by LK Shaw
"Fantastic. I won't bother you while you're studying, but how about I call you Friday and we can pin down a day?"
"That sounds great. Well, I better get going. I've got to pick Maisie up from the sitter's before five-thirty." I rose from my seat and Pablo was right on his feet as well.
"Where are you parked?"
“I'm in the garage over on the next block." I pointed in the direction I was headed.
"That's actually where I am too. If you don't mind me walking with you?"
I hadn't been ready for the date to end, so I didn't mind getting to spend a little more time with Pablo, even if it was just for a short walk to the car. "Not at all."
Together, we headed toward the parking garage, an occasional comfortable silence falling between us. I couldn't remember ever feeling this at ease with a guy, especially not on the first date. But with Pablo, once I'd gotten over my initial nervousness, everything had gone smoothly. He was easy to talk to, and the more time I spent with him, the more I was certain he really was one of the good guys.
"This is me," I said, stopping in front of my ten-year old Honda Civic that had seen better days. It was an eyesore. But it got me where I needed to go, so I didn't care what it looked like.
"Be careful driving. Traffic leaving downtown is going to be a beast," Pablo cautioned.
“I will. You as well. Thank you again for a really nice time. I'm looking forward to dinner."
"Me too," he said. Before I could guess his intent, he moved closer, brushed my hair off my forehead with his forefinger, and pressed his lips against it.
A shiver raced down the back of my neck, and the heat of that single touch sizzled through my body. He pulled away and his eyes flickered downward to my mouth and back to my eyes. I held my breath waiting to see what he'd do next, but he slowly took a step back. I almost whimpered.
“I'll call you after Thursday."
"Okay," I whispered back.
He turned and walked away, but before he disappeared around the corner, he looked over his shoulder one last time. I remained frozen until he was out of sight. Then I nearly melted with a sigh of bliss. Just that brief touch of his lips against my skin, and I was utterly infatuated.
Chapter 13
I hadn't heard from Oliver since Friday. Normally, I wouldn't be too concerned, but after our conversation and how I'd left it between us, as well as his tendency to take a lax approach to things, I was a bit on edge. I was also waiting on a call from my DEA contact. I'd brought Oliver's intel about Valesquez to our Captain so he'd be in the loop if one of us managed to get further details.
After finishing up the last pending report on my desk, I shut down my computer and grabbed my keys. My desk phone rang just as I rose from my chair to head home for the day. I considered ignoring it, but knowing my luck, it was important.
"Rodriguez."
"It's Landon. I got your message. What's going on?"
Definitely important. I'd worked with Landon on two separate occasions. The first was when Estelle had been kidnapped by Miguel Álvarez. The second was on the King case.
"Do you guys have any recent intel on Maria Luis Valesquez?"
"How recent?"
"Recent enough to include any rumblings of something going down between her and Ricardo Morales?"
"Not that's come across my desk. I'm taking it you have?”
It was nice having a contact inside the DEA, especially one who didn't think she was too good to work with those of us at the local level. It helped that she was part of my extended family. She was engaged to Brody's brother, Preston, which practically made her my sister-in-law. Or something. Either way, Landon Roberts was family.
"Possibly. We've got an undercover agent inside Los Lobos. He and I met a few days ago, and according to him, there's a rumor going through the gang of some type of alliance between the two of them. I don't know how accurate it is though."
“Shit. Let me talk to Brickman and Crawford. They're working Sinaloa, so they might have heard something. I'm skeptical of any type of alliance. Morales is making a significant amount of cash from that relationship. With that kind of backing he's going to think twice about giving it up," Landon said.
She was right. El Diablo would be hesitant to interrupt the amount of cash flow his gang was getting from Salazar.
"Unless Valesquez offered him more. You guys said yourself that she's made some powerful connections and allies during her rise to power. Everything she's done has been to fuck over her half-brother. Hell, she murdered Álvarez's first supplier and took over his entire business. She's smart. Now that Salazar has control of Chicago, my guess is she's pretty pissed. I’d be surprised if she didn't have some grand plan brewing.”
Landon sighed on the other end. “Let me do some checking. I think we have a guy inside. I'll see if his handler can reach out to him and find out anything. Give me a week or so and I'll get back to you."
"Alright. In the meantime, if I hear anything on my end, I'll call."
"Thanks, Pablo."
I collapsed back into my chair, blowing out a frustrated sigh. There was nothing I could do right now until Oliver contacted me again. This was one of the moments that I was conflicted. I was an action person, not a sit around and wait for things to happen person. But I also didn't want to rush into something and cause potential damage. We needed to be cautious, because one wrong move could fuck everything up.
Knowing it was pointless to keep waiting here, I grabbed my keys from where I'd dropped them when Landon called and headed out to my car. It wasn't long before I was pulling into the driveway next to my father's vehicle. The smell of something delicious reached me the second I opened the door. The whole family joked that I still lived at home because I didn't want to give up Dad's cooking. Victor had only moved out a few months ago when he shacked up with Estelle.
