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“Wow. A woman. Was she cute?” Andres was grinning like some oaf until I glared him in the eyes. He lost the smile quickly. “Sorry, boss. It’s just good we found you before Rico’s men did.”
“It’s quite possible they might have a run-in with the local sheriff’s department. The goddamn drugs were found. I’m curious how that happened.” If the other men were found, I wouldn’t mind in the least. That didn’t mean it would stop Rico from his crusade to destroy my entire world. That wasn’t going to happen.
“Fuck. Do you think the cops can connect us?” Andres asked, obviously startled.
“I doubt it but for your sake, I hope the fuck not. So you both know, the topic of the woman is off limits. Do you understand?”
My two soldiers looked at each other, both nodding.
“I didn’t mean any disrespect, boss. It’s just a strange set of circumstances,” Andres said more quietly than his usual bantering.
“Tell me something I don’t know.” For Georgia to take that risk in allowing me to stay, let alone feeding and caring for me was something I would never forget.
“What about the sheriff’s office?” Connor asked.
“From what I understand, not only did they find the boat but the dead bodies as well, minus Raphael at this point.” I made certain I wasn’t leaving anything I’d arrived with behind.
“We didn’t hang around after the men were killed, hoping to find you,” Andres admitted.
I glared at him. “And you didn’t think about taking the drugs?”
Andres swallowed. “Look. It was pitch black. We tried to get back to the boat, but the lake was crawling with activity. Sorry, boss.”
Fuck. What a clusterfuck. “And Raphael?”
“He’s at the bottom of the lake. We made certain of that.”
Without a body, Rico could believe we’d captured him. I gritted my teeth as my jaw clenched. “Then we’ll have a fight on our hands.”
“I’m sorry we fucked up, boss.”
“We’ll talk about it later.”
After carefully placing the bills on the others, I was surprised all over again by the fact I wanted to leave her a note thanking her. It was something else that I knew shouldn’t happen. If by any chance someone knew where I’d been, they’d tear her home apart looking for any clues or worse. I wasn’t going to take that chance.
I grabbed my ruined suit, the other clothes she’d purchased and my leather loafers, giving Max one last look before heading toward the door. “Let’s go.”
“Where to, boss?”
“Back to Maryland. We have a hell of a lot of work to do. And Andres. I’m going to text you a photograph and a couple names. I want you to see what you can find.”
“Okay, boss. Whatever you need. Your family is going to be thrilled to see you.”
My family.
It was funny how I’d taken them for granted before. It would seem a near death experience did have a way of changing everything.
For better or for worse.
I stood staring out the window of my estate at the grounds behind my office. The location had a perfect southern view, the sun more beautiful than I’d seen in a long time. Maybe I hadn’t paid enough attention to the beauty of nature before. I had a drink in my hand given the lateness of the hour but had yet to take a sip.
Maybe that was because I’d spent a good portion of the morning thinking about Georgia. I was missing her. I never missed anyone. While I’d never regretted time spent with a woman before, I’d also never lamented ending the limited relationships I’d had after my wife’s death. If you could call the majority of time I’d spent with different ladies even close to being a relationship.
Still, I’d been allowed to be myself. Or maybe given I hadn’t known who I was, I’d been open to enjoying something entirely different than I had known or would have even considered. Shit. When was the last time I’d worn jeans? I couldn’t remember that. Sure, I wore shorts in the summer when I was at the house but suits or trousers and sports shirts had been my standard wardrobe for as long as I could remember.
I’d been more relaxed standing in Georgia’s kitchen barefoot with no shirt on, drinking a beer than I had been dressed in a suit, sitting in a fancy restaurant consuming a glass of Kristal or aged whiskey in front of a string quartet. Should that be telling me something?
I closed my eyes, fingering the glass, enjoying the warmth from the sun against my fingertips. My thoughts drifted to taking her in the shower, the way her body had responded to mine. God, I’d loved the first taste of her soft lips, the feeling of having her hard nipple between my teeth. I could almost feel her heated breath on my skin, could almost grab a whiff of her sweet scent.
