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“It is. May I come in and explain the situation to you? I truly don’t mean you any harm. I swear, no one will harm you,” Will promised.
This time Charlie definitely heard the laugh. “I’m supposed to believe this when I’m pretty confident that you killed all the bodyguards in the house.”
Will winced and glanced over at Charlie, his eyes full of questions. How the fuck was he supposed to respond to that? She had no reason to believe his reassurances.
“No matter. They were my husband’s men. No great loss. They were more jailors than bodyguards. You can come in.”
Will moved to the door and Charlie instantly followed. There was no way in hell he was allowing Will into the room without him. Will shoved at him and harshly whispered that he needed to back off. He ignored him as he shoved his gun into the holster on his hip and lifted his hands into the air to show that he was unarmed.
The bedroom was elegantly decorated in shades of pale, soft pinks as if they’d stepped inside a flower while the floor was covered in thick white carpet. Immediately in front of them was a massive king-sized bed with a hand-carved headboard and a mountain of pillows resting against it. The size of it made the slender woman sitting on the edge look all the more tiny.
She was wrapped in a pale-blue dressing gown, and her dark hair was slightly mussed from sleep as it hung down to her waist. They might have woken her, but her gaze was piercingly sharp, and her hand was steady as she held the gun on them. This was definitely Benicio’s mother. There was no missing their similar brows and eyes. Charlie was even sure they had the same cheekbones. However, her son’s mouth was a cruel slash and his nose was larger—probably traits he’d gotten from his father.
“Which of you is the doctor?” Catalina inquired.
“I am,” Will replied and Charlie immediately stepped in front of his lover, putting his body in the path of the bullet if she decided to shoot.
Catalina’s gaze slowly traveled up the entire length of Charlie’s body. Her pale lips tilted into a smirk. “I guess that makes you the overprotective boyfriend.”
“I am,” Charlie said firmly as if daring her to shoot. There was no fucking way he was letting this woman harm Will.
“Not bad, young man. Not bad at all.”
To his utter shock, Catalina heaved a deep sigh and tossed her gun onto the mattress, beside her. She slid to her feet and crossed the room, moving away from the bed to a small sitting area with a sofa and a pair of chairs. She paused to turn on a floor lamp, adding more golden light to the room, then turned to look at them as they continued to hover near the open doorway.
“Come along. Let’s get this done. I’m sure I’ll still need to deal with the police tonight, and I would like to get some sleep before sunrise.”
Charlie could only blink at her as she settled on the sofa and tugged at her robe so that it better covered her legs. As he was trying to wrap his mind around the strange development, Will darted past him and claimed one of the chairs, while Charlie settled in the other one.
“Because it is so late, I will try to be brief.” Will leaned forward, bracing his forearms on his knees with his hands folded together. He stared straight into Catalina’s eyes as he spoke in a calm, measured tone. “The wife of a dear friend of mine was searching for her niece, who happened to be one of the children of Los Desaparecidos. The wife’s name was Emilia Lopez. Her sister, Martina Ruiz, and brother-in-law, Valentino Ruiz were taken in 1977, while she was six months pregnant. Martina and Valentino were discovered dead, but the baby was born. Emilia, unfortunately, died ten years ago without ever discovering what happened to her dear sister’s child. Her husband is now on his deathbed, and he is desperately trying to fulfill his wife’s final wish before he, too, passes.”
Charlie watched as the older woman’s eyes turned glassy and she lowered her gaze to the floor. She swallowed hard once and nodded. “You think I’m the daughter of Martina and Valentino Ruiz.” There was no question in her voice, as if she’d expected this.
“I do,” Will stated without an ounce of doubt in his voice. “The research was done long before my arrival in Buenos Aires, but I’ve checked it over carefully. You are the correct age. I’ve also seen pictures of both Emilia and Martina. You have similar features to those women.”
A strange expression crossed her face and she made a sound like a choked laugh. “This is that Carlos Lopez’s doing, isn’t it?”