The quiet had taken a bit of getting used to. For so long, it had been papá, Victor, Ines, and me. Then Brody entered the picture and my little sister was suddenly all grown up. The two of them had gone into hiding in Colorado after his DEA cover within the Juarez Cartel had been exposed a couple years ago. Once the dust settled and Álvarez was dead, they'd come back to Chicago, but they found their own place. That left just our father and me.
"Hola, papá," I called out, shutting the door behind me.
"Hola, mijo." My father stepped into the den wearing his usual apron. I'd threatened to get him one of those tall, white chef's hats if he wasn't careful. "Come, help set the table, please."
We both headed into the kitchen where he made a beeline back to the stove. I reached into the cabinets and grabbed our plates and glasses.
I finished putting out the place settings and filled up our glasses with water. "Can I help with anything?"
"No, thank you. I'm about finished here. Why don't you have a seat and tell me about your day. Or, better yet, what about your date with Michele?" He asked with a hopeful smile over his shoulder. He'd always told us that his greatest dream was for each of his children to find the kind of love he and our mother had. She'd been gone for twenty-eight years and in that time I'd never known him to look at another woman. He said she'd been his one true love and it wouldn't be fair to someone knowing our mother still held his whole heart.
I wasn't sure I was ready to talk about Michele, or our date, but for some reason my mouth opened and words started to spill out. “It was really nice. We met for coffee at Schwartz’s downtown. We talked about more serious things than I ever have on a first date. She’s a great listener. Surprisingly more mature than even some of the women my age. Of course, she's had to be."
"Raising a child on your own is not for the weak. That girl has a strength forged from steel. I think that she will be good for you."
"You sound like Ines," I said.
“I saw the way you looked at her when she was here. That little girl of hers too. Those two are special and I think they'd fit right in with this family."
"Jesus, now you really
do sound like your daughter. I swear the two of you already have us married. Maybe we should see how the first few dates go. Even then, I'm pretty sure it's far too soon to be talking wedding bells."
"It takes but only a moment for the heart to know. I knew I loved your mother the first time I saw her."
I'd heard their story so many times as a kid. They'd shared it over and over, and unbelievably, we never got tired of hearing it. We saw how much they loved each other.
“I'm not sure it's quite that instantaneous in this case. We're just getting to know each other. Taking things slow."
My father turned, skillet and potholder in hand, and placed them in the middle of the table. He hung his apron on the hook next to the pantry and then took his seat across from me. Neither of us spoke while we dished out our food. We weren't two minutes into eating before he set down his fork. "Perhaps it is good that you're taking things slow. You need to be careful. Especially with that little girl being part of it. That was also one of the reasons why I chose not to date after your mother died. Being an instant mother, or father, is no easy task. There is so much to navigate. Do you know if the father is in the picture?"
I shook my head. "Not from what Ines has said, but then again, I’m not exactly sure how much she knows about Michele.”
"That is something you need to think about. If the father is part of the equation, then how will you deal with that? You won't be Maisie’s dad. You'll have to be sure you don't come between that relationship if there is one."
“I would never do that. If Maisie's dad is in her life, then he would always remain there. I don't need to compete with some man for her affection."
"What about her mother's?"
"What do you mean?"
“I mean that the two of them have a child together. She must have cared about him at some point. They have history."
“I think any woman I've dated in the past has had history."
"True. But where are all those women now?"
He really did sound like Ines. I wasn't sure why Michele was different from any woman from my past, but she was.
"What is that look on your face about?" he asked.
I blinked. "Huh? What look?"
"You had this expression on your face like you were thinking of something unpleasant."
“I was just thinking about our age difference. There's quite a bit."
“Michele has enough life experience to give her plenty of age. It wouldn't surprise me if she hasn't seen more heartache and sorrow than you. From what your sister has said, her parents kicked her out of the house when she was only fifteen. She survived on the streets, alone, even after Maisie was born. That kind of life will age any person. I don't think that is something you need to be concerned about. Besides, I would think someone who matches her in maturity is something she is looking for. The young men her age wouldn't know what to do with her, or her child."
He was probably right. “I'll take your words into consideration. Now, can we be finished discussing my love life?"
"Of course. Just think about what I've said. Don't be concerned about anything other than how you feel about Michele and how she feels about you. The rest is inconsequential. Now, what about our friend, Oliver?"
Throughout the rest of our meal we talked about the news Oliver had shared and that I'd passed on his intel to Landon. My father agreed with me that the lure of money and power would be a huge incentive for Morales to turn on Salazar. After we finished eating and clearing off the table I headed up to my room.
I collapsed onto my bed and stared up at the ceiling thinking about my date with Michele, what my father said at dinner, as well as what I wanted for my future.
After ten minutes nothing was any clearer than it had been. I still wanted to spend time with Michele, getting to know her. I sat up, slapped the heating pad on my leg, and turned the tv on. Oliver’s name flashed across my phone’s screen.
“What’s going on?”
“The pawn is in position to knock the king out of power. He’s protecting the queen.”
Fuck.
