Total pages in book: 74
Estimated words: 80139 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 401(@200wpm)___ 321(@250wpm)___ 267(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80139 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 401(@200wpm)___ 321(@250wpm)___ 267(@300wpm)
No one speaks.
“He worked for Vega,” I say.
Hawk goes rigid.
“But he got me out.”
“Why?” Falcon asks.
I hear everything beneath the single word.
Why would one of Vega’s men help you? What did he want? What did he do to you? What aren’t you saying?
I wrap my arms around myself. “I don’t know if I can answer that yet.”
Hawk takes a step closer. “Robin.”
“I said yet.”
Raven touches his arm, warning him without words. Thank God for Raven. There’s truth to the twin thing. We’re different as night and day, but we know each other in a way no one else does. We communicate in a way others don’t understand. She knows what I’m feeling, what I need.
“This Vega thing,” I say, looking back at Belinda. “If he got Belinda an Uber here, but everyone thinks he was in Colombia, then either he wasn’t there, or he has people moving under his name, or—”
“Or he’s very good at making us think he’s in two places at once,” Hawk says.
A chill moves down my spine. “He already seems able to do that.”
Falcon’s face hardens.
Because we all know.
The man Eagle killed all those years ago.
The man buried on Bellamy land.
The man everyone thought was Diego Vega.
Except the body is gone now. Dug up by Cruz, though my family doesn’t know that yet.
And maybe the dead man wasn’t Vega at all.
Still a mystery.
The relief of being home starts to buckle under the weight of everything.
For one second, I want Cruz.
My heart twists.
No.
I can’t want him.
I can’t.
Eagle is still in the hospital. Cruz put him there. I can’t be with the man who did that. How would I even explain it?
Hey, everyone, this is Cruz. Yes, he worked for Vega. Yes, he helped abduct me. Yes, he staged Eagle’s overdose and left him for us to find. But he also saved my life, and he has very soulful eyes, so yeah. Accept him.
I did the right thing.
I know I did.
At least my brain knows. My heart isn’t sure.
“We need to talk,” I say. “But I want to go home.”
“You’ll be staying with Vinnie and me,” Raven says.
“You already have a full house with Daniela and Belinda,” I remind her.
Hawk tightens his arm around Daniela’s shoulder. “She’s at my place now.”
I smile. “Oh?”
“And besides,” Raven continues, “the house is a freaking mansion. So yeah. You’re staying with me. I’ll take care of you.”
“I’m fine, Ray.”
“I’ll decide when you’re fine.” She hugs me again. “You didn’t leave my side when I was in the hospital fighting for my life. I’m not going to leave your side now.”
I give a weak smile. “That sounds like heaven, really, but I have work to do on the ranch. The animals—”
“Are fine,” Falcon cuts in. “Shane and the others are on the job, and there haven’t been any problems while you were gone. You stay where you’re taken care of.”
“But first,” Hawk says, “we’re taking you to the main house.”
“Why?” I ask. “Vinnie promised me the best restaurant in town.”
Hawk sighs, rolling his eyes. “Our mother decided we need to have a big dinner to celebrate your return.”
“I’m so tired,” I say.
“I know,” he says.
We exchange words with our eyes. Raven, Falcon, and Eagle all have a great relationship with our mother. Hawk and me? Not so much. I just want to take a hot shower and crawl into a clean bed.
“You know what?” Hawk says. “Fuck it. We’ll tell her no. You’re exhausted. You’ve been on a plane for eight hours. And you’ve been through hell—”
I raise a hand to stop him. “It’s okay. I’ll go. But I need to shower first. And change, obviously.” I look down at the sweats and socks I’m wearing. I managed to snag some shoes at the airport. They’re ugly blue Crocs.
“Of course,” Raven says. “We’ll take you to our place first. You can clean up there. Maybe even get a nap in. There’s time.”
I sigh out a thank you and look at my siblings, all with their significant others.
Falcon and Savannah.
Raven and Vinnie.
Hawk and Daniela.
So in love. Not just love, but forbidden, difficult, dangerous love that somehow survived the impossible.
A pang hits me so sharply I almost hate them for it.
Not really.
Never really.
But for one ugly second, jealousy flashes through me.
They all got their forbidden romances.
Why did I have to walk away from mine?
42
CRUZ
Houston smells like rain, jet fuel, and the kind of hot pavement I remember from Texas.
For one moment after I step off the plane in Houston, I stand inside the terminal and simply breathe.
I’m in the United States. Back in Texas. Only days ago I was so sick of Texas, and here I am, thankful to be back here.
I follow the crowd through the airport, keeping my head slightly down but not too far. Men trying not to be noticed are noticed more quickly.