Page 61 of Jessica, Not Her Real Name

He nodded.

She looked down at the black hand print on his chest. Stop, it seemed to say. Do not approach. She pressed her hand over it. Dug her fingers in, her nails indenting his skin. Then she ran her nails over his chest, over the dark dusting of hair that grew thicker below his navel and ran down beneath the waistband of his jeans.

She said, “You should get a tattoo of my name.”

He shrugged one shoulder. “Just tell me where you want it.”

She regarded his upper body, which was pretty well covered.

“My ass cheek is free,” he said helpfully.

She laughed. “Alright. Then everyone will know that your ass belongs to me.”

He’d gotten hard again between her thighs. “Apparently, my dick already does. You might as well have the set.”

She smiled, then lowered herself down onto him, resting her chin on his chest. “Do you want me to get a tattoo of your name?”

“No.” He ran his hands up the backs of her thighs. “Because I already know that every single part of you belongs to me.”

* * *

Moonlight slipped through a crack in the curtains, tracing silver strands in Julia’s hair, making them glow. Her head rested on Daniel’s shoulder, the rest of her curled against his side, their legs tangled together.

For a while, they just lay there, the quiet wrapping around them. Only their breathing and the distant hum of the city filled the space between them.

Something shifted in her expression, her eyes turning distant, as if suddenly lost in thought. A tiny crease formed between her brows.

A prickle of unease tightened in his stomach. “Baby, what is it?”

She looked up at him. “Daniel,” she whispered. “There’s something I still haven’t told you.”

* * *

Daniel’s eyes were tracking over her face like he’d never seen it before. “And this Belinda woman said she works for the DEA?”

Julia hugged the sheet to her chest. “She cornered me in the bathroom at the wedding. She knew all about you. And me. And us being together.” She chewed the inside of her cheek and added, “She said that if I refused to talk to them, I could get in big trouble. That they could make me talk to them.”

Daniel was still watching her intently. She sat forward again and placed her hand on his back. “I got out of there straight away and called a taxi and came here. I didn’t tell her anything. I didn’t even know most of the stuff she was asking me, and even if I did, I wouldn’t have told her.”

He twisted around and silenced her with a kiss on the mouth. “Baby, it’s okay. I know you wouldn’t rat on me.” He placed a hand on her cheek. “I trust you.”

She smiled, feeling herself relax.

He exhaled and turned back around, resting his elbows on his knees. “What I wanna know is how the fuck the DEA found out about us.” He turned and swung his legs out of the bed. “It’s not like we advertised it. The only places we’ve been together are your house, my trailer, Martín’s restaurant, and that one time at the mercado. And the only person who sprung us down there was Milo, and that little shit doesn’t have the balls to cross Terry and go snitching to the feds.”

She didn’t know who Milo was, so she said nothing.

Daniel went on, “Obviously Sebastián knew, but he’d never tell anyone.”

She interrupted him. “Martín knows. When Sebastián and I were at the restaurant together, Sebastián introduced me to him as your girlfriend. He spoke in Spanish, but I’m pretty sure that’s what he said.”

“Mierda.” He kneaded his forehead. “You know what they’re gonna do, right?” He looked back at Julia. “They’re gonna try to turn you against me. Then they’re gonna use you to get to me.”

She’d already worked that out over the course of her two taxi rides. The shock of that realization had worn off, but it was still weird to think that government agents were looking at her like some kind of gangster’s moll.

She crawled out of bed and closer to him. Placed a hand on the back of his head and turned it to face her. “They can try all they want. They’ll never turn me against you.”

His face softened. He leaned over and kissed her cheek, then tucked some hair behind her ear. “I know they won’t. But I don’t want them to even try. I don’t want any of this shit coming anywhere near you.”