Page 36 of Chris

“Never thank a man for being a gentleman,” he said, rounding the table to take his own seat, “because then they seem to think every kind act deserves a reward, hmm? It’s better not to teach men that behaving means getting something in return.”

Valeria stared across the table, unsure of what to say. Chris stared back, a sensual smile curving his lips. Finally, her brain worked.

“Why did you ask him to bring me here tonight?”

Chris shrugged. “Because I find you fascinating, and he’s slightly more interesting when you’re near. Also, it might keep him in line.”

“Good luck with that. Jorge is … uncontainable.”

To say the least.

“Well, he has to behave a little, if he wants my father’s business. I thought I should remind him of that before I arrive at the ranch. And you, well, you can enjoy the meal. I paid a lot for this evening, but if you smile even once, it’ll be worth it.”

Valeria did just that.

Smile.

Chris winked back.

Damn.

Maria bounced at her mother’s side, tugging on Valeria’s hand with her excitement. “Can I ride Butter?”

Valeria smiled down at her girl. “Of course.”

Butter, somehow, turned from a rowdy colt into a very tame riding horse. If there was one thing that had come out of Valeria being dragged back to this hell, it was the fact she put her daughter on a horse, and Maria took right to it like a fish to water. She loved the horses, but especially Butter.

“Come on, we have to tack them up,” Valeria said, “and I bet they sense someone is coming to take them out for a ride, so they’re as excited as you are.”

Maria pumped a fist into the air, and Valeria let go of her daughter’s hand. The girl darted down the steps, and headed for the large row of stables to the west of their home at the compound. It wasn’t like she had to worry about someone taking her daughter here, considering how well-protected the family ranch was with all the guards, only one proper road leading in or out, and all the desolate land and cliffs surrounding them.

Her child wasn’t going anywhere here.

Valeria followed behind Maria, but at a much slower speed. She passed the house that belonged to Abril, and Samuel. The siblings shared their one-level bungalow on the ranch until, according to Jorge, one of the two married and they moved off the property. Knowing how things were going, she suspected it would be Abril to leave first.

And she would miss her.

Jorge, having already left their two-level ranch home earlier that morning, was … somewhere. Between the three other small homes that the guards used to sleep, and do their business, or the many barns further out that served as makeshift warehouses when drugs needed to be stored before being smuggled out of the country.

Knowing he could be anywhere around kept Valeria on her best behavior, because not only were guards likely watching her, but her husband might be, too. Sure, she preferred being at the ranch compound rather than out in public with her husband, but that was only because here, she let her masks slip.

A little.

Not too much though.

Privacy meant a lot.

Once she had entered the stables, Valeria found Maria already standing on a stool, and leaning over the gate to feed Butter a small, thin slice of apple from the pail they used as treats. She smiled at her mother while Valeria got to work on pulling down the horse gear from the walls.

Since they were already dressed and ready to go in their riding boots, she only needed to find Maria’s helmet, and her own. Then, they would get the horses tacked up, and the two of them could spend their morning away from the ranch.

Or as far as was safely possible.

Valeria turned the corner at the back of the stables where all the helmets sat on a shelf, and came to a full stop at the sight of Jorge leaning in the rear doorway. “Oh.”

He smiled. “Going on a ride?”

“She asked after breakfast. You weren’t there to—”