Rio felt his eyebrows lift. Seriously, he got it better than anyone, his family was shittier than a porta potty at a fairground. After last night, this was not how he had expected his morning to go. He refused to allow his gaze to drop where it wanted to, to Cade's lips. The things he could make him feel with his mouth should be outlawed. He knew if he looked, he’d want more, want to taste him once again before he told him to fuck himself stupid with a cactus. “I’ll grab my stuff and I’m outta here.”
“I-um,” Cade scrubbed his hand over his head, it was obvious to Rio that the other man was pissed. Yeah, well, that made two of them, so he could just deal. “I’ll call you a cab.”
Rio nodded, yeah, he’d take a cab, thank you very much. He needed to be somewhere he could lick his wounds for a bit, before he faced the inquisition that was to come from his family.Twice in one day? Jeez, aren’t you the lucky fucker.Then he kicked himself for the voice in his head mimicking the rhythms of Cade’s neutral speech. Gah, it was official he was an idiot.
He followed Cade out of the room and through to the kitchen. Looking around the room as Cade made the phone call to call him a cab, he spotted coffee and went to pour himself a cup. He no longer cared that it wasn’t his house. No longer worried about what was right or wrong. Nope, he just wanted to leave.
Maybe if he could persuade his father that this shit was about him, he could go back to his grandparents’ house and stay there for a while. Forget this shit had ever happened. He wasn’t sure how he had persuaded El’ Mencho that he should be allowed to have that plot of land. He was now grateful that he had fought for it. That El’ Mencho had been related to his grandmother had probably helped his case. It was also probably the reason he had agreed to his father’s request to send him as liaison to the cartel.
“It’s on its way,” Cade filled himself a cup of coffee from the pot and leaned his ass against the counter next to Rio, “I’m…”
“Not your fault,” Rio hid behind the rim of the mug.
“Kinda is,” Cade muttered, “I brought you here.”
“Thank the fucking stars his brain works after all,” the boss man stepped into the room carrying a go bag. “You want the bloody clothes from the hallway?” he asked Rio.
“Um- no.” No fucking way did he want those clothes. He supposed he should feel bad that it was Nahim’s blood that was all over them, but having the clothes would not be of any benefit to him. And frankly, the thoughts of putting them back on made him feel slightly sick.
“The hit at the hotel was for you.”
“What?”
Cade’s growl from somewhere near his ear made him jump. Coffee sloshed over the edge of the mug. Thank fuck, it had been sitting there a while and wasn’t scaling hot or he could have added burns to the injuries he would take away from this weekend. “What do you mean?” Rio stared at the huge man. He had to be well over six feet. He towered above Cade, never mind him.
“Our intel last night, the intended target at the hotel was the son of a cartel boss. A boss who had murdered the daughter of the head of a rival cartel.”
Fuck, just fuck.Before Rio could think of responding, the hoot of a car horn outside saved him. Wait—they were classing his family as cartel? Weird. But he figured it didn’t matter either way. Asshole was asshole.
“Taxi is here.” Cade plucked the coffee cup out of his hands and dumped the remains of it down the sink. “C’mon, let’s get you outta here.”
“Okay.” Was it stupid that he had mixed feelings about leaving? He wanted to punch Cade’s boss, or maybe kick him in the balls. He still didn’t even know the asshole’s name. Not that it mattered much. But the knotted feeling in his stomach, that he would freely admit, to himself at least, was regret. Regret that he wouldn’t have the opportunity to get to know Cade. To see who the real man was. The one hidden behind the grumpy, dominant exterior that he had caught glimpses of last night.
“You need anything you brought here last night?”
“Don’t think so.”
* * *
Cade stepped out the door, he nodded at Angelo, his teammate gave a good impression of a dude chilling on the front porch, but he knew there wasn’t much that Lo missed from under the brim of his ball cap. The rental SUV in the driveway told him that Danny and Serge were back from their recon trip to the hotel. Behind him, he could feel Rio almost stepping on his heels, maybe he should tell him that his weapons, money, passports, and the other stuff from the hotel were now in the house behind them, but argh. It was probably shitty not to do it, but he kept his mouth shut anyway. He reached the car idling on the street, “Don’t go back to the hotel.”
“Wasn’t going to.”
As soon as Cade opened the rear door, Rio moved past him, and slid into the car. He studied Rio; it was ridiculous that he wanted to memorize his face, but he did it anyway. From the way his hair fell over his forehead and skimmed his cheeks, to how his nose had a slight hook in it as if it had been broken and reset more than once. Since Johnno, there hadn’t been anyone who had made him want more than a one-or two-night thing, it sucked that this man was one he might have broken that rule for, and their lives were headed in two different directions. But he’d long ago learned that what you wanted wasn’t always what you got. So, he’d put this memory in with the rest of the important ones in the box in his head. He’d lock that box up and sometime in the dark of night, when he needed a reminder that he was human, he would pull it out and remember what he had given up to become a Ghost. “Bye, Rio.” Cade stepped back and closed the door, dragging this shit out longer wouldn’t help anyone.
“Bye.” Rio tapped the driver on the shoulder, and the taxi pulled out onto the street.
I am an idiot. Cade stood and watched the taxi drive down the street. He needed a minute before he went back in the house. Needed to stuff the part of him that kinda wanted to chase after the car, to tell Rio to stay. But what would that achieve, besides making him look like a bigger dumbass than he already felt. When the car disappeared around the corner he turned and went back to the house.
“You okay?” Angelo straightened in his chair and pushed up the brim of his cap to study him.
“Yup.” Cade kept going, he wasn’t in the mood for his friend’s logic or even concern right now. He wanted to grab his gear and move. Thank fuck they weren’t coming back here, maybe if he didn’t have to be here, he would forget how sleeping next to Rio had felt so damn right.
“You are not to look for him.”
“What?” Cade spun around to look at Rock. His boss stood framed by the kitchen door.
“It’s too dangerous for you both.”
