Falling with Grace

30. Grace

30

Grace

" I f you like it, get it, Grace."

I looked up at him with the fresh mango weighing down my hand. "Really?"

He wrinkled his brows. "It's fruit." He dipped into his pocket and handed the weathered woman the coins.

"Thank you." Despite my full belly, I brought it to my lips and sunk my teeth into the skin. I yanked it away from my mouth. "Oh my gosh." My lips puckered, my eyes shutting. "It's so bitter." A sticky film coated my teeth, and I swiped it with my tongue. "Yuck."

Elias laughed as he took the fruit and gave it back to the woman. She laughed with him as she ran a long, sharp knife along the fruit in precise slices, discarded the large seed inside, and then cubed the inner flesh.

"You knew."

His shoulders shook with laughter.

"So rude." I returned his smile, and the woman handed back my mango in a plastic bag. "Thank you."

Grabbing a plastic fork in a small basket she pointed to, I opened the bag, stabbed a wet yellow square, and popped it into my mouth.

Tart.

A little sour but sweet.

I chewed and swallowed, then bit into another chunk and another as we walked down the market, taking in the warm reaction to his presence.

"People treat you like a celebrity. Just like I said."

"I guess I never noticed."

"Not sure how you could miss it."

I savored the last bite, my belly close to exploding .

"I'm not out here on leisure business, Grace. I'm always working and keeping everything in check. I am the one they turn to to keep this place free from crime. They accept my presence, and in return, I protect them."

"That seems ironic, really. You are the crime they need protecting from." I winced at my words. "I didn't—"

"You did, and it's okay. I value your honesty above all else."

Heat hit my cheeks, and I looked across the wide walkway to a stack of corn husks. "Not loyalty?"

"I've only asked for your honesty."

My stomach constrained with guilt as I lowered my gaze to the ground, our time at the market closing in as we neared the end.

"I'm sorry."

He placed his hand on my shoulder, stopping our footsteps.

Fifteen guards paused their approach, all dressed in clothes designed to help them blend into the scene around us.

Because why travel with guards when it would give away their position?

"I'm giving you time, Grace. And I'm hoping that you'll trust me enough to protect them and you one day."

"Why would you do that?"

He glanced around us, his palm pointed up to the sky. "I protect these people. Why wouldn't I do the same for you?"

I shrugged. "I haven't thought of it that much."

"If you'd give me the opportunity to prove it to you…" He touched my cheek and forced my gaze upward, meeting his. "You only have to give me a chance."

Javier stepped up to us, breaking the connection between us. He placed a hand on Elias' shoulder and whispered in his ear.

Elias nodded and grabbed my hand. "Let's go."

"Go? Again?"

He laced his fingers through mine, my brows pulling together as I stared at the connection.

"Where are we going?"

Elias placed me into the passenger seat and turned to Javier. "It's all prepared?"

"Yes."

"Prepared for what?"

Elias shut the door, my knee bobbing up and down.

What's going on?

What's prepared?

A hard knot formed just below my sternum, and I wrapped my arms around my belly as I bent over.

The driver's door opened, and Elias slid inside. "Don't be worried. It's a good thing."

I pulled my head from between my knees and glared. "You don't think you could have told me that instead of all this mysterious talk?"

He smiled a hauntingly beautiful grin. "Nervous, Grace?"

I sat straight in my seat, my head pressed against the headrest. "No."

"Liar."

My fingers fiddled with my lower lip, folding it in half and pushing it out, the soft pillow of flesh pressed between my unforgiving fingers.

"Relax."

"I was until you pulled that little stunt."

Zooming through the city, we turned into a tall warehouse with doors that slid open upon approach.

We parked, and Elias stepped out while I ogled at the long, sleek airplane with two large jets attached to the tail and black and white strips slashing across its surface.

My door opened, and Elias helped me step out. My knees locked together, avoiding a free show for anyone who paid attention.

"Where are we going—" Rosa stepped out of another vehicle, and I turned to Elias. "I'm so confused."

He never brought her out of the house.

"We're taking a little trip. Don't worry." He slipped his hand down my back and settled just above my ass. "This is a good thing, Grace."

Good things never come my way.

My life was plagued with torture, trauma, and a series of bad luck. If I stepped on this plane, it may fall from the sky on the way to something good. It didn't matter how hard I tried to change the course of my life. Things always took a turn for the worse.

He ushered me towards the steps leading inside, letting his mother go first, then me. He followed behind while I glanced around.

The geometric shapes in various shades of gray and black carpet stretched down the length of the plane, lending an accent to the dark, shining wood counters. "Is that a freaking kitchen in the back?"

Rosa sat in the first cream-cushioned seat available and buckled her seatbelt while I rushed to the back of the plane. "Wow."

