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I knew she might’ve been worried about my daughter, but her reaction didn’t seem to be born from what-ifs. She looked frightened about what was to come. Like she knew something we didn’t.
Shaking my paranoid thoughts away, I assured her we were working on putting a stop to them. I hugged her again to calm her shaking frame, still at odds about her reaction.
“Where is Fee?”
“I just left her at Rosie and Jackson. They asked me to bring her since Gabe and Teddy are there.” I couldn’t keep the smile off my face when I remembered Gabe and Fee’s tight embrace and the little guy’s worry over mydaughter. I was sure no grown-ups had told him what was going on. But kids had a way of figuring out things they shouldn’t.
Leaving Haley somewhat calmer, I followed down the hall to meet Mia and wait for Ben and Aaron to arrive so we could talk.
“Hey. I didn’t hear you come in. How are you?”
I plopped down on the chair in front of her desk. “Ready for murder.”
She nodded in agreement. “And the girls?” I smiled at the mention of Sofia and Lisa but couldn’t contain my frown when I remembered Andrea’s words. Not missing my change of mood, Mia threw an eraser at me. “Your mind went somewhere stupid. What happened?”
I shifted on the seat, not knowing how much to let out. “Andrea said a couple of things that left me wondering.”
“And being the upstanding, trustworthy woman she is, you thought it’d be a good idea not to throw her words out?”
“It had merit.” Mia raised her scarred brow, her signature spell that had us all blurting out our truths. “She said Lisa was starting her life and wouldn’t want to be involved with an older father with heavy baggage.”
She cursed under her breath. “God, I hate that woman. Even in cuffs and almost costing your and Sofia’s lives, she still pulls that kind of stunt.”
“She’s not wrong.”
“Yes, she is. You’re one hell of a man, Sofia is just the cutest, most adorable little girl, yet Andrea was too spoiled and self-centered to care for anyone but herself. That was her last attempt to ruin your life just for her entertainment, because if she can’t have you, then no one else can. She’s a miserable woman who realized she’d lost you to someone she could never be.” She shook her head, her eyes losing their fight, and her shoulders sagging. “We already have one love story cut up too short because of a screw-up. Don’t let that be your case, too.”
Before I could respond—and she could fully convince me—we heard Ben and Aaron arrive at the company. Mia and I moved to my office to wait for them. Instead of jumping straight into work, I pulled Ben into a hug, unable to utter any words. But none was needed.
When we broke our embrace, he tipped his chin in acknowledgment. “I guess it’s one baby for another, huh?” He joked, referring to a while back when Mia and I rescued Izzie right after the car accident that induced her labor and I had to deliver their boy.
I chuckled before countering with, “I’m still at an advantage. Mia and I had to save your babyandyour woman that day.”
After our little moment, Aaron sat on one of the chairs, pure exhaustion oozing from him. “We still don’t know where Matias is. The man just...vanished.”
“I’ve been looking at the other bases, but I don’t think he’d try any of the closest ones, even if they’re the easiest choice for him,” Ben chimed in.
Mia sat on my little couch, pulling her legs up to hug her knees. “Agreed. I also think we need to consider the very real possibility that he’ll come back.”
My stomach churned at her words. “There was something he said that bugged me. He claimed we ruined hisfamilybut wouldn’t do it again. That’s a weird choice of words. Why ‘family?’”
“Maybe he was referring to the cartel?” Ben suggested.
I shook my head in thought. “I don’t think that’s the case.”
Mia tapped her pen over the files she’d brought with her. “It did sound personal. It left me wondering if it had anything to do with something we did during our time at the DEA. On that note,” she peered at Aaron, “any news on the lab? Have they figured out who is his relative?”
He sighed. “They’re still working on it. Bureaucracy is getting in the way and taking a chunk of our time.”
“On purpose?” she asked.
He rubbed his face and nodded in defeat. “I think so.”
Ben cursed. “Good, so we have a cartel targeting our family and a federal agency letting them get away with it.”
“We’re still working on it, and I’m doing what I can, but there are some issues.”
“You and your issues,” Ben snapped. “Always coming up with ways to delay what needs to be done. Sometimes, all we need is to lay out the truth.”
