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He set about checking Alejandro.
“Cat?”
She jumped, looking over to see Bernie standing there. Tears filled her eyes as she took him in. She hadn’t seen him last night when they’d arrived. Everything had been so busy.
“Doomy.”
As he set a tray filled with french toast and coffee down, she jumped to her feet to hug him.
“I’m so sorry,” he whispered.
“What are you talking about?” She leaned back to look up at him. “This isn’t your fault. Your poor face. Are you all right?”
“I gave them access to the house.”
“You had to. They were threatening you. And your lady friend? You never told me about her.”
He shrugged. “It was private. And I’m certain it’s now over, anyway.”
“Oh, Bernie. I’m so sorry.”
“She was terrified. I can’t blame her. Here, I made you breakfast.”
She let it go, understanding that he didn’t want to talk about it anymore.
“Coffee! I love you. Marry me?”
“You need to eat,” Bernie said firmly, but he smiled slightly. “And I’m not into polyamory.”
She spat out the mouthful of coffee on a laugh.
He winked at her. “Let me know if you need anything else.”
“Cat?”
She turned, the room swaying slightly. But she saw Alejandro staring up at her.
“Papi!” She put her coffee down and moved to his side urgently.
“We’re at Southampton?”
“Yes, in one of the downstairs bedrooms. What do you need? What can I get you?”
“Water.”
Aaron helped him sit up and she moved the pillows so they were behind his back, supporting him. By the time they got him into place, he was sweating and pale.
She held the glass to his lips and he took a few grateful sips.
“Can I get you anything else?” she asked. “Something to eat?”
“No, Preciosa. I just need you.”
“And some painkillers,” Aaron said. “I have some here.”
“No hard stuff.”
“Alejandro,” Aaron said. “There’s no point in being in pain.”
“I don’t want my mind to be clouded. I need to be clear-headed to deal with everything.”
“Cat, talk some sense into him,” Aaron said impatiently.
“Don’t bring her into this,” Alejandro ordered. “Give me something lighter that won’t make me foggy and tired.”
Aaron started muttering as he left the room. “Fine. I’ll get you something else.”
Cat moved around, tucking in his blankets and fussing over him. “Don’t be too mad at Aaron, he’s just taking care of you.”
“I don’t like being laid up in bed like this. Now, sit down. You look terrible.”
“Jeez, thanks,” she said dryly. “I don’t want to sit down, though. Bernie brought you breakfast.” She gestured to the tray on the nightstand.
“French toast? That seems like it’s for you.”
“I’m not hungry.”
“Cat,” he growled. “You need to eat and rest.”
“I will. But right now, we need to take care of you.”
36
Alejandro had had enough.
He ended his call with Dante.
“Well?” Cat asked as she moved around the room, shifting things, then putting them back.
She was so pale that he was worried she was growing ill. There were huge dark circles under her eyes and she appeared gaunt. How much weight had she lost over the last three days?
“Dante is still waiting to hear back from Pablo. In the meantime, he’s sent men to secretly gather any information they could. They said that Pablo has his compound well-guarded and it was impossible to get close.”
“Do you think he’s going to retaliate? That he knows I killed his father? Our father?” she asked, looking ill.
“There’s no way he could know who fired the gun that killed Emiliano. And since it was my gun, I’ve instructed Dante to tell Emiliano that I killed him after he tried to kidnap you.”
“What? No, Alejandro! He might come after you now!”
“And I should let him come after you instead?” he asked.
“I killed him,” she pointed out starkly.
She was swaying where she stood. Oh yes, he’d definitely had more than enough.
“And Pablo is my brother. Maybe . . .”
“We don’t know what sort of person he is yet. Dante has only met him once and he was quiet, watchful. He might be like Emiliano. All we can do is prepare and wait. Now, we need to talk about you.”
“Me?”
“I want you to come here.” He patted the bed beside him.
“Why?”
“Because you need to rest.”
She shook her head. “I slept last night.”
“Really? How much sleep did you get?”
“I don’t know,” she whispered in a haunted voice. “The nightmares . . .”
Fuck.
“You dreamed about what happened?”
“It gets all mixed up in my head. The Deity. Emiliano. Sometimes Mikey and Starla are there.”
His poor baby. She’d been through so much. And she needed some care and attention right now. He wished he could pick her up and carry her to bed.
“Come here to me, Preciosa.”
“I can’t. You need to rest and I’ve got things to do.”
“There’s nothing you need to do right now.”
“I should call my friends. They want to talk to me. I should try and call Nighthawk again. He’s not answering any of my calls.”
