enemies wouldn’t hesitate to use her to get to me. I had to finish this once and for all. It was the only way I could guarantee Hattie’s and our baby’s safety. I understood that now. I had to eliminate them before they eliminated us.
Kill or be killed.
Destroy or be destroyed.
Attack or be attacked.
It wasn’t even a question. No more waiting. We had to go on the offensive and wage our own war.
Chapter Seventeen
Hattie
I tossed and turned, chasing sleep, but my mind had other plans. Ryker had left me in his room over an hour ago while he went to search Ignacio’s records. He told me to go to sleep, and I’d tried. I really did.
My mind circled relentlessly. My ears labored to hear every noise. My shoulder muscles crawled up the back of my neck. Minute after minute passed, and I swore I heard footsteps a million times, but nothing happened. No one came in the room. I finally gave up trying to sleep and turned on the lamp on the nightstand.
Just when I convinced myself Ryker was bleeding to death somewhere in the house, and I needed to go find him, the door handle dipped. I sat up in bed, clutching the sheets to my chest with one hand and fingering the gun Ryker gave me with the other. My irregular breaths echoed unnaturally in the room.
The door cracked open. A sliver of yellow light spilled onto the creamy travertine tiled floor. Afraid to make a sound, I held my breath and stared as the yellow sliver grew, inch by painful inch. A silhouette shaded the opening. My heart rapid-fired inside my chest.
Thump.
Thump.
Thump.
At its current rate, my heart would explode by the time the door fully opened. The hinges squeaked. My breath hitched.
Please don’t be Ignacio or worse…
“Hattie?” Ryker said, pausing in the entrance. “Is everything okay?”
I swallowed over the lump lodged in my throat. “Oh my God. You scared the crap out of me.”
His dark eyebrows knitted together. “Did something happen while I was gone?”
I shook my head. “No. I couldn’t sleep. I was worried about you.”