My fingers ran against the solid countertop surface while a young woman in a dark blue uniform fixed drinks onto a tray. She gave me a kind smile and a nod. I smiled and turned back to Elias, who was sitting in a chair opposite his mother.

"Come get buckled."

Javier and five more men loaded onto the plane as I sat beside Rosa opposite Elias.

He frowned as I turned to Rosa and gripped her hand with a deep smile. "Where are we going, Rosa?"

"It's a surprise, Mamá." He pressed his finger to his lips.

She patted my hand. "It's a surprise, mi hija ."

I glared at Elias as the involuntary smile caused my cheeks to ache.

It's been a long time since I enjoyed a surprise.

My stomach roiled as the plane moved down the runway, and it sank when the plane slid into the air with a roar. Nails dug into armrests, my teeth ground against one another, and the urge to pee had me crossing my legs.

It's only nerves.

Elias sat back as cool as a cucumber, his phone in his hand until we leveled out, his conversations with his mother brief.

"So now that we're in the air and escape is impossible, can you tell me where we're going?"

He focused on his phone. "Patience."

"How long do I need to practice this patience you speak of?"

He tipped his head, his gaze peeling away from his screen. "Two hours."

I let out a held breath.

That's not very long.

"And when we get there?"

"You're fishing, Grace."

"Just enjoy the ride, mi hija ." She tipped her head back against the headrest and closed her eyes, her hand patting mine.

"I-I need to use the restroom. "

Elias pointed down the single walkway towards the kitchen. "Through the kitchen and room."

"A room? As in a bedroom?"

"It's a small bed. I wouldn't consider it a bedroom. Just a place for you to lay your head on longer trips."

I unbuckled and grabbed hold of the wall as a bump of turbulence vibrated beneath my feet. Strong hands gripped my hips, steadying me on my feet. "Thank you."

"Go slow and be careful."

I gave him a curt nod as his hand slid off my seared flesh and made my way down the aisle.

Javier took up two seats, laying back with a pillow beneath his head and one on top, blocking out the light. Two sat at the table playing a game of chess, and another two watched soccer on the TV.

"The Whites are going to wipe their shoes with them."

"You're insane. You've lost your mind. There is no way they are better than The Citizens. We have Erling Haaland. You've got Jude Bellingham. They don't compare."

What the hell are they talking about?

I rolled my eyes and slipped between them and their TV as fast as I could. I went into the kitchen, where the attendant prepared a snack board, and into the small bedroom, which was bigger than what I'd lived in for the last three years.

A single bed sat tucked against the wall with a pillow and beige blanket that shone in the light like silk. There was another blanket folded at the foot of the single-sized bed, this one a shade darker.

Opening the bathroom door, I tucked inside, did my business, and washed my hands.

My hair had lost its dampness a long time ago and hung around my shoulders in voluminous strands, my long, thick lashes curled upward, and my brows needed plucking.

Turning the handle, I stepped out of the bathroom and into Ramirez's broad chest.

"Oh. Sorry."

We did a side-stepping dance as he maneuvered into the bathroom, and I shuffled back down the aisle and into my seat.

At least he wasn't mean, like Eduardo.

Silence reigned supreme on the luxury plane, aside from the men still arguing about sports.

"Hey, what happened to Antonio?"

Elias exhaled, raised his gaze toward me, and then returned to his phone.

I frowned as I pushed the window shutter up.

Is that an answer without an answer?

My face twitched as I gazed at the fluffy clouds beneath us, reminiscent of a snowy landscape.

I miss snow.

The last time I'd seen the cold stuff, I'd had a snowball fight with my best friend Megan and a snowman-building competition with my parents.

We'd lost…big time.

A small smile spread on my face.

"What are you thinking about?" Elias switched seats, positioning himself next to the window and across from me.

The smile slid from my face as if I had been caught red-handed with my hands in the proverbial cookie jar.

"Nothing. Just staring at the clouds."

"What about them makes you smile with sadness?"

"You caught that?" I frowned, my fingers touching the rosary in my pocket.

"You're an open book."

I puffed up my cheeks and released my breath. "Thanks."

"There's nothing wrong with it." He sat back and glanced out the window. "It's refreshing."

"How so?"

His shoulders rose and fell with each breath, yet his gaze remained fixed on the scenery outside. Crossing his ankle over his knee, he rested his elbows on the armrests, hands steepled beneath his chin. "Everyone, except Mamá, wears a shield of armor constantly, especially around me. Heaven forbid I catch a glimpse of the person beneath their facade."

"So you're upset that the hardened men you have around you are hard?"

He chuckled. "When you put it that way."

"I'm only asking. Not judging."

"Now, you answer my question."

My teeth bit into my lip as I stewed on the bittersweet memories.

