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“I ended up here accidentally. Sort of. Decker is helping me, not holding me against my will.”
She nods, takes another drag on her cigarette, and closes one eye against the smoke. “So, you fell in love with your kidnapper?”
I blanch, then laugh. “No. Hell no.”
I mean, I don’t even know him. Plus, I’m not in the market for love. I have a fiancé. Not that I’m sharing that with Ana. I also need to be careful with what I say to her.
“You sure?” Her eyes dart over to the ranch slider. “Because that looks like a man frustrated with his woman. A woman he considers his.”
My eyes follow hers.
“Oh, he’s frustrated with me. I’m just...not his.”
Ana tosses back the rest of her water and stubs out her smoke. I can tell she doesn’t believe me, so I change the subject.
“Where has Javier gone?” I ask. If she can ask questions, I figure I can too. Plus, Decker was light on the information he shared.
I know he’s committed to getting me out of Mexico and back home, but he’s told me repetitively how dangerous this is. And yet here we are, like sitting ducks while Ana’s husband heads off to do a job for him.
What job?
What is so important that he’d risk our lives for this?
My life, yes. But also, his.
“I don’t know. I thought you might,” Ana says. “All I know is he’s gone to Sinaloa and is being paid a shit ton of money to do it.”
My eyes widen slightly.
“Oh. Well, that’s good,” I say, feeling stupid. She looks unhappy about it, but they obviously need the money.
Clearly, the job is dangerous if it's paying well, and while I wonder what the hell Decker is having him do, I have a feeling Javier does things like this a lot.
“Is it? What if all I end up with is a corpse and a bag full of money?” Ana snaps, then shakes her head. “I’m not angry with you. Sorry.”
I give her an understanding smile as she glances back out at Decker.
“He’s a dangerous man. Be careful. Whatever he is up to, it could cost a lot of lives. Even yours.”
I swallow.
I don’t know anything about this world. I don’t mean Mexico; I mean the cartel life. But I know Ana does, so it would be wise of me to heed her words.
I do trust Decker and hope it won’t cost me my life.
“I’ve known men like him all my life. Pretty on the outside and they make your pulse race. But they only look out for themselves. Protect your heart, Isabelle. He will throw you away when he is done with you. If you survive.”
I twist the glass of water around in circles, watching the condensation slide down onto the wood.
“Actually, I belong to someone else,” I say quietly, then lift my eyes. “So he can’t have me even if he wants to.”
Ana stares at me for a long moment, then nods.
“Good. If he loves you, he will fight for you. Then you will have to decide.”
She’s wrong.
I won’t have a decision to make at all. First, Decker doesn’t want me. He knows about Todd now, and I saw the contempt and anger in his eyes.
