Taken - A Gangster Stepbrother Romance (22 page)

              It was the first time in years Julian had slept so deeply.

Thirteen

              Julian awoke feeling incredibly refreshed. He admired the light that shined through his curtains, feeling as if he had never really seen sunlight in years. Looking behind him, Cora still slept comfortably on the large bed.

              Julian scrubbed his face with his hands. Who would’ve thought that when he had interviewed that little pixie a few weeks ago that he would be holding her soft and naked body against his as he slept? He grinned. All he could do was be thankful that she had walked in through those doors at all.

              Rising up, he headed towards the bathroom naked. He wanted to get cleaned up and have breakfast ordered before Cora woke up. As he showered, he couldn’t stop grinning like a fool. There was a lightness in his heart that made him feel pounds lighter and years younger.

              Wrapping a robe around him, Julian assessed the room service menu. As he debated upon which items to order, he noticed his cellphone blinking. A voice message. With the time difference, Trisha had been leaving her office updates through voicemail.

              But when he swiped his phone on, he saw that the call had come from Paulson. For the first time ever in regards to news about Karen, Julian hesitated. Letting himself fall back into the darkness that was his past brought Julian down into a low place that was hard to shake. For the first time in a long time, he was actually happy. He didn’t know if he wanted to lose that feeling just yet.

              But just as quickly, a lash of guilt whipped across his heart. He had promised to be there for her. Always. He’d broken that promise for fifteen years now. The least he could do was listen to Paulson’s update. He clicked on the voice message icon and listened.

              “Chief. I got her. I got her,” Paulson’s gruff voice rasped.

              Julian’s heart thumped hard against his chest as he listened to the excited voice of his detective. “God
damn
did they make it hard! There’s a reason why you haven’t been able to find her for all these years. Gloria Judson took her daughter and disappeared down south. And by south, I mean to bumfuck Mexico. She was so far down, she was damn near touching Guatemala. She went deep to hide from the trouble she got into stateside. And that’s why no one could find her. Fucking
Mexicans
don’t even live that far south! But anyway, I’ve got a trace on her. Well. Not really
her
but the girl. Karen Judson/Denton. Except she doesn’t go by that name anymore. Since coming to Mexico, she and her mother have been going by Rámon. Karen has been going under Cora Rámon.

              “And,” Paulson sighed heavily, “I’m sorry to break this to you, boss, but she’s a wanted woman in Mexico. For murder.”

              Julian lowered the phone. Slowly he turned around. There in his bed, Cora Rámon slept peacefully.

Read Part Two here!