Nothing.
His gut knotted as he swiped and tapped andopened up Instagram.
"She didn’t post anything on there,either," Carlos said from his door as Cade confirmed the account himself.
He was right. The last picture she had posted wasof both of them smiling while they both held up puppies to their cheeks.
Clutching his phone in his fist, Cade turned andlooked past Carlos as his thoughts raced. He was angry and elated at once. Hewanted to kill Victor and hug his lifeless body at the same time.
With a plan formulating in his mind, he checkedback to Victor's account just as the call notification of Francisco DeLeon cameup on his phone. Ignoring Maritzia's dad, he checked the time on Victor's imagebefore looking up to Carlos with a grin.
"I need you to do me a favor."
Chapter9
With her knees pulled up to her chest, Maritzialooked out to the pitch-black water ahead of her. With only a few bobbinglights the resort had sprinkled into the water around the bungalows, theoppressive darkness beyond her bungalow's balcony was consuming. An hour or soago she watched the sunset over the water in an array of magnificent orange andwhite streaks that slowly faded into hues of purples and deep blues. It hadbeen stunning and a little bit healing.
Victor made his decision, she told herself for thehundredth time. He stopped trying before the trip truly even began. Why bothermaking such an impassioned plea with her on making things work? Why take herall the way out here only to get immediately frustrated and leave? Did he wanther to chase after him to prove her love? Suddenly, she had a picture of himstanding in the airport waiting for her for hours with a hopeful look on hishandsome face as he stared at the entrance looking for her. Tendrils of guiltbegan to creep into her mind over the sad concocted image and she shook herhead, dispelling them at once. No, that would be dumb since he left while shewas asleep and left a note calling it quits. Besides, he knew her. She was notthe type to chase after any man—ever.
Feeling a little more invigorated she sat upstraight in her seat and looked around for her phone. Oh yeah, she realized aslooked back behind her through the wide double glass doors that separated thebedroom and the large bungalow balcony, her phone was dead on the nightstand.Well, that didn't matter, she thought turning to face the darkness of the seaaround her. First thing tomorrow, she was going to call the front office of thehotel and either convince them to let her go home early and refund the restback to Victor's card or she would just have them transfer the entire stay toher own card and she would just work overtime for the foreseeable future to payit off.
Taking a deep breath, she felt her resolvereturning. Running her hands through her loose hair, she sat up on the loungerand eyed at the plunge pool at the corner of the large deck. She had yet to useit. Earlier she had put on her bikini and a white lace coverup after she ateher delivered breakfast. She had planned on taking a swim, but all she ended updoing was getting lost in her thoughts.
A splash near the edge of the deck stole herattention. Stilling in her chair, her heart leapt as she heard another splashjust as a hand appeared on the metal ladder on her deck. Fear began to lodge inher throat as she watched the large form pull itself from the water and up theladder.
She blinked as she stared at the familiar wetfigure.
"Cade?!" she called out, her voicesounding croaky.
Standing in what looked like a pair of blackcotton boxers, Cade swiped a hand through his curly hair wicking the excesswater backwards, and grinned at her. "Hey, Sunshine."
Standing up, Maritzia couldn’t stop staring athim. Was he really here right now or did she somehow tumble off the balcony atsome point earlier and bonk her head on the way down and this was all just afigment of her imagination?
"How…how did you…" She couldn’t findthe words, she just stared as he walked across the balcony and stopped in frontof her.
Clasping both of her shoulders, he pulled herinto his wet, firm chest and she couldn’t help but let out an involuntary sigh."It’s only a three-and-a-half-hour flight to Jamaica, and I swam aroundfrom the pier because someone wouldn't answer their door."
Maritzia wanted to step back and laugh orapologize or even just smile at his ingenuity, but she couldn’t. He was herewith her right now, the one person she needed so badly right now. The oneperson she had tried not to think of each second after Victor left. Earlier shehad been so tempted to call him, to hear his deep voice on the other end of theline reassuring her as she cried out all her frustrations, but she had stoppedherself. Cade had always been friends with her because she was strong. Shedidn’t want to burden him with her issues with Victor. But as she stood herenow pressed against his chest, she felt all her resistance dissolve. Wrappingher arms around his narrow waist, she felt the sting of tears as she buried herface into his wet chest.
"I tried," she said thickly againstCade's cool wet skin. "I tried to make it work. I really did. But…I don'tknow. I think…maybe I didn’t try hard enough."
The tears she had been holding in for so longbreached her final defenses and her shoulders shook.
Cade's arms hugged her tighter and she felt thewarm puffs of his breath against her forehead as he leaned over her. "Youdid try, Sunshine. You tried and gave it more than your all with thatprick." His voice rumbled through his chest and around her and Maritziacould feel herself melting into his hold further as he told her the words sheneeded to hear. "Don't cry for him," Cade continued. "He doesn'tdeserve it. That entitled asshole left you after you gave him another chance hedid not deserve. You tried more than enough, sweetheart."
They stayed like that for a few more minutes asboth her tears and his body dried in the cool night air. Eventually, Maritziapulled away with reluctance and stepped back not looking up to meet his gaze.She felt foolish and exposed.
Clasping her hand, Cade gently pulled her tofollow as he walked across the deck to the double glass doors and went inside.Closing them inside the room, he let go of her hand and walked to the door thatled to the small entry hallway where the kitchenette and front door waslocated. Unlocking the door, he rolled in his shiny black luggage whichbalanced what looked to be a stack of clean sheets on top of it.
"I'm assuming housekeeping left these foryou since you had yourself barricaded in here."
Meeting his gaze, Maritzia felt some of theembarrassment fade as she took in his gentle smile. Nodding, she took the stackof linen from him and sat it on a nearby chair as he rolled his suitcase to thecloset next to hers.
"Yeah, I didn't feel like seeinganyone," she admitted softly.
"Or talking to anyone, I see," he said,picking up her dead phone off the nightstand. Finding the end of the cord, heplugged it in and gave her a meaningful look.
Needing to look away, she began to peel back thebed's covers. "I just needed time to get my head straight," sheexplained with a deep exhale. "I didn't expect to feel so-"
