Chapter 21

Isabella

Days turned into a week.

One week turned into two.

Even though I was living in the same house, I rarely saw el Patrόn. The first time I did after Mia’s and my conversation, he and I passed ways in the kitchen. It was after I’d thought everyone had gone to bed, and the house was mostly dark. The light of the pool allowed enough illumination for me to search for a late-night snack. When I stepped from the pantry, he was there. All six feet-plus of muscle and tension. My first instinct was to scream or maybe run. In what order I didn’t know.

Instead, I remembered Mia’s words. When she first met him, she thought he was an asshole. Involuntarily, my cheeks rose, and my lips curled into a smile. “El patrόn.”

“Me puedes llamar de Jano.” His features mellowed. “Gracias, chiquita. Thank you for staying with Mia and helping her out at the apartments. It means a lot to her.”

“I’m glad I can be of assistance.”

“You are. It’s one thing off my mind.” He nodded.

With that he was gone, out the door to the garage. I heard the garage door open. The time on the microwave was nearly midnight. I wondered how he knew the way Mia felt. It seemed like he was always working.

Since that night, I have been less nervous around him. It wasn’t like I would be calling him by his first name, but I no longer hyperventilated in his presence. I was also becoming more comfortable at the apartments with the tenants. I found that I no longer dwelled on their profession. It was a small step, but a step nonetheless.

I didn’t know what was happening with the war—only that we were still restricted in our ability to be anywhere but at the apartments or home.

When I arrived at the office exactly two weeks after my first day, I was surprised to find Em sitting at my desk. He’d been by almost every day to check on things. It was wishful thinking that he was there because of me. The sight of him made my mouth go dry, my pulse race, and parts of my body twist. I found myself thinking about him as I lay in bed. I’d relive the sight of his toned abs and imagine tracing the snake’s tail higher over his muscular arm and wide shoulders. While he was always nice to me, except for the one thing he said about inappropriate thoughts, he had been a gentleman—nothing like my father said men in the cartel would be.

I was suffering from a schoolgirl crush. That was all this was. Em was the first unrelated man I’d ever spent time with. A woman would have to be dead inside not to be affected by his handsome exterior and his kindness.

Currently, he was staring intently at the computer screens.

“Hey,” I said as I entered. “You’re sitting at my desk.”

His dark stare came my direction. For a moment, my skin warmed as if he were seeing beneath my slacks and blouse. By the time his gaze met mine, my nipples were hard, and I prayed my padded bra was doing its job.

“Our system was hacked last night.”

“What? The network here?”

He nodded. “Rei is working on it from Sacramento.”

“Reinaldo knows networking and computers?”

“He’s one of the best.”

I’d heard the same about his interrogation skills. I shrugged. “Apparently, a man of many talents.”

Em smiled. “We’re all talented in an array of subjects.” His eyebrows danced. “I’d be happy to show you sometime.”

I didn’t know how to respond. Instead, I went around the desk to see the screen and asked, “How did Rei find out about the hack?” There were rows and rows of data moving faster than I could read. Instead of his usual fresh scent, Em emanated a spicy tobacco aroma.

“He watches over all the cartel’s networks. The good news is that the apartments weren’t connected to any of our other networks.”

“Mia can access this from home.”

“Yeah, that’s through a separate server and multiple firewalls. I’ve already been in contact with Silas. He’s running a check, but so far that seems clear.”

“What about all the women’s data?”

“Fucking compromised.”

I thought of something else. “What about the computers in the computer center? They have accounts and personal information like their bank accounts.”

“Rei had everything well protected. We’re not sure yet what they got.”

I placed my purse in the side drawer of the desk, where Liliana had shown me on the first day. I inhaled. “Do you smoke?”

He sniffed his shirt. “Not regularly. Sorry if I smell. It’s been a long night.”

A smile came to my lips. “No, I like it. My Uncle Vincent sometimes smoked a pipe. I didn’t like him much, but I liked the smell of his pipe.”

“I’ll remember to not shower every day.”

“That might be carrying it a bit too far.”

The processing data on the screen stopped. Em reached for the mouse. Many boxes popped up. He was clicking faster than I could read. Finally, he closed them all out.

“The data is restored. I think.” He stood. “You know the program as well as anyone, and you know what you’ve added. Can you check to see if it’s accurate?”

Nodding, I sat. The chair was warm from his body heat. For the next few minutes, I opened different files and checked the running spreadsheets. When I came to the one where the tenants added appointments and requests for leaving, I stopped. “How long will this lockdown continue?”

“Tension is still high.”

“You know, when I conceded to the idea that I was coming out west, I imagined seeing more of San Diego and southern California than Mia’s house and these apartments.”

Em pressed his lips together and stretched his arms in the air. The snake on his right arm caught my attention.

“Why a snake?”

He grinned. “Have we now moved on to more personal information?”

“Maybe.”

“You get one question, and I get one question. We both must answer honestly. Deal?”

“Why am I suddenly worried about what you’ll ask?”

His dark eyebrows arched.

“Deal. Why a snake?”

“What I do—we do—can be dark and dangerous. A snake is a symbol of rebirth because of the way it sheds its skin. Each day is a new one with more possibilities than we can ever fathom.”

“I thought a snake was evil, like the serpent who offered Eve the apple.”

“I told you; I’m the bad guy.” He leaned his firm ass against the edge of the desk and crossed his arms over his wide chest. “My turn.”

I lifted my hands to my face. “I’m scared.”

Em prized my fingers away until my hands were engulfed by his. His nose was millimeters from mine. His dark brown eyes shone as his stare intensified. It was as if he could see beyond my gaze. His deep tenor reverberated through me from my ears to my toes and everywhere in between.

“You’re not scared, Isabella. I watched you transform right here in this office two weeks ago. The girl back at the capo’s wouldn’t have made it through that day. You did. And you’ve been back every day since. We live in an evil world and yet, since you’ve arrived, you’ve blossomed. You’re fucking fascinating to watch.”

I swallowed. That was a lot to process. I inhaled and pulled my hands from his. I immediately missed their warmth. “Go ahead. Ask.”

“I’d like to take you out after work tonight. Show you around San Diego.”

“A date?”