Page 119 of Perfume Girl

Until her.

Raquel was worth fighting for.

And I wasn’t going to let that prick worm his way back into her life and hurt her again. She deserved better than that. She deserved the best that life could give her.

All that I can give her.

I pressed a button on my Range Rover’s dashboard. “Call Jacob.”

A ringtone sang from the speaker phone. “Hey, Boss,” came Jacob’s upbeat voice.

“How are you?”

“We’re doing great. The horses are hunkered down and I’m going to stay in the office attached to the stables. No need to move them but if things change you’ll be the first to know.”

“I appreciate that,” I said. “How’s Vedado?” Had I not been on my way to Dunedin I would have been with him now.

“Fine. I’ll keep an eye on him.”

“Call me if you need anything.”

“Where are you?”

“Heading over the water toward Dunedin.”

Jacob’s silence almost made me think our call had dropped.

His voice came back on. “Isn’t Dunedin in the line of the hurricane?”

“I’ll be fine.”

“What’s so important in Dunedin?”

“A friend.”

“Okay, well get him out and we’ll see you soon.”

I didn’t correct him. “See you soon, Jacob.”

The car jerked as I tried to steady it with an ironclad grip on the steering wheel, fighting one hundred mile an hour winds whipping around me. Having driven this route many times I knew it well, but the sparse traffic proved I was probably insane.

I had to know Raquel was safe. Should she need to escape this part of the city she’d be with someone who had the resources to make that happen. The thought of her stranded with no supplies sent a chill through me.She’s sensible.She knows Florida and she knows the kind of preparation needed to weather a storm of this magnitude.

When I glanced left I flinched at the surging ocean crashing against the bridge wall and spilling over. This hurricane was already wreaking havoc. Torrential rain splashed my windshield and my wipers strained to clear the constant blur. Straining to keep my focus on the road, I occasionally saw wildlife searching for shelter and kept alert in case any of them got into difficulty and needed rescuing.

By the time I arrived in Dunedin, I was close to feeling like a wreck myself. I left the car parked in front of Perfume Girl.

I ran over to the shop, instantly getting drenched and chilled, and banged my fist on the door.

This was probably the most reckless I’d been in a while, but then again I’d swam with sharks while trying to rescue a canoeist. And facing off with this storm was me pushing my luck.

But Raquel was worth it.

The door opened. Raquel was standing there with red eyes and a weary face. Seeing her like this sent a jolt of guilt through me. Had I caused her pain?

“What are you doing here?” she said.

“I was in the area,” I joked, trying to ease the tension.