Rosa didn’t want to bring anyone else into her mess, but a small part of her had to admit that the idea of having someone like Grant and a team like Cade’s to protect her and Ariana was appealing. But according to the stories she’d heard growing up, her father had an army of his own to protect her, and Manuel had wiped them all out easily. She believed that to be true since Manuel kept her for over a decade and nobody ever came to get her. The soldiers from the estate and Carmen, the old lady on the farm in Kentucky, were the only ones that tried to help her and they hadn’t lived to tell about it. She couldn’t do that to these wonderful people.
“Grant…”
“You’re not talking me out of this.”
She smiled humorlessly. “What are you going to do if I refuse to let you protect me? Kidnap us?”
He nodded. “Yes, if I have to.” Before she could object again he said, “Tell me what Ariana knows about all of this. I remember she said something about seeing a bad man.”
“While I was in Kentucky, Carmen helped me get a social security card and an ID with a new name. The plan was never for me to stay on the ranch permanently, just until Ana was old enough to be left with a sitter while I worked every day. Along with the social security card and ID, I was given a resume with a list of jobs in hotels and restaurants that I never had. If a prospective employer called the numbers listed, they would be told that I had worked there and that they’d hire me back if I ever wanted to return.”
“Pretty sophisticated. This Carmen wasn’t your average old lady.”
She shook her head. “No. Her primary job when she was younger was to assist with the disappearances of some of the most famous and powerful members of the biggest cartels in Mexico. She hooked them up with plastic surgeons, got them new IDs, jobs, and anything else they could think of. I don’t know what happened to change her views, but at some point, she decided that she was working for the wrong side and she formed an underground organization to help out people like me…innocent people that were trapped in that life and didn’t want to be there.”
“So is this social security number how Manuel keeps finding you?”
She shook her head again. “No, I don’t think so. When I ran from Oklahoma, it was with a second ID and social that Carmen had given me as a back-up. There would have been no way for Manuel to know about it. I have no idea how he finds me every time I move. He’s rich and powerful and he has people everywhere. But anyway, when he found us in Oklahoma he was simply waiting in the motel room we were living in one day when I got home from work. Ana was staying with a neighbor upstairs at the time. He calmly told me to call whoever had her and tell them to bring her to the room, and that we were both going back with him to Honduras. The sitter usually brought her down to me at the same time every day. My hands were shaking as I tried to call her and warn her off. I heard the phone ringing outside the door. Manuel pulled it open and grabbed Ariana. The babysitter screamed and took off running. Manuel let her go. He had no interest in her. The place we were staying at was one of those no-tell, motel places. People with drug or legal problems or both lived there. Prostitutes used it to get together with their Johns…everyone had their own problems and most people didn’t get involved in other people’s business. I watched Manuel hold Ana with a gun to her little head while she kicked and screamed. I didn’t think she was the one he wanted to kill. I was sure it was me. I wasn’t going to let him do that to her. I ignored the gun, thinking that he wasn’t going to use it. I ran at him and knocked him and Ana back onto the bed. She was screaming loudly and Manuel was cussing. He let go of her to reach for the gun and I kicked out at him. He grabbed me by the leg and twisted it. I yelled at Ana to run…and she did.”
Rosa shuddered, and then she went on, “I was unconscious for a while. I woke up as the ambulance got there. I let them patch me up. I talked to the police and told them I had no idea who the guy was and I thought he was there to rob or rape me. They talked to Ana and the babysitter but of course neither of them knew anything. I refused to go to the hospital. I wasn’t taking a chance that social services would show up and take Ana. Manuel had been long gone before the police arrived, but just to be sure, I asked the officer for a ride to the bus terminal. I told him we were going to stay with my sister in Texas. We got on that bus, got off here…and that’s it.” The thought of Ana watching Manuel hurt her or Ana being taken away and put in a stranger’s home made Rosa sick to her stomach. She didn’t realize that she’d put her hand over it and was rubbing it in slow circles.
“You okay?” Grant asked her.
Rosa started to nod, but she sighed, biting her lip. She wasn’t okay. Not if Ariana was still in danger.
