The man is disgusting—an evil pig almost as abhorrent and revolting as Raphael Dela Vega was. They were cut from the same cloth at birth; I have no doubt in my mind that Andreas is a nasty piece of work, and that we can’t trust him as far as we can throw him.
I turn to wake Jamie up, but I find the other half of the bed empty when I roll over. I didn’t hear him get up; god knows how long he’s been gone for, or how long I’ve slept in for, but for some reason I feel like I’ve been alone here for a long time. Hours, at least. I was exhausted yesterday when we got back to the compound. Every single muscle in my body ached. When we got home and tumbled into bed, Jamie offered me a massage, winking, promising me much more than that, but I’d been too tired and sore to even take him up on the offer.
I climb out of bed and do a quick recon of the cabin, looking to make sure Jamie’s not in the bathroom or passed out on the couch for some reason, but he’s not. The clock on the wall reads nine thirty-eight am. Jeez… We went to bed late, well after midnight, but I think this is the first time I’ve come close to getting eight hours sleep in month. Jamie must have had someone else pick up the prospect’s chores this morning. I’m sure a riot nearly broke out amongst the other club members—why the hell should Sophia get preferential treatment, just because she’s your girlfriend?—but I can also imagine the look Jamie will have had on his face should anyone have dared say this, and how quickly they will then have shut their mouths.
I shower and head down to the clubhouse, my skin prickling when I see there are more cars lined up alongside the Humvee Andreas drove in last night. That means Julio is here, no doubt. The guy insisted on breaking up the drive from Cali to New Mexico on account of his considerable size and how uncomfortable it would be to sit for so long without moving around. It actually bought us some breathing space, though. Inviting a cartel boss into your home is sometimes a good way to do business. Sometimes, it’s death wish.
Loud chatter and raucous laughter spills out of the clubhouse when the door swings open and Shay comes barreling out of the building, just before my hand reaches the handle. She almost careens into me, her expression thunderous and angry, her lips compressed into a straight white line.
“Oh look, it’s Sleeping Beauty,” she snaps. “What time do you call—” She stops short of whatever she was about to say, her eyes wide, staring down at something on the ground. “What the fuck?” she whispers. I look for whatever is freaking her out so much, but Shay grabs hold of me by the wrist and raises my arm, a deep frown etched into her face. “What the fuck is this?” she says.
I finally realize what she’s seen, and heat floods my cheeks: the ring. Jamie’s mom’s ring is still sitting on my left hand, shining in the morning light, and Shay is staring at it like it’s the most offensive thing she’s ever seen.
“Shay—”
She digs her fingernails into my skin. “Is this what I think it is?”
“Yes.” I’m not going to lie to the woman. My relationship with Jamie is none of her fucking business. And the fact that I’m now engaged to him really isn’t either. I should tell her to mind her own damn business, but there’s no point. She’s not stupid, and she would never leave me alone until I told her the truth. Her eyes look like they’re welling up with tears. She opens her mouth to say something to me, but then her gaze grows distant over my shoulder and her jaw snaps shut. I nearly topple over as she barges by me, muttering under her breath.
“Christ, Shay, what the hell is wrong with you?” I spin around, angry enough to chase after her and confront her, but then I see Jamie walking toward me, alone, and I realize why Shay bolted. She’s hardly going to be rude to me if he’s there. He won’t tolerate her being shitty to me, even though I can handle Shay along with anyone else just fine these days. He’s wearing his don’t-fuck-with-me, face as he arrives next to me.
“What was that about?”
“She saw the ring,” I tell him.
“Fuck. The last thing we need today is for her to start causing problems. You okay?” He folds his arms around me, hugging me gently, and he smells of soap and clean clothes. I breathe in, pulling him into my lungs, trying to hold onto this moment a few seconds longer before we have to deal with anything else.
“I’m fine. I just forgot it was there to be honest.”
“Gee. Great.”
I bite down lightly on his pec through his t-shirt. “That’s not what I meant. It’s just…it’s strange that we made this huge decision three days ago and no one else has known about it until now. It kind of felt like it was a secret. Like we shouldn’t be talking about it or something.”
He leans back, looking down at me. “Do you want it to be a secret?”
“No. No, I don’t.”