22. Chapter 22
Miles
I don’t know why I’m smiling. There isn’t anything to smile about, but I just can’t help it.
Princesa has been giving me the cold shoulder at every turn, so seeing her flip me off via the security feed is surprisingly comical.
I pull up the camera that’s in her living room.
I knew any boundaries that remained were blurred the moment I made her come with my fingers.
I contemplated putting a camera in her bedroom, but I resisted.
I dropped the ball when she was with her friend; I’d never done that.
The only reason she got away with it is that I knew the women were being protected.
Her friend has caught the attention of Sebastian Valdez, and that’s something I’d rather not get involved in.
I know he keeps Berenice protected without her realizing.
Will is innocent enough, but I did consider firing him a couple of days ago when he came to check on her.
I wasn’t so nice to him. I’m not jealous of the kid.
He’s known her for a couple of months and already has a budding friendship, whereas I’ve known her for years and she hates both versions of me.
That thought stings more than it should.
I remind myself that she’s a job, for fuck’s sake.
But she isn’t just any job. After Tomas examined her and she passed out, I went into her apartment and carried her to bed.
I watched her sleep restlessly for hours like a creep.
As much as she wants to avoid me, she can’t.
She’s tied to both Miles and Cam. I pull up the picture of the envelope and the photograph she sent me.
She looks so much like that night when I took her to her room.
I’ve known who the photographer is—Tony.
The man she spent over a year of her life with.
The question is, how did they get on the black market?
And who sent it to her? The answer isn’t as obvious as I’d like it to be.
I pay Gabe a visit at his home. Unlike his brother and cousins, my best friend lives right outside the city.
I pull up to the gate and check in with the guard.
The modern farmhouse is surrounded by a large expanse of green land, with an opening to a nearby quiet wooded area.
In the distance, I hear the gentle sound of the ocean.
I still can't believe he chose to live here.
I remember looking at this land years ago, trying to talk him out of buying it, but he didn't listen.
The house was built quickly. He designed every single space of it, just for her.
My friend is an old soul and a hopeless romantic.
Again, love makes people do stupid things.
I exit my car and walk to his front door, but he opens it before I have a chance to knock. Gabe looks exhausted. I haven’t told him the details of Veronica’s attack, not yet anyway, so seeing the state he’s in, I know I made the right choice.
“Damn, you look like shit,” I tell him. “Seriously, you may want to take a shower too.”
He scowls. “Fuck off, Miles.” He walks toward the living room.
“I brought beer.” I hold up a six-pack.
“You don’t drink beer.”
“True, but you do.” I hand the beer to Gabe. He doesn’t hesitate, twisting the cap off and taking a long drink.
“So are you going to tell me what’s going on?”
He sets the beer down and runs both his hands through his hair. “It’s her.”
I should have known. It’s always about her. “What about her?” I ask.
He looks up, and I see the chaotic look in his eyes. It’s the look he gives me when he’s about to ask me to do something outrageous.
“What do you need from me?” I ask, and he tells me.
He’s usually the epitome of composure. One thing about Gabe Kayde is that he can be smiling at you and planning your demise at the same time.
To think that Ian is considered the monster.
The devil wears many faces. Gabe has weaknesses, and they are the women he loves—his sister, his mother, and her.
He has been my best friend since my family moved to Veridian Bay.
His grandfather and mine were best friends.
His helped my grandfather fulfill his dream.
A dream that I want no part of because it was never mine.
If it were me, I’d sell it, but I can’t because my mother wouldn’t want me to.
Like my grandfather, she also wanted to keep the business in the family.
Gabe and I became inseparable until I moved back to Colombia permanently.
My father tried to separate my mother and me from anything and anyone who reminded him of the failure he was as a man and a husband.
Something that he couldn’t do until my grandfather passed away.
Throughout all that, Gabe and I remained friends.
When I needed him, I knew he would show up for me without a doubt, and he has, just like I have for him and will continue to.
