I’m guessing that even though Ernesto ispissed, he’s not pissedenoughto cut off Joaquin’s bottomless allowance. And that leads me to believe that we’ll be leaving the hotel for his parents’ estate after not too much longer.
Still, the fact that we’ll likely be back soon does little to ease my anxiety over being out of contact with Xavier for so long.
He’s going to fuck me up for this once the job is done.
The pianist is in the middle of a New Orleans dirge style cover of “Never Gonna Give You Up”, and it’s so left-field and silly that I laugh along with a number of other patrons. Despite it being intentionally humorous, merely having the freedom to laugh genuinely seems to trigger my hidden anxiety, and I can’t help hiding my mouth behind my hand. And that’s when I catch Joaquin staring at me with a tender, subtle, yet focused smile, like he hasn’t even been watching the show at all.
I return his smile and reach across the small, round table to place my hand on his. “Are you all right,cariño?”
He offers a nod, stroking my hand with his thumb before lifting it to his lips for a soft kiss. Everything about his behavior since we left the estate has noticeably softened. Not that anything about his behavior with me was ever ashardas what I’m used to—far from it—but something has shifted in him, and I have a feeling what it is. And, again, it is going to make my job more difficult than it ever has been.
Joaquin doesn’t actually say anything, so I squeeze his hand. “Are you worrying about your father?”
His smile persists. “No.”
I tilt my head, causing my long, thick ponytail to swing and fall over my shoulder. “Then why do you look like that?”
The side of his mouth quirks. “What do I look like?”
I shrug. “Just thoughtful.” I lean across the table toward him, spreading my lips into a wide smile. “What are you thinking about?”
He mirrors my shrug. “Just you.”
There is something about a man looking at you with a completely and obviously enamored expression. It is affecting in a way that, even for someone as frigid to the bones as I am, there’s no denying the warmth it elicits. Andthathas me almost as worried as the fact that I know Xavier is down in Nevada at the cartel’s hideout seething and plotting my punishment.
But I can’t let on to any of that, so I maintain my carefree grin at him and shift my chair around the table so I can sit closer to him. He takes the opportunity to slip his arm around my shoulders and kiss me tenderly and deeply.
As usual, it causes heat and lust to seep through every inch of me, and a quiet moan drifts from my mouth to his.
“Are you having fun at this bar,” he murmurs against my lips, “or do I get to take you back to the hotel now?”
I chuckle quietly and press another kiss to his mouth. “I’m perfectly happy to leave whenever you’re ready.”
He breaks away from the kiss to growl against the side of my neck. “I’m more than ready.”
I giggle again, slipping away from him. “Okay,amor. Do you mind if I use the ladies’ room before we go?”
Joaquin tsks. “You don’t need to ask me for permission to do that or anything else.”
What a concept. One I am still not used to.
I stand up and lean down to kiss his cheek before stepping away from the table. “I won’t be long.”
Joaquin winks at me, and I feel his eyes linger on me as I wind down the dimly-lit, narrow hallway toward the restrooms.
After taking care of business and washing my hands, I pause in front of the mirror to tighten my ponytail and use a little bit of water to smooth down a couple of fly-away hairs. The sound of one of the stall doors squeaking open barely registers before a thick, muscular arm is wrapped around my neck, yanking me backward into the stall, and the door is kicked shut.
Adrenaline surges through my veins, and I rasp out, “I’ll fucking kill you.”
“Wrong.” The assailant squeezes the crook of his elbow tighter against my throat, and the distinctive sound of a switchblade snapping open ricochets against the hard walls. He wedges the blade hard enough against my ribs that it slices the fabric of my tank top and bites into my skin. “You’re making a phone call.”
With the knife pressed to my gut, he releases my neck to place a phone next to my ear.
“What the fuck is going on, you double-crossing cunt?” Xavier growls through the speaker.
Ofcoursethis isn’t just some random attack in the city.
I huff lightly. “Ernesto returned. He and Joaquin came to blows about the marriage, and Joaquin took us to stay in the city until his father calms down. We left immediately after the confrontation. I didn’t have the chance to get the phone from where it’s hidden.”
