Page 35 of Cartel Rose (Jorge)

I watch Jorge to see if I can get any hint about whether he thinks I’m right, but his expression now is entirely inscrutable. I don’t know what he’s thinking. The glimpse into his thoughts a moment ago evaporated. I suddenly feel cold and alone despite how he still has his arm around my shoulders. I feel goosebumps form on my arms from his remoteness.

“Is there anything else you can tell me to give me any hints where to look?”

I twist to look at Jorge better before I continue. He pulls his arm back, and I regret shifting. Now I really feel untethered. All I can do is shake my head. If I knew who was behind everything that’s gone wrong in the last couple years, I would tell him.

“Chiquita, what’s going through your mind right now?”

“It’s just that I never imagined I’d wake up one morning to find my father’s hand on my desk after lunch. Or that I’d be dealing with some secretive phantom who seems to know far more about me than I know about him. It’s all terrifying, and I don’t know what to make of any of it.”

As I watch Jorge, I consider my other clients and business contacts. I’m not withholding anything about the mystery messenger or who could have my father, but there’s so much more that I’m not prepared to share yet. I nearly jump out ofmy skin when my phone rings. I show Jorge the screen before I swipe to answer in German.

“Hi,Mutti. Are you almost here?”

“Yes, we just parked. Can we come straight up to the room?”

I glance over at Jorge, and he nods.

“Yeah, it’s actually the penthouse suite.”

“That’s exciting.” I hear my sister chime in with her voice slightly muffled.

“We’ll be up in a few minutes.”

I end the call and drop my phone in my lap. “My mom and sister will freak out when they see your guards at the door, or they’ll believe they wound up in the wrong place.”

“Chiquita,my men will let me know when your family steps off the elevator. We can wait for them.”

“Should I answer the door, or will they let my mom and Heidi in?”

“You can answer the door.”

“Where will you be?”

“I can stand over by the table, or I can stand behind you.”

“Um—”

I sweep my gaze around the living room, trying to decide what’s best. I feel like the moment I stand, my knees will knock together, so I want Jorge close. But that won’t set the right tone for their arrival. I look at the box on the entryway table. I’ve studiously ignored it ever since we arrived, but its presence has lurked in the back of my mind throughout my conversations.

“We can’t leave the box by the door when they arrive because eventually we’ll have to show them. I don’t want them to think I just put it there as a convenience when I came into the suite of a man who isn’t my boyfriend.”

“We’ll move it over here to the desk, and we’ll see how things go before we decide whether to show them.”

“I can’t keep this from them.”

“Chiquita, I’m not saying keep what happened from them, but do you really want your mother and sister to see what you did?”

I shake my head, but my shoulders sink.

“Jorge, my mom will demand to see it. And my father’s wedding ring is still on his finger. She deserves to have that back. And what do we do with it? I mean, it’s flesh and everything.”

My stomach cramps.

“We have a little while longer before we have to do anything with it to avoid it being even more unpleasant.”

I cock an eyebrow. Unpleasant? That’s how he would describe what’s going on? He certainly has a stronger stomach than I do.

“What will we do?”