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CHAPTER19
While she was in the tub, Antonio kept his emotions in check as he heated up the broth Abuela had brought her to drink. He set it on the tabletop next to the bed where she’d been sleeping. Then he quickly changed the sheets.
It always felt good to get into a clean bed with a clean body. He wanted to make her as comfortable as possible because she was in for a rough couple of days and nights while she got this drug out of her system.
She seemed okay, but he knew she would have stomach issues and such. The medicine to clean out the opioids had worked so far, but he didn’t think she needed more.
He popped a pill himself and refilled her water. She would need to drink as much water as she could.
She hated him. He couldn’t blame her. He didn’t like it, but he couldn’t very well tell her a damn thing. Hate was what was expected, anyway.
Hector had scared her, that much was obvious. He’d come in, probably hoping to get a peek at her, but Antonio was never going to let that happen again.
He’d reminded Antonio that he had a job here and was spending too much time fucking his gift to do his job.
Let them think that. In reality, he’d spent the last two days letting her sleep off whatever they’d pumped her full of and making plans.
As soon as she was well enough, he was getting her to the embassy. Her father was powerful, in the States at least. If he got her there, she would be safe. He wouldn’t. But that was okay, now.
In fact, he didn’t need her trust for this to work. He didn’t deserve it, anyway.
She came out of the bathroom, and it took everything in his power not to ogle her as she slinked across the room and slid under the covers of his bed.
He’d slept on the couch since she’d been here, unable to intrude on her space. It was a respect thing, and it wasn’t much, but it was something he could do for her, so he did it.
She sat up and sipped at the broth, watching him warily over the rim of the cup.
He didn’t know how he was going to get her friend out of here. The truth was, he barely had a plan to get Katie out, much less her friend.
And if Hector was going to be dropping in unannounced, that meant El Cuchillo would too. Imelda always had, and as nice as Abuela was, he didn’t trust her either.
Katie had to hate him.
He wanted to reassure her he wasn’t a bad man, but if they all busted in here, and he and Katie were all giggly and doe-eyed like he wished they could be, they would be killed. There was no doubt in his mind.
He couldn’t be nice.
As he watched her sip her broth, he saw she had finally gotten clean. He’d hosed the filth off her when she’d arrived, but now she truly gleamed. Her hair was wet since she’d washed it, and his t-shirt draped off one shoulder.
A surge of possessiveness flowed through him as he looked at her in his bed, his clothes. She was a survivor, so damned strong. He wanted to cradle her in his arms and shower her with kisses.
But he couldn’t do that.
He would take care of her, but he couldn’t be nice.
She had to hate him.
He spun around in his chair, booting up his laptop. He had some research to do.
The night of her reunion, a rented limo had been car-jacked. A man had been found dead inside—part of a couple who had been attending their high school reunion. After some investigation, four women were declared missing—also from the reunion. He jotted down the names, figuring he could ask Hector about them at some point.
He looked around the internet to see if Katie’s parents had been getting media attention with their daughter missing, and sure enough, he found it. It was mostly contained to the state where her mother lived, but there was a small national headline in the DC paper, since her father was a foreign dignitary and obviously pulling some strings.
Why wasn’t this getting more news play?
A soft snore caught his attention, and he spun around to see Katie had fallen asleep again.
Good.
As he watched her, he allowed himself to daydream. Imagine things that should have been.
He should have been out of this hellhole years ago. He should have met her playing a game from his cushy Department of State office, with accolades on the wall for being a hero and taking down a human-trafficking ring. He should have met her and swept her off her feet at her reunion, taking her home with him to his sweet bungalow in the suburbs, where they’d have a normal life together and a family.
But somehow, he’d slipped and gotten stuck in this hellhole and she’d been taken and now here they were.
He rattled another pill out of his box, chewing it thoughtfully.
He couldn’t get her killed. His life no longer had meaning, but hers meant everything.
