Page 5 of Secrets Beneath the Waves

Ramon shook his head. “I’ll tell you if I need to go to the hospital.”

“Still feels strange, doesn’t it?” She moved in a way he took to mean he should walk with her. They set off together down the alley. “Checking in. Being part of a team.”

“I’m getting used to it.”

“Is Kenna mad that I took off? I don’t suppose my mother even noticed.”

There was a lot to unpack in that. “Kenna was worried and wanted you to have backup. Probably because both of you have been captives of…them.” He avoided saying the wordDominatusbecause he knew she didn’t like to hear it spoken aloud. “No need to lose anyone.”

“Can’t guarantee everyone will make it through this alive.”

“Doesn’t mean we can’t try.”

“Or that any of us have any business going off alone. Isn’t that what you were going to say?”

Ramon shrugged. “Why don’t you take my mind off this extreme discomfort”—and the identity of the man who had just shoved him off that roof—“and tell me about that package.”

“My car is over there.” She looked aside at him. “You aren’t coming in my motel room.”

He nodded because that was a good boundary. “Mine? I have a hotel suite with a living area.”

“Of course you do.” She seemed to think that was humorous for some reason. “Sure. I’ll follow you.”

He kept her in the rearview the whole way, winding through downtown streets and even hitting the freeway for a few minutes. He called Maizie as he drove.

“Hey, how’s things?” She sounded distracted.

Ramon held the wheel with one hand. “Lot of homework?”

Maizie was currently taking college classes for the sake of having a degree, not because she wasn’t smart. She might be the smartest person Ramon had ever met, and now that she was an adult, spreading her wings had started in earnest. She might live in a trailer in Colorado, where friends of theirs had their retirement cabin, but she was venturing out. Getting to know people at the church she’d begun to attend and hanging out with classmates. She was even learning to drive now.

Given that she’d grown up in captivity, he loved seeing her discover new things and find her strengths. But it also terrified him to no end, worrying that something might happen to her. It was why he’d jumped at the job when Kenna called. He needed to be busy enough he was exhausted at the end of the day, not lying awake at night wondering if Maizie was safe.

“This paper is due in half an hour.”

Ramon checked the clock. They weren’t in the same time zone, so it would be eleven thirty at night where she was. “I’ll email you what I need for later.”

“Is it interesting? This is driving me crazy, it’s so boring. Who cares about the Peloponnesian War?”

“Everyone.”

“I don’t have time for you to explain that. I need to finish this.”

Ramon chuckled. “I’ll leave you to it.”

“Thanks,Hermano.”

He hung up, smiling that she was still calling him “brother” in Spanish. He’d lost his sister years ago and didn’t have any other family left. Maizie was the same, prying herself free of the horrifying way she’d grown up and forging healthy relationships that helped her heal. He wanted to be part of that, if only to show her what a good brother-sister relationship looked like.

Ramon recorded a voice message explaining what he knew about Miguel that related to running his ID or how to find him.The rest of it, he left off. But the fact the guy had shown up here as a hired killer wasn’t surprising. He’d probably intended to murder Ramon by throwing him off that roof.

Whatever Zeyla was into, with a severed limb, of all things, in a package, he needed to focus on that and not on a guy he’d probably never see again. Hopefully.

The man Ramon had become acted nothing like the guy he’d been in Mexico while working for a cartel. These days, he strove to be the man Kenna seemed to have all that faith in. Not only because he’d had feelings for her since they met. That affection had grown into a solid friendship and a great working partnership. He respected her husband, Jax, more than anyone—even considering how long the guy had been an FBI agent.

Ten minutes later, he let Zeyla in the side door of the hotel, and they headed up to the elevator with her still holding that package.

“You okay?” She squinted at him.