Chapter 14
I'd been staring at the clock for the last three hours. Actually, that was a lie. More like all damn day. I'd gotten through dinner okay, but afterwards Maisie had nearly thrown a fit, because I hadn't been paying enough attention to her coloring and the alphabet homework she'd been sent home with from preschool. My phone hadn’t rung.
Maybe Pablo would call tomorrow. He said after Thursday, and it was only just Friday. I didn't want to believe that he'd lied and had no intention of calling me in the first place. I drew the line at being lied to. Even a white lie. Because small lies tended to turn into big ones. I'd rather have my feelings hurt by the truth than have someone speak an untruth.
I kept reminding myself of that brief kiss, even though it had only been to my forehead. It hadn't felt like a goodbye kiss. An I-don’t-plan-on-seeing-you-ever-again kiss. It had felt like the beginning of something. Like a prelude. As though Pablo was just getting started with all the places his lips would touch before it was all said and done. I tried to focus on that train of thought and not let myself get led down the other path. The one that said maybe he wasn’t as good a guy as I’d been trying to paint him.
I'd already put Maisie to bed. It had been well past her bedtime, and I'd needed to study a little more. The television was on, but the volume turned down low, and I was sitting on my faded couch with my pharmacology book open. After two chapters of rabid note taking, I set my book aside and stretched. I walked a couple laps between the kitchen and living room just to get my blood flowing a little.
I plopped back down on the couch and went to grab my book to go through one more chapter, when my phone rang. My stomach flipped. Taking a deep breath, I reached for it trying to calm my racing heart. I let out a small squee at the name on the screen, but quickly composed myself before answering.
"Hello?"
"Michele, it's Pablo. I hope I'm not calling too late."
"Not at all. I was just sitting here studying a little."
"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt. I thought your test was yesterday."
He’d remembered. “Oh, it was. I’m studying for a different one, but it’s not for a couple more weeks. It’s a tough subject so any time I can get a little extra reading in, I try to."
"If this is a bad time, I can let you go. Call back another time."
"Not at all. I was actually just taking a break anyway. My eyes were starting to cross."
“I guess I timed it right then. What are you studying?"
"Drugs, actually," I laughed at the near irony. "So, did you have a nice week?"
Pablo let out a rough sigh. "Not really. Although it's better now that I’m talking to you. I'm sorry I haven't stopped by to check on you. We've had some things going down with one of our undercover agents that's been taking all my time. Which isn't an excuse, since I promised I'd look in on you. I apologize."
"It's okay, I understand. You were doing it as a favor to Ines, but I know how important your work is, and that it takes priority over other things."
"It wasn't just a favor. I wanted to. Which means I should have made the time. Especially with what you said about your neighbor. Has he still been bothering you?"
"Surprisingly, I haven't seen him at all this week. Maybe he finally gave up after our last conversation and the things I said to him.” I winced and slammed by palm against my forehead. Please don't ask. Please don't ask.
" What did you tell him?"
Shit. “I might have implied I had a boyfriend already."
"Oh, really?" Pablo chuckled. "And what was his response to that?"
"He didn't believe me. In fact, he seemed almost offended. Like it was a personal affront to him that I'd chosen someone else."
"Good. Keep telling him that. Feel free to use my name if you need to. Eventually maybe he'll take the hint. What time will you be home tomorrow? I'll make sure to pop in. If we're lucky, he might make
an appearance. I'll put on a good show for him."
My heart skipped and a small tingle began low in my belly at the thought of what Pablo meant by putting on a show. I let out a nervous giggle. “After four-thirty. But don’t feel like you have to go through some big production. Maybe just seeing you will be enough to dissuade him from future flirtations."
"Believe me," his voice dropped even lower than normal. "It wouldn't be any trouble at all."
Oh, god, was he flirting with me? Think of something flirty to say back. "If anyone could make him feel insecure about himself, it would be you."
"What makes you say that?"
I gesticulated with my hands even though he couldn't see me. "You know, with all your muscles and that lovely hair of yours."
My mouth snapped shut, and I squeezed my eyes closed, dropping my head back against the couch. The filter from my brain to my mouth was apparently broke.
"You think I have lovely hair?" There was laughter in his voice.
"Please forget I said that," I begged.
"No way. I want to hear more about my hair. I don't think anyone has ever called it lovely before."
"Fine," I huffed. "Your hair was actually the first thing I noticed about you. I may have even mentally threatened bodily harm to anyone who dared to cut it."
"Wow, you really are fierce. Okay, I won't cut it except a trim every now and then. How about that?”
"What? No, you don't have to do that. I didn't mean it. It's your hair. If you want to chop it all off, then don't let anyone stop you."
"After that threat? I wouldn't dream of it. I'd be worried you'd hurt me."
I couldn't help but laugh at his ridiculousness. "You won't let me forget I said that, will you?"
"Not a chance." I imagined him shaking his head on the other end. How embarrassing.
"Do you want to know the first thing I noticed about you?" Pablo asked softly, almost seriously.
Nervous jitters filled me. Did I want to know? Yes. "What's that?"
"The adorable way you spoke—a mile a minute—apologizing to me for something that wasn't in any way your fault. You were so cute and nervous and truly sincere even though the apology was entirely unnecessary."
