Chapter 13 James
James
“Where are you taking me?” James leaned forward, knocking on the partition glass for the tenth time.
For the first time, Mateo answered, “To Yara.”
James fell back against the leather seat. “Are you actually okay with this? With her being with me? With us sharing her?”
James still wasn’t fully comfortable with the idea. When he grew up, the thought of being in a relationship with more than one person wasn’t only frowned upon, it was illegal. In fact, it was still illegal. And past all of that…James was a jealous man.
“Yes,” Mateo bit out between his teeth, turning a corner.
The sun was just starting to rise, and James attempted to take in his surroundings.
He had never actually been to Florida before, and the muggy wet air had been a harsh slap to the face as he left the airport, but it was nicer from the comfort of the air-conditioned car.
They appeared to be heading towards the outskirts of the town and the longer they progressed, the more unease filtered through James’s nerves.
Is he going to kill me? After all, I am another man vying for Yara.
Just as he decided to not just sit and wait for a better explanation, a large concrete structure sprawled into view. A barred gate blocked their path with a large brick wall wrapping around the rest of the building, complete with barbed wire at the top.
“What the fuck is this?” It looked, for all intents and purposes, to be a prison.
“My home.” The car rolled to a stop. “Yara is inside.”
James didn’t wait for a longer explanation.
He had decided to trust Mateo when he got into the car—even if the ride itself had tested that—and he needed to talk to Yara, to figure out how this was going to work, to understand the part that he played in her life.
She was pregnant, but what if the child wasn’t his?
In fact…wasn’t it more likely that they weren’t? He had a vasectomy for fuck’s sake. She was probably carrying another man’s child, and he was just going to be the unwanted outcast. The old man she would grow tired of.
He marched up the steps to the front entrance, clocking the surveillance cameras and steel door. He was surprised when, at odds with all of the other security, the handle twisted open.
Shoving it open, he stepped through it. The inside was bare, a spiral of metal stairs to his left, a small kitchen to his right, and a hallway that headed straight back. He was unsure how to find Yara until he heard her speak. He rushed in the direction of her voice.
“He’s picking up James they were right beh—fuck!”
He came to an abrupt halt at the sight before him. She was entirely naked, draped on top of a man he recognized: Kazi. From this angle it appeared they were still attached. Her hair was plastered to her skin, a faint blush across her cheeks, her icy blue eyes swirling hypnotically.
His jaw clamped down as he ground his teeth to contain his emotions.
He clenched his hands into tight fists. Trauma from James’s past made its way to the front of his mind.
His own shortcomings screeched into his ears that Yara was his.
That she was with this other man because he wasn’t enough.
That she would leave with his child just as his ex had.
He screwed his eyes shut, breathing in and out a few times. “I want to see Isobella.” He forced the words out through his teeth.
He heard shuffling, the rustling of clothes, but still James didn’t open his eyes.
It wasn’t Yara’s fault that he was feeling this way, but he couldn’t stop it.
She had already warned him of her relationship with Mateo and Kazi.
He had agreed to this hours ago. And James wanted more than anything to work things out with the woman but this had been a painful shock.
An electric prong to the fucking balls.
“She’s safe.”
James was surprised when it wasn’t Yara that answered, but a softer masculine voice.
Kazi.
He attempted to calm the surge of annoyance before speaking.
“I think I need to leave. I think I need to see Isobella and then we’ll talk.
” How could he face this when he was dealing with his own past?
He wanted more than anything to believe Isobella was alive.
That she was here. But if he allowed himself to even partially hope that it was true, if it wasn’t? If it was a mistake?
I wouldn’t be able to forgive Yara, no matter how much I wished to.
“I understand,” Yara said. Except her voice was small, weak.
James snapped his eyes open, trying to find her, but she was already fleeing the room.
He willed himself to follow after her, but his feet wouldn’t cooperate. He was frozen in place, left to face Kazi.
Kazi cocked his head. “You can’t be unsure. You can’t be murky. Miss Yara requires clear intent or she will misunderstand.”
The man’s voice was delicate on its own accord, but his tone was harsh, a warning.
“Isobella is my daughter. I have to see her.” James’s anger and indignation heightened. How dare this man lecture him? He wanted to shake Kazi, demand answers. But he wasn’t even sure of the questions to ask.
How did Isobella end up here?
“You will. Once you figure out what your boss wants with Yara. It isn’t safe until then.” Kazi leveled him with a deadpan stare.
James wanted to argue, to scream and yell. But his own questions and suspicions prickled at his psyche. “This is my boss’s home base. He lived here until about ten years ago. That’s when he began splitting his time between here and California. He said he was in search of the perfect…doll.”
Kazi recoiled, his eyes flickering in the direction Yara had retreated before returning to James.
Doll.
The word bounced around James’s mind a few times, tugging on memories but not enough to make any sense.
“I need someone to drive me back into town. Steve wanted to meet with me tomorrow afternoon, hopefully I will know what’s going on by then.” James deflated.
It was clear Kazi held the cards, that there wasn’t any point to argue. He would follow their lead, and he would trust them…if only for Yara. If only to see his daughter again.
“There’s a car waiting for you,” Mateo spoke from behind him before marching past them towards the direction Yara went. “You are lucky she explicitly told me not to hurt you. When you are to meet with Steve, alert us. I will trail you so that we can determine his role in all of this.”
“Go,” Kazi advised. “We will take care of Yara until you are ready to return. We will reunite you with your daughter, you have my word.”
James didn’t like the power imbalance, didn’t like that he was leaving Yara behind, didn’t like how she was clearly distraught. But he needed to figure out Steve’s role in this. Why he had owned an apartment above Yara. What his connection was to her. And he needed to reunite with Isobella.
My daughter. I have to do anything I can to find her.
Mind made up, he inclined his head before turning on his heel and marching back from whence he came.