“Then you have to let us help you, Rosa.”
She nodded. “I’m just so afraid that he’s going to hurt someone else and it will be my fault…”
“Hey,” he said gently, his hand brushing hers, “none of this is your fault. He took you from your family, from your home. He tormented you for years. He’s a monster, you are his victim, and he is the only one to blame for anyone that he hurts.”
A piercing scream broke the silence in the house and Rosa and Grant were both on their feet and running up the stairs in seconds. When Rosa pulled open the door, the poor baby was sitting upright in bed, crying and shaking and staring at the window. Rosa sat down on the bed and pulled Ariana up into her lap.
“It’s okay, baby. Mama’s here, it’s okay.” She rocked her back and forth while Ariana whimpered into her. Even though there was no way anyone could have been in the second story window, Grant went over and looked out. While Rosa comforted Ariana, he paced slowly around the room in thought and anxiety. Rosa lay her head down against Ariana’s and closed her eyes for a few seconds and when she opened them, Grant was gone.
“Was it a bad dream, baby?” Rosa asked her. Ariana nodded her head into Rosa’s chest. “I’m sorry, but everything is okay. Mama’s here. I’m not going to let anything hurt you, okay?” Ariana nodded again. Rosa meant that she would fight to the death for her, but her biggest fear was that someday she’d have to do that and Ariana would be left at the mercy of Manuel Cardoza. She had her eyes closed again when she heard Grant come back into the room. When she opened them, she immediately felt the sting of tears. Wanda did a lot of shopping on Alabama-Coushatta Indian Reservation. One wall in the living room in the B&B was filled with pottery and other interesting items that she’d bought there. Grant was holding one of them in his hand now—it was a brightly colored dreamcatcher.
Rosa smiled through the tears and told her daughter, “Hey, baby girl, I think Grant has something for you.”
Ariana lifted her little head, looked at Grant, and then down at the dreamcatcher in his hand. He smiled softly at her. “This is called a dreamcatcher. You see how it’s made kind of like a spider web in the middle?” Ariana nodded. “Well, the web catches the bad dreams and those holes there, they let the good ones through. I used to have one when I was a kid and I kept it hanging over my bed. We can hang this one over your bed at home if you want. It’ll catch all your bad dreams for you.”
Ariana held out her little hand and Grant gave her the dreamcatcher. She brought it to her chest and then buried her face back into her mother. Grant turned to leave again but before he made it to the door Ariana asked in a small voice, “Did it catch them?”
He turned back toward the two on the bed. “The bad dreams?”
“Yeah. Did it keep them from getting through?”
“For the most part,” he said. Rosa wasn’t sure, but she thought she saw Grant shudder.
Ariana sat up again and held the dreamcatcher out to Grant. “Will you hang it up in my room?”
“Of course,” he said with a smile. He took the dreamcatcher and gave her a wink. Ariana wiped her face with the back of her hand and smiled up at him. He left again and Rosa lay down with her daughter until she fell back to sleep. Rosa knew that she should get some sleep, too, but she was restless. She kissed Ariana on the side of the face and slipped out of the bed. Then, for just a second, she stood and looked down at her. She felt completely helpless. A mother was supposed to be able to protect her child. She was supposed to be able to make her feel safe and secure. Rosa had never known her own mother, but she had strong maternal instincts and knew that it was her number one job to make sure her child’s physical and emotional well-being were taken care of. Manuel almost had them again tonight and although they escaped physical harm this time, Ariana’s nightmares were back and Manuel Cardoza was far from finished with them.
With a sigh, Rosa brushed her fingertips down Ariana’s cheek and the little girl stirred. She didn’t want to leave her alone, but she knew she had to get some rest if she wanted to take care of her. She finally forced herself to leave the room and go back downstairs. She needed to check on Grant to see if he was asleep, because of the injury to his head. She was surprised to find him still awake and sitting on the couch in the living room.
“Hey, why aren’t you sleeping?”
He looked up at her and smiled. “I could ask you the same thing.”
