Buried (Hiding From Love #3) (12 page)

She looks at me, and the pain in her eyes makes me want to shut mine.

"I know," she says simply.

"Good. I'm glad you finally accept it. Now you need to quit feeling guilty and go on with your life. It's going to be a great life,
linda
."

She shakes her head, her brow furrowed. "No. I know your secret. I know about
him
."

My heart hammers in my chest as my mind races with the possibilities. There's no way. No way she could ever connect us. She must be talking about someone else.

Sounding every bit as cool as any seasoned gangster does under questioning, I respond, "Who's him? I don't got no secrets,
linda
. I've had it all laid out, nice and pretty, in the newspapers even. What you see is what you get."

I see the anger take over, her cheeks turning pink and her eyes flashing. "Stop it," she hisses as she stands up and faces me, her hands on her hips. "Stop defaulting to gangster talk every time you're cornered. You know how to speak proper English. Quit trying to sound like some asshole who never finished middle school."

I throw my hands out to the sides, palms up, indicating I'm not sure what she wants me to say.

"I know about Miguel Ybarra," she whispers as she leans down closer to my face. "I know he's your father, and I’m guessing you've been hiding from him nearly your whole life. I know why you'd join the RH to get fake papers—so you wouldn't have to go back to Mexico. It's because he's looking for you."

I blink. Once. Twice. Then my breath comes out in a whoosh, almost as if someone knocked the wind out of me, which is basically what this five-foot-three bundle of kick-ass woman just did.

"No," I mutter.

"Yes," she answers definitively. "And he's here now. In the US. In Texas. And my guess is he's coming for you."

Fuck. Fuck, fuck, motherfucking fuck. I stand up, forcing her to step back as I do so. I pace up and down the porch, feeling the sweat break out on the back of my neck.

"Where the hell did you come up with this…this…
bullshit
anyway?" I snarl at her.

She looks smug and all too sure of herself. "My Uncle Max has been helping me review your case files. He just happened to put three different clues together, and once he did, it all fell into place."

I come to a stop right in front of her. She's nine inches shorter than I am and doesn't seem to be the least bit intimidated when I get in her face. "And why. Were
you
. Reviewing my case files?"

"Because I'm in love with you," she answers obstinately. Then more quietly, she says, "I always have been."

Once again, she leaves me speechless. We stand, nose to nose, staring into each other's eyes, and I see hers soften, I hear her breathing become rapid, and I can feel the heat coming off her skin. My own breath is audible. I'm nearly gasping as if I just can't get enough air. We look at one another—one second, two seconds, three seconds. She breathes, I breathe. Time stops. My heart stops.

"
Madre de Dios
," I gasp as I wrap my hand around the back of her neck and pull her to me.

I crash my lips into hers, openmouthed, seeking, penetrating. I hear her moan, and I run my other hand up the front of her top, palming her breast over the cotton fabric. She's lush and full, and I'm ready to come just from the sensation of her slick lips and the ample handful I'm massaging.

"Fuck, Beth. God," I gasp.

"I'm so scared," she murmurs. "I promised. I promised I'd stop seeing you. He's too dangerous, Juan."

I run my lips down her neck, skimming her collarbone, one hand squeezing her ass and the other rolling her hard, little nipple between my fingers.

"I know," I pant out, some distant part of my mind telling me that I need to stop kissing her, stop touching her, stop wanting her. But it's no use. She's got her hands under my T-shirt, stroking my abs, making every part of me quiver in sheer delight. I walk her back against the wall of the porch, in between the door and the front window of the house. If anyone's sitting in the living room, they're getting a hell of a show right now, but I just can't bring myself to care.

"You need to stay away from me,
linda
."

One of her hands runs along the outside of my pants, rubbing my erection, and I jerk, pressing my groin against hers.

"Ahh," she sighs, stroking me harder as I take her mouth again.

I can't help myself. I'm completely lost now. I pump against her hand, over and over, not even noticing the layers of fabric between her skin and mine, only the incredible flame of pleasure that's been ignited inside me. While my one hand continues its exploration of her breast, I rub the other along the hem of her shorts, quickly finding my way underneath and then to the lace edge of her panties.

"Tell me to stop," I growl

"No," she demands. "Don't you dare stop."

"Do you know how many times I dreamed about you?" I ask. "How many nights I imagined what it would be like to taste you, to feel you, to hear you say you loved me?"

"Probably about as many times as I did," she answers with a dry laugh, undoing the button on my jeans at the same time.

I slip my finger under that last tiny bit of fabric and find a hot, wet heaven. She gasps as I slide my finger through her folds and then inside her. She frantically yanks at the zipper on my jeans, lowering it as I begin to work two fingers in and out of her in a slow, sweet rhythm. Then her hand finds its way into my boxers, her soft fingers wrapping tightly around my dick, and I freeze, my fingers inside her, my manhood in her grasp.

"God, oh God damn,
1
mujer
." My eyes are squeezed shut, and I'm trembling with the effort it's taking not to simply let go and humiliate myself all over her palm.

She wiggles and contracts her muscles around my fingers.

"Jesus," I hiss as I nip at her neck just hard enough to warn her. She squeaks like a little girl and then softly chuckles.

I plunge my tongue into her mouth again, losing myself in the sensations of her hand stroking my cock and her little tongue teasing along my lips. I circle her clit with my thumb, eliciting a shiver from her and another moan. My hips are thrusting in time with my fingers pumping in and out of her, and things are just on the verge of flying apart for both of us when I hear an all-too-familiar voice.

