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“Then what’s the danger?”
“No matter how many precautions we have in place,” he said, slowing for another red light, “with all the product consolidated in one location, all the risk is there too.”
“We’re still twenty minutes from the house, which means it would take you forty round trip to get back. This is a priority.”
The stoplight changed to green, but he just scratched his chin. “Which won’t matter if Costa kills me for taking you to the warehouse.”
“He thinks I’m still at the movie theater for a Star Wars triple-feature.” I checked the clock on the dash—half past nine. “Right about now, Pilar and I are finishing Attack of the Clones. The next episode is almost two-and-a-half hours.”
“Dios mío. You know the runtime and everything?” He reached over to squeeze my knee in the exact spot I was ticklish. I laughed as I squirmed. “Are you this devious in the States?” he asked.
I leaned over the console, batting my lashes up at him. “You’ll soon find out.”
Someone honked behind us for sitting at a green light before swerving past. Diego barely noticed.
“Mmm.” He nuzzled my nose with his, then kissed me softly, sweetly. “You make a good argument, my little C-3PO, but I don’t want to risk it.” He brushed my hair from my face and tucked it behind my ear. “Even if nothing happens, I don’t want anyone to see you there. If it gets back to Costa, or if the wrong person sees you unguarded—”
“I just faced off with Cristiano by myself,” I pointed out. “I’ll be fine. I’ll wait in the car. Just go. It’ll take five minutes.”
“Not even. I’ll have Jojo come out and get the keys.” Diego sighed, resigned. “You’re tough.”
“This is good practice for when we’re married and I win all our arguments.”
He scoffed, seizing my leg again. I squealed, grabbing his wrist as I backed against the door. “Tickling is off-limits.”
“I don’t think so, princesa,” he said but smiled and released me. He checked his rearview mirror and swerved into the next lane. Ignoring the red arrow, he flipped the car around to zoom back the way we’d come. The men loitering outside the tienda were gone, but as we whizzed by, I could’ve sworn I heard the echo of mariachi music.
In under ten minutes, we were at the edge of town and approaching a sprawling concrete block. Surrounded by desert, it seemed to have risen from the ground.
“I’m going to park in back so nobody sees you,” Diego said, slowing to turn down a dark road. “Do you see a black fob in the center console?”
I opened it and sorted through several sets of keys until I found the one he needed. He rolled down his window and stuck it out as we pulled up to an industrial looking metal gate. As it slid open, Diego killed the headlights and parked in an unlit backlot. He quickly sent off a text, then reclined the driver’s seat a little and rubbed the bridge of his nose.
It was the second time I’d noticed him do it since we’d gotten in the car. “Do you have a headache?”
“Yeah. I’m just tired and feeling queasy.” He squinted through the windshield. “I’ve barely slept in days. Every time I close my eyes, I think of what’ll happen if tomorrow doesn’t go well.”
“Come here.” I unfastened my seatbelt to give him the best sideways hug I could and kissed his cheek. “You’re almost there. By this time tomorrow, the shipment will be on its way and you’ll be that much closer to pulling off the most impressive deal the Cruz cartel has ever seen.”
He turned his head to graze the tips of our noses. “And then?” he asked.
“And then it’s you and me with nothing ahead of us but our future.”
He tilted his head and kissed me gently. “I love the sound of that. I love you.”
“I love you too,” I said. Enough to die for you, a voice in my head said. The fortune teller. Why did she still haunt me when I knew her words held no truth?
A knock at the driver’s side made me jump back with a gasp. I clutched my throat, my heart pounding.
“It’s just Jojo,” Diego said, patting my thigh. I could barely make out a figure until Diego rolled the window down.
Jojo, one of Diego’s foremen, nodded at me. “¿Qué tal, Talia?”
Even though my heart pounded from the scare, I nodded. “Todo bien. All good.”
“How’s it going in there?” Diego asked, passing Jojo the keys.
Jojo wiped his hairline, leaving a grease mark on his forehead. “One of the semi engines is fucked. We’re working on it.”
“Where’s the mechanic?” Diego asked.
“Not picking up his phone, but don’t worry, jefe. We’ll get him here.”
“You checked the fuel and oil levels? The battery?” Diego asked, his brows cinched.
