Barefoot with a Stranger (Barefoot Bay Undercover #2)(13)

“Do you think I don’t know that?” Gabe fired back. “Do you think I don’t wake up in a cold sweat with bile in my throat at the thought of a child, my child, living on this earth for four years and I didn’t even know he existed?”

Nino didn’t flinch but met Gabe’s anger with tapered black eyes. “Then why the hell are you here and not in Cuba?”

Gabe swallowed. “I can’t go there.”

“But that’s changing! They’ve opened an embassy. We’re all good with Cuba now!” Nino shook his head, vehement, as if Gabe didn’t read the damn newspaper. “We can both go, Gabriel. We’ll go find him and—”

“No.” Gabe put his hands on Nino’s shoulders. “I cannot go to that country no matter what happens between Cuba and the US. It doesn’t really have anything to do with politics, really.”

“Why?”

Gabe shot him a get real look, which he knew Nino instantly understood. Certain things—most things—about Gabe’s previous life as a consultant for the CIA were closed topics. “Let’s just say I pissed off the wrong people.”

“Then what are you going to do?” Nino asked.

“I’m not going to do anything. Chessie is—”

“Here!” The female voice rang through the living area as the screen door banged. “Don’t you two lock this door?”

Nino’s eyes popped wide as he tossed his whisk back into the egg mix and opened his arms for a hug. “Francesca!”

Coming into the kitchen, Chessie slowed for a split second. “Don’t call me that, Nino.” She fell into her grandfather’s arms and looked over his shoulder at Gabe, whose own jaw dropped.

“How the hell did you get here so fast?” he asked.

“Because I’m amazing.” She stuck her tongue out at him. “And you’re welcome.”

He shook his head, shocked that his sister had veered from an agenda. It was so rare and…a good sign. A very good sign. Maybe it wouldn’t take as much convincing as he thought to get her to lose her field status virginity.

“Well, you were supposed to be here last night,” he said. “So not that early, technically.”

The faintest shadow crossed her eyes just before she closed them. “Even I can’t make Southwest fly planes if they don’t want to. But Avis had a Mustang, so I blew down here almost as fast as a 747.”


Nino pushed back and frowned at her. “You drive too fast, Chess.”

“Only Fords. And my bag is on the plane that I wasn’t, so one of us will have to make a run to the airport.” She batted her eyelashes at Nino.

“After I feed you,” Nino agreed easily, his priorities always in order.

Chessie pecked the old cheek and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear, her usually bright and perfectly made-up face looking pretty worn from the overnight drive. That she’d made for him because, like Nino said, family is everything.

Instantly, Gabe’s heart softened as he took his own brotherly hug. She cared so much that she’d rushed down here and didn’t even worry about not having luggage. So not like her, and such a testament to the fact that he picked the right person for the job.

“Thanks, kid.” He gave her a squeeze. “I appreciate you dropping everything for this.”

She eased back. “Anything to, um, fix your computer system.” She winked.

Nino nudged into both of them. “Stop the lying, Francesca Rossi. I know why you’re here.”

“You do?” She looked from one to the other. “He does?”

Gabe nodded. “Welcome Nino to the vault, Chess. I just told him.”

She broke into a wide smile. “Pretty cool, isn’t it? A new little baby Rossi.”

“Not exactly a baby,” Nino replied. “Gabe says he’s four.”

Guilt punched, along with a numb ache that Gabe couldn’t get used to. “We don’t even know if he’s mine,” he said quickly, taking his fallback rationalization every time he allowed himself to believe the boy was indeed his and he’d missed four years of his life.

“Then let’s find out!” Chessie gave his shoulder a solid punch. “I brought my laptop, but if this on-site security company you work for has better systems, let’s use them. Or maybe you’ve stolen more files from that Cuban TV station like you did a few weeks ago. Whatever, dear brother, I am on it like a bonnet.” She grinned. “And I’ve been working up some algorithms that might let me crack those Cuba files even deeper. Also, I’ve found a few more databases—”

“You’re not going to need a computer, Chess.”

She laughed and looked at Nino. “That’s like you saying you don’t need your perfectly seasoned cast-iron skillet.”

Nino lifted his brows, clearly pleased with the fact that he knew something Chessie didn’t. “Listen to your brother,” he said.

Chessie turned back to Gabe. “Why wouldn’t I need a computer?”

“Oh, you can take it, but the Internet is notoriously bad to nonexistent in Cuba.” He could actually see his words hit her brain like little bullets, making her lips part in shock.

“What?” she managed to choke out the word.