“Went to pick up the King.”
“Who?”
“Cobra?” She arched a brow at me. “As in, King Cobra?”
I drained my glass and winced. “Oh.”
I must have passed out.Though I was a party girl, the hard stuff wasn’t my thing. But Maia had been right, the day called for something a little stronger than expensive wines.
A soft sigh escaped my lips.
I dreamt of Tarek Jonas. In my fantasy, he was in love with me. He looked at me the way a lover should, touched me like I thought he was always meant to.
When I opened my eyes again, there was a blanket over me and the standing lamp beside me was on. A dog was curled up in front of the sofa.
I missed Lilah then.
Most mornings, I would wake to her curled into the sheet between my ass and legs. Though I scolded her that I could squish her, I secretly enjoyed it. When I shifted, the dog lifted its head and barked. Tarek entered with a mug.
“You’re awake,” he said, handing me the cup.
It wasn’t easy to make my mind behave. The t-shirt he wore fell perfectly against his toned torso leaving very little to the imagination. At some point during his time away from Eagle Rocks, Tarek had gotten so muscular and sexy, every time I thought about him, I grew wet.
That wasn’t normal.
“The dog?” I thanked him with a silent toast. “Is he yours”
Tarek hunched down to scratch the pooch behind the ears. “Good boy. Good boy!” He cooed. “No, not mine. This fantastic beast is Kujo’s partner. His name is Six.”
“He’s cute.”
“And smart. Right boy?”
Six barked happily, wagged his tail and nipped at Tarek’s hand. Instead of being angry, Tarek merely leaned forward and kissed the German Sheppard’s head. Six yawned widely then batted at Tarek’s hand playfully while squirming in happiness.
“Is Kujo here?”
“No. After you all but passed out, he came by. Six knew something was wrong. He wouldn’t leave you and Kujo knew better than to try forcing him.” Tarek explained. “War dogs—they are smarter than most.”
“Oh. My own little guardian angel.”
Six licked at Tarek’s chin. I didn’t think he could get any sexier but watching the way he interacted with the dog, did my heart well. Six rolled over for Tarek to scratch his belly caused Tarek to laugh.
It broke me. He’d never laugh like that for me—he wouldn’t even smile.
“We need to talk.” The business in Tarek’s voice drew me back to reality. “Come on.”
I hesitated. Just because I had to leave my happy place, didn’t mean I wanted to. Still, I followed him down the hall to an office. There was paper all over the desk, pictures pinned to a white board and red tacks in a large map on the far wall.
“The Araña Tóxica is a gang out of Colombia.” He began. “Sit down.”
I fell into the only empty chair available. All the others were loaded with paperwork.
“They became known for murdering every known member of a rival gang and taking over the lead for heroine out of the Comuna 13 in Colombia. Comuna 13 is one of the most dangerous slums in the country and from there, they traffic the stuff into the United States.” Tarek pointed to a picture of a man who looked like a Tele-Novella reject. “This is Otis Valentina. He’s in charge. The DEA has been trying to nab him for years. No luck.”
“Okay.” I inhaled, held the breath then pushed it out my nose and mouth at the same time. “I’m assuming you’re telling me this because he’s the one after me. The question I have right now—why?”
“That we don’t know.” Tarek pointed to a timeline with missing pieces. “While you slept, I’ve been trying to piece together your father’s life over the last two years or so. These spots we have no idea where he was or what he was up to. Can you add anything?”
