“It matters.”
Blue’s head whipped around toward the source of the deep, rich baritone. Amber jumped to her feet and took an involuntary step back at the sight of the tall, imposing figure that filled the doorway. His hand was placed protectively on the lower back of a raven-haired woman. The sheer beauty of the two people standing so close together stole Amber’s breath.
The man was tall with a muscular build. His jaw was squared, the slight ticking of the muscle there betraying an abundance of barely leashed alpha-male energy. His long, glossy black hair was secured in a ponytail. Dark eyes narrowed briefly on Blue and Amber before quickly scanning the room. His piercing gaze immediately settled on the door to the guestroom.
Blue studied the woman at his side. She had long, black hair that flowed down her back in loose waves. Her face was lovely, with full lips, vivid blue eyes, and olive skin. Her looks were striking and would easily be right at home on the cover of a magazine. But her eyes were what captured Blue’s attention. They were haunted and even a little puffy, as if she had been crying.
Amber wasn’t sure what to make of the couple, but she noticed how Blue visibly relaxed as they stepped into the room.
“Diego, hello.”
“Blue. I don’t think you’ve met Brook.”
“No, I haven’t. Hello,” she said, going along with the social niceties for the moment. “Brook…I’m Blue. This is Amber.” She directed her attention back to Diego. “Tony’s not home--”
“I just spoke to him. That’s why we’re here. He tells me you went above and beyond on this one, and that you went back, just to be thorough.” The corner of his mouth tilted up in a barely discernable smile. “I appreciate your attention to detail. Thank you.”
Blue shrugged. “It needed to be done. The world has one less monster now. We’ve been looking after Kat while Tony’s out. He should be back soon, though. You’re welcome to have a seat and wait.”
Diego didn’t acknowledge that she had spoken. His attention was focused on the closed door. He pressed a kiss to Brook’s temple and laid his hand on her shoulder briefly, silently indicating that she should stay where she was. When he started heading toward the guestroom, Blue was off the sofa like a shot to intercept him.
“Diego, no, you can’t go in there! You’ve got no idea what you’re dealing with here.” She lowered her voice. “What she’s been through, I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy. She’s really fragile and is terrified of men. I’m supposed to keep her calm until Tony can get a female doctor in here to give her a thorough examination, but she’s barely allowed that nurse Stacy to tend to her, so he’s not sure she’ll even allow it. My point is, she’s not supposed to see anyone.”
When he just kept walking, frantic words tumbled from her lips. “The old Kat you knew is gone, Diego. She will be hysterical if you go in there. Then we’ll have to sedate her again and then Tony will rip me a new asshole when he gets home.”
Other than his jaw clenching at the mention of sedatives, Diego seemed unphased by Blue’s warning. He didn’t break stride as he approached the door, turned the knob, and stepped inside.
If he didn’t know better, Diego would have thought he was looking at a small child and not the voluptuous Latina beauty he had known for so many years.
Tony’s description of the current situation had been spot-on: Kat was curled up in a ball on the floor in the corner, rocking back and forth, eyes glazed and unfocused. She was wearing a button-down flannel shirt several sizes too big that he recognized as one of Tony’s, and her once-glossy hair was dull and needed to be brushed. Her cheeks were gaunt and there were dark shadows under her eyes. One of the hottest strippers to ever grace the stage at The Club was now skin and bones.
That fucker. If Blue hadn’t already taken care of business, I’d kill him, he thought.
They had been occasional fuck buddies long, long ago, before he found Brook. The sexual connection had been a casual one, born of simple convenience. It had never been serious for either of them, and after their physical connection had run its course, they had remained easy friends with no lingering chemistry to complicate things. Eventually, she had become more like family. She used to joke with Brook that she was glad Diego wasn’t really her brother because he would have been an overprotective one, and she never would have gotten laid with him warning all the boys off with a baseball bat. They had always laughed about it, but he wasn’t laughing now. He believed deeply that he had let her down, that he had failed her as a man and as a friend.
Diego swallowed hard and blinked furiously as he tilted his head back to look up at the ceiling. Look what that madman did to her when I wasn’t looking. God, forgive me…
He took a cautious step forward. Kat began rocking just a little faster and her breathing became rapid and shallow. She still seemed out of it, but he could tell she was quickly shifting into fight-or-flight mode. It was hard to watch, but it meant she was still in there somewhere, no matter what that bitch had said to the contrary.
Said bitch was still hovering behind him in the doorway, so he turned his head slightly and growled, “Get. The. Fuck. Back.” He kept his voice low, but Blue got the message and moved back into the other room, out of sight.
When he turned his attention back to Kat, she had stopped moving. A slight frown knit her brow, and her eyes were clear and focused on the floor. He took another step, then another. He slowly dropped to one knee next to her. He made sure he moved slowly, the way he had seen King do any number of times when coaxing skittish animals from a shipping container to their new habitat.
“Cariño.” Kat’s eyes widened, but the frown stayed firmly in place and she didn’t move. He tried again, keeping his voice soothing and gentle. “Cariño, look at me.”
Kat squeezed her eyes closed. She didn’t want to look up. She couldn’t bear to give in to the comfort of that voice, only to realize that, once again, she was just imagining it. That wonderful baritone of Diego’s sounded so real, though, like he was close enough to touch.
Diego waited and said nothing. He could wait all day. He wasn’t going to rush her. He had already informed Tony of his intentions and Tony had cleared the plan through his father. Brook had prepared their guestroom and Diego had lined up a doctor who specialized in addiction. They weren’t leaving without her.
Kat couldn’t resist that voice. She had to know. So, expecting nothing but disappointment, she lifted her chin and looked up…into the face of her oldest friend.
“Florcita. You’ve been so brave.” He lifted his hand, letting her see his intentions. When she didn’t recoil, he gently cupped her jaw. She gasped at the touch, at the undeniable evidence that he was real. The rescue had been real. She would never again wake up to the pain of unspeakable things being done to her.
Her bottom lip wobbled like a child’s. A sob shook her frail body as the tears finally came, and she launched herself into his waiting arms.
She felt like a tiny bird as he held her against his chest, so very fragile. From the injuries Tony had described to him after her rescue, Diego knew she was covered in bruises, so he took care not to hold on too tight and risk hurting her.
He rose to his feet with Kat cradled in his arms and her face tucked into his neck as he turned toward the door. Brook stood in the doorway, looking at him like he’d hung the moon. She stepped aside so he could cross the threshold into the next room where Blue and Amber were now standing with Tony and Caden.
Brook stroked Kat’s hair, softly like you would a kitten. With her free hand she reached up and caressed Diego’s jaw. She couldn’t help smiling at the comforting brush of stubble against her skin as he leaned into her touch and kissed her palm.
“Rest now, sweetheart,” she said softly and pressed a kiss to the top of Kat’s head. “We’ve come to take you home.”
The end for now…
Look for the new cartel series Sinaloa Sinister. Coming Soon to Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Suzanne-Steele/e/B00C9L6YRQ
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Daring Summer (Colombian Cartel Book 5) Page 20
