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I stared in the fridge and instantly missed Abigail’s and Savannah’s cooking. I wasn’t much of a cook, but I could make a mean barbequed steak.
Thankfully, there was some already prepared taco meat and enchiladas, so I tossed them in the microwave and pulled two plates from the cabinet. I did my best to add all the fixings then questioned where we should eat. I hated not to be in the same room as Chase, so I headed to the bedroom with the food. We could use the little table I’d seen in there.
I used my foot to open the door, and I paused when I saw Nicole standing in the open bathroom. She was in a pair of panties and had her back turned to me. Her slender spine arched when she slid her shirt off the counter and tugged it on then let it fall. It hit her mid-thigh and looked incredibly sexy. She must have felt my eyes on her, and she turned to look over her shoulder. “I wanted to keep an eye on him.” She pointed at Chase.
“Food.” I stumbled to find my words. “You should eat.”
“You don’t have to tell me twice,” she said softly, and I put the food on the table. She joined me and sat with her bare legs crossed. She flipped her hair back then dove in.
“What will happen to Chase when you get him back to the States?” I thought about the way she worded that.
“When we get back to the States, you mean?”
She shifted uneasily. “Yeah, well, both of you.”
“You’re not coming back?” I pulled my chin in and studied her face. The woman was mad. Everyone and their crazy cousin was on the hunt for us. All of us. They’d kill her to get the location of the Canos’ grandchild. My son.
“My job is here.”
“Nicole,” I laid my fork on the side of my plate. I knew I had to tread lightly here, “aren’t you worried about how Bruno will deal with you if he thinks you helped us get Chase over the border? What about Rafael, Agustin, Sully?”
She thought for a moment. “I’ll think of something, but my work is here. It’s my life.” She thought again. “Rafael’s gross, it’s true, and I know he’s going to be furious when he realizes I’ve worked against him, but I’m sure he’s already got his money for that poor baby twice over. He’s probably double-crossed more than one family, so he might not be long for this world, anyway.
“That leaves Bruno.” When she saw I was about to say something, she held up her hand. “I know we have history, but I’m not going to let my fear of him ruin my work. He knows I work for a powerful news network, and he’s smart. He was counting on getting his hands on the Canos’ grandchild to have power over them, just like the rest of the Cartel. He’ll get over the loss of his chess piece. I just need to come up with a new story to make him look good, while I work on a much larger story for later.”
“Nicole, I know you’re a smart woman, but I don’t think you realize how bad things are. It’s not just Bruno. Every Cartel family is looking for that child. He’s become a prize they all want. It’s about pride and bragging rights, let alone the chance to dangle him over the Canos family to have them give up territory to get him back.”
“I know that.”
“Do you, though? Are you really willing to risk your life on that? Things have changed here.”
She tilted her head and looked toward the sleeping baby. “Can I ask you something?”
“Maybe.”
She studied me with her pretty eyes. “The guys are all married, right?” Her change of topic threw me. “I know Cole is married to Savannah, thanks to you, and I heard him talking about her with John, but who is John married to?”
“Sloane.”
“Sloane, right, and Mark is with Mia.” I nodded, and she went on. “Mike is with Catalina. Is Keith married?”
My stomach clenched as I remembered my final days in Rosarito.
“Was. She passed.” I cleared my throat uncomfortably.
Her nose wrinkled like she felt bad for not knowing that. “I’m sorry.”
“It was complicated.” I pushed the meat around my plate, suddenly not hungry.
Chase whimpered, and she looked at him again. “And what about you? Married? Ever been? Girlfriend? I’m hoping not, since we kissed twice.”
Instantly, I thought of how she felt in my arms, how she tasted, how she smelled. My pants grew tight.
“No to all.” I slit my eyes at her. “Nicole, you completely changed the subject. I’m not going to allow you to stay here and get yourself killed, you know.”
She stared at me, and when I looked up, she didn’t move her gaze off me.
“What?” She shook her head and went back to her plate. “Say it,” I ordered, a little harder than I meant to.