“I…he tried to help me. After the other two—Arturo and Martín, I don’t know their last names—zip tied my wrists and were trying to decide what to do with me, Corey…he told me to run. He tried to distract Arturo and Martín to give me a chance to get away.”
Tears burn my eyes, and I shrink away from his touch.
“Mikayla—“
“Let me finish, please? I can’t…I need to get this out so maybe I can stop replaying every minute of that night over and over again in my head.” I’m actively crying now, and Austin drops his hands and sinks back down onto the bed, this time at least a foot away from me. The loss of his warmth, of his arm around me, his support? It hurts. So much more than my memories, and I sniffle and swipe at my eyes. Detective Chavez is watching me intently, and I focus my gaze on his tie.
“I sponsored Corey for the Smithsonian internship. His grades weren’t perfect, but he’ssmart.From his essay though, I knew if someone didn’t step in and give him a chance, he’d drop out of school. His home life is a mess, and that’s how they got to him.”
Chavez narrows his eyes at me. “Can you explain, Senorita Salim?”
“Dr. Salim. Or Mikayla.” The automatic response, one I’m used to giving any time someone tries to patronize me, slips out before I can stop it, but Chavez waves his hand.
“My apologies. Dr. Salim. Why do you think Larkin’s home life was to blame?”
Dropping my gaze to the floor, I have to force the words out. “He told me so. Right before he tried to help me get away, he said he knew how valuable the Blushing Note was. His dad was in so deep with one of the cartels that’s active in Los Angeles—where he grew up—and so he contacted them. Said he could get all the money his dad owed and more.”
I recount the whole story, stopping only when I need water. How Corey used our research to cross-breed the Blushing Note. How the poachers replaced all of the plants they stole.
Austin doesn’t say a word until they ask him for his statement, and as he explains how he found me, how he got me off that ledge, carried me to the dilapidated building in the middle of nowhere, and then got us back to the lab, Chavez whistles.
“That is quite impressive, senor. Not many men would be able to accomplish such a feat.”
Bristling, Austin snaps, “You’re right. I’m one of the few who could. I’m also a retired Major General in the United States Air Force and I’ve spent the past two months hiking and climbing my way here from the start of the Maya Trail. So before you go accusing me of anything, you might want to make a couple of calls and verify those facts.”
“Apologies,” Chavez says. “It is my job to ask these questions.”
With a sigh, Austin unclenches his fists and rubs his hands over his thighs. “If it gets these guys arrested, it’ll all be worth it,” he mutters.
It takes another hour for us to finish our statements, and then Chavez offers us a ride to the hotel they’ve booked for us. “Can we have a minute?” Austin asks.
“We will be right outside.”
The door closes quietly, and then we’re alone. Austin turns towards me, and the look on his face makes me want to cry. “Why didn’t you say anything, Mikayla? I thought you trusted me.”
“I do.” An errant tear races down my cheek, and I swipe it away, then straighten. Sort of. I’m so tired and sore, it’s probably an ineffective gesture. “When my cousin was eleven, her parents tried tosellher for drug money. She ran away, and eventually, my parents were able to get custody of her. The stories she’d tell me… I recognize the signs, Austin. The body language. The look someone gets in their eyes when they’re living in constant fear.” Shaking my head, I swallow hard. “Corey’s father sold drugs right out of their tiny apartment. He’s been beaten up, threatened, had to bail his dad out of jail…over and over and over again. It’s a miracle he made it as far in school as he did. Had to depend on scholarships and a heck of a lot of hard work. It…doessomething to you, when the people you’re supposed to be able to trust more than anyone else in the world betray you.”
Austin flinches like I just slapped him and stumbles back. His entire demeanor shifts, the anger fading into a deep, emotional pain. I’ve seen that look in his eyes. Every time he’s closed down and shut me out. He knows what it’s like to be betrayed.
Taking a chance, I reach out and wrap my fingers around his wrist. When he doesn’t shake me off, I pull him closer. “I should have told you. I’m sorry. I don’t think Corey’s a bad guy. I think he was just…trapped.”
Something shifts in Austin’s eyes, and the hazel depths turn dark and stormy. “People do terrible things when their backs are against the wall.” Before I register the movement, he wraps me in a gentle embrace, and I bury my face against his neck. Even after everything, after the fire, the blood, the night spent in ruins easily two centuries old, underneath the sweat and the smoke, he smells like pure male strength. Like home. Like everything I’ve ever dreamed of in a man.
His fingers slide into my hair, and the intimate gesture sends me over the edge, my tears spilling down my cheeks as I fight to keep breathing.
I almost lost something I never knew I was looking for. Something real. Something I’m now desperate to hold onto. “I’m sorry. So sorry…” I manage between sobs.
“Shhh, sweetheart. You don’t have anything to apologize for. Just promise me one thing.” He eases back slightly so he can hold my gaze. “No more secrets, okay?”
I nod, and in that moment, my entire world rights. It doesn’t matter that the poachers have my driver’s license, passport, and credit cards. That they’re still free…somewhere. That I almost died twenty-four hours ago. All that matters is what’s right in front of me.
“No more secrets.”
Chapter Sixteen
Austin
Detective Chavez and his partner drive us to a hotel a few kilometers away from where we’d been staying and accompany us to the front desk.
