“You believe they sang to the Feds?”
“For the sake of their manhood, they better not have.” Marco headed to the stairs. “Make it happen, Luca. I’m taking a nap.”
“Of course...father,” Luca said in a malevolent voice as Marco walked upstairs and disappeared. For the first time since he had watched him throw Angelo overboard, Luca showed emotion.
Hatred.
Chapter Nineteen
Paxton was restless. It had been two weeks since the raid in Malibu. She hadn’t seen Jared since, although he had been phoning her every day to ensure that she was safe. At least that gave her some comfort that he wasn’t through with her. The Cobras had gone hunting for the Boneiros but had had no luck. She could hear the frustration in his voice when they spoke. They just vanished and so had Conti, Matias, and Olivia Lopez.
“And Luca escaping after the raid exacerbated everything,” she said sotto voce. Her voice was hollow in the silence.
Although he hadn’t blamed her again for botching the operation, she continued to feel guilty— not for going to find Kezlin, but because she hadn’t informed Jared of her intentions. He would’ve balked at the idea anyway but in the end, she was sure he would’ve conceded, albeit with a ton of conditions. The way she’d gone about it had caught him unprepared. He had given a hasty GO order because she had been in danger. That was the bottom line. No matter how much she’d love to absolve herself, in the end, she had been at fault.
Armed with a cup of coffee and a chocolate chip muffin, she settled in a chaise lounge on her patio. It was heaven to be back home— to have the freedom to roam about in shorts and braless— just to have some alone time.
It hadn’t come easy but in the end Jared had agreed that they could return to their homes, provided each of them had a Cobra security team guarding them 24/7. At least they stayed out of sight and didn’t limit her freedom like they had at the safehouse. She had become used to seeing the black SUV in her rearview mirror when she went to the shops or the Red Reign offices every day. After she’d almost been kidnapped which eventually resulted in Kezlin being taken, it was a relief to have her team under guard.
If she was going to be honest with herself, she had to appreciate their presence. A woman was vulnerable against the more powerful male attacker no matter how capable she was in defending herself.
“I miss him.”
Paxton listened to the words floating back at her. It was true. She needed to see him, to feel his touch but most of all, it was time to move forward, to embrace the connection they had and to continue the journey they had embarked on. The trip to The Sea Ranch had been the turning point in their relationship. In a very short period of time, he had become important to her. She missed feeling his presence, the warm brush of his hand as she walked past him as if he couldn’t help making physical contact with her. He was in every picture she envisioned of her future.
“I’m so worried about Jared.”
Her concern wasn’t as much for his own safety as it was for his emotional state. She couldn’t get the vulnerable look she’d seen in his eyes out of her mind. He had taken a leap of faith by opening his heart to her. She was worried that remembering what Marco had done to him and where his roots sprouted from, might have pushed him right back into the black hole that had consumed him for so long— that darkness that had prevented him from being whole, from loving and being loved the way he deserved to be.
“Do you have one of those for me?”
Paxton froze. Joy exploded inside her as she jumped up from the lounger.
“You’re here!” The initial pleasure at hearing his voice was dampened by the black void in his eyes. It was as if he willed her to keep her distance.
“We were wasting time and resources that are needed elsewhere. They managed to elude us.” His locked jaw added to the grim look on his face. “But they’ll resurface. Marco Boneiro is power hungry. He won’t stay holed up underground for long.”
“Jared—”
“I don’t want to talk about it,” he cut her short, preempting what she was about to say.
“Have you ever talked about it?”
The brooding look on his face was answer enough.
“Don’t you think it’s time you do?”
“Drop it, Paxton. I didn’t come here to be psychoanalyzed.”
Her back straightened at the curt reply. “Why did you come here?”
He blinked and in that moment, she saw it. A silent appeal reaching out to her. The hard exterior he presented to the world was a facade for the pain when in fact he was a lonely and desperate man.
Paxton inhaled slowly. She had to give him time to come to terms with finally facing his brother, and that his friends and she now knew all about his past. She would never have believed a man like Jared could be frightened, but he was. It was there in his eyes— the worry that maybe her feelings had changed, that she saw him now for who he truly was... a Boneiro. He was holding on by a thread, fearing the consequences of the revelation, that the shield he’d built around his heart would disintegrate and let the pain tumble out.
“I know you love latte but the best I can offer is an espresso.” She held up the half-eaten muffin. “And homemade muffins.”
Paxton didn’t wait for his response but briskly walked toward the kitchen, aware that he was following her. He didn’t say a word as she prepared the coffee.