Chapter Sixteen

“Rowan Stewart. Where is she?” Manny stalked across the carpeted floor of his home office, his agitation so strong he worried he might explode if he didn’t keep moving. How the hell hard was it to find such a high profile lawyer?

“No leads yet.”

No leads. No answers. No fucking information whatsoever for the past forty-eight hours.

From what he understood, the female lawyer was the one in closest contact with Oceane and Anya. Of anyone, she would know where they were. “She couldn’t just have up and disappeared into thin air,” he growled.

“Oceane and Anya both did,” Montoya pointed out.

“No, they didn’t. And we’re only having trouble finding them because the DEA or FBI is hiding them.” It infuriated him. None of his contacts had come back with a location yet.

“So, you talked to El Escorpion?”

“Yes.”

“What did he say?”

“He said to take care of it,” he snapped, annoyed. What did Montoya think the man would say?

After Manny had told El Escorpion about the situation with Oceane and Anya, the conversation had been brief. That weird, digitally altered voice that was supposed to help keep El Escorpion’s identity a secret from even the top cartel members had instructed him in clipped Spanish that he had best deal with the situation poste haste, or prepare to be dealt with in turn.

Manny had no desire to die. He was doing everything he could to mitigate the damage done and recover his daughter and mistress.

“He didn’t say anything about Ruiz?” Montoya asked.

“Yeah, he’s going to help us shut the last of Ruiz’s network down.” So some good had come from his call.

“That’s good. Means the boss still thinks you’re valuable and wants to keep you around.”

Manny grunted. He was many things, but stupid wasn’t one of them. El Escorpion was only going to keep Manny around so long as it suited his and the cartel’s purposes. To make sure that happened, Manny needed to get this shit cleaned up immediately. For that, he needed a lead on the female lawyer, who would hopefully give him one on his daughter and mistress.

“Nothing more from the tracking device?” The damn thing had cost him a fortune when he’d paid for it a couple years ago. Maybe it wasn’t functioning properly anymore. The technology was outdated. Had the Americans found it and disabled it?

“No. It was a long shot that I found it last time. And after last night the lawyers’ office is locked down tight. There’s a security perimeter up, and nobody’s getting in or out without extra screening. I’ve got eyes on the place but no one’s seen the female lawyer or her boss since last night. They’ve been moved into a secure location by now. They’ll have their own security details.”

Manny scoffed. “Nothing’s ever totally secure. Find Oceane and Anya. Find the lawyer if you have to.”

“Trying. I’ve got eyes and ears all over this city. If I hear anything, you’ll be the first to know.”

“Not good enough. I want this dealt with now, do you understand me? Send your best man in to find a lead. Pay whoever will help us, offer whatever it takes. Just take the woman if that’s easiest, find out where my daughter is, and then make our problem disappear. Got it?”

Montoya was quiet a moment. “How much you willing to spend?”

“I told you. Whatever it takes. You understand?” Even if this phone line was secure, he wasn’t going to come right out and say something that might incriminate him later. Montoya knew exactly what he meant.

“Yeah, I understand.” Montoya’s voice held an undercurrent of anticipation. His most lethal sicario, about to have his leash cut and turned loose to do what he loved most.

It was probably going to come back to haunt Manny in the end, but at this point, he was willing to risk it because he didn’t have any other option. He needed this taken care of immediately or risk losing everything.

Once again, letting Montoya do what he loved best was Manny’s best chance of getting what he wanted.

****

Rowan’s new phone rang a little before two that afternoon. She glanced at the screen, couldn’t help but smile when she saw the number on the display. “It’s Malcolm,” she told the male agent, who had stopped reading his newspaper to look at her.

When he nodded his consent, she got up and walked from the kitchen into her new bedroom for the foreseeable future, wanting at least the illusion of privacy.

“Hey,” she answered, relieved that he’d called. Things had still been somewhat unsettled between them when she’d left his place a few hours ago. Part of her had worried that he would pull away now that they’d slept together, that he’d withdraw from her emotionally. Him reaching out to her now was a good sign.

“Hi. How are you settling in? Your new detail okay?”

Just hearing his voice made her feel better. “They’re fine.” Remote but professional. “I’ll be honest—I liked my last detail way better.”

“Yeah, I liked my last assignment better too.”

Her smile turned wistful. They’d been woken from their post most-amazing-sex-ever nap just before eleven that morning by a phone call from Commander Taggart, informing them that a new detail was being sent over for her within the hour, and Malcolm was to relieve Hamilton and return to guarding Anya.

Agents had arrived shortly thereafter and whisked Rowan off to a new safe location, where she’d been given an update on the state of the investigation. After undergoing a polygraph test, both Anya and Oceane had been cleared of any wrongdoing with the bombing and released back into protective custody this morning. A huge relief for Rowan, to know that the women she’d been trying to help hadn’t been involved.

