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So why wouldn’t they tell Reggie the truth?
Unless they, themselves, decided not to?
Which again begged the question, why?
“Interesting twist.” Israel’s voice rumbled in the silence that followed. “Put men on them,” he told Reggie softly. Then he lowered his gun and stepped back, motioning for Toro. “Come. Tell me why you’re really here.”
21
Seraphina didn’t spareany words for her men after she first woke up to an empty bed and inquired as to Toro’s whereabouts. No one knew where he’d gone, only that he’d taken one of the vehicles. So she’d called Toro.
Except he didn’t answer.
All fucking day.
No answer.
Apparently, she couldn’t do shit unless she heard from him. No business got done and the longer time passed with no word from him, the more she fought the panic inside. At first, she imagined all the bad things that could have happened to him. The enemies she had—enemies he had too—that could’ve found him. Done something to him.
Then when she couldn’t handle that kind of fear, it occurred to her maybe he’d left her. Maybe he couldn’t deal with what she’d done by taking Reggie’s parents and left her. She hadn’t even told him she’d let the couple go. If he left without knowing she’d changed her mind…
The pressure in her chest increased when she imagined him not being around anymore. Why did it hurt so fucking bad? Love, was that it? The weakness that had been invading her body from the moment she’d met Toro? It couldn’t be that, because if she loved him and he’d left her…
Everything else receded as she allowed anger to take over. Anger at herself. At him. She’d promised herself she wouldn’t love anyone other than her son and here she was, out of her mind because she’d gone a day without seeing or speaking to Toro.
He’d left her?
Fuck him.
Anger was easier to handle, to embrace, than fear. It always was. If she was angry then she didn’t have to admit just how far she’d fallen and how fast. She didn’t have to admit that she’d allowed another man to come in and steal her heart away. But did he take it or had she foolishly given it away?
Love was a weakness. If it wasn’t the love she had for her child then she had no use for it. So it was good that Toro was gone then. Good that he’d left before she had the chance to kick him out of her life.
Except his clothes were still there. The bag he’d brought with him was still there.
Fuck.
She didn’t know what to think. She just knew that if he wasn’t dead somewhere she’d kick his ass when he did decide to show his fucking face.
What if he was hurt? What if he was out there hurt and needed her and she was here in her bed feeling sorry for herself?
Christ. She got out of bed and stood, staring blinding with her hands on her hips. Was this love? She didn’t remember it making her feel so crazy inside. She felt as if she were losing her mind, imagining all these scenarios, dealing with the unsettling seesaw of emotions.
She’d never felt anything like it.
This couldn’t be love.
She spun away and rushed to her closet. She would change clothes then make some calls because night was upon them and Toro could be out there dead. Why hadn’t she done this all day? Why hadn’t she tried to find him? Why hadn’t she done more than call his phone a million times?
“Stupid. Stupid.”
Her bedroom door banged open and she spun around, rushing out of the closet. Breath left her in awhooshwhen her gaze landed on Toro. He was fine. Perfectly fine as he closed the door behind him and strode in.
Seraphina tightened her hand around the blouse she held. “Where were you?” It was a miracle she didn’t shout it. A miracle she didn’t grab her gun and shoot him just for having the audacity to make her love him, make her worry for him.
“Out.” He shrugged as if it weren’t a big deal. As if he hadn’t been gone all day. As if he didn’t see the fear and panic in her eyes or the craziness inside her when she thought about losing him.
“And you couldn’t answer your phone?” She lifted an eyebrow. “I called you a million times.”
