Total pages in book: 102
Estimated words: 96206 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 481(@200wpm)___ 385(@250wpm)___ 321(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 96206 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 481(@200wpm)___ 385(@250wpm)___ 321(@300wpm)
“Is he in town?” Gustavo asked.
Laila had no idea how much Victor trusted this mechanic. His ink suggested he’d been more than a little involved with a cartel or two in the past. She didn’t remember him from Emilo’s compound, but that meant nothing. Her late brother-in-law had employed men all over his territory. And if Victor intended to let this man hide a rival’s fifty-million-dollar car, didn’t that suggest he trusted Gustavo on some level?
“Soon,” she hedged just in case, offering a smile to an older man who passed them, eyeing her suspiciously.
“Papá, finish cleaning inside. I will take care of everything out here,” Gustavo told his father in rapid-fire Spanish.
The older man merely scowled and nodded before disappearing inside.
Through a window, Laila watched the old man wipe down a counter and reach for the ringing phone as Gustavo went on. “Don’t mind him. He is getting grumpy with old age. So what does Victor need?”
“Do you have a space in your warehouse to store a car?”
Gustavo lit a cigarette and took a long drag. “What can you tell me about the vehicle?”
Why did he want to know? “Nothing. He simply sent me ahead to ask if you had room.”
The mechanic looked her up and down. “He is fucking you, I presume. You’re a pretty, tasty treat, after all.”
Everything inside Laila urged her to step back. Hell, to turn and leave. But since she’d been Victor’s possession once, she knew his expectations. So would this man, most likely. Cowering from any of his friends would only earn her ridicule and punishment, even allowing this man access to her body. She would be better off playing along.
“Naturally. Can you help him?”
He took a drag of his cigarette and blew out his smoke. “Yeah, tell him to bring it.”
She nodded, hoping the car would be secure here. “I will let him know.”
Laila thanked him, then quickly called Victor with the news.
“Good. I’ll bring the truck,” he told her. “Are Montilla’s thugs looking for me around town?”
“I have heard nothing yet.” Though she hadn’t exactly asked, and it was entirely likely there were eyes and ears everywhere. “But I am still gathering information.”
Victor grunted, then hung up.
Grateful that was over, she wandered down the street, toward what looked like a local hotel. The pastel building was a bright, two-story structure, surrounded by lazily swaying palms. A series of tiki huts outside added to the resort-like feel. The one beside the pool seemed to double as the bar. The other, just beside it, had been set aside for relaxation and games.
She bypassed them and went in search of the office. Hopefully, it wouldn’t be too expensive to stay here, since it was the closest hotel to town. The others were near the beach.
As she approached the little office with the loud air conditioner humming from the wall, she passed under an awning. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a pair of men emerge from one of the rooms. One looked well-built and athletic as he settled a hat on his head. But it was the other who caught her attention, broad and startlingly tall and achingly familiar.
Trees.
Shock sucked the air from her lungs. He was here? How had he found her? And how would she muster the strength to walk away when all she wanted to do was run into his arms?
For his sake, she had to.
As if he was attuned to her, Trees suddenly turned. His stare zeroed in on her, swallowing her whole in a glance.
Her heart, her breaths, her thoughts all stopped. She felt pinned in place, as if he saw right through her disguise.
No, that was her paranoia. Trees couldn’t possibly know it was her. She wore different clothes and shoes. She had donned sunglasses and a hat. At most, he would think she was a stranger who looked like her. But the longer she returned his stare, the more suspicious he would be. She needed to act like a local out for an evening walk.
On shaking legs, she pivoted away and headed back toward Gustavo’s garage. Her heart roared in her ears, threatening to beat out of her chest, as she lifted her sunglasses higher onto her nose, then adjusted her hat in the breeze. She prayed she looked as if she didn’t have a care, because she could hardly breathe past her apprehension.
Trees couldn’t stay in this village. Ugly things would happen. The consequences would be too terrible.
Then she remembered that Victor was heading this way. And if he saw Trees… Well, there was no way Victor had forgotten the man who had blown his brother’s head off mere days ago.
Dios mío.
Trembling, Laila glanced over her shoulder, hoping Trees had looked past her. But he was charging straight for her on those ridiculously long legs.