“Jefe, how are things stateside?” he asks.
“Did you get anything out of the judges yet?” I fire back. He picked up two more pageant judges yesterday.
“Not yet, but I’ve gone a different route. There’s a local girl who competes in Vegas. I’m going to talk to her father, see if he’s heard anything,” Alejandro says.
“Someone has to know something,” I grunt.
“If they do, they’re all keeping tight-lipped about it,” Alejandro says, “But don’t worry, jefe. I’ll find out. It’s only a matter of time before someone breaks.”
“I’ll be back in Vegas tonight, so make sure nothing is at the compound.” I don’t want to give Evie any reason to try to run. She knows what I do. I don’t hide it from her. Knowing and seeing are two different things, though.
“The place will be spotless,”he says.
“Tell everyone to conceal carry. Evie’s not a fan of guns in her face,” I tell him.
“Most people aren’t, jefe. I’ll make sure your girl doesn’t see a thing.” Alejandro will get it done.
“Thanks.” I cut the call and look around. This is Evie’s space. There could be something here, something that could narrow down my search for answers.
I could look. She’d never know I did. Instead, I walk out and lock the door behind me. I peer up and down the street. I should have thought about how I was going to get to Evie’s store before I sent Paz to follow her. I pull out my phone and call him.
“Jefe?”
“Is she still at the shop?” I ask him.
“Yep,” he tells me.
“Good. I need you to come pick me up.” I’ve been here too long. I need to see her. I hate being away from her, which is a fucking problem because she’s not going to allow me to hover over her 24/7.
I watch Evie through her shop window as she helps customers and talks to her employee. “What do we know about this Amy?” I ask Paz.
“Not much. She lives with a boyfriend. Doesn’t do much other than come to work,” he says.
“I don’t like the way she looks at Evie,” I grunt.
“Jefe, most women look at Evie with envy, I’d say.”
“I don’t like it. Have the girl looked into further.” I get out of the car when I see the last customer exit the store. I don’t want to interrupt Evie’s work, but I can’t sit here and watch her all day either. I need to be closer to her.
A bell on the door jingles when I push through, and Evie looks up, a wide smile on her face that morphs into something a lot more genuine when she sees me. And then she glances around the room and the smile falls.
“Amy, can you run down to the bakery and grab me a coffee, please? And one for yourself too?” she directs her employee.
“Ah, you sure?” Amy asks Evie, who looks at me warily.
It’s on the tip of my tongue to tell the girl not to fucking question her boss. She’s been given an order. She needs to just fucking follow it.
Evie glares at me while answering Amy. “Yep, I’m sure.”
I walk over to the counter, leaning forward and pressing my lips against her cheek. “Mi alma, I missed you.”
“It’s been three hours, E. You can’t have missedme,” she says with a small smile. The bell on the door indicates Amy’s departure.
“And yet I have, immensely.” I walk behind the counter, my hands cupping each side of her face and my lips hovering over hers. “I’m not used to this,” I admit.
“Used to what?”
“Missing someone. Caring if I see someone again or not,” I tell her.
