Her sister raised a brow at the crisply made bed, then looked her up and down. “Do you know what you are doing with that man? He is big and dangerous. He can overpower you—”
“You do not need to be concerned.” Laila frowned.
Valeria didn’t look comforted. “The last time I saw you, you were terrified of that man. You have spoken very little about him since, except to say that he has not hurt you. And now you look… How can I say it?”
“Since you have never been one to hold back, I am sure you will tell me.”
“You look like you spent all night having sex with him.”
Laila’s cheeks flared with heat. “If I had, why would it matter?”
“Caring about you and your welfare is not something I can simply stop, like a bad habit. Unless… Did you enjoy it?”
“If I did, will you judge me?”
Jorge got fussy, so Valeria set him down to roam and sighed. “I do not know everything that happened to you in my husband’s compound, except that much of it was bad. For that, I am more sorry than you know. But you do not have to pay that man—or any other—with your body for safety again.”
“I know. Trees made that very clear.”
“You do not need to be his victim, either. He—”
“He is the best man I have ever known,” she admitted. “So you can stop worrying. You do not know him, but I assure you he has done nothing that would make me feel violated or afraid. How are you doing with Kane Preston?”
Valeria accepted the subject change with a tight smile. “Fine. He is professional. I appreciate that he speaks Spanish. Unfortunately, he knows almost nothing about babies.”
Jorge chose that moment to tug on one of the dresser drawers behind her. Laila raced to his side and distracted him with a quick game of peekaboo.
As her nephew giggled, she swept him into her arms and blew a raspberry on his cheek. “Well, if there is one man worth loving, it is Jorge. Isn’t that right?”
“It is,” her sister confirmed like a proud mother.
Laila kissed his forehead again, then settled her solemn gaze on her sister. “You know why they brought you here, yes?”
Valeria’s eyes darkened. “Of course. I know their plan. We should discuss it.”
“You cannot talk me out of helping them. If they need bait, I will volunteer. Victor Ramos is a problem for later, but he is alone now. He is weaker.” At least Laila hoped so. “But we will never have peace until Emilo’s father is dead or behind bars.”
To her shock, her sister nodded. “I came to the same conclusion. I have spoken to Kane about this at length. I also had conversations with Joaquin. If we want a life beyond hiding, we all agree that something must be done. We can bear this now, while Jorge is very young. But someday, he must go to school. He will want friends. You and I will need to seek work. We have lives to live, and we cannot do that if we are constantly looking over our shoulder.”
Since Valeria sometimes let her emotions overrule her logic, Laila was pleasantly surprised by her sister’s pragmatism. “Exactly.”
“When I first heard this plan, I volunteered. But after some debate, they convinced me that their version of the scheme works better. I’m sorry there are no better options.”
Laila wondered what the debate had been, but she wouldn’t risk asking questions that might change Valeria’s mind. They both understood that her sister needed to stay with Jorge. “I know.”
They passed the rest of the time making small talk, playing with Jorge, and simply enjoying these unexpected moments together. They hugged. They laughed. They teased one another, as sisters often did. If EM Security’s plan went well, they could do this every day for the rest of their lives. Laila wouldn’t go so far as to trust the trio of warriors who ran this business, but they knew who paid them. If anything happened to her… Well, since becoming a mother, Valeria had become both cautious and vicious. Her sister would avenge her.
But she truly counted on Trees. Somewhere over the past few days, she had learned to trust that he would never let anything happen to her.
Of course, he did not want her to risk herself at all.
Despite her bedroom door being closed, she heard raised voices. Trees’s, for sure. Logan’s followed. Then Joaquin entered the verbal fray with a growl. She couldn’t hear the exact words, but she couldn’t miss their tone. This wasn’t a simple disagreement.
“Then fucking fire me,” Trees roared. “I don’t give a shit. But you aren’t using Laila as bait, and that’s final. Now get the hell off my property. And don’t fucking come back.”
The following night, a sharp pealing from both his alarm panel and his phone jolted Trees awake. He sat straight up in bed and grabbed his cell from his nightstand.