Absolution (10 page)

He kicked the door open to find Antonio
breathing harshly, and Eva dressed in nothing but her
panties—covered in blood and unconscious. She clutched a strip of
material in her left hand, and her face was swollen. Her breasts
had bruises forming on them, and she seemed far too pale to still
be alive.

Joseph’s heart skipped a beat and a hollow
whooshing sound reverberated inside his head. Roaring in anger, he
rushed into the room. He pointed his gun at Antonio to shoot the
bastard, but a movement behind him and to the left caused him to
hesitate. At the doorway, his team’s feet pounded the ground as
they crowded into the room, so he knew the other sound couldn’t be
one of his men. He dropped to the ground, rolling and shooting