Malo - Page 22
“I’ve been thinking about it, and I really think it makes sense for me to go with you,” she explains. I cross my arms over my chest. I know she isn’t going to let me get away with this without hearing her out, so I figure the least I can do is let her tell me what’s on her mind. So I can tell her that there is no way in hell it’s enough to justify her coming with me.
“I know the area better than you guys. I grew up in Mazamitla but lived off and on with my father in Monterrey before this happened,” she explains. “And, with Rayo gone, it’s not as though there’s any reason for me to stay here. They’re not going to be looking for me or keeping tabs on me the same way.”
“You’re safe here,” I remind her. “At the compound. There are way more people who can keep an eye on you, and?—”
“And you know as well as I do that Las Rosas Negras will be sending their men here soon enough, based on the information I’ve been giving them,” she cuts me off, taking another step toward me. “I’m as safe with you out there as I would be down here.”
I frown. She had a point, as much as I didn’t want to admit it.
“Why do you even want to go?” I ask her. “You know how dangerous this is.”
“That’s why I want to go with you,” she pleads with me. “Because I don’t want to send you or anyone else out on some death mission that I wouldn’t be part of myself.”
She pauses for a moment, biting her lip.
“And besides, this is my father we’re talking about,” she points out. “I need to know that I did everything I could to get him out of there alive. I can’t do that here, I just can’t.”
I rub my hand over my face. There is going to be no talking her out of this. I can tell from the way she is looking at me that she isn’t going to drop this anytime soon. If I don’t agree to bring her with us, she might just find a way to sneak along anyway, and I would much rather know where she is than have to guess at it.
“Fine,” I mutter. “You can come with us. Pack some things. We’re leaving in a couple of hours.”
She dives toward me, and, much to my surprise, pulls me into a hug. The scent of her shampoo fills the air for a moment, and I’m reminded, all at once, of our hook-up behind the bar—the night that started all of this, for better or for worse. I pull back quickly.
“Thank you, Malo,” she tells me, a smile spreading over her face. “I promise you won’t regret this.”
“I better not,” I warn her, but I can’t help but smile back. There’s something about her grin that’s infectious, even in these dark circumstances.
She hurries out of the room, presumably to pack, and I try to figure out how I’m going to explain her presence to Blue. I’m sure he’s going to have plenty of protests with it, but we don’t have time to sit around and hash them out right now.
I meet Blue at the main door to the compound an hour or so before our flight, and Maria bounds down the stairs to join us, a bag slung over one shoulder.
Blue frowns when he sees her approaching. “What’s she doing here?” he asks, lowering his voice and tipping his head in her direction.
“She’s coming with us,” I reply. He parts his lips, clearly about to protest, but I lift a hand to stop him in his tracks.
“I know,” I tell him quickly. “But she knows the area well, and she’s not going to be of any use to us sitting around here.”
Blue cocks an eyebrow, and I can see on his face that he’s not exactly impressed, but he knows better than to argue with me when we’re on such a tight schedule. Maria arrives by our side, her cheeks a little flushed, as though she’s so excited she just can’t restrain herself. I guess, in her mind, this is the beginning of the journey that will bring her father back. Anyone would be excited, looking at it like that.
“You ready?” I ask her, and she nods.
Blue greets her with a jerk of his head, clearly not entirely impressed that she’s here. I’ve left a message for Beast to let him know I’m going to be taking her with me, and no doubt he’s going to chew me out when I get back.
If I get back.
“I’m ready,” Maria agrees, and we head to the car we’re taking to the airport. I don’t know exactly what’s waiting for us out there in Mexico, but I know, if Maria’s the one asking for it, I’m willing to do anything to take it on.
CHAPTER 18
MARIA
Iwatch as the private landing strip in Monterrey comes into view. I can’t believe I’m back here again.
It’s hard to believe all of this has happened in just a couple of months. It’s been such a crazy ride, I’ve had a hard time keeping on top of it. Only six weeks ago, I was in London, working on a research project, when I got a call from my father that sent every nerve ending in my body into panic mode.
My father had encouraged me to take the research position in the UK, even though I had been doubtful about it. Working on my PhD, I had mostly stayed in Mexico, sometimes heading across the border for brief stints in the USA, but London? That was so far from home, so far removed from everything that I had ever known, I couldn’t help but feel a little terrified at the prospect.
But my dad, he’d told me how important it was for me to go out into the world and see something different. How much I would learn out there, not just about my field of study, but about myself. And, yes, it might not be easy, but it would be worth it. That I would regret it if I passed up the chance, and that he would call me every day to make sure I was okay out there.