“We can argue about it now.”
The son of a bitch grinned.
I swallowed hard as I caught the faint smiles of the two members of the Trinity looking at me sitting there. On his thigh. In their street clothes.Roberthad a T-shirt that said WELCOME TO MOAB on it.Alanahadbobby pinsin her hair.
And I was on Alex’s fucking lap.
All righty then. I could focus. If he didn’t think this was a big deal, why should I? If he got a boner, that would be another thing. I almost wanted to check. “Thank you… for helping,” I told them, not sure what to say since I could barely think with a granite-like thigh under me.
“You saved our little brother,” Robert replied. “You put your life at risk for him. We’re all in your debt.”
Oh.
“You can trust us. Your secret is safe,” Alana said in her warm, ethereal voice that reminded me of an angel… that could demolish your ass. “It’s family business now. We’ll help any way we can. Selene is already doing what she can.”
Family business.
I couldn’t help but nod.
I had been on my own for so long now that it was almost overwhelming to have someone else willing to help me. Especially when that “someone” was him.Them.
And if the ball was rolling now on getting something else done to make my life a little safer, that was a good thing. I was supposed to move on eventually. Why not sooner than later?
And if that made me sad, it was okay too. I’d been spoiled already being here. I was grateful for it.
A big hand settled on my hip, giving it a gentle squeeze and pulling me back to the present. Peeking over my shoulder, I found those purple eyes. I could tell what he was trying to say: that it was okay. That I could trust them.
Why did that feel so monumental?
I was kind of in a daze as I kept sitting there as Alex spoke about the cartel and then repeated what the family’s legal department had planned for me, which was basically sorting out whatever issues had risen from the loss of the house, my car insurance, and setting up a new identity. I was going to close my business account as soon as I got it, I decided, regardless of what happened with my translating work.
That was what I had too much hope riding on. If I could change my name, that might be enough to get under the radar for the rest of my life. It would be as good as it could be.
Then I could move on, like I’d promised him.
I was so hung up on thinking over the details of what they had planned that I was caught off guard when Alana eventually asked, “Gracie, have you considered reaching out to law enforcement?”
My whole body stiffened.
The hand on my hip moved to my back, and Alex gave it a long stroke upward, right along my spine.
“Umm,” I stuttered, already feeling like a chicken.
“With the right people, they might be able to help put cartel members away,” she said gently.
Oh, I knew that.
“She’d be putting her life at risk, hoping someone won’t sell her out,” Alex said, stiffly. “She’d have to have someone she can trust involved to make sure something wouldn’t happen to her.”
I reached down blindly and found his hand. I covered it with mine. “I… I’ve always thought hiding was the best option I had. My grandpa used to say that they would never quit looking for us even if they got their money back. When we were in the cell, they told me that my cousin had given them the information they needed to find me. I don’t know if that’s true or not, but if it is… if I can’t trust a family member I’ve never met, it’s hard for me to believe that there’s someone who’s never met me before, who doesn’t have any loyalty toward me, that wouldn’t sell me out for money. That was what that woman told me.
“I know I have to sound like a coward for not being willing to put myself at risk like that but…” I opened my mouth and closed it. “I can think about it. I don’t want what’s happened to me to happen to anyone else. But I’m scared to be a martyr.” My voice got shaky, and I swallowed hard. “I’ll think about it.”
Of course she would think about others. She would never hide. She’d never run.
Me, on the other hand….
The hand on my back went up, all the way up between my shoulder blades, before sliding back down.