I have secrets that I’ve been keeping from him.
I don’t know how he’ll react. I like to think that he won’t put a bullet in my head or castrate me. If not him, Ian, or the cousins.
“Any update on the photograph situation?” he asks, bringing me out of my thoughts.
“None,” I lie.
He takes a sip of his beer. “We need to solve this. I’ve been talking with Ian. And she’s right.”
“What do you mean? And who?” I look in the direction of the woods, but I see him through my peripheral vision.
“Veronica, she’s right.” He grabs the back of his neck. “She’s a woman now, and she needs to live her own life without being constantly watched.”
“I don’t watch her; I protect her!”
He sighs. “You won’t always be.”
I turn my whole body in his direction. He’s watching me. My reaction.
“Miles, you won’t always be there.” He takes a deep breath. “I want her to find someone who will love her and take care of her. To be there with her. She deserves it. And…well, you need to move on with your life too. So, finish this.” He turns and walks back into the house.
The idea of someone else standing guard over her, someone else being her shadow, turns my stomach.
Maybe Gabe is right. Maybe I’m too close.
But if that’s true, why does the thought of walking away feel more like a loss?
My phone vibrates, and I see the name on the screen: Tia Susana.
She never calls unless it’s an emergency; usually, she sends me a message because she knows I have such a busy schedule.
I answer, my voice tight with panic. “Tia, que pasa?”
“Nada, mijo,” she says, though her voice lacks its usual spark. “I was just thinking of you. Y pues, no me he sentido bien.”
Her admitting that she doesn’t feel well is terrifying. My Tia Susana is the type to walk off a broken ankle. “Tia, how long have you been feeling this way?”
Silence stretches across the line. “Just a couple of days,” she finally whispers.
“You know that doesn't make me happy,” I say, my tone hardening with a sternness I rarely use with her. “You need to take better care of yourself. I’m leaving in a couple of hours.”
I hang up, my mind racing. These dizzy spells have become more frequent over the last few months; they aren't just "spells" anymore, they are a pattern. She hates doctors, but she’s going to see one whether she likes it or not.
I quickly update Gabe on the change of plans.
My trip home is no longer a casual visit; it is an emergency.
Next, I call Tomas. He isn't just a friend, he’s a damn good doctor, and I need him to examine her.
He agrees to accompany me to Colombia, but we aren’t leaving until later in the morning.
He has an important surgery he can’t walk away from. So I wait.
I check the time and realize Veronica headed into the office early, no doubt to catch up on everything she missed.
She hasn't answered a single one of my calls or messages, which means she has no idea I’m about to leave the country.
I could just send an email to let her know I'll be gone, but the thought sits heavy in my chest. If I do that, I lose the chance to actually talk to her, to look her in the eyes and see how she’s really doing.
The distance between us is already growing, and despite my harsh words, the truth is that she and Cam were forming a friendship I hadn't expected.
Now, leaving like this feels like I'm cementing a mistake I'm not sure I can fix from another continent. Checking my watch, I see I still have a few hours before takeoff. I decide to head to Nina’s Hope; there’s no way she can avoid me when I'm standing right in front of her.
Minutes later, I step inside. The scale of the building is staggering.
It’s hard to fathom how a kickboxing gym owner and a VP of Finance secured the massive funding required to get this place running, but they pulled it off.
A faint smile ghosts my lips at the thought of the impact Veronica is having here.
After checking in with Lana at the front desk, she escorts me to the conference room that Veronica has claimed as her work zone.
Through the glass, I see her buried in documents.
She’s deep in focus; her nose scrunches, and her eyebrows furrow in that way I’ve come to know.
I can’t bring myself to interrupt just yet, so I linger in the doorway, watching her.
The woman in front of me is a vast contradiction to the one my friend examined.
What is she hiding? The thought makes me sick because if Tomas is right and there are drugs involved, then I failed to protect her.
