The Vargas Cartel Trilogy (Vargas Cartel #1-3)(109)

“I’ll stay here. I’ll get some of my things.” When he didn’t respond, I realized he might not want me in his apartment by myself. “If that’s okay with you. I’d stay out of your personal space. You can keep your study locked or whatever. I won’t tell anyone I’m here,” I rambled.

“No,” he answered, not even taking a second to consider my suggestion.

“You don’t trust me?” Confusion and sadness swirled around me.

He folded his arms across his chest. “I trust you, but I’m not leaving you here to figure out everything by yourself. We need to talk, but I don’t have time to do it right now. I have a plane to catch. I have to tell Rever what’s going on.”

“Did you buy me a plane ticket?”

He shook his head. “We’re not flying commercial.”

“I don’t know,” I whispered. “I’m not sure it’s a good idea.”

“Look, you don’t have to see Ignacio or anyone affiliated with the Vargas Cartel. We’ll stay at a hotel in a touristy area. I won’t take you anywhere near the Vargas compound. You can hang out at the pool while I’m gone. Think of it as a vacation. You won’t have to deal with your family or Evan. We’ll work out the details of your pregnancy.”

My stomach knotted at the thought of facing my mom or running into Evan, but more importantly, my heart begged me to go with him. To trust him. “I could work on my thesis for school,” I said, pushing my forebodings aside.

Striding forward with a smile on his face, he cradled my face and kissed me on the lips hard. “Good. We’ll stop by Vera’s on the way to the airport, and you can grab your laptop and whatever else you need.”

“How long will we be gone?”

“A week. Maybe two, but you can leave anytime you want.”

I searched his face for duplicity, but he looked sincere. “You promise?”

“Yes.” He kissed me again. “Anything you want. I need to see Ignacio, but you’re my first priority.”





Chapter Twenty-Four




Ryker



We landed in Cancun at ten o’clock last night. Hospital visiting hours had ended, so Hattie and I took a cab to the hotel instead. I didn’t know where Rever went, and I didn’t care. Even though he said he didn’t want to see Ignacio, I assumed I’d see him at the hospital sometime today.

“What are you going to do today?” I asked Hattie.

We hadn’t exchanged more than a few sentences on the plane or last night. It didn’t appear the trend would reverse course this morning either. We dressed. We walked to the hotel restaurant for breakfast. We ordered food. We sipped our coffee and ate, but we had only said a handful of words to each other.

Every unspoken word and missed opportunity to reassure her pressed against my chest, suffocating me. Anxiety leached from her pores. Her hands shook every time she lifted her fork. Her eye twitched. She was nervous about being in Mexico with me again. I understood her concerns. I hated being here again too. The ghosts from the last time we were in Mexico haunted me. I wished I could erase all her pain and sadness with happier memories.

Hattie set her silverware diagonally across her plate and pushed the plate away from her. She hardly touched her food. “I’ll do some research and try to work on my thesis, or maybe I’ll lounge by the pool. Swim some laps. I haven’t thought about it.”

“You can come with me,” I offered. “You don’t have to go in his room or anything. You could wait in the lounge area. We could go out to lunch.”

Her eyes locked on mine for a second, then they flickered away. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“I don’t like the idea of you sitting at the hotel by yourself.”

She smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “I’ll be fine. I have plenty of things to occupy my time. Don’t worry about me.”

I frowned. “Of course I’m going to worry about you. You’re pregnant and—”

She held up her hand as she chewed the corner of her lower lip. “P-pl-please,” she stuttered, struggling to force the word from her throat. “Not right now. Not when you’re leaving me here alone for the rest of the day. Not when I won’t have anything to distract me from analyzing every word you said. Every word I said.”

“Hattie,” I said, lowering my voice.

“No.” She moved her head from side to side. “Later, okay?”

I wanted to grab her arm, pull her against my body, and kiss her until she understood how much I loved her—how much I wanted to pack our bags and get on the first plane back to the States. I didn’t do any of those things.

“Tonight?”

“Sure.” She ran her fingers along my jaw. “What time do you think you’ll be back?”

“I’m not sure, but I’ll try to make it back here before dinner.” My cell phone rang. It was Emanuel. I didn’t want to take the call in front of Hattie. “I have to go.” I pressed a kiss to the corner of her mouth and stood up.

“I’m sorry I’ve been so quiet. I’m just…” She cleared her throat and averted her eyes.

“Nervous about being in Mexico again,” I said, finishing her sentence.