AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“You didn’t have sex with either of the women?”
“No.”
Maria stilled. The relief she felt at Teag’s admission shouldn’t have stunned her, but it did.
Lane nodded. Scribbled. Nodded again. “Go on,” he prompted.
At this point, Maria wanted to smack Lane in the head. She knew he was doing his job, that he’d probably heard it all, seen it all, but this was Teag. Her Teag. Oh, Jesus. She was in trouble.
“While I was in the bathroom, I heard screaming. I flung open the door, and I saw Renata on the bed, bleeding. Cristina was crouched on the floor, in front of the night table. She turned and looked at me. She was fucking terrified.” Teag’s voice broke and he threw an arm across his face.
Silence filled the room. Lane had the good sense to shut up and wait for Teag to compose himself.
Teag blew out a breath, and with his arm still covering his eyes, continued his story. “I turned and saw him. White guy, just a little shorter than me. Blue eyes. Couldn’t see his hair color because he wore a baseball hat. He was dressed like a waiter, except for the cap. Ink on his neck and on his hands, a lot of it. I think I caught him by surprise coming out of the bathroom. He hesitated for a split second.”
Pausing, Teag dropped his arm to the bed. He blinked, squeezed his eyes shut. “Then he shot me.”
Maria clenched her hands at her sides, wanting desperately to go to Teag and touch him, comfort him somehow. Her own time spent in the line of fire had taught her that this kind of experience didn’t simply dull with time. Sometimes it festered, used up whole chunks of the psyche. Often, healing happened for the body long before it did for the mind.
She glanced at Cam, who might be thinking something similar. None of them had come through the violence they’d endured in combat, or in life, unscathed.
“We’ll get him through this,” Cam said quietly.
Detective Lane sat back in his chair and tapped his pen on the pad. “I know this isn’t easy, and I’m sorry it happened to you. Do you remember anything else, after you were shot?”
Teag shook his head. “Just Cristina screaming when he shot her too. I do remember thinking the gunshot wasn’t as loud as I’d expected. After that, I lost consciousness.”
“Do you think you can describe this guy to a sketch artist?”
“Yeah, I’m not gonna forget that face anytime soon,” Teag answered.
Maria and Cam shared a look. The fact that Teag could identify the shooter might be good for the investigation, but it also made him the sole witness to a cartel-related double homicide. Their fear that he would become an actual target now seemed grounded in reality.
“Okay, thank you. If we have any other questions, we’ll let you know,” Lane said, standing.
When the detectives headed out the door, Cam followed, but Maria stood rooted to the spot, watching Teag.
“Are you okay?” she asked, then winced at the stupid question. Of course, he wasn’t okay. His tormented expression said as much.
She moved to edge of his bed, sat in the chair Lane had just vacated, and tentatively reached for him. When her fingers touched his, he gripped her hand like it was a lifeline.
“I’m sorry,” she said.
Teag frowned at her. “This wasn’t your fault.”
“Really? I’m head of your security team, and you got shot on my watch,” she said, her tone filled with self-recrimination.
“Stop,” he said, squeezing her hand. “Whoever that guy was, he handily broke into my hotel room and executed those girls with a silenced weapon. It was cold-blooded and professional. This wasn’t some crazed fan that you could have anticipated or incapacitated.”
Maria tilted her head, surprised at Teag’s competent, accurate assessment of the situation.
“Do you guys have any idea who he is?”
“No. Not yet, but we do know that Cristina was the brother of Esteban del Fuego, new head of the del Fuego cartel. Renata was their cousin.”
Teag’s eyes widened. “Shit.”
“Yeah, no fucking joke. The cops think it was some sort of warning shot from another group to the del Fuegos, but obviously the family isn’t cooperating with the police.”
