Flee (15 page)

It was Hector who spoke, his thickly accented English no longer sounding sexy as it had last night. He was all business now. “What did he look like? Can you remember any details?”

Now that I had recalled the memory, I could see him as though he were standing in front of me. I forced myself to stay calm by concentrating on Mateo, my words coming out robotic, emotionless.

“He was young. Maybe twenty or so. Black short hair, black eyes, Hispanic. Thin, fit, medium height. He was wearing a black t-shirt and jeans. There was a gun tucked into the front of his jeans. He had a tattoo on his right arm. Part of it was covered up by his t-shirt sleeve, but the part I could see looked like the bottom of a statue, maybe a statue of an angel or something like that, I don't know.”

Hector nodded as if he were familiar with what I described. He didn't look surprised. One of the guards whispered a word I didn't understand, and Hector nodded. Mateo was silent.

“That's everything. I'm sorry, I don't remember anything else.” Weariness washed over me as the adrenalin rush that had accompanied my memory faded, and I slumped, thankful Mateo's arms were around me to support me.

Mateo spoke now, sounding older than his years and very much in charge. “Put together a security plan for Blake, and let's see what we can make of the new information. Let's meet in forty-five minutes in the pool house. I'm going to get her settled, and then I'll meet you there.”

Hector and the guard who appeared to be in charge nodded. I found myself being lifted off of the lounge chair and carried toward the house.

“I can walk, Mateo. Put me down. It's okay.”

“I don't want to put you down. If it's all right with you, I prefer to keep you safe in my arms right now.”

I didn't respond. I just rested my head on his chest and shut my eyes. He opened the back door of the house, and I shivered as the air conditioner blew cold air on my wet clothing.

“What's happened?” Meg's startled voice sounded from the kitchen. She stood in the kitchen, grocery bags and car keys still in her hands as she entered from the side door closest to the garage. What I assumed to be another security guard stood beside her, also holding grocery bags.

“I'll fill you in later. Can you draw a hot bath for her, and maybe find her some dry clothing to put on?” Mateo placed me on my feet, his eyes on my face as he spoke these words. “I'll be right out here if you need me, and as you can see now that we are no longer hiding it, the place is crawling with security. You'll be safe.”

I nodded and Meg put down what she was holding and came and took my hand.

“Come on, Blake. Let me show you the great indulgence of my bathroom. You can take a hot bath and feel like Cleopatra all at the same time.” She led me through her room and into a beautiful spa-like retreat of a bathroom.

“I love baths,” she said, reaching into a cabinet and pulling out a big, fluffy towel. “I could soak in one with a good book for hours.” She bent down and turned the knob on what looked to be a small hot tub. Water shot out from four faucets, rapidly filling the deep tub.

“Juan picked this out for me. He insisted I have it. It's quite glorious.” She moved into a closet off the bathroom and came back a minute later with pair of shorts and a t-shirt, as well as a sports bra and a dry pair of underwear. My eyes filled with tears as I pictured my mom preparing my baths and laying out my clothes when I was a little girl. I wanted to be taken care of, to make no decisions and be told what to do. I was more than just physically weary. Meg stood close by, watching me silently for a moment, and then she walked closer and hugged me.

“I never had a daughter,” she said quietly. “Judging from the look in my son's eyes, I'm guessing I'm finally going to get my wish. I'm so glad he has chosen to love you.”

Tears were running down my face now. There really was nothing in the world like a mother's love. I'd been missing that so much, and I could feel it returning to me through Meg. It wasn't the same as my own mom, but it was something, and I clung to it.

“Let me know if you need anything. Just push that button there,” she pointed to a control panel within easy reach of the massive tub, “and I'll answer you. Take as long as you want and help yourself to my hairbrush and any toiletries you need. My house is your house.” She smiled and patted me gently on the arm and left, closing and locking the door behind her.

I stripped off my wet clothes, climbed into the hot water and placed my face in my hands and sobbed.

Blake

I soaked in the bath for as long as I dared, but I knew I wanted to be at the hastily called meeting in the pool house. Reluctantly releasing the plug on the luxuriant tub, I climbed out and dried, then dressed quickly. I felt rejuvenated, as if I had cried out everything sad and frightening in my life and was now watching it wash down the drain. Toweling my hair dry, I glanced at myself in the mirror. My eyes were red and puffy. There was no way to disguise that I had been crying, and no way that I could explain that it wasn't because I was scared, but because Meg had been so kind to me and because I felt that the long, horrifying road on which I had been plopped was finally ending.