She sat down on the couch with a sigh. “Have you ever been too tired to sleep?”
He nodded. “Yep. Is Ana okay?”
“Yeah, she’s sleeping soundly. Thank you for the dreamcatcher idea.”
“I hope you don’t mind that I let myself into your house. I went over and hung it up for her.”
Rosa’s eyes went up to the empty spot on the wall where he’d taken down the dreamcatcher and she smiled. “I don’t mind, but I hope Wanda doesn’t mind that there’s an empty spot on her wall.”
“Nah, you know how much Wanda loves Ana. I’ll get her a new one. You should get some rest.”
Rosa sat down on the couch next to Grant. Even with everything that was going on, being this close to him set parts of her on fire that she never even knew existed. She licked her lips absently and his eyes dropped down to them. Her breath caught in her throat as he stared at her lips and when his deep brown eyes moved back up to hers, she thought she could see the desire burning in them. Was he looking for permission to kiss her? Should she move in at the same time he did? Rosa laughed at herself inwardly. She had no idea what she was doing, she was just being silly.
Grant’s hands suddenly came up and he took hold of the front of her arms and pulled her into him. His mouth crashed down onto hers and for a few seconds she froze. She didn’t know what to do. She’d never been kissed, not like that. But when she felt his tongue pressing into her lips, they parted open almost involuntarily and when his tongue touched hers for the first time, he moaned into her and she forgot that she had no idea what she was doing. It was almost like instinct took over. She arched her back, pressing into him with her body. Grant put his arms around her and pulled her onto his lap. She wrapped her fingers in his hair and his massaged their way up her back while they kissed. Rosa lost herself in the kiss. She couldn’t remember anything ever feeling so good. Grant was the one that finally broke the kiss and for a few seconds they both gasped and panted for breath. Grant was staring at her like he wanted to make a meal out of her and by all rights, that should have scared her to death. But it didn’t frighten her. She wanted more. She wanted him to kiss her again. The idea of any man touching her usually brought back vivid memories of what Hector had done to her and sent her into a full-blown panic on most occasions. But with Grant, it was different. She wanted him. She wanted him to kiss her again, pick her up, and carry her up the stairs to bed. She wanted him to show her what making love was supposed to be like. Most of all, she trusted him and knew that he’d never hurt her.
“Rosa,” his voice was husky and breathless. “I’m sorry…”
She put her hands on the sides of his face and his eyes fluttered closed for a brief moment. “Don’t be sorry. I’m not. I wanted to kiss you. I’ve wanted this for a long time. I’m sorry if I didn’t do it right…”
Grant laughed out loud, his eyes twinkling. “You didn’t do it right? Oh, baby, that may have been the rightest kiss I’ve ever had. I just don’t want to put any pressure on you right now. You’re going through so much. But when this is all over, I want to do this again, if you’ll let me.”
She smiled and nodded. “Could we maybe just do it once more tonight?”
Grant responded by dipping his head down and brushing his lips against hers, softly at first, and then with more pressure. He took his time licking her lips and tasting every inch of her mouth. He let his lips slide down over her jaw and land on her neck. She tipped her head back to give him better access as he trailed fiery kisses across her throat and up to her ear. She moaned when she felt his warm breath against her earlobe, and that was when they heard footsteps on the stairs. Rosa scrambled off Grant’s lap and, looking uncomfortable, he adjusted himself just as Wanda walked into the room.
“Hey, you two. Did you get any sleep at all?”
Rosa forced a smile and Grant pulled the couch pillow onto his lap. “Not much,” Rosa said. “Ana had a hard time sleeping. Can I help you with breakfast?”
“Sure, if you’d like,” Wanda said appreciatively. “It’s waffle day.”
Rosa stood up from the couch and waited until Wanda started heading into the kitchen before looking back down at Grant.
“I think I’ll just sit here for a minute…” he said with a crooked smile.
She giggled and mouthed, “Thank you.”
He winked at her and squeezed her hand. For just a few minutes she’d forgotten about Manuel and Hector and all the bad things that happened in the past thanks to them, and it was absolutely wonderful.