“Too late. I’m already involved.”
“I don’t want you to be. This is my problem, not yours.”
“Do you honestly think I’m going to leave you on your own to deal with men who threatened to kill you?"
"I'm afraid you'll get hurt."
"I'm afraid you will. Or, God forbid, Mateo will. Let me keep you both safe, Sofia. Please.”
That last word gets to me. He said please. I’m so used to being told what to do, to not being given a choice, to not being asked nicely. And what he said about Mateo getting hurt also matters.
“Your family will hate me if anything happens to you because of me.”
“They’d be furious with me if I let anything happen to you guys. They love you.”
I can’t stop the tears that spill down my cheeks.
Nico reaches over to wipe them away. “Everything’s going to be okay. I promise.”
“You can’t promise that.”
“I can promise you’ll be safe. Now let’s go pack up what you need and get Mateo home to bed at my place.”
I still don’t like his plan, because it puts him in danger with us, but I’m so afraid of Diego and the others that I go along with it. They wouldn’t hesitate to kill me to get me out of the way, and the thought of my son being raised by Joaquín and his band of thugs is revolting to me. For Mateo’s sake, I decide to let Nico help us.
But I’m terrified of the man I’ve come to care about being harmed in any way.
NICO
My heart is still beating so fast, it’s a wonder I don’t hyperventilate. Seeing that scumbag threaten Sofia made me want to kill him right then and there. As I follow her up the stairs to her place with Mateo asleep in my arms, I keep a vigilant eye on our surroundings. While I don’t see anyone, I’m sure we’re being watched.
They blame Sofia for the fact that Joaquín is in jail, but he’s the one who violated the protective order in the first place.
All I want is to get her and Mateo out of here and back to my place as fast as possible. So I put Mateo carefully on the sofa, cover him with his blanket and go to see what I can do to expedite matters.
In the bedroom, Sofia is sitting on one of two twin beds, both of which are pushed against walls. The other has a rail on it, probably to keep Mateo from falling out of bed. She looks so defeated that I can’t bear it. I go to her, sit next to her and put an arm around her. “None of this is your fault.”
“I chose a bad man to father my son.”
“Did you know he was a bad man when you chose him?”
She shakes her head. “He was so sweet and kind until about four years ago. I don’t know what happened, but everything changed, and he made my life a living hell. One of my friends said it’s because he was jealous of Mateo and all the attention I gave him.”
“What do you think of that?”
“I suspect it’s something much more involved, not that he’ll ever admit to such a thing. That would be a sign of weakness, and he’d rather be dead than show weakness.”
“What can I do to help you pack?”
“Maybe grab some of the toys from this morning?”
“I can do that. Let’s be quick so we can get out of here before anyone knows we’re here.”
“You’re sure I can’t talk you out of making my problem your problem?”
I kiss the top of her head. “One hundred percent positive.”
“What about the damage to your truck?”