I examined that thought further. I wasn't scared. That was the weird thing. I had spent the last seven months so afraid of something I couldn't even remember that I couldn't sleep. And now I had learned my new boyfriend's family was a major drug cartel involved in a mini-war and that my parents' killer had practically promised to come back for me, and I wasn't scared. Now that I knew, sort of, where the danger lurked, I could face it, plan for it. And I didn't have to face it alone. I completely trusted Mateo. I knew he would keep me safe. Oddly enough, of all the hundreds of emotions running through me right now, the one I felt the most was peace.

I must be completely off my rocker. I was in love. I had found a family. Amazingly, the object of my desire loved me back. And he was good and strong and capable and up to any challenge life threw at him. And life seemed to have thrown a lot, including me. I quickly brushed my hair and pulled it into a ponytail, gathered my wet clothes into my damp towel, and went to find my Soccer Boy.

He sat at the kitchen bar, typing on his laptop and talking on his cell phone at the same time. Meg stood close by, watching him. She looked up when I approached and quickly advanced and took my armful of wet clothes.

“Are you hungry?” she asked, kindness on her face and in her eyes. I shook my head no.

“I'm sorry for everything you've been through. Please know I'm always here for you. I want you to treat this place like home.” She handed me a small box before turning toward the laundry room. I opened it curiously. Inside was a small silver keychain and a key. The silver keychain read
Home
. I fought the urge to cry all over.

“Hey, someone smells better.” Mateo came up beside me and placed his arm around my shoulders. I turned to look at him and watched his eyes narrow as they took in my red-rimmed puffy ones. Okay, so I knew I looked like crap. But I felt oddly good, which must have shown in the smile on my face.

“You okay?”

“Better than I've been in a long time.” He looked at me dubiously. I laughed and reached up to touch his face.

“Are you for real? Am I really standing beside a beautiful guy who's good inside and out and who, for some reason I cannot comprehend, seems to love me, despite how broken and messed up I am? How'd I get so lucky?”

He took my hand and held it. “First of all, I'm the lucky one. Second, I do not
seem
to love you, I love you with everything in me. And third, you're not broken and messed up.”

“Not as much as I was,” I admitted. “I'm feeling better and stronger every day, thanks to you.” I smiled at him again, and this time he smiled back.

“Whatcha got there?” The box from Meg was still clutched in my hand.

“I think your mom gave me a key to your house,” I replied, holding it up for him to see. I tried to sound nonchalant, but he must have heard the crack in my voice. He studied my face for a minute before replying.

“I think my mom is already mentally redecorating a guest room to suit you. She was grilling me with questions about your favorite colors and styles while you were bathing. I was ashamed to admit that I don't know. So,” he asked, grinning. “What's your favorite color?”

I couldn't even think of my favorite color. I was completely overwhelmed and a little confused by the generosity. “Why do I need a room? It's not as if I'm moving in. I have a room and…”

Mateo placed his finger over my lips. “Shhh. There's a lot to discuss. As for right now, I need to get to the pool house and help hammer out the details of keeping you safe. Will you be okay in here? If you're tired you could take a nap or you can…”

I interrupted before he could say more. “I'm going with you. After all, you are discussing me, aren't you? I'd like to have a say on what you're planning.”

“Blake, we'll be going over lots of details. I don't want you to hear things that might scare you. You've been through enough. I'll consult you on…”

“Mateo Bennett Reyna,” I said firmly, remembering his middle name from the engraved baby picture I had seen in the master bedroom. “Let's establish the ground rules right now. There are to be no secrets between us and you aren't going to make decisions without me. We're a team, and we face challenges head-on together and come up with a plan together. Got it?”

“You and your love of ground rules.” He grumbled, trying to sound upset but failed, his dimples flashing. “What happens if we can't agree?”

“Well, then, I'll follow the example of the most wonderfully gracious woman I ever knew, and acquiesce to you as my mother did to my father. And if I do, and it turns out you were wrong and I was right all along, I'll try to be gracious and not say I told you so more than ten times per day.”

Mateo laughed and stuck out his hand to shake. “Deal.”

“Deal,” I echoed, grabbing his hand.

When we opened the door to the pool house, the room was alive with activity. The whole left wall was covered in monitors flashing changing scenes of the house and grounds from what I guessed to be lots of security cameras posted around the property. How had I not noticed any of the cameras? They must be very discreet. Of course I also had spent most of my time looking at Mateo. I would have to be more observant.

A man sat in front of the screens, carefully studying them. Two more guards spoke on cell phones, standing in corners of the room and talking too softly to be overheard. Hector sat at a small table, rapidly writing on a yellow legal pad. It was an intimidating scene. It gave everything a surreal feel, like I was on a movie set. Only this was real and it somehow concerned me. I gripped Mateo's hand more tightly. We sat at the table next to Hector and after a few seconds the two guards on cell phones hung up and joined us, and Hector looked up from writing.

