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“It was the three of you and Vega?” Nod. “Are there more men close by?” Hesitation before he shakes his head.Liar.“Don’t lie to me.” I jiggle the knife again, and he whines behind the cloth. “Are there more than five men?” He shakes his head. “Do you know their location?” He hesitates again but eventually nods. “Good. You’re getting the hang of this little game of mine.”
Blowing out a breath, I look him dead in the eye and find his fear oozing through his flesh. “You’re going to die. You came here with Vega to hurt my girl, my very pregnant soon-to-be wife. Nobody is going to live. So now is your last chance to get even with Vega by telling me anything else I should know.”
Pulling the cloth from his mouth, the tears dry in his eyes as he accepts his fate. “You’ll make him suffer, yes?” I confirm. “His other men, the only men he has left in Venezuela, are an hour south.” He gives me the location, one I am familiar with.
Snapping his neck, I rip my knife out of his thigh and place his body on the bed. After covering him up and hiding any evidence that I was here, I walk out. Leaving as quietly as I came.
Checking the time just as the sun begins to rise, I consider my two choices: go back to the hotel where Magnolia and Joss are or head south and eliminate the men Vega will call once he awakens.
As much as I want to cuddle into Magnolia, shower her with affection, and show her I’m here to stay, I know this threat needs to be eliminated immediately. Shooting her a fast text, I can only hope she’ll listen to me.
Me: Head home ASAP. I have business to take care of. I’ll meet you in Corpus Christi.
For as well as I believe I know her, I’m not sure if she’ll listen to me or balk at being told what to do, so I send another to Joss. This one a little more urgent.
Me: Get her home ASAP. I have a threat to eliminate.
I understand Joss only cares about her friend’s well-being and will try her best to do as I ask.
* * *
Magnolia
Slamming doors and aggressively tossing things into my suitcase isn’t going to help my mood or the desire to listen to Cage. The infuriating man didn’t come back to the room last night, and I woke up to a text from him saying to go home and that he’d meet me there.
The nearly four-hour drive back home appears daunting now. Like a chore I’d rather put off for the next year rather than leave Cage behind. I don’t know where we stand with each other, despite what he’s said, and I’m just unsure where I’m at psychologically. I seem to be a jumbled mess of emotions because of the pregnancy, and while I don’t want to lose Cage and what we could possibly have, I don’t want to put my heart on the line so easily, either.
Finding out he wanted me to relocate with him to South Africa was shocking. I don’t understand why; it shouldn’t be. To be honest, I never imagined us reconnecting at all. Now that we have, there are so many decisions to make, and I’m feeling more than slightly overwhelmed about it all.
“You’re liable to break something,” Joss says as she enters the room with a luggage cart.
“I’m just so damn…confused.” I hate that I can’t get my head on straight. I feel like I’m losing control again.
“About what?” She lifts her suitcase before grabbing mine and zipping it shut, for fear I have a complete meltdown and toss it off the balcony.
“Cage.” I watch her reaction carefully. Joss and I may have only known each other a few months, but our connection was instantaneous. She’s more than my roommate or best friend, she’s the sister of my heart, and I can’t imagine moving so far away from her.
“About moving to South Africa?”
“How’d you know about that?” I never mentioned it.
She shrugs as she puts the last bag on the cart, and we do one more sweep of the room before leaving. “He asked me if I’d go with you.”
I stop short. “He did not.” That’s ludicrous.
“He did so.” Her smile is so contagious.
“Well, what’d you say?”
“That I can write from anywhere as long as I have good Wi-Fi.”
“You’re insane.” I pound the down button on the elevator. “That’s insane. He can’t expect you to do that.”
“I think he does. I think he expects everything when it comes to your happiness.”Why does she have to sound reasonable?“Look, I’m no expert on love”—the car arrives, and we hop on before hitting the lobby button—“or anything even remotely close to it, but I notice the way he looks at you is ten times scarier than the way my brother-in-law, Loch, looks at my little sister Sage. And I thoughtthatwas scary. There’s an obsessiveness to Cage that can’t be rivaled.”
Damn.“But it’s too soon for something like that. That’s a huge decision. Moving to another continent.” I can’t just pack up and leave like it’s so easy.Can I?
“Like I said, not an expert on love, Mags. You just have to do what you feel is right for you and little nugget, there.” Her hand reaches out to rub my belly. A flutter erupts, and she jumps, staring up at me. “When did that start happening?” Her squeal has people backing up as the elevator doors open in the lobby.
