Then I bend down and kiss her lips before going to retrieve our food.
***
After lunch we head back to the house.
“Do you want to go for a ride when we get back?”
Her eyes flash with excitement. “I would love to. I had so much fun the other day. Can we ride back out to the lake? It’s so beautiful there.”
Reaching over, I thread my fingers with hers and bring the back of her hand to my lips, pressing a soft kiss there.
“Not talking about riding a horse, baby.”
Tilting her head, her brows furrow in confusion before realization dawns.
She gasps, but her features quickly soften, eyelids growing heavier with every yellow line we pass.
“Is this part of my lesson?”
Christ almighty.
I just might come in my jeans if I don’t get inside of her soon. I’m tempted to pull over once we reach the driveway and let her ride me until she comes so many times she loses count. But I refrain, anxious to have her in my bed where I can have her all to myself.
As the house comes into view, so does a blacked-out suburban. I park next to the SUV. At first I think it’s the feds but then the driver gets out, walking to the rear to open the door, revealing the occupant.
Selena gasps next to me.
She reaches for the handle, and I reach for her arm. “You know him?” I nod toward the SUV.
“He is my uncle,” she says, hopping out of the truck.
Uncle?
Selena rushes toward him as I quickly exit, rounding the front and tucking my gun in the back of my dress pants. I never knew Del Marco had a brother. By all accounts, Cesar Del Marco was an only child, raised by his mother until the age of seventeen. I’d done a complete background check when Reid had asked me to help him on a rescue mission to save his girl, Cassidy, and nothing I found had ever mentioned a brother.
“Selena.” Tears fill his eyes as she wraps her arms around his waist in a tight hug.
“Uncle Carlito. How on earth did you find me?” she asks, lifting her head. The joy in her eyes is unmistakable.
“I can assure you, it wasn’t easy. Let me look at you.”
He takes a step back, looking her over, his expression concerned. “I’ve been searching for you since I got word of what happened,” he says, pulling her into his arms once more. If I questioned their relation before, I can’t now; they look remarkably alike.
“I’ve missed you so much,” she says, hugging him once more.
“I have missed you too, cariña.”
Once he releases her, his eyes find mine as he extends his hand. “Carlito Cruz.”
“Justin Cunningham,” I tell him, reaching for his outstretched hand.
“Please, come inside,” Selena says, tugging him toward the porch. She leads him into the kitchen and I follow, on guard and ready for anything. The driver hangs behind. “Would you like something to drink?”
“No, thank you,” he replies.
He smooths his hand down his chest. Arrogance rolling off of him in spades, but Selena doesn’t notice. Her smile is one of pure happiness. This man means something to her. You can see it written all over her face.
“How did you find me?”
