15. Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fourteen
“ M issing?” Dina echoed.
“She usually comes in to get Jasper around six. When she didn’t, I figured she was sleeping in or maybe she still had a headache,” Lola explained. “But I went to her room and her bed doesn’t even look like it was slept in! The Audi is missing from the garage, and she’s not answering her phone.”
“The Audi is the only car she’ll drive on her own,” Dina clarified for him.
“I went to see the security team, and they told me she left this morning after an argument with Jose.”
Steve’s blood ran cold. “They left together?”
Lola shook her head. “Different vehicles.”
“So she wasn’t being dragged away?”
Lola frowned. “Why would Jose drag her anywhere? He’s worked for our family since I was a little girl. He’s practically family!”
“Jose and Chavela are related,” Dina reminded her sister.
“What? Since when?”
“Since you were off at school as a kid,” Dina said. “He married into that family.”
Lola paled. “I didn’t know! I would have said something last night when Steve mentioned her!” Her eyes widened. “Does Beto know?”
“Obviously not,” Dina remarked with disdain. “It’s just like him to make a giant mess and leave it for everyone else to cleanup.”
Lola winced. “I don’t think that’s fair.”
Dina’s lush mouth flattened into a thin line. Was she thinking how unfair it was that others blamed her for bringing Diego into the family?
“We need to find your mother,” Steve interjected, hoping to avoid a sisterly spat. “Where is Beto?”
“He was called out late last night to deal with a big problem at one of his resorts,” Lola said.
“Steve and I will go find Mama. Can you stay here with Jasper and Camila?” Dina asked.
“Shouldn’t we call the police?” Lola wondered.
Steve shared her concern. “It would be better to loop them in, just in case.”
Dina scowled. “I don’t trust them. Not all of them. I’m sure most of them are good, but I have a hard time believing Diego was able to escape without help from the inside.”
“I understand, but I’m here as a guest of the Mexican government. I’m already on a short leash after the shooting. If we exclude them and all hell breaks loose—.”
“Steve,” Dina said urgently, “we don’t even know if my mother is in trouble. You don’t know her like we do. She’s not the kind of woman to be forced to do anything. She could have had all the security on the estate at her side with a snap of her fingers, but she went quietly.”
“Our mom is a firecracker,” Lola agreed while jostling Jasper on her hip.
“If we call in the police, we can’t keep this quiet,” Dina continued. “It will be leaked to news outlets. It will get ugly fast and spiral out of our control.”
“She’s right,” Lola concurred. “We’ve only been able to keep that shootout quiet because it happened here, so close to our private property. Mama has power, and she uses it very rarely. She wouldn’t want us calling in the cavalry.”
“And if we’re wrong?” Steve asked pointedly.
“Then I take full responsibility for it,” Dina stated firmly. “It’s my decision.”
Steve didn’t like it. He didn’t like it one bit.
“I need to feed Jasper.” Lola smiled at her nephew who seemed to be reaching the end of his patience. “Come find me before you two leave the house and do something stupid.”
Any other time, Steve would have found that amusing. Right now, it struck him as ominous.
Alone with Dina, he tried to reason with her. “Dina, we really should loop in Morales at PFM. Carson at DEA, too.”
“Not yet,” Dina said, lifting her chin as if to dare him to disagree.
He blew out a noisy breath. “Fine.”
“You can stay here if you’re worried about your job.”
He grunted with annoyance. “I’m not worried about my job. I’m worried about you . I’m worried about your mother and your family.”
“You probably should be worried about your job,” Dina remarked unhelpfully.
“Yes, probably,” he reluctantly agreed “but it’s too late for all that.”
“Why?”
“Because I promised myself I wouldn’t let anything happen to you or your family and I mean to keep that promise,” Steve vowed.
She reared back in shock. “Steve, you can’t risk your entire career for me.”
“Why not?” He closed the distance between them with two quick strides. Boldly, he placed his hands on her curvy hips and gazed down into her beautiful dark eyes. “You’re worth it.”
“I’m not,” she argued, whisper-soft.
“You are,” he insisted. “I can get a hundred different jobs, but there’s only one you .”
“Steve.” Her eyes glittered with emotion, and he surrendered to clawing need to taste her sweet mouth again. She yielded to his kiss, her lips pliable and soft, and he kissed her like it might be the last time. He wanted to mark her, to claim her. He wanted to make sure she believed every word he’d said.
Behind them, by the windows, Dina’s purse began to vibrate and rattle. She’d dropped it earlier while they kissed. They both groaned with frustration at the interruption.
“This house is cursed,” Dina muttered before sneaking another quick kiss. “If we’re ever going to get further than kissing, we’ll need to go somewhere else.”
“I have a hotel room that’s conveniently located across the street from your office,” Steve reminded her.
“You did,” she corrected, “before Ximena cleaned it out and brought everything here.”
“Which reminds me,” Steve said, snapping his fingers, “how did she get into the safe? How did she get my files?”
“I don’t know.” Dina’s brow furrowed. “Why? You don’t think she’s involved in any of this?”
“I don’t know her well enough to even guess.”
“Well, I do, and she’s not that type of person,” Dina assured him. “She’s a hard worker. If she got the files from the safe, she was being thorough. Nothing malicious.”
“I guess we’ll find out.” Steve had every intention of questioning Dina’s assistant.
Dina grabbed her purse off the floor, pulled her phone from inside and glanced at the screen. “The bank.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah.” Before she could redial the number, her phone started to vibrate again. She answered the call, and he listened intently beside her, catching as much of the rapid-fire Spanish conversation as possible.
“She took out how much money?” Dina asked, scandalized. “In cash! No. No. You did the right thing. No, I understand and thank you for calling me. No, please. It’s not a matter for the police. Yes, it’s personal, a family matter. No. No. Yes. Of course. Thank you. Good day.”
“Your mother took money from the bank?” Steve asked as Dina ended the call. “How much?”
“Too much,” Dina grumbled. “In cash. American dollars. As much as she could fit into two Hermes bags.”
He didn’t want to reveal how ignorant he was of whatever a Hermes bag was so he simply nodded. “Did she say where she was going?”
“No, but Carlito said she was alone and didn’t seem to be under any distress. He only called because he’s known my mother since he started working there, and she’s never come in and taken out cash like that.”
“Elderly people tend to be victims of scams,” Steve remarked.
“Please do not let my mother ever hear you call her elderly or suggest that she’s susceptible to being scammed,” Dina warned. “She’ll never forgive you.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
Dina stared at her phone, as if willing it to ring or to give her answers. “Where would she go? Where would she be taking that kind of money?”
“To meet the counselor?”
“Maybe.”
“Or someone else that’s connected to Diego?” Steve reasoned. “Maybe she wants to buy him off? To get him to leave the country and leave you and Camila alone?”
“Ugh.” Dina exhaled with disgust. “Of course!”
“Of course what?” Steve felt like he was ten steps behind and tripping over his feet as he tried to catch up.
“Mirta,” Dina said with obvious vexation. “My mother-in-law!”