23. Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Two
“ I wish we’d gotten some closure,” Dina said later as they cuddled in bed. She had one bare leg draped over his and rested her cheek against his chest. It felt a little strange to be discussing her dead ex while naked in bed with Steve, but she sensed they both wanted to talk about it.
“Well, I had low expectations when I was sent here to liaise on his recapture,” Steve admitted. “I hoped I’d get a chance to talk to him, to get answers to questions that have haunted me since I was a kid, but I didn’t count on it. I figured I’d be lucky to see him caught at all.”
“I’m sorry, Steve.” She understood only too well the pain he carried all those years.
“I wish it hadn’t gone this way for Camila.” Steve heaved a tired sigh. “The last memory of her grandmother and her father, and it’s so awful and ugly.”
Dina gulped. “I hate it. I hate that he hurt her again.”
“I know.” Steve tenderly kissed the top of her head.
“And we’ll probably never get any answers about what Jose was doing,” Dina groused. “His betrayal hurts the most. He was family to us. We trusted him to protect us, and he tried to kill my daughter.”
“Money. Greed. Resentment. Take your pick.” Steve drew lazy shapes on her shoulder. “What are y’all gonna do about the rest of the team?”
“I don’t know.” Now, it was her turn to sigh tiredly. “Rafa is furious. He wants to fire everyone and clean house, start all over again. He tends to go to extremes.”
“He’s probably right.” Steve’s finger moved along her skin, leaving a trail of heat. “It’s always easier to start over, especially when you’re talking about keeping the family safe.”
“But the entire security staff? All of them out without jobs? Without benefits? As if that won’t create more enemies for us?” Dina disagreed wholly with Rafa’s desire to fire everyone. She feared it would make things worse.
“That’s a risk, yes.”
“It’s one I don’t want to take.”
“What does your mother think?”
She shifted and glanced up at him, brows arched. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Just that you and your brother might run the family business, but your mother runs the family. If you and Rafa can’t decide on what to do about security, she will.”
Dina huffed in annoyance, mostly because he was correct. “You’ve been here a week and already you’ve got our family dynamic figured out.”
“I wouldn’t go that far.” Steve’s hand drifted lower along her arm before sweeping up toward her breast.
She suppressed a shudder of need as his fingertips grazed her nipple. “You’re going pretty far right now.”
Steve laughed softly. “Can you blame me? I’ve finally got you back in bed. I want to enjoy every single moment we’ve got before I go.”
I wish you didn’t have to go .
She couldn’t say that, of course. She wasn’t some silly, naive girl. Steve had to go back to Dallas, and she had to focus on her daughter and the business and her family. No matter how much she wished it otherwise, this was never going to work.
But right now?
Right now, she could pretend.
***
A long time later, Dina woke to the sensation of a chill along her back. She reached for the covers and then for Steve’s arm, hoping to steal a bit of his heat. Her fingertips glided over an empty bed, and she opened her eyes, suddenly aware that she was alone.
She bolted upright, letting the sheet pool around her wait. She glanced around the dimly lit room, the barest haze of morning sun coming through the windows. Every trace of Steve was gone.
Except for a folded slip of paper on the bedside table closest to her.
She leaned over and snatched it up. Her fingers trembled as she unfolded it and read the short message he’d left her.
When you’re ready, I’ll be waiting.
Clutching the note in her hand, Dina swallowed the painful lump in her throat. Overwhelmed by love and grief and frustration, she let the tears fall. In one sentence, Steve had proven to be the man she’d always known he was.
Could she ever be the woman he was waiting for?