FBI analysts assigned to the case had found exactly what Oceane said they would on her phone, but her bodyguard was long gone, might even have slipped back into Mexico. Surveillance footage from the cameras outside Rowan’s building had shown nothing about the bombs being planted in her and her boss’s cars, because someone had disabled them for a critical ten-minute window.

Whoever had done it, they were pros. The type of explosive, the method and timing, however, all pointed to Veneno involvement. Ruiz had denied having anything to do with it. And no one knew where the hell Manny Nieto even was. Which one of them was responsible?

“How long do you think you’ll be there?” Rowan asked, missing him already even though it had only been a few hours. This morning had been amazing, and being able to fall asleep in his arms had soothed her on the deepest level.

Except they hadn’t had time to talk about things, and what each of them wanted and what would happen going forward. She wasn’t sure if having a reprieve was a good thing or a bad thing. Them being separated didn’t help either. Too much time and distance might allow him to pull back and put that wall back up between them again.

“Not sure. Depends on what happens.” He paused a second. “How are you holding up?”

“Okay.” Except I miss you like crazy. So much she ached, especially since things were still up in the air between them. She wanted another chance at a real and lasting relationship with him, to make up for the mistakes she’d made last time. Now that Malcolm had made her face and own her fears, she was willing to work past them.

Because he was worth fighting for, and she didn’t want to remain trapped in this lonely existence she’d created for herself. The only benefit of her work right now was that she had a ton of it, and it would keep her mind occupied.

“I’m going to call Nick in a little while and find out how Kevin is, then talk to my parents,” she said. “I won’t be going into the hospital anymore until this is resolved.”

“That sucks, but it makes the most sense given what’s going on.”

“I know. I just hate being away from my brother right now.”

“He’ll understand. And he knows you would be there if you could.”

“Yes.” She rubbed her palm over her denim-covered thigh, anxious about asking the next question yet not being able to contain it a moment longer. He hadn’t brought it up, but they couldn’t dance around the obvious forever. And she was under enough strain right now without the extra anxiety of worrying about losing him on top of everything else. “So, I have to ask this, because it’s driving me insane not knowing.”

“Not knowing what?”

“About us.” She paused a beat. “What do you want to happen between us from here on out?”

He was quiet a moment, and she held her breath, all her secret fears bubbling to the surface. “We won’t be able to see each other while I’m on this assignment,” he finally said.

She pushed back a frustrated noise, forced her insecurities back into the box they’d escaped from. “I know, but I mean after that. Are we…was this morning a one-off for you, or…”

“Or?”

“Or do you want more?” Please say yes. She couldn’t bear it if he said no.

“I guess that depends on you.”

She blinked, surprised. “Why on me?”

He sighed. “Look, now isn’t the best time to have this conversation. We’ll talk about it later.”

She didn’t care if it was a bad time. With everything going on, if they waited for a good time, it might never happen. If that’s what he was hoping for, too bad for him. “No, tell me what you meant.”

“You want the truth?” He made it sound like she might not like it.

An invisible weight settled on her chest, pressing her lungs. Her heart thudded in her ears. “Yes.”

“I think I made it clear where I stood a year ago, but that’s not what you wanted. I won’t do that to myself again unless I know you’re in this for real this time.”

The pressure eased even as her heart swelled, a tentative smile tugging at her lips. “I am.”

Another pause. “How do I know I can trust that you mean it this time?”

She flinched inside, hating how much she’d hurt him. “Because now I can admit that I made a mistake back then, and I also realize that my reasons for walking away were bullshit. I’ve missed you, and I want to be with you. Just you,” she added, in case that wasn’t clear. It was hard to put herself out there like this in the face of possible rejection, but it had to be done. “I want you in my life. To come home to you, lean on you, and for you to lean on me.”

“You sure?” He didn’t sound completely convinced.

“Yes. I’ve never been surer of anything in my life.” She could understand why he would have reservations about trusting her again, though.

“Well…good, then.” There was a smile in his voice. “Then let’s hope this assignment wraps up fast, huh?”

“God, yes.” She laughed, feeling like half the weight she’d been carrying around on her shoulders had suddenly been lifted. She wanted to talk about them more, make sure everything was spelled out clearly, but wouldn’t push him right now. For the moment it was enough that he was willing to give them another chance. “I really miss you.”

He chuckled softly. “Miss you too. I gotta go now, but I’ll call later if I can.”

“Okay. Bye.”

“Bye.”

Rowan set the phone down in her lap and drew the first full breath she’d taken in days, the relief crashing over her so acute that her entire body sagged. Against all odds, it seemed that Malcolm was hers again.

As long as she had him by her side—even if it was only in a metaphorical sense while they were separated—she could get through anything.