“And?” That was a strange thing for her to say. He wondered if she was going into shock again.
“And it saved my life.” She grinned.
He lifted his brow, amused. In spite of all the madness going on around them, she managed to find the humor in all of it. He loved that about her. “Who knew that my incompetence as a seasoned flyer would come in—I hear a car coming. Why is the car bouncing?”
A bright orange car rolled toward them, its gold-rimmed tires flashing in the sunlight as it bounced above the grass.
“It’s a low-rider. He and Chuy rigged the car to do, uh, that.” Naomi waved her hand at the car as it rolled to a stop.
“That’s my homie. Told you he’d be here.” Chuy jumped off the porch. “You’re late.”
“Welita was at my house when you called. She wanted to say a prayer over me before I left.” He slapped a thick envelope into his hand. “She stuck some extra cash in there, too.”
“I can’t take Welita’s money,” Naomi said.
“She knew you’d say that. She told me to tell you that she knows you put your graduation money back into her bank account.” He pulled a rag from his back pocket and wiped his forehead. “Hey Chuy, when we get back, you gotta help me fix the AC in the car.”
“How did she know I did that—Chuy?” Naomi eyed him suspiciously.
“It wasn’t Chuy,” Lalo said. “Welita said some chick named Rebecca told her. Who’s Rebecca?”
Chuy slapped him on the shoulder. “Long story, man, I’ll tell you on the way back home.” Turning to Naomi, he placed the envelope in her hand. “Take the cash. You’ll need it.”
Lash looked over her shoulder and saw it was filled mostly with hundred dollar bills.
Naomi’s eyes widened. “Where did you get all this?”
Chuy looked nervously at Lalo, and he nodded. “We’ve been saving to bring Lalo’s cousin over from Mexico. Her parents were killed a few months ago and she’s there alone. All her family is here.”
Naomi shook her head. “I can’t take this. You need it.” She held out the envelope to Lalo.
“I’m confused. Why don’t you let Lalo use your credit card in exchange for the cash? Lalo can buy his cousin an airplane ticket with it,” Lash suggested.
“He can’t. She wouldn’t be able to travel here by regular means. It’s not exactly … legal.”
“Oh,” Lash said when he realized what she meant. From what he’d seen on various news shows, undocumented immigration appeared to be a much-heated debate.
“You’re family, too,” Lalo said to her. “Take it. Chuy and I will figure out what to do with my cousin.”
Naomi kissed him on the cheek, and he turned beet red. “Uh, yeah, well, don’t spend it all in one place. I’ll wait for you in the car,” he said to Chuy.
Chuy hugged Naomi. “Don’t do anything stupid.”
“You know me.”
“Yeah, I know you.” He turned to Lash. “She’s going to want to push you around. Don’t fall for her eye-batting thing that she likes to do when she wants to get her own way.”
“I don’t bat my eyes.”
Lalo snorted.
Naomi rolled her eyes. “I’ll wait in the car.”
“There’s something I need to tell you.” Chuy placed a hand on Lash’s shoulder, leading him away from the car and out of earshot. “I don’t know what kind of angel you are, and I don’t care. She’s been a lot happier since you’ve been here—happier than I’ve seen her in a long time. Take good care of her, and bring her home soon.”
Lash looked down at Chuy’s outstretched hand for a moment. He wanted to promise him that he would bring her back to her family. How could he if he didn’t know what would happen once they got to the safe house? All he’d been given was a location. He looked into Chuy’s trusting eyes and felt a strong sense of obligation that he’d never felt in all the time that he’d worked on his various assignments. His responsibility for Naomi’s welfare weighed heavily on him.
“You have my word. I’ll use all my powers to make sure she stays safe.”
***
Lash drove, not saying a word, while Naomi wept silently and Bear licked her hand trying to comfort her. He glanced at her periodically, wanting to pull over and take her into his arms and tell her they were going to be all right. When she finally fell asleep, he had time to think about all that had happened in the last twenty-four hours. Why was Luke Prescott giving Sal orders to hunt down Naomi? Why would he want to get rid of her? She wasn’t a threat to him. Was she? “Come on, Raphael. Give me a little hint.”