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“You will need this,” Adrían said.
He turned to find Adrían extending a glass of orange juice toward him. “Dude, you brought me juice?”
“You won’t eat, and to search, you need glucose. It’s basic human biology.”
“I can’t believe this.” He took the glass and took a large swig. “Taking drinks from my wife’s ex-lover.”
“Why do I bother you so much when what Ayesha and I had is in the past?”
“Your feelings aren’t.”
It didn’t bother him that Ayesha loved Adrían. It bothered him that he wasn’t the only man walking around who would sell his soul for her happiness.
Adrían’s feelings were real and nearly as potent as his own, and that made him feel inadequate somehow. Like, had he loved Ayesha enough, he never would have lost her. Like she was disappointed that he was taking so long to find her. Like maybe Adrían did love her more, while he was more focused on missing her than finding her.
But it had been a long time since his day hadn’t started with Ayesha. It was all he could do not to lose his mind.
“My feelings won’t die overnight,” Adrían said. “And should I fall in love tomorrow, I’ll never stop caring for Ayesha. How can you be mad at me? You’re married to her. She loves you more than there are words to describe. You, my friend, have the life I want.”
Joel finished the glass. “We’re not friends. The guys inside? Those are my friends. You and I, we’re not enemies. That’s a start.”
“Those guys aren’t your friends. They’re your brothers…Joel.”
Joel frowned. “Why the fuck do you do that little pause before you say my name?”
“Because I’ve never heard it before. I keep almost sayingJoe.”
“There are no Joels in Brazil?”
“If they are, we’ve never met.”
“Well, ‘Adrían’ is a girl’s name.”
Adrían held up a finger.“Adrienneis a girl’s name. Where I’m from, my name is manly. It belongs to axe throwers and lumberjacks. It’s the name men give their beards.”
As much as he tried to fight it, he chuckled. It appeared that Ayesha had a thing for stupid men. Based on the stories the guys told, Curtis was just as ridiculous.
Suddenly, he saw Ayesha’s face and that last smile she gave him at the wedding.
The laugh dried up.
“She’s pregnant. Everyone else knows. Figured I should tell you.”
Adrían ran a hand over his face. “Christ.”
“I have to find her.”
“That’s why I’m still here, friend.”
They went inside.
Gage stood in front of a map of the area projected onto a makeshift screen on a bare wall. Joel started to join the rest of the team, but Gage pointed to the kitchen.
“If you won’t sleep, you at least need to eat something, Lattimore,” he said. “If all you can manage is a bar, then swallow a bar, get some calories, and come back.”
Knowing it was futile to argue, he grabbed whatever nutrition bar he could find, scarfed it down, and returned to the map.
“Adrían told us earlier that Lavigne doesn’t know Sweden well,” Gage explained. “Not ‘back roads’ well. Our best guess is that he’s driving and took 73, going north.”
