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“The Aztec Assassins. What about it?”
“Murderers, Mr. Carrillo. To assassinate someone is to murder them, and then, low and behold, he does.”
Barry said, “Unless all my schooling was terribly off the mark, Special Agent Bennington, what happened in that home was not murder by anyone’s classification. He was saving a life by taking one.”
“Of course. I just thought it ironic.”
Sel hated the bitch. She was trying so hard to make him slip up so she could arrest Indio for saving his life. “Are we finished?”
“I have a copy of the statement you gave the sheriff, who, by the way, moonlights as a cook at Carrillo Ranch. Interesting,” she said, ignoring Sel’s question.
“It’s all there, Special Agent,” Barry told her.
“Yes, I’ve read it. It’s rather short, but as you’ve said, Mr. Carrillo, you were asleep. I suppose that’s all for now. Are you staying in Montana with your uncles?”
“I haven’t decided how long, but for now, yes, I’ll be here.”
“Good. If we have any other questions, we’ll call on you.”
As she left the room, Sel’s eyes narrowed at her. When the door was closed and they were alone, he whispered, “If she goes after Indio, I’ll lose it.”
“He did nothing wrong, so let her try.”
Sel waited outside for Indio’s interview to be over, and paced the entire time. Dante sat, unfazed, while Sel wanted to scream each second that ticked by.
“Selestino, he’s got Barry with him. He’ll be fine.”
There were two benches near the double glass doors of the building, and Sel kept looking inside as he paced. “I know, but…”
“Sel, come sit. Please.”
He did, though he crossed his legs and bounced his foot while he stared into the doors. “Uncle, he saved my life. If something happens…”
“You’ll feel responsible. But, Sel, if he hadn’t done what he did, you’d be dead.”
“I know.”
“Sel, look at me.”
He did, though he didn’t want to. “What?”
Dante exhaled as he stared off at the mountains. “I can see it in your eyes. I can see it in his. You two probably didn’t count on it, and despite the attraction you had for each other, you might have thought you’d mess around some, then part ways to live your lives. Am I wrong?”
“Uh…no, I guess not.”
“I was a hard man, Sel, and I don’t mean simply hard when it comes to the business. It wasn’t easy for me to tell a man I loved him. There are as many reasons for that as there are stars. The point is, admitting I loved a man meant that I was vulnerable. No one like me…like Indio, likes to be vulnerable. Remember that if he’s distant a lot. It’s not you.”
“I…I know, Uncle. He’s had a bad past. His childhood was terrible. He was abused, and it’s made him keep people from getting too close.”
“Be patient. Blaine was patient with me, and how he was able to be, I’ll never know.”
“He loves you, Uncle Dante. I’ve always admired how the two of you are together. I know how we are, and we aren’t the most patient people. For Indio, I’m going to give it my best shot.”
Dante grabbed his hand and sniffed a little. “I can’t believe I’m giving you advice for your love life. I can’t get the picture of that little man, always perfectly clean and dressed, never getting into trouble, following your siblings around to try to keep them out of trouble. You’ve always given me pride that…that made my whole chest swell. You’re so like Antonio.”
“Thanks, Uncle.”
Just then, Dante nodded to the door and Sel’s head spun to see Indio and Barry coming from inside the building. He got up and rushed to him, barely keeping himself from jumping into Indio’s arms. “How did it go?”
