Fierce Pride (42 page)

“Hmm, not for me either. You’re perfect.”

“You too.” He slid his fingers through her hair and brought a curl to his lips. “I could have a slot cut into the door so Tomas could send in our meals.”

“Tempting, but a shower would be nice occasionally.”

He pulled out and yanked off the condom. “I guess we’re better off sleeping in my room.”

“I adore practical men.”

“So it isn’t just my cock?”

“No, not at all, although you’re very good with it, but you have a lot to work with.”

“Thank you. I wish I had the strength to walk, but it may be a while before I can hang on to my crutches.”

She relaxed her hold on him. “This is nice too. I’m sorry you missed therapy today, but we’ve kept your blood flowing.”

“We’ve definitely done that.” He reached down to pull up his shorts, and she buttoned them.

She shivered as a sudden chill shot down her spine.
Someone walking on your grave.
He thought the police and his attorney would handle everything now, but she felt with a frightening certainty the danger wasn’t past.

Chapter Eighteen

The next morning, Libby stood on the balcony in her lavender negligee. She brushed her hair and let the breeze ruffle her curls. Santos startled her when he spoke.

He’d propped his head on his elbow. “Are you thinking of going out for a run?”

Expecting trouble, she’d been watching the deserted beach, wondering who’d be the first to appear. She turned and smiled. “Weren’t you going to hire a bodyguard so I could?”

“I thought about it, but with Cazares and Nuñez coming by so often, another man would have just been in the way. Run if you like, but go toward the beach shops rather than the Ramirez house.”

She still thought someone should search Fermin Ramirez’s boat, but he’d struck her as being too clever a man to leave a rifle on board, if it had ever been there. “If I’m going to run, I need to go now so I’ll be ready when Maggie comes by.”

“Or you could come back to bed.” Santos raised the covers to provide a very handsome lure.

“Very tempting, but I don’t want you to be too worn out for therapy,” she teased on her way to the door. “I’ll see you later.”

Once in the hall, she rested her head against his door. He’d cautioned her against going in the Ramirez’s direction, but he hadn’t made it an emphatic order as he was prone to do. She tapped lightly on the door and looked in. “Please be careful today.”

He sat up. “I won’t trip over anything or fall down a well or let Manuel drive on the wrong side of the road. I’ll meet you and Maggie here for lunch about one. You could at least kiss me good-bye.”

He had such a knockout grin, she came back into his room but left the door open. “One kiss is never enough for me.”

He opened his arms. “We’ll make one kiss last.”

She knew he would and turned back to lock the door.

She eventually pried herself from his bed to run, and set a near-blistering pace along the shore. She turned when she reached the shops and jogged back to the house with a slow, easy rhythm. There were others out running that morning. None looked familiar, but she couldn’t shake the nagging anxiety they’d only entered a tiny window of peace. She arrived at the house just as Manuel began to back the SUV down the driveway, and she hurried around to the front of the house to tell Santos good-bye.

He laughed when he saw her. “Miss me already?”

A dozen smart answers came to mind, but she told him the truth. “Yes. I wanted to see you before you left.”

He frowned slightly. “I really need to go.”

She caressed his cheek, and he kissed her palm. “Just be careful.”

He raised his hand. “I promise.”

Manuel held the door open for him, but as he turned to get in, Libby saw a girl jogging their way. It struck her as odd she’d be running along the street rather than on the beach. The runner was dressed in white shorts and tank top with a cap pulled low to shade her face and hide her hair, but Libby recognized her. “Wait!” She grabbed Santos’s elbow as Victoria left the street and sprinted toward them. She carried a plastic water bottle and tossed the cap aside as she drew near.

Libby watched Santos swing the padded end of a crutch hard to flip the bottle out of Victoria’s grasp. Knocked off her feet, she shrieked as the bottle’s fuming liquid splashed her legs. Her cap flew off and her long hair veiled her face but couldn’t muffle her anguished screams. Swaying from fright, Libby grabbed hold of Santos. His lightning reflexes had saved them, but what if she hadn’t been there to warn him?