He was the first to speak. “Blake's description of the killer is not specific enough to allow us to pinpoint yet who it might be.” He looked at me apologetically.

“If I remember anything else, I'll let you know right away,” I replied, my voice quiet among the hum of the monitors and air conditioning.

“We don't yet know who it was, why it happened, and if he seriously wants to come back for her. The fact that she's here, alive and well, leads me to believe no, but we can't be sure until we understand the motive behind the killings. We don't yet understand the Las Lunas connection. We have to be prepared for anything.”

Mateo nodded. “So, two plans in place, and we let Blake choose the one she wants?”

“This is not like choosing a flavor of ice cream. I feel strongly that we should go with the first plan and not offer the second. It's too big of a risk.” Hector spoke strongly, seeming almost to reprimand Mateo, but Mateo didn't react. He looked over at the security guard I had earlier sensed was in charge of the others.

“I don't see a greater security risk with the second plan, Mr. Reyna,” he replied. “My team can keep her secure, especially if we can access the rental property.”

“Already taken care of,” Mateo said. “I spoke with the agent half an hour ago and leased it for six months. We can
move in
, so to speak, tomorrow. So let's brief Blake and see what she's comfortable with.” All faces turned to look at me. I focused on Mateo's.

“Blake, here's what we have so far. We need a twenty-four-hour team on you until we have alleviated the threat. I'm not sure how long that will take us. Plan A is for you to move in here. We already have extensive security in place, and we have two guards at the school, one part of the school's security team and the other on the ground crew. We'll have someone discreetly follow you wherever you go, which shouldn't be hard since you don't really go anywhere.” He smiled, teasing me, trying to lighten the atmosphere in the room.

“Plan B?” I asked. I couldn't move in here. What would Joe and Mary say? They would never give permission unless they understood what was going on, and I didn't want them to know any of this. It would totally freak them out. And what about the kids at school? One didn't just move in with one's boyfriend in their senior year of high school. It would completely give the wrong impression, and we would get kicked out of school…

“Plan B is we put a security team on Joe and Mary's house. I just leased the empty house across the street.”

I nodded. I knew the one. It had been sitting vacant for three months or more. “It's an excellent vantage point from which to watch the Williamses' house. We're also helped out by the fact that their house backs up to a greenbelt, and the back yard is not fenced. It should be no problem to hide someone there who can watch the back of the house. All of your comings and goings will be followed, and when you get to school, the guards we have in place there will take over. Of course, even if you go with Plan B I still want you over here a lot, and I don't plan on ever being too far away from you myself.”

“Do Joe and Mary need to be told anything?” I whispered.

“No, not unless something happens and we can't hide it. The security team will be very discreet. There are females on it as well. If you go with Plan B the neighborhood will be under the impression that a couple and their two college-aged sons are moving in. No one should be suspicious of anything.”

“Wow, Mateo.” I was horrified. “How much is all of this costing?”

“My father's money, used for good for once. Don't be concerned about the cost.”

“What do you mean, don't be concerned! You can't spend money like that on me! I have money. Let me pay for the rental house and for the security on me and…”

“Absolutely not. Non-negotiable.”

Oh, that was pushing too far. I was mad, and it seemed he could tell. Before I could respond, he reached up and stroked my cheek. “Please, Blake. I have the resources and this is what I want to do. Don't touch your money from your family. If we decide later that I'm somehow wrong about this, you can say
I told you so
twenty times a day until you are satisfied I've learned my lesson.”

He paused, running his hand through his already messy hair before continuing. “So, I'm guessing you're going with Plan B?”

“Yes, and don't think the money discussion is over, either. We'll talk later. But yes, I'm going with Plan B. I just can't drop everything and move in here, much as I want to.”

And I did want to. This already felt more like home than Joe and Mary's ever had, despite their fabulous hospitality. It was just that Mateo was here. But it wouldn't look right. I would have to content myself with visiting a lot.

“Do you think we can convince Joe and Mary to let you spend one more night here? We need until tomorrow to get everything set up. I can leave and go to a hotel or something, if it would make them feel better.” Always the gentleman. I knew he was also offering that for my sake, not just Joe and Mary's.

“I'll call them in a minute and ask if I can sleep on the couch again since I seem to sleep so well here. They can watch me, can't they? I do need to go there, though, and pick up some stuff. I can't keep using your mom's things.” I noticed I had not referred to it as home. It had never been that for me. This was my new home, just as the keychain suggested.

Mateo nodded. “I'll take you over in a little while. Gentlemen, put Plan B into effect. Let's be ready to roll with it by tomorrow.”

Hector and the guards nodded. Hector didn't look pleased, but he didn't argue with Mateo. Mateo grabbed my hand, and we left the room.