"Without doing that."

I frowned. "Doing what? "

"Worrying your lip like that." He switched to English, his eyes darting to his sleeping mother beside me. "We're not in a place to take care of how you're making me feel."

I gave a self-satisfying grin, tucked my chin to my chest, and bit away the smirk. "Sorry."

Heat prickled my neck and cheeks. A warm fuzzy flutter hit my belly like the plane fell from the sky.

"Don't be."

I glanced out the window, the clouds now veiling the windows as we descended. The pregnant pause between us replaced the feel-good butterflies with itchy ants, urging me to fill the void. "I was thinking about how the clouds looked like snow."

"They do, don't they?"

I nodded. "The last time I saw snow, I'd pelted my friend Megan in the face with a snowball. We were having a snowball fight in my front yard, and I nearly broke her nose."

"Ouch."

I laughed. "She made it up by whitewashing me until I couldn't breathe, so." I shrugged one shoulder.

"I rarely see it except when I travel to the States, but that's not often."

"I'm surprised you found the time to have a vacation."

"Who said it was for vacation?" His steepled fingers slipped over his lips for a brief moment before he pulled them down.

"How very Zen of you." I leered.

"I witnessed my father endure years of stress, never taking the time to unwind. This life will gnaw at you if you allow it."

Don't I know it?

"You're going to like this, Grace. It was done with you in mind."

"Like what?"

"This vaca—" He frowned.

My brows rose, and a broad smile formed. "A vacation?"

"You're good."

I laughed. "What did I do?"

"Lulled me into a sense of ease so I'd spill my guts to you."

"I would never do that." My cheeks ached. "Did it work?"

"Obviously."

I shrugged, flipping my hands in front of me. "To be fair, I didn't initiate the conversation."

He dropped his steepled hands and laid them flat on the armrests. "I'll give you that."

"So—"

"No." He shook his head. "That's all the information you're getting."

I pressed my pointer and thumb together. "Not even a teensy hint?"

"No."

Okay, but why?

It's not as if I deserved the vacation.

What's the catch?

Why am I the only one who doesn't know?

Why is it done with me in mind?

My stomach mixed with unease. "Elias?"

"Hmm?"

"Have I done something wrong?"

He frowned and leaned forward, his hands covering my knees as he exhaled. "Why would you think that?"

I shrugged. "Because I've never…" Deserved something like this…Earned it? "I don't know."

His thumb moved over my inner knee, sending shivers through my body. "Look out your window."

I squinted out the small oval window and gasped.

Bright blue waters spanned as far as the eye could see until the plane banked to the right, tipping us toward the cloud-covered sky. "The beach? We're flying to the beach?"

He nodded as I beamed. "Feel better now?"

I nodded, my finger fiddling with my lower lip as he sat back in his seat.

"It must be nice to hop in a plane and hit the beach for a day whenever you feel like it." I laughed.

"A day? We'll be here for a few days."

My brows rose. "D-days? Re—" I covered my loud mouth. "Really?" I whispered, casting a side-eye to Rosa, who didn't budge.

"It was necessary. Besides, I have some things to handle down here."

"Down? Does that mean we're near Cancun?"

"Stop fishing for answers, Grace."

I twisted my fingers against my lips and tossed the invisible key.

The plane dropped as we descended, then bounced as the wheels touched down, my knee bobbing up and down as the idea of warm water flowing over me intruded on my thoughts.

Dipping my toes in the water, snorkeling—something I always wanted to do with my parents—and sunbathing.

I frowned. "I don't have a bathing suit."

Not that I would use it.

"Grace." He sighed again, something I'd made him do more than usual on this short plane ride. "I have a team of professionals at my fingertips. Do you think I didn't prepare, or at the very least, thought to buy you one?"

"I-I guess." I shrugged.

"Not 'I guess'. Just relax. Everything has been taken care of."

The plane slowed to a crawl, then stopped.

Rosa woke up with a snort.

I held back a laugh as she opened her eyes, lifted her head, and looked around. "We're here?"

"Yes, Mamá."

The doors opened, and the men stepped off the plane first, followed by Elias, Rosa, and me, in that order.

Twenty or so guards stood with their backs towards us, their eyes searching for an obvious threat as they ushered us into a presidential-looking limo.

"Okay, now can I know?"

Elias sat across from Rosa and me as we drove off the tarmac and onto a road that ran along the turquoise and diamond waters.

I twisted my body and stared out the side window like a kid arriving at Disney World for the first time.

"Tulum."

I snapped my fingers. "I was so close."

He raised a brow, and I stared back out the window, picturing the waters surrounding my ankles, the sun beating down on my face, and the tension of the last few weeks blowing away into the salty breeze.

The closest step to peace I'd ever been in three years.