CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Lucia moved around the kitchen like a zombie, going through the motions of preparing breakfast. She’d already dropped two eggs on the floor, burned the toast, and lost count of the number of scoops of coffee she put in the coffee maker.
Her morning had started out so great.
She and Eddie had awakened before Isabella and taken a shower together. The space had been pretty cramped, but he still managed to take her from behind, and it was glorious. It had been a logistical challenge but totally worth it.
They’d been in the middle of getting dressed when Eddie’s phone went off. Cole called to let him know their mission was a go and that Mark and a deputy were on their way out to the cabin.
So now she was a mess.
Their tech person had learned that the retired couple who owned the house was currently at their summer home in Michigan and would be there for another two months.
That eliminated one of their concerns. All that was left was getting rid of Rios and his two cohorts, making sure the girls were safe, and dealing with Munoz.
How hard could that be? Ugh.
Cole’s call had put a definite damper on Lucia’s mood.
Was this what it felt like being married to a member of Dark Ops? Always wondering when the phone would ring and take him away from them.
Lucia wouldn’t dream of asking him to give it up, so she needed to figure out a way to be okay with it.
Eddie noticed how tense she was, so when Isabella woke up and immediately started bugging her about going in the river, he’d taken her outside to help him “scout the area.” Of course, she’d been thrilled to be included and happily gave up the idea of swimming. At least for now, anyway.
The toast popped up behind her, and she jumped.
“Good grief.” She lifted out the warm bread, set it on a plate, and slathered it with butter.
Once everything was set out on the table, she opened the front door and saw Eddie and Lucia tossing rocks into the river. She leaned a shoulder against the doorjamb and crossed her arms.
They were talking and laughing like they’d known each other for years. He was so good with kids and knew how to draw them out. Not that her daughter needed help in that area anymore. She’d really come out of her shell the past year, and Lucia was happy to see it.
Having a strong male figure in her daughter’s life, someone who genuinely cared about her and wanted what was best for her and not himself, was exactly what Isabella needed.
She checked her watch. Mark and Josh would be here soon, so she pushed off the doorjamb and walked to the top of the porch steps.
She cupped her hands around her mouth and called out to them. “Breakfast is ready!”
They both turned at the sound of her voice.
“Race ya,” Eddie said.
Isabella dropped the rocks she was holding in each hand and started running toward the cabin, her new sneakers flashing with each step.
She looked back over her shoulder. “I’m beating you!”
“I’m gonna catch you.” Eddie came up behind her, and she squealed with delight when he reached down and scooped her off the ground as he ran by.
They both laughed, and Isabella’s belly giggles reassured Lucia that her daughter was going to be okay.
Thanks to Eddie.
He hurried up the steps and set her on her feet.
She threw her arms in the air. “We both won!”
“Phew, you’re fast.” He bent over with his hands on his knees and feigned breathing heavily.
She knew the difference, because he’d been breathing heavily last night when she had his penis in her mouth. Lucia was still shocked by how bold she’d been with him.
Trust and loving someone with your whole heart was the difference.
“I can run faster than most of the boys in my class.” Isabella crossed her arms, all confident and borderline cocky.
“Wow, really?” Eddie sounded impressed.
“Really.” Isabella gave an exaggerated nod.
Lucia rolled her eyes at her daughter’s silliness. She wasn’t sure how true her claim was, but Isabella was having too much fun to call her out on it.
“Time to wash up for breakfast.” She headed back inside.
“I’m starving,” Isabella proclaimed as she dashed back to the bathroom.
Eddie closed the door and washed his hands in the kitchen sink.
His nose went up, and he took a deep breath. “Smells good.”
“It smells like overly strong coffee and burnt toast.” She kissed him on the cheek. “But thanks anyway.”
He dragged his nose up her neck. “Mmm, you smell good, too.”
How easy it would be to spend the rest of her life in bed with this man.
Isabella skipped into the room, shaking the water from her hands. Because heaven forbid she actually use a towel.
They all settled at the table and loaded their plates with food. Conversation mingled with the sound of forks scraping over plates and ice clinking in their orange juice glasses.
“Since Mom cooked, how ’bout we clean?” Eddie asked her daughter when they were done.
Her nose crinkled at the idea, but then she acquiesced. “O-kaaaay.”