Manuel ran for the front garden hose, turned the spout on full blast and sprayed Victoria’s legs with a cold stream, but she kept writhing in agony on the grass.

Santos kept Libby close as he pulled his phone from his pocket. “Nuñez should be expecting my daily call.” In addition to the police, he asked for an ambulance.

Hearing the screams, Mrs. Lopez came to the front door, followed by the maids. Tomas pushed in behind her with Julian and Adolfo. Santos called, “Julian, run down to the house with the big aqua windows and bring Mr. Ramirez here fast.” Julian immediately sprinted away.

Libby couldn’t tell if Santos were shaking as badly as she was, but she could feel his heart thudding rapidly in his chest, and he leaned against the car for support. “She meant to spray us with acid,” she murmured, her voice trembling.

“I was her target,” he said. “You were just in the wrong place, but if you hadn’t seen her…”

“I know.” In her view, she’d been right where she was meant to be, but she was chilled to the bone by how close they’d come to the absolute horror of acid burns.

Fermin Ramirez came running toward them, his tie waving from his hand and a man in a chauffeur’s uniform following close behind. “My God, what happened?”

Santos quickly explained. “An ambulance is on the way and the police. There are witnesses this time, and I don’t care how eloquent a defense you give Victoria, she’s not going to get away with this.”

Fermin watched as Manuel continued to spray Victoria’s legs. “I should never have told her you intended to sue for custody of her son. This is all my fault.”

Libby’s eyes filled with disbelief as she looked up at Santos. “Is he serious? She’s the one who carried the acid.”

Luis Rubio circled his daughter, calling her name, but she was crying too hard to hear him. “Where’s the ambulance!” he yelled.

Nausea filled Libby’s throat and she had to swallow hard. She could hear the sirens approaching, but kept her eye on the plastic bottle on the glass. “Don’t let her father take the bottle.”

“I won’t,” Santos assured her. “It’s evidence as well as her burns.”

The ambulance had just taken Victoria away with her father when Detective Nuñez arrived. He ran a weary hand thought his wiry hair. “I must consider moving my office here to your home. It would save me time in commuting each day. The dispatcher mentioned acid. What’s happened here now?”

Santos hadn’t budged from the car and still held Libby in his arms. Fermin Ramirez was seated on the porch steps, knotting his tie in his hands. He’d told his wife to keep the baby at home, but he was beside himself and muttering under his breath.

“Have you met Fermin Ramirez?” Santos asked. “He’s a well-regarded defense attorney, or at least he was until quite recently.” He described Victoria’s attack and answered the detective’s questions. “I’d offer coffee, but I’m not certain I’m steady enough to drink any myself.”

“There’s no need for refreshments, Mr. Aragon. We’ll take the bottle to the lab to identify what was used, and Miss Rubio will remain in jail when she’s discharged from the hospital. As for her son…”

Fermin gave a faint wave. “We’ll keep him. His grandfather is my chauffeur, and he lives with us. There’s no need to disrupt a small boy’s life.”

Nuñez nodded. “If the grandfather wasn’t involved, that will work. If he was, other arrangements will have to be made.”

“I’m sure he wasn’t,” Fermin insisted. “He’s been as confused as my wife and I by all this. I collect classic cars, and Luis sometimes uses hydrochloric acid to clean parts. He wouldn’t have given any to Victoria, but she would have known it was in the garage.” He struggled to his feet. “If you don’t need anything more from me, I’d like to go home.”

“Fine. I’ll be there soon to inspect your garage,” Nuñez said.

Fermin nodded. “I’m staying home from my office today. Come whenever you like.” He walked slowly toward his house, dragging the end of his expensive-looking silk tie along the ground.

Santos and Libby waited while Nuñez spoke with his men. They bagged the bottle and found the cap. They measured the distance from the SUV to where Victoria had fallen to the ground. When Nuñez was satisfied he had all the facts, he left without saying good-bye and went on to the Ramirez house.

