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Every now and then she stops strumming to lean forward and scribble something in her notebook.
I sit on the couch, watching her with a mug of coffee in my hand. The corner of my mouth tugs upward as I watch her.
How the hell did I get this lucky?
“You’re staring at me again,” Zoe says, glancing up at me with a small smile. “Am I going to have to ban you from the studio so I can get some work done?”
I shake my head and stretch one arm over the back of the couch. “I’m just glad that you’re starting to feel better.”
Zoe laughs and sets her guitar to the side. “Well, you kept me in bed for the better part of two weeks. After that long, anyone would start to feel better.”
“You went through a lot.” I put my coffee on the table as she gets up and comes over to me.
She sits beside me on the couch, tucking one leg beneath her as she leans into my side.
“I know. Ava is still worrying me, though. She wants to go out and find the truth about our father. She is even talking about asking someone at Ryderson for help. I’m terrified about what she’ll find.”
“Are you still sold on not telling her about him trying to sell the two of you?” I rake my fingers through her soft hair, my heart racing.
Even though it’s been two weeks, the thought of what Zoe’s father tried to do still has me on edge.
At night, I wake up in a cold sweat from dreaming about what could have happened to her if I hadn’t gotten there in time.
I don’t want to think about it anymore, but the thoughts still linger in the back of my mind.
She’s safe now. She’s home with me and everything is going to be okay. We’re going to move forward with our lives.
Zoe closes her eyes and nestles deeper into my side.
“I know I have to tell her one day, but now isn’t the right time. Everything is still too fresh. I need a little time to wrap my mind around what happened before sharing it with her.”
“She’s going to want to hear it. You know that, right?”
“I know. I just feel bad. Once she finds out that he was going to sell her to a trafficking ring, she’s never going to recover. Ava is strong, but she isn’t that strong.”
“You don’t have to be that strong either.” I pull her into my lap and wrap my arms tighter around her. “I keep waiting for you to fall apart, and it hasn’t happened.”
She sighs and tilts her head up to kiss the base of my throat. “I’ve been falling apart since the day we met. I’m still upset about what happened. And angry. I don’t think that the anger is ever going to go away.”
I kiss the top of her head. “You can be angry for as long as you want.”
“I will be.” She grins up at me, but there are tears shining in her eyes. “Thank you for saving me that night.”
“Don’t thank me for protecting you, Zoe. It’s my job.”
“It’s not your job, though.” She traces my jaw with the tips of her finger. “Camila’s been teaching me how to shoot and fight, but I want to get better. This is my life now, and I want to be able to handle myself the way a cartel wife should.”
I smile and turn my head to kiss her fingertips. “I’ll teach you everything you need to know.”
I’ll teach her to be the best damn fighter in my cartel if that’s what she wants, But all that happened makes me think that I should consider stepping down.
I don’t want to have to risk losing her again.
Zoe hums and glances over at the clock on the wall. “Come on, we have to go get ready for my show. Ava and Camila are going to be waiting. Ruben said he might be coming to the show tonight too.”
I stand up with her in my arms and leave the studio, heading for the house. “We still have a little time to kill if you want to have a shower together.”
“Mr. Herrera, are you propositioning me?” she teases.
