“I will find a way,” she interjected, the sadness filling her eyes morphing into something akin to determination. “One way or another. We just have to wait.”
Throat clogged with emotion, I said nothing.
“Can you do that, James?” she asked, accented voice growing more frantic and high-pitched with each word she spoke. “Because if you can’t, then I need to know right now before—”
Feeling like complete shit for sending her into hysterics despite my crippling doubt, I dropped my hand from her face and cupped the back of her neck. Pulling her close, I buried my face in her soft hair and inhaled, forcing myself to calm before I said or did something I’d live to regret.
“I’ve waited forty-three years for you, sweetheart,” I said, truthfully. “And I’ll wait twice as many more if I have to, because as I’ve told you before, I’m never letting you go.”
Each word was spoken with raw honesty.
It didn’t matter how long it took, I would stand by the woman I held in my arms, her mighty heart beating in sync with mine, because she and the girls I already considered mine were giant pieces of my forever.
At least, that’s what I’d thought.
Turns out, life had other plans.
Thirty-One
Carmen
Thirty Minutes Later
“I really like Hendrix.”
Jade’s whispered words cut through the heavy, dread-filled silence surrounding us as we walked hand in hand back to the trap house, which sat less than fifty yards away.
Unease speared my heart at the sight.
Still, it swelled at her confession.
Knowing my voice would shake, then crack if I replied, I remained mute as we continued to move, reluctantly following the cracked sidewalk leading us straight to hell.
“I like James too.” My feet came to a stop. “And he seems to really like you.”
Like her, the words Jade spoke were beautiful, but they weren’t enough to halt the sadness that spread throughout my veins, nullifying every ounce of happiness I’d felt an hour before.
Shoulders trembling beneath the pressure of the sadness battering me, I squeezed her hand tight, thumb caressing the back of her knuckles as my throat bobbed.
Overcome with both endless grief and mounting anger at having to leave him once more, I was close to splintering.
I simply couldn’t stand it.
Not having him close always caused my heart to ache, but saying goodbye was another soul-crushing type of pain altogether. Leaving him this time though…
Something was different.
And by different, I mean wrong.
I couldn’t place my finger on what was causing such a visceral reaction to take place in my gut, but it seemed almost as if the blinding pain, as familiar and persistent as it was each time I was forced to walk away from him, had morphed into something stronger and twice as agonizing.
And that something?
It felt like… finality.
“Carmen,” Little One hissed, ripping me from the troubling thoughts that wouldn’t stop assailing my mind. Hand still holding mine tight, she stepped in front of me, bringing us face to face. “What’s wrong?” Her worried eyes crashed into mine. “Did I do something wrong at the station? I know I elbowed Tuck in the ribs a few times, but—”
“You did nothing wrong, bebé ,” I hurriedly replied, refusing to let her hurtle headfirst down such a dark path. “It’s just…”
Head tilting to the side, she looked at me, the worry on her face multiplying exponentially. “It’s just what?” She shifted, fidgeting in place. “You can tell me.” Her eyes plead with mine. “I can handle it. Trust me.”
Anxiety bloomed in my chest.
I didn’t want to thrust my worries and burdens onto her, but I had little choice. Not when her safety, along with Chiquita’s, was possibly at stake. “I have a bad feeling,” I said, truthfully, fidgeting in place. “I know it sounds insano, but Little One, I’m telling you right now… something isn’t right.” Releasing her hand, I rested my palm over the place where my pounding heart was close to flying right out of my chest. “I feel it in here.”
Eyes wide, her full lips parted. “What does that mean?”
“I don’t know.” I wished I did. Then maybe I could have put a stop toward whatever trouble was barreling down on us like a runaway freight train. “But I want you and Chiquita to be extra careful, si? You do not voluntarily leave the trap house unless I’m with you, and you do nothing—and I mean nothing—to piss off El Diablo.”
That earned me an eye roll.
If I hadn’t been so terrified of what was to come, I would’ve rolled mine right back, but I was finding it hard to do anything more than breathe.
“My mere existence pisses off El Diablo.”
Though enraging, her words were true.
Little One may have brought in an endless stream of cash, but there was something about her that had always grated on Dominic. It made her the second most targeted female in his stables.
First place, of course, belonged to me.
“Screw Dominic,” Jade said, taking me by surprise. “I don’t want to talk about that bastardo.” My upper lip twitched. She’s starting to sound like me… “I want to talk about Hendrix.” Nose in the air, she glared at me through narrowed eyes. “I like him, and I want to keep him.”
Her words mirrored Hendrix’s from earlier. Despite the worry accosting my soul, I bit back a smile. “He’s not a pet, Little One; therefore, you can’t keep him.”
Crossing her arms, she popped her hip to the side, putting her sass on full display. “Oh yes I can,” she argued. “You just have to marry James.” My mouth fell open. “Then he would be my brother.” She scrunched her nose. “Sort of.”
I couldn’t tell if she was joking or not.
Either way, the smile I’d been holding back broke free, erasing a smidgen of my apprehension. “You liked playing basketball with him that much?”
It was an unnecessary question to ask.
A blind man could’ve seen that she had.
“Yes.” Her face tightened the slightest bit. “But it’s not just that. The