"
Odalay
, bro. Now we know why
2
Guapo
couldn't be bothered to drop us a line. He's been making up for lost time." Laughter and hoots follow the remark.

I feel everything inside me freeze up. It's like racing down a smooth-as-silk highway and suddenly hitting a cattle guard, tiny ridges in the pavement that jar the shit out of you and ensure you slam on the brakes.

Beth is frozen, her breath coming in little pants. Thank God I've got her pinned to the house so no one can see her around my back. I pull my face away from hers and turn to look over my shoulder.

"Hey, homez. Give me a minute, yeah?"

Pretty Boy snorts and rolls his eyes. "We'll be right here, bro. But hurry it up. We got business to attend to."

I give him a sharp nod, watching as he saunters back to the big Lincoln Navigator parked at the curb. I turn to Beth. Her eyes are wide with fear, and our bodies are still pressed together, our hands in each other's pants. I lay my forehead against hers as I remove my hand from her shorts and smooth out her top.

"Listen carefully," I whisper. "They're RH. I'm not sure what they want, but it probably involves taking me with them—"

"No," she whispers back, her desperation evident even when speaking so quietly.

"Beth. This is important. Really important. You need to do everything. Every. Single. Thing. That I tell you to do. Don't talk unless you absolutely have to, don't argue with me, don't let any of them close enough to touch you. We're going to get you out of here, and I can handle the rest."

I stand up straight, releasing her from the weight of my body, and tuck everything back where it's supposed to be before zipping and buttoning my jeans.

"I don't want them to take you," she says, her eyes misting up.

I place my palm along her cheek. "I'll be fine,
linda
. I always am. It's time for you to go live that life now. Promise me you won't do anything stupid, yeah?"

She nods, biting down on her bottom lip to keep from crying.

3
"
Bueno
," I say. I lace my fingers through hers and take a deep breath before I turn around and face my past.

Pretty Boy strides forward, hand extended. He's gotten a few more tats since I last saw him, including a teardrop at the outside corner of one eye. A gold cap glints on his top front tooth as well.

"Fuckin' A, homez," he says as he clasps my hand and gives me a half hug, Beth still attached to my other hand.

"Long time no see,
ese
," I tell him. I give a chin lift to Lobo, who is lounging against the SUV behind Pretty Boy.

"
Guapo
," Lobo says, returning the greeting. He glances at Beth and grins. "Glad to see you back in action, bro."

I scratch the back of my head, not even having to feign the embarrassment of being caught with my pants undone on the front porch of some house.

"Yeah, this is Angel, man. I knew her back in the day. She organized a little welcome home celebration for me." I wink at the guys, and they laugh.

Beth is silent at my side. Good. Just like I told her.

"So, yeah, babe. I got some biz with my homies. You should head on out."

I start to move her toward her car parked behind the SUV at the curb.

"Not so fast," Pretty Boy says. He steps closer to us, looking Beth up and down lasciviously. "Maybe we'd like to get to know this pretty little Angel better ourselves."

I feel Beth shaking, and I hope the guys can't see it. I keep her hand firmly in mine. "You know, I been sharing everything for four long years. I'm not really in the mood to share right now. I think Angel will just stick to partying with me." I pull her closer and wrap my arm around her shoulders. "I'm more than enough for you, ain't that right, baby?"

She nods, swallowing hard and making a weak attempt at smiling.

Pretty Boy narrows his eyes at us, watching her carefully. Fuck. He's way too smart for my purposes. Lobo, I can handle. Pretty Boy, not so much.

"C'mon,
vatos
!" Lobo shouts from the curb. "
El Jefe
wants us to get
Guapo
back right away."

"Yeah, man. It’s all cool," Pretty Boy answers. "We gonna take a little ride, and we can bring the pretty Angel along too, just to make sure
Guapo
here don't get lonely." He reaches out and grabs Beth's upper arm before she can move away and pulls her toward the SUV.

"Hey, bro." I've got Beth's other arm and I’m not letting go. Pretty Boy's mouth sets now, and though I'm going to try, I know this isn't going to end the way I want it to. "I don't want a fucking bitch in the middle of work. Just leave her and let's roll. I want to catch up with my homies. She'll only be in the way."

I eye Pretty Boy's hand clasped around Beth's arm and see his fingers tighten as Beth winces. Rage courses through me in waves, and I see red. I've never wanted anything so badly as I want his filthy hand off her skin. It's so vile and disgusting that I feel sick.

"Nah, man," Pretty Boy continues as he moves toward the car, Beth—and therefore me—in tow. "We're all going on a ride. It'll be good, bro."

I'm frantically scanning the area for a way out of this when I see Lobo lift up his T-shirt to scratch his stomach. It's a move with a very specific purpose, which is to show me the Glock he's got in the waistband of his baggies. Fuck. The game's up. They might have come here acting like long-lost friends who missed their boy, but it's pretty obvious they were sent to bring me in no matter what I wanted.

"Yeah, it's all cool," I answer with a shrug as if I don't give a shit.

Pretty Boy gives me a sharp nod indicating his approval that I've acquiesced. Beth looks up at me, her eyes desperate. I lean toward her as Pretty Boy leads us to the car.

"It's all good, Angel," I tell her in a low voice. "Just remember what I told you."

She nods and squeezes my hand tight as I slide into the backseat of the car behind her. The tinted windows hide us from public view as Lobo starts up the engine and we pull away from everything Beth's ever known, heading into a world I'd give my life to keep her from.

1
Mujer = woman

2
Guapo = handsome/good looking man

3
Bueno = good/ okay