“Cap! Open the door, dickface!” Eyes narrowing, James growled at the shout that floated into the room, reminding me of an infuriated grizzly bear who’d been woken from hibernation long before he was ready. “Your food is getting cold, and I don’t wanna hear you bitch at me about it!”
Slipping a finger under my chin, he tilted my head back before kissing my lips once, making my belly flip. “Tuck won’t hurt you,” he reiterated. “He’d chew off his own leg first. Trust me.”
I nodded. “I trust you.”
On this at least, I mentally added.
“Cap!”
With a roll of his eyes, James climbed off the bed and headed for the door. After disengaging the lock, he yanked it open. A second later, a handsome, dark-haired man, one who I’d glimpsed at the fire station before, spilled into the room.
“For fuck’s sake, you grump,” he said, his muscular shoulders tensing beneath the fitted, navy blue Toluca FD shirt he wore. “I was about to break the damn—”
Eyes landing on me, his mouth snapped shut with an audible click. Brow rising, his beautiful brown eyes slid from me to James. “Huh,” he said, lips pulling up into a crooked smile. “Would you look at that? Seems you took my advice and—”
“Tuck,” James said, the warning in his voice clear. “If you don’t want me to toss you out the door and straight onto your smartass, then you better watch your mouth.”
Scowling, the guy—Tuck as James had called him—looked my way once more before pointing back at mi guapo. “What do you see in that asshole?” he asked, shaking his head. “He’s an insufferable dick. Besides”—mischief twinkled in those dark eyes of his—“you’re way too pretty for him.”
James responded by playfully smacking him upside the head. I covered my mouth to keep from laughing aloud, but the sound of my amusement escaped the seal of my palm against my lips.
“See,” the man said before tossing a wink in my direction. “He’s a damned dick.” Turning his attention back to James, he handed him one bulging, white plastic bag, followed by another. “Here, jackass. This better get me off boot duty. I’m tired of cleaning up after Hendrix and Ty’s lazy asses.”
James smirked. “We’ll see.” Nodding toward the door, my guy continued, “You better leave for the station, else you’ll be late for your shift.”
Tuck rolled his eyes before pivoting in place. “Aye aye, Cap. Wouldn’t want you to get your knickers in a twist.” He turned his head and glared at James over his shoulder. “Enjoy your sick day, old man. I hope you feel better real soon.” A bout of laughter followed him as he quickly disappeared through the door and out of my view.
“If I have a heart attack one day, either he or my son will be the cause,” James growled, eye twitching as he stared at the now closed door. “Mark my words.”
I couldn’t hold it back any longer.
Lips parting, I laughed. Hard.
James’s narrowed eyes swung to me. “You think that’s funny?” He looked personally offended, which only made me laugh harder.
I lifted my hands in the air and shrugged. “I can’t help it,” I said between bouts of cackling. “He’s hilarious, and I like him.”
“Oh, hell no,” he chuckled, eyes crinkling from the giant smile he wore. “You are not allowed to take Tuck’s side. He would never let me live that down.”
“Fine,” I replied with an eye roll of my own. “I’ll be Switzerland.” Tossing back the blanket that covered my legs, I nodded toward the bags he still held. “What did you have him bring?”
Without answering me, he made his way toward the bed and sat down, leaving less than a foot of space between us. Placing the bags beside him, he began to unpack them, pulling out one Styrofoam takeout box after another.
“I called around town but couldn’t find any restaurants that serve cachapa or corn cakes, so I had Tuck pick you up these instead.” My breath hitched as he sat one box on my lap and popped open the top, revealing a stack of fluffy pancakes. “I know it’s not the same as your madre made, but I hope it brings you comfort regardless.”
“James,” I whispered, heart swelling and breaking at the same time. “I don’t know what—”
“You don’t have to say anything,” he replied, pouring maple syrup over the top of the golden stack. “Just let me take care of you.”
Chin wobbling, I looked up as warmth spread through my chest, thawing a part of my heart that had long been frozen.
Needing him to understand how much such a gesture meant to me, I wrapped my fingers around his wrist as he worked at cutting my breakfast into bite-sized pieces, halting his progress.
“Guapo,” I murmured, throat clogged with emotion. “Thank you…” He lifted his eyes from the food, meeting my stare. “For everything. I’m not sure how I’ll ever repay you. For any of this.”
“You want to repay me?”
I nodded. “I do.”
Lifting the pancake-filled fork into the air, he rested it against my parted lips. “Then eat.”
I didn’t need to be told twice.
Doing as he said, I took a bite.
Nineteen
James
The Next Day
I wanted to hit something.
Fists twitching, commotion raged inside me, chipping away at my resolve to keep my nuclear temper in check as I sat on the corner of the musty motel bed, watching Carmen ready herself to leave.
Ratty fur coat draped over her petite frame, my little pixie pulled her pretty hair atop her head and secured it with a thick rubber band she’d found in my medic bag, giving me a clear view of her even prettier face.
She was breathtaking.
More so than any woman I’d ever seen.
Bronzed cheeks full of color thanks to the fluids I’d given her, along with the small amount of food she’d managed to keep down over the past two days, her complexion and eyes both shone brighter.
But she wasn’t done recovering yet.
Not even close.
Still weak and nauseous, she had no damned