Lucia poured some of the overly strong coffee in her mug, added a healthy amount of her favorite vanilla creamer, then went outside to sit on the porch. She left the door open to allow a breeze into the house and smiled at the chitter-chatter between Eddie and her daughter.
She filled her lungs with the fresh air and closed her eyes. The sound of the river splashing its way over rocks soothed her nerves. She wasn’t sure how long she’d sat there when Eddie squatted down next to her chair.
“Mark just called.” He curled his hand over hers where it rested in her lap. “They’ll be here in about five minutes.”
“It’s so peaceful here.” She gazed out over the beautiful, serene scenery.
A stark contrast to the sense of foreboding roiling around deep in her belly.
“It’s like we’re the only people in the world.
” She turned her face to him. “A part of me wishes we could stay here forever, where he can’t find us. ”
There was no need to specify who the he was. They both knew who she was talking about.
“Everything’s going to be okay.” He skimmed her hair back over her ear. “We’ll take out Munoz and his men, get those girls back to their families, then we can move on with our life together.”
“You make it sound so easy.” Yet there was no possible way that could be true. Not with a man like Munoz.
“It won’t be easy, but my team has dealt with much worse,” he reassured her.
Worse than the head of a bloody cartel?
How awful.
Thank goodness people like the Dark Ops team were willing to stand between good and evil. But she couldn’t begin to imagine the toll that would take on a person’s psyche.
They heard the sound of tires crunching over rocks before they saw the dark green pickup with the gold emblem on the door.
Mark pulled up next to Eddie’s rental, rolled to a stop, and a small cloud of dust rolled over the SUV.
He cut the engine, slid out from behind the wheel, and put on his cowboy hat.
He was wearing jeans, cowboy boots, and a button-down shirt.
The passenger door swung open, and a young deputy climbed out wearing pretty much the same thing, but he had on a dark green T-shirt with the sheriff’s department emblem printed in yellow on the left side of the chest. And instead of a cowboy hat, he had on a ball cap embroidered with the same emblem.
They both had a firearm holstered on their belts.
Her daughter was used to seeing people with guns, especially Mark.
But Lucia appreciated that they both were wearing civilian clothes.
One less stressor for Isabella. She also appreciated that they came out early to give her daughter an opportunity to spend time hanging out not only with Mark, but with Josh, who she didn’t really know.
Eddie held her hand, she stood, and they walked down the steps to meet them.
“Hey, guys.” Mark raised a hand and walked over. “This is Deputy Carlisle.” He pointed a thumb over his shoulder. “He volunteered to help us out.”
“Ma’am.” The deputy removed his cap and extended his hand.
“Please, call me Lucia.” She shook his hand and released it.
“Will do.” He smiled and nodded. “Call me Josh.”
“Sir.” He held his hand out to Eddie.
“Eddie is fine.” He shook his hand. “Thanks for offering to help us out.”
“It’s my pleasure.” His tone turned serious as he put his hat back on. “My older brother died of an overdose a few years ago. If I can play even a small part in slowing the flow of drugs into the country, then I’m all in.”
“I’m sorry about your brother.” Lucia, like most people, knew drugs were being trafficked into the country, but she’d never actually met anyone who’d been personally affected by them.
“Thanks. He was a great guy, good student, star athlete and all that. His senior year, he was in a car accident that really messed up his back,” he said.
“He was in a lot of pain, so of course, they gave him a bunch of prescription meds. When they stopped working, he turned to the streets for pain relief, and two years later, he overdosed on fentanyl.”
“Over the last few years, we’ve had a high influx of fentanyl come across the border,” Mark said. “Some of it is manufactured to look like candy.”
“That’s terrible.” Lucia wrapped her arms around her midsection.
Eddie, obviously sensing her discomfort, wrapped his arm around her shoulders.
“Let’s head inside, and we can introduce Josh to Isabella.” He opened the door.
They waited for Lucia to enter, then trailed in behind her. As soon as they shut the door, Isabella’s head popped up in the loft.
She walked over to the railing and looked down at them.
“Hey, kiddo.” Eddie walked over, stood at the base of the ladder steps, and looked up at her. “Look who’s here.” He pointed to Mark. “And he brought a friend with him.”
“Hi, Mr. Mark.” She waved at him and looked at the young deputy. “Are you a sheriff, too?”
“Actually, I’m a deputy. The sheriff is my boss.” Josh walked closer and smiled up at her. “My name’s Josh. What’s yours?”