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Whoa, whoa, whoa. “How do you know she skipped out on her security?”
“She was in a club in Porto and got snared by some traffickers. That doesn’t happen with a cadre of guards surrounding you. It’s Lexie. I’m surprised she didn’t try to capture the bastards herself.”
That would be funny if I hadn’t seen the look on her face last night when security swooped in, or read the text where she begged for my help. “I don’t think even Lexie, with all her self-confidence, would attempt that kind of stunt. What’s the deal with her and her father?”
Valentina is quiet for a moment. “Do you know that Will has prostate cancer?”
Jesus. Is that why Lexie didn’t want me to contact him last night? “No. I didn’t know he was sick.”
“He’s not exactly sick. He has a very slow-moving kind that’s common in men his age.”
“Let me get this straight. Her father has a cancer diagnosis and Lexie decides to make his life more difficult?”
“Nooo. That is not what I’m saying. Since his diagnosis, he’s become more and more protective. I mean like scary out of control, Rafael. He makes my father look like a lax parent. The way he’s going, it’s not going to shock me if he locks her away in a tower at some point.”
If he expects that to work, it better be a mighty tall tower surrounded by a moat filled with crocodiles. Even then, there are no guarantees.
“Lexie’s mother allows this?”
“Samantha doesn’t allow it,” she snaps. “But it’s not so simple, because clearly there’s more to Will’s behavior than meets the eye.”
Will has always been over the top when it comes to security for Lexie and Samantha. Why not send a dozen guards when three would do? Although I’m probably not one to talk.
“I’ll call her as soon as we get off.”
“She’ll be happy to hear from you.” And maybe less annoyed at me for making her stay in the apartment.
“Any chance you can cut your trip short and come back to Porto and hang out with her a bit? I realize you have a job and a husband, but she’s alone, and I’m trying to get her to stay put until we have a better sense of whether the traffickers are going to retaliate. We caught foot soldiers, not the men in charge.”
“Are you asking because you want me to keep Lexie company, or because you want me home where you think I’ll be safer?”
Not think. I know you’ll be safer, and I know if you’re here, your friend is more likely to stay, and that means she’ll be safer too.
“A little of both, sweetheart. A little of both.”
There was a time in our world when a man’s word was final. No questions asked. It might not have been fair or right, but it made it a hell of a lot easier for him to protect the women he cared about. As I sit here, waiting for her to decide, I miss those times.
If I push her too hard, she’ll balk and stay away twice as long. Could I drag her back to Porto? In a heartbeat, and I’m not above it if the situation warrants, but it would come at a cost.
“I’ll cut short my trip. Not because I’ll be safer at home, but because I’m sure Lexie could use the company. She puts on a tough front, but inside she’s not so tough. The thing with her father has taken a huge toll on her, and now this. I’m worried.”
She puts on a tough front, but inside she’s not so tough. I remember the fragility in her face last night, and the way she thanked me for being there for her. No. Inside she’s not so tough. And she shouldn’t have to be either.
“Rafa?”
“Hmm?”
“She’s into you.” Valentina pauses. “Really into you.”
We are not doing this. I’m not having this conversation with you. “Did she tell you that, or are you reading tea leaves in your spare time?”
“No. She’d never admit it. But I don’t need to be a bruja to know her feelings. It’s so obvious, I bet her father has a bullet with your name on it.”
One that he wouldn’t think twice about using if he knew I had his daughter sprawled on a desk while I licked her pussy until she begged me to fuck her. “He wouldn’t be the first.”
“Or the last,” she quips. “Seriously, though, be careful with her. Especially now.”
You mean don’t almost fuck her and then walk away like a huge dick?
