It was his turn to smile. “A promise.”
Confusion set in. “You wrote a promise?”
He nodded “Si, beautiful, I did.”
“What kind—”
Words vanishing, my lips parted on a breathy sigh when he pulled his finger from beneath my chin and cupped my face, caressing my balmy skin.
“I promised him that I’d save you”—sliding his palm down my jaw, he traced the length of my throat with his rough knuckle—“that I’d protect you”—his thumb then came to a rest above my fluttering pulse point—“and that above all else, if given the chance, that I’d cherish you for the rest of my natural-born life.”
“James…”
I had no words.
None whatsoever.
Luckily for me, he did.
“It’s time, baby.”
Knowing he was right and more than eager to continuing honoring Alejandro, I lifted my arm, raising the balloon high into the air. Eyes shining with approval, he did the same.
“Ready?” he asked.
I nodded. “Si, I am.”
Head leaned back, I looked heavenward once more. Gaze locking on a single twinkling star, I exhaled as my knees began to shake.
Clutching James’s arm with my free hand, I held onto him tight and accepted every bit of the strength that having him close provided. “I love you, Alejandro.” I released my balloon and watched as it danced against the backdrop of the Georgia sky on its ascent toward Heaven. “Happy birthday, hermanito.”
James cleared his strong throat.
“Happy birthday, buddy.” Second balloon free, it joined the first on a journey that I prayed would end with Alejandro somehow reading the words we’d both written, despite knowing the chance of such a thing truly happening was likely impossible.
But like mi Guapo had said minutes before, I needed to maintain hope because sometimes it’s all we had.
So that’s exactly what I did.
Shoulders squared, I conjured every nugget of it that my scarred soul could muster. Then, with it firmly in my heart’s grasp, I held on tight and promised myself to never let it go.
The Following Morning
The sun had yet to rise.
Physically exhausted and emotionally drained, I sat in James’s truck where we’d spent the last few hours, my eyes closed and my head leaned against the passenger window.
With only minutes left before I needed to return to the trap house, my belly and mind were both a mess. I didn’t want to leave him, didn’t want to forfeit the comfort he provided, but I had no choice.
Mi chicas needed me to keep them safe, and Cristo knew, I needed the love they selflessly provided more than I needed oxygen to breathe.
One day, things will be different…
One day, goodbye won’t be necessary.
“When will I see you again?”
Though sad, I smiled at the familiar question. It was the same one he’d asked during our last departure. But unlike then, I now had a concrete answer to give him.
My eyes fluttered open.
“Two days,” I replied, watchful gaze carefully scanning the dimly lit area surrounding his still idling vehicle before moving to him.
The beautiful smile he wore…
Dios mío, it made my heart flutter.
“Saturday?”
I nodded. “Si, Saturday. Chiquita is being sent away for the night then”—I scowled, disdain for the pendejo who’d booked a date with her roaring to life—“and Little One plans to stay with Faye if the bastardo doesn’t send her away as well.”
It was a scenario I didn’t want to think of.
If Dominic gives her to Officer Jacobs again…
Needing to focus before anger overtook me and chipped away at the peace I felt, I reached across the bench seat, finding James’s hand.
Tracing invisible shapes over his knuckles with my pink-tipped nail, I whispered, “Want to meet me at the motel? I’m not sure what time I’ll arrive, but—”
“I’ll be there.”
Cheeks filling with both color and warmth, I smiled at his interruption. “Okay. It’s a plan then. Saturday at the motel. I’ll be there.”
My eyes flicked to the numbers illuminating the dashboard. 5:56, they read, causing my stomach to sink. “I need to go.” The unchecked misery in my tone was unmistakable. “If someone sees me, or if Little One returns before—”
“You’re not leaving me. Not yet.”
My lips thinned. “Listen, pendejo…”
He chuckled. “I was wondering when you’d call me an asshole again. Didn’t feel right not hearing you say it at least once before I let you go.”
Tossing my head back against the seat’s headrest, I laughed—hard—the melodic sounds bubbling out of me with wild abandon.
Having gone so many years without cracking a smile, much less experiencing amusement, producing such sounds caused my sides to ache.
But I didn’t mind.
In fact, I cherished such a feeling.
“Carmen…” Shoulders shaking, I bit my lower lip in an effort to get myself under control as my guy continued to speak. “Get your ass over here.”
“No, I don’t think that I will,” I teased. “I think that I’ll just—”
A squeal—mine—filled the cab of the truck, echoing off the glass windows, when James quickly twisted at the waist and grasped my hips in his hands before I had a chance to put up a fight. Yanking me toward him, he eliminated the space between us, once more bringing our bodies within inches of one another.
Nostrils flaring, he stared down, whiskey-colored eyes alight with something akin to happiness. “If you think I’m letting you climb out of my truck without tasting your sweet lips one more time, then you’ve got another thing coming.”
Heart soaring, my breath hitched.
Tongue wetting my lower lip in anticipation of the euphoria to come, I raised my trembling hands and placed them on either side of his neck. “So kiss me then.”
Guapo didn’t need to be told twice.
Without further urging, he kissed me.
And just like before, I loved every second.
Twenty-Four
James
Saturday had finally arrived.
Anxious as hell, I stood in front of the station, my back facing the open bay doors. Behind me, the sound of Hendrix, Tuck, and a few of the other guys rang out as they joked around and gave one another hell,
