Everything was calm. So calm.
It was hard to believe that a few hours ago, Mother Nature had unleashed her fury on the small town. Marie didn’t believe for one second that they wouldn’t experience more aftershocks. They’d had a few already.
She became more aware of where she was and who was with her. Moving out of Samuel’s embrace should be at the forefront of her mind, but she didn’t think she could move, even if she wanted to.
“Thank you,” she murmured after more time passed.
“No thanks necessary.”
Samuel’s focus may have been on her and her needs, but he was also scanning the area; for what, she didn’t know. More patients that needed help? Alfredo returning with a band of men and weapons?
He was always on alert.
Why?
Where had he come from?
She’d been in the small town for almost six months and hadn’t seen him once. She was a doctor, she’d seen and treated a lot of people. She may not know everyone, but she was familiar with many.
Marie sighed and snuggled a bit further into his hold. If Samuel minded, he didn’t show it. For now, she was going to take this feeling of safety being near him gave her, and worry about where he came from later.
Now that her pent-up emotions had been released, fatigue knocked on her door. Her eyes drifted shut. Two minutes, she’d rest her eyes for two minutes.
Chapter Four
All the tensionwent out of Marie’s body, and Isaac knew that sleep had claimed her. They were in the middle of a field behind the makeshift hospital. He needed to find somewhere where she could sleep. He could take her back to his place, but there was no guarantee that it hadn’t suffered the same fate as half the town.
But he had to get her away from where they were. Out in the open. Exposed. The distant trees were dark sentinels, but he was now aware of what lurked between their shadows.
Alfredo Vargas, a well-known, and connected drug lord.
A man he’d done his best to keep away from. In another lifetime, another persona, he’d had dealings with Alfredo. Alfredo knew him as Javier Cortez, theright-hand man of former cartel boss Gomez Ramirez. Javier was presumed dead after he’d killed Gomez.
Isaac had chosen to live in San Carlion even knowing it had a connection to Alfredo. He’d observed the area for a few weeks before he’d officially become a resident and hadn’t seen the man or any sign of drugs being filtered through the town. He’d thought it was safe.
Now he knew it wasn’t.
The breeze picked up, brushing its cold fingers over them. Marie shivered in her sleep, and the decision was made.
His small stone cottage wasn’t far away, it had withstood the first quake, hopefully it had stayed strong during the aftershocks and was still standing. For the rest of the night, he would take Marie there and let her sleep.
Adjusting his hold on her so that she fit more snugly in his arms, he rose and strode toward the makeshift hospital. He saw that Ophelia was now awake checking on a patient.
She looked up when he got close, her attention narrowing in on Marie’s sleeping form. “I’m taking Marie to my place to sleep,” he informed her, the Spanish rolling off his tongue as if he was a native speaker, not someone who’d learned the language during school and for his job.
“Does she know that?” Ophelia questioned, and he couldn’t help but be impressed that she didn’t take what he’d said on face value.
“No, she fell asleep in the middle of the field.” He wasn’t about to tell her that she’d fallen asleep in his embrace after she’d had a complete emotional breakdown.
“I don’t know.” She fiddled with the stethoscope around her neck. “There’s a bed here she can rest on. I know Marie, she’d like to be close to the patients if they needed her.”
From what he’d seen of Marie in action, he believed Ophelia was right and it would be her preference. But he’d seen the distress and despair on Marie’s face. Heard her sobs. Witnessed the outpouring of grief for the lives she hadn’t been able to save. For the lives lost in the hospital where they were supposed to leave healthy. Ophelia hadn’t, so she couldn’t know that Marie needed this space. This distance to recharge and come back in a better position to do her job properly.
“If she wakes up and wants to come back, then I’ll bring her, but for the moment I think she’d be better if she rests away from here.” Isaac was taking control of a situation when he really was in no position to do so, but deep in his gut he knew this was the right thing to do.
“How can I trust that you’re not going to kidnap her and do awful things to her.” Ophelia was standing now, her hands on her hips and her gaze not wavering from his.
All her objections were reasonable. She’d never seen him before today. He was a stranger to her. “Because I would rather die than let anything like that happen to her.”