Sensing my gaze, she looks up, her features instantly stiffening as if she’s bracing for a battle. She doesn’t move, so I go to her, like I always have. I cross the threshold and enter the office, stopping directly across from her. I grip the back of the chair to ground myself.
“What are you doing here?” she asks, her voice cold.
I sigh. “You’ve been avoiding me, and I needed to check on you. The other night, I said things that…well, I—” I look into those clear blue eyes. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have called your brother like that, and I definitely shouldn't have brought your mother into this. That was a shitty thing to do.”
“Is this your attempt to make yourself feel better?”
“No,” I stammer. “I came here to apologize.”
“Well, you did. Now you can leave. This isn't a scheduled meeting, and I’ll see you in a couple of days,” she retorts, already looking back down at her papers.
“Are you kicking me out?” My defensive side begins to flare.
“I have a meeting. I don’t have time for this.” She motions dismissively between us.
“You don’t have time for me? You’ve been avoiding me for fucking days, and now, when I come to apologize, which, for your information, I rarely do, you just brush me aside?”
She stands abruptly, her defiance radiating off her in waves.
“What do you want me to say? Thank you for lying to me for months? Thank you for throwing my biggest shame in my face? Thank you for making me feel insignificant?” She pauses, struggling to catch her breath, her voice trembling with a mix of rage and hurt.
It’s a miracle no one outside has heard us yet.
“What, Cam? Or whoever you are,” she spits. “I don’t even know what to call you anymore.”
I close the distance between us, standing directly in front of her. I take a sharp inhale, trying to steady my pulse because this conversation is spiraling fast. Her scent hits me instantly, overpowering my senses, a familiar mix of vanilla and something unique to her.
"It’s Miles," I say, my voice dropping. "And guess what, Princesa? You have no choice. Remember, you came to me for help.” The words are out before I can catch them. I feel the instant gut punch of regret for using her own actions against her.
She flinches as if I’ve slapped her, but her eyes remain icy. "You’re right," she whispers, the bitterness in her voice cutting deeper than a blade. "I’ll just add that to the list of my biggest mistakes.”
I want her to explain, to know who or what else is on that list, but I don't pry. Not now. Not when I can see that I’ve just cemented my place at the very top of it.
"I have to go out of the country for a couple of days," I say, suddenly shifting the tone. "My aunt isn’t feeling well, so I need to go check on her."
The fire in her eyes flickers, replaced by genuine surprise. “Yo-your aunt?”
“Yes.”
I don't wait for her to process the fact that I actually have a life outside of this. I turn to leave, but I nearly collide with Berenice and her roommate, Abel. Berenice looks directly at me, and I see the moment recognition hits her. My gaze shifts to the man next to her—Abel. The same man who waits tables at the sex club where I meet Gemma. I watch a slow, knowing smile spread across his face, reaching his eyes. He knows exactly who I am and exactly where he’s seen me.
Fuck. Could this day get any worse?
Abel knows he can’t disclose a single detail about the club due to his NDA, but Berenice is a different story. She isn't bound by any contract, and her loyalty is to Veronica, not me. The way her eyes narrow tells me she’s already piecing things together. The silence is deafening.
Veronica walks over to us. “Hey guys, you’re early."
“We thought we’d have some breakfast,” Berenice tells her friend, though her gaze never leaves my face.
“Yeah. There’s plenty for one more,” Abel says, his voice casual, but that knowing glint remains in his eyes as he looks at all of us.
I lock eyes with him, silently daring him to let it slip. I don’t know why I care so much about her knowing who I’m with. I’ve watched her with countless partners, yet the thought of her knowing my secrets makes my chest tighten.
“That sounds great. But Miles was just leaving,” Veronica enunciates, her voice clipped and cold.
All heads turn in my direction. But I try my best to avoid their gazes. I have a plane to catch. “Right,” I say, my reply sounding steadier than I feel. I force myself to break eye contact with Abel and look at Veronica one last time. “I’ll be in touch.”
She doesn't respond. I brush past her friends and exit the building.