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“But why now?” Alejandro asked, sounding concerned. “It’s been three years since Starla was killed and even more than that since her Mama disappeared. Why has she been seeing them?”
“I don’t know, Boss. Maybe she’s just tired.”
Crap. The voices moved away.
Alejandro was going to know she’d been listening in if he found her in here. She quickly flushed and washed her hands, then darting out into the hallway, she ran to the living room and threw herself on the sofa just as he reappeared.
“Pequeña? You okay? You look flushed.” He walked over to her and crouched down, placing a hand over her forehead.
“I’m fine.”
He gave her a skeptical look.
“I promise. Really.”
“I think you had too much sun today. Food and bed. No arguments.”
A woman walked ahead of her.
Cat raced to catch up.
She didn’t know why she was running after the woman. Just that she needed to catch her.
Then the woman turned.
She stopped, letting out a cry. “Mama?”
“Save me, Mija. Save me.”
“Cat!”
“Save me. Pick up the gun and save me.”
“Cat!”
Cat stared down at the gun in her hands. No! No!
“Cat!”
Opening her eyes with a gasp, she stared up into Alejandro’s worried face.
“Papi!” She threw herself at him and he rolled onto his back with her on top of him. She snuggled into him, needing his skin, the feel of him.
“Easy, you’re okay, Pequeña,” he soothed.
Was she? She wasn’t so sure.
She tugged at her shirt. She couldn’t stand for anything between them.
“Let me help you. It’s all right. I’m here.” He drew off her shirt. She wasn’t wearing panties. Now, nothing was between them. She buried her face in his chest, breathing him in.
Large, tattooed hands ran over her head and down her back.
He made her feel so safe. She wasn’t a fool. She knew his hands had hurt people. That he was no saint.
But he was her safe place. Always there to catch her when she fell. To lift her up and guide her.
To wrap her up in cotton wool when she needed it and let her fly other times.
Although she often had to fight her way free of the cotton wool. Because the dude was overprotective as hell.
But that was all right too. Because all he ever wanted was for her to be safe.
“What was the dream about, Pequeña?” he asked.
She shook her head, her thumb slipping into her mouth. It wasn’t right, though. Her heart was still racing. She needed more.
“You can tell me anything. I’ll never judge you. Never let anyone harm you.”
She knew that. She knew how fiercely he loved her.
But she wasn’t capable of talking right now.
“You saved me, you know.”
Cat froze. He rolled them onto their sides, facing one another. Then he drew her thumb out of her mouth. The light from the moon shone into the room. They never pulled their curtains here. There was no one to see in, and they had the most magnificent ocean view.
“You did,” he insisted as though she’d protested. “You saved me from completely succumbing to the darkness. If that happened, I might have become like my uncle. A monster.”
“You’re not a monster,” she managed to whisper.
“But I am. Your monster. All yours. Because you own me. And you, Pequeña, are my savior. My sweet baby.” He kissed her lightly. “Here, do you want your pacifier?”
She nodded. Reaching over into the nightstand, he drew it out and placed it against her lips for her to take. Then he arranged her so she was lying on top of him as he lay on his back once again. She cuddled into him, letting his warmth surround her.
She’d fallen asleep with his cock buried in her pussy, so she was still slick between her legs after he’d made love to her. He’d been surprisingly gentle. As though worried she was too fragile for his usual rougher play.
She loved both. Soft and slow. Hard and rough.
His fingers ran through her hair as she felt herself drifting off. This time, she knew she wouldn’t dream.
Because she was safe with her Papi.
Always.
22
Cat turned on the taps for the gigantic bath in their Southampton bathroom.
They’d been back from Mexico for a while now. And all this time, things had continued to be all kinds of crazy.
She’d been so stressed worrying about Maeve. Cat still couldn’t believe she’d been kidnapped by her stalker. Thank God she was all right, but Cat still felt freaked out by it all. Her nightmares had been increasing, both in number and intensity, which had Alejandro on edge.
It didn’t help that Maeve’s kidnapper had a Sentinel tattoo on his back. In the Cult, when someone was chosen by the Deity they were given a tattoo. A series of Celtic knots that went in a circle with an eye in the middle.
It was creepy as hell.
She really wished that she’d been able to go see Maeve and her other friends. They’d had plans to go, but there had been trouble at The Circus of the Dark. One of the women who worked there had been beaten and left for dead about half a block away.
