“Lotty didn’t have a mean bone in her body. No matter how long Luther was gone when he disappeared, she waited for him. She kept their little house perfect and comfortable for him. Everything was about him. And for him, everything was about her. When he was gone, and we always thought he was on a trip of some kind, something to do with his moonshine, Rubin and I hunted and fished for Lotty. Luther never left her without supplies, but we always checked on her. We liked being around her, and sometimes we’d sneak our sisters out. We’d bring them down here. At times we could convince my mother that Lotty needed the company, then it wasn’t so bad when we went back home.”
“My mother told me my grandmother admitted to saying horrible things to Luther after the war,” Leila said. “She was an activist, as were her friends. They all were very mean to Luther. She said the moment she hurled the insults at him, she regretted it, but she didn’t apologize right there in front of her friends as she should have. My mother told me to always think before speaking and never say things to a loved one you can’t take back. My grandmother never had the chance to apologize to him and make things right between them. He disappeared.”
“He was still working for the government. They would have helped him disappear.”
“My father always hoped to meet him. He knew he was Luther’s nephew because my grandmother would always tell himwonderful stories about him. My grandmother said that was her one regret, and it was a heartbreaking one. She really did love him. She didn’t want Luther to die thinking no one loved him. She always told me she loved him very much.”
“Lotty loved him,” Diego said. “Men like us, like Luther and I, don’t expect to be loved. We don’t, so if it happens, it would feel like a miracle. Lotty was Luther’s miracle.”
Her thumb stroked along the outside of his fingers. It was the lightest of touches. He doubted she was aware of it. It was gentle. Comforting. Instinctive in her to want to soothe him. She was born with that trait. His warrior woman, lethal as hell, but all woman. The good kind. He couldn’t help but think of the stark difference in what she wanted for her home and family and what his mother had created for them.
“Diego, what did you mean when you said the kind of men you and Luther are?”
He leaned his head beside hers against the makeshift backrest. “I promised myself I’d give you the real me, even though I know it will screw up any chance I have with you.” He kept his gaze fixed on her face. She had the most appealing bone structure.
“That implies you don’t give others the real you. Why bother with me?”
“I hide in plain sight. I have to. My brother is hanging out there, vulnerable, whether he likes to think so or not. That doesn’t discount his abilities to fight. He’s a man to have on your side, and he brings all kinds of assets to the table with him. It’s just that his surgeries are incredible. His speed and skills are light-years ahead of mine. He’s saved so many lives during our rescues, it’s unbelievable. There are a couple of others with his ability, but he’s hands down the master.”
She rubbed her cheek against his shoulder. “Why aren’t you including yourself with those miracle workers? You are, you know.”
“You took a big chance letting me work on you. I heal animals, and have, hundreds of them, but I’ve only helped a couple of humans. Your operation was the first major one like that I’ve done. I travel with Rubin, and I always ensure he’s safe when he’s healing. He’s extraordinary at it.”
She was silent for a short period of time, thinking things over, the way she seemed to do. “I was pretty out of it, but I recall you telling me you were trusting me not to give away your secret. I took that to mean to our government or anyone who would dissect you to see how it worked. But you meant anyone. No one knows you can do what your brother does, do they? You don’t wantanyoneto know.”
She turned her head when she asked the question, staring him straight in the eyes. Two emeralds. That was what it was like looking into. A beautiful green jeweled sea. He could get lost looking into her eyes, and he wasn’t the poetic type. He knew Rubin wrote poetry. He’d never invaded his brother’s privacy, but he knew Rubin had a poet’s soul. He, however, did not. There wasn’t a bone in his body that could be labeled romantic, or poetic, yet looking into her eyes, all he could think about was the beauty of emeralds.
He’d promised himself he’d be real with her. She would ask him uncomfortable questions, questions he no longer had the answers to. “You and Luther. That’s it.”
“Luther is so tight-lipped when it comes to confidences, you know he’d never give anyone the smallest detail about you, even if they tortured him.”
“That’s true. How long were you with your great-uncle before you were attacked?”
“About eighteen hours.”
“He didn’t know much about either of you. I needed information quickly, and he wanted me to go after you, so he didn’t have much of a choice. He told me you were his great-nieces. He blames himself for what happened to you.”
“That seems to be a running theme in our family. I blame myself for not taking care of my sister, and Luther blames himself for what happened to us when he didn’t even know we existed. You know what that proves? We are human after all. Making us some kind of souped-up elite soldiers still doesn’t make us think we’re all that.”
Again, there was that faint note of humor. She had no trouble laughing at herself. He thought that was a much better way to handle life than being morose, as he often found himself getting to be. He flashed a small self-deprecating grin.
“I need to hang out with you more. You make me laugh when I thought I’d forgotten how.” He tugged at her hair. The braid was coming loose, and stray strands were beginning to behave on the wild side. He wanted to see that mass of silk shiny and naturally wild.
Once again, her green eyes moved over his face as if committing his features to memory. She seemed to make it a habit, when she looked at him, to focus completely on him. The intensity in her direct stare gave him the feeling she could see right into him. Inside. He had a lot of secrets, most of them needing to stay concealed, never to see the light of day.
Diego wanted her to see him, and yet that was the very thing he feared. He found humor in the dichotomy, needing her to see him but not wanting her to. That ability to laugh at himself was always there, but she was bringing it out stronger than ever. A good thing, he decided.
“When I signaled to Luther I was there, you knew where I was,” he changed the subject. He was genuinely curious. “How?” His birdcalls were so close to reality, he couldn’t imagine she could hear the difference.
A small frown flitted across her face. “Before I answer that, how did you know I was aware of you?”
This time Diego couldn’t resist smoothing that little frown line between her eyebrows. “You glanced up toward my location.”
“I did?” She sounded horrified. “If the enemy was watching, I could have given your position away. Or just tipped them off that help had arrived. That would have put your life in jeopardy.”
“It was extremely brief. First, I doubt anyone but me noticed. And second, they would have thought you were looking for their positions.”
She ducked her head. “Don’t make excuses for my mistake. That was a big one. Huge. You don’t do things like that in combat and jeopardize your allies.”
