“Just checking if you’re still alive and to meet Jenna.” He gestures with his hand for me to move. “Let me see her.”
I raise an eyebrow at him.
Santiago shakes his head while chuckling again. “You’re being overprotective for no reason. I spoke to Cassia, and I just want to see for myself how Jenna is holding up, staying in the same house as you.”
I feel Jenna move, and she hugs my arm as she comes to stand beside me, keeping her head lowered.
When Santiago’s eyes rest on her, his features tense. He’s devoted his life to saving people like Jenna and me and has given them all a safe place to live.
That means he has a lot of experience working with survivors, and he knows all the signs.
“Hi, Jenna. I’m Santiago Castro,” he says, his tone very gentle.
She only removes her hand from my arm to give him a quick wave, then she clings to me again.
I look down at Jenna, and hating how she’s cowering, I pull my arm free and wrap it around her shoulders. “It’s okay,meu anjinho.He’s a friend.”
Even though she nods, she doesn’t stop trembling, but instead, turns her body into mine and presses her cheek against my chest while her hair covers the rest of her face.
A sad expression ripples over Santiago’s face, then he meets my eyes. “I see you have everything under control. If you need help or advice, you know where to get me. This is good for both of you. It makes me happy.”
As I stare at him, the thought that Santiago might know about what happened in my past shudders through me.
He’s had decades of training, working with sex slavery survivors and hundreds of rape victims.
Merda!
As if he can read my mind, he shakes his head and says, “Don’t worry about it, brother. My lips are sealed.” He lets out a sigh and checks the time on his wristwatch. “Grace and Ciara are on their way. Dominik and I are going to Minneapolis to pick them up, and once we return, Leo and Cassia are heading back to Europe. They have business to take care of.”
I nod. “You and Dominik don’t have to stay.”
He lets out a burst of laughter. “With you dropping bodies all over the place every other day, I beg to differ.” He walks toward the front door. “Nice meeting you, Jenna.”
When the door shuts behind him, I glance down at my woman and say, “He’s gone.”
She glances around the room, then pulls away from me and begins to walk toward the kitchen.
“What are you going to do now?”
“Clean. It’s getting late.”
“The house is spotless. Come back.”
She hesitates, then says, “But it’s my job.” Her eyes widen suddenly. “I still have a job, right?”
I gesture toward the living room. “Let’s sit and talk about everything.”
Worry tightens her features, and I wait for her to pick a couch before I sit down beside her.
“The job was just a ruse to get you away from the gas station,” I admit.
Her worry grows, making her look anxious. “I’m not your housekeeper?” Her knee begins to bounce nervously, and she fists her hands together on her lap. “Mr. Cahoon won’t take me back.”
I shake my head. “You don’t have to work again, Jenna. I want to take care of you, and I have the means to give you everything your heart desires.”
To make my point, I climb to my feet and jog to my bathroom, where my wallet is in the pants I wore yesterday. I grab it and hurry back to where Jenna is still sitting on the couch, looking way too worried.
I pull out my black credit card, and as I take a seat beside her again, I pick up her hand and place the card down on her palm. “I’ll order one for you, but in the meantime, use this for anything you need.”