Santos’s arms were still locked around Libby’s waist, and she patted him lightly. “I’m surprised he didn’t threaten to arrest you for assault.”

“I’m sure he would have if Victoria had been carrying only a bottle of water. She had such a terrifying expression, like a snarling dog, and I knew it had to be something far worse. I’m not going to make it to therapy today after all. Let’s go on out on the patio and eat pastries until we explode.”

“Good plan.”

Tomas had just sent out the pastries and coffee when Maggie arrived. Julian hurried back inside to fetch her a cup and a plate. Libby greeted her with a weary sigh. “Wait until you hear the latest.”

Maggie took a chair and a sip of coffee. “Tell me everything.”

Libby sat back and let Santos explain how horribly the morning had begun. “Libby kept telling me to be careful, but I’d never dreamed Victoria would launch such a vicious attack. She must have wanted to blind me and leave me badly scarred, but there was no way she could have gotten away with it.”

“From the first awful drawing,” Libby reminded him, “none of this has come from a rational mind.”

Maggie leaned back in her chair. “I don’t feel like looking at apartments today, do you?”

Libby shook her head. “Not really. I’m going to sit right here until the sun sets.” Santos raised a brow, but if he thought she’d sit out there nude after dark, he was dead wrong.

That night, Santos insisted upon taking Libby out to one of his favorite restaurants for dinner, a romantic place with soft lighting and candles on the tables. He’d worn a pale silk shirt and dark pants, and she looked pretty in an aqua top with her tie-dye skirt. “I needed to get away from the house tonight,” he said. “I hope you’ll find something you’ll like on the menu. I usually have the filet mignon. It’s always excellent here.”

“I’ll have it too then.” She closed her menu and set it aside. “I’m not keeping up with my e-mails to my parents, but Daddy didn’t want weather reports, and that’s the most innocent thing I can send.”

He laughed. “How do you mean ‘innocent’?”

She reached under the table to give his thigh a playful pinch. “You know exactly what I mean. Your bed, or closet, is a blissful haven compared to the everyday strangeness we’ve seen. I hope it’s over now.”

“So do I, but I’ve never worried about violent fans, and I should have been better prepared.”

“Victoria and her brother weren’t fans, though. I don’t want to think about them tonight.” There were couples seated as close as they were in nearby booths. The conversations around them were soft, intimate, with the diners more into each other than their meals. A guitarist sat on a stool in a darkened alcove, strumming soft love songs for a seductive musical background.

“This place has an incredible ambience. It would be popular no matter what they served,” Libby said. “Do men bring their dates here, hoping to seduce them?”

“I’ve no idea what other men expect,” Santos assured her. “I don’t ever want you to sleep with me if you’d rather not.”

The soft light gave his dark gaze a hint of mystery. Enjoying the wine, she licked her lips. “I’m afraid I can’t even imagine such an unlikely event.”

Their waiter approached their table. “Matador, how good it is to see you again, and your beautiful lady.”

Libby looked up, and the waiter’s eyes widened in surprise. With her blonde hair, he must have mistaken her for Ana Santillan as he approached, but she smiled as though she hadn’t noticed his startled reaction.

Santos placed their orders and refilled her wineglass. “I like it here because it’s quiet and photos don’t turn up in the tabloids after I’d been here. Let’s just relax and enjoy each other as though nothing existed beyond our table.”

As far as she was concerned, nothing did. “That’s fine, but we get along remarkably well no matter where we are.”

He reached for her hand and kissed her fingertips. “We do. I have a present for you.”

She was thrilled but didn’t want to look like an overeager kid. “It’s not my birthday.”

He pulled a small, shimmering gift bag from his pocket and handed it to her. “I hope you like it.”

The drawstring bag was tied with a ribbon bow and easily came open. The lavender tissue inside held an intricately designed gold-link bracelet and was one of the prettiest pieces of jewelry she’d ever seen. “Oh, Santos, I love it! Help me put it on.”