“Shut up,” Rachel grumbled. “It’s your fault.”
“Girlfriend, I didn’t tell you to do it when he left on a job. I said when he worked on the ranch. You can’t send him sexy photos when he’s two hundred miles away. You’re supposed to do it when he can drop everything and come tearing into your house and ravage you in ten minutes,” Delaney explained.
Rachel grimaced and glanced at Rebecca, then her friend.
“I’m sorry, Rebecca. I didn’t mean to sound insensitive,” Delaney apologized.
“We have to stop all this apologizing. I went through a bunch of shit, it doesn’t mean I don’t know the difference between making love and sex,” Rebecca said, even though the thought of it sent her rushing to the bathroom.
Both women appeared relieved. Rachel shut off the stove and moved the pan to the back. “The chicken’s extra crispy. I hope you made extra as usual.”
Delaney winked at Rebecca. “I’m sure we can conjure up something.”
They entered the dining room to find Kara setting the last place setting.
“Where’s Mac?” Delaney asked. “He never misses dinner when he knows I have apple crumb cake waiting.”
“He ran into the room over there after getting a call,” Kara said, pointing toward Matthew’s office. Rachel and Rebecca rushed toward the area, worried about what sent Mac running.
When he saw them, he shut down the computer.
“Where’s Julio?” Rebecca demanded. “Get him on the phone, I want to talk to him.”
“I can’t. They’re in the middle of an op,” Mac said firmly. “Everything’s fine. We need to set up cabins after dinner. I don’t have a number yet.”
Rebecca’s knees nearly buckled. Rachel put her arm around her and led her to the dining room. “Kara told me you remained strong the entire time and made sure if Julio showed up while you were gone, they knew he came to rescue them. You didn’t think you’d make it, did you?”
Rebecca avoided answering. “I did my job.”
Rachel didn’t respond, reading between the lines. “Let’s eat dinner. Mac will keep us informed. If you don’t eat, Kara will think something’s wrong.”
Delaney brought the rest of the food to the table with Kara’s help. Rachel doled out servings on Rebecca’s plate and tapped her nails against the fork, and glanced at the teen, reminding Rebecca.
She shoveled it in her mouth, no longer tasting the food. It might as well have been the garbage they fed to her in the cages. Her thoughts remained on Julio, praying despite the last few weeks, he knew she’d always loved him more.
CHAPTER TWENTY THREE
Julio entered the hotel lobby, scanning it as he walked toward the desk.
They made the right call and sure enough, Mr. Baskins called him at the last possible moment, changing the meeting place to Georgia.
He approached the clerk. “I have a reservation for the penthouse suite, Julio Garcia.”
“Yes, sir,” the clerk said as he typed out the name, took his ID and credit card, and passed him a key.
Julio entered the elevator and swiped his card against the scanner. Matthew watched his six from the lobby on his computer. Leo and his team remained in the shadows around the building. He didn’t plan on any of them getting away.
The elevator door opened and he stepped out. Seeing a movement catch his eye, Julio dropped his briefcase, ready to pull his weapon.
“It’s only me,” Mr. Garfield said, raising his hands and appearing nervous. “We decided to bring our merchandise to you.”
Julio straightened. “I don’t like this,” he growled. “Anyone might be watching. I can’t afford for someone to make a connection between us.”
Mr. Baskins smiled and tapped his fingers together as he entered the room. “I’m sure you’ll find I’m very discreet.”
Julio walked toward him and noticed two young blonde women sitting on the couch. One sported a busted lip and a black eye. He saw the yellowed bruises along her temple, suggesting she suffered more abuse than the woman beside her. The other, visibly shook and avoided his gaze while her friend shot daggers at him.
“Did I say I wanted bruised fruit?” he asked angrily as he tilted the first woman’s chin, inspecting the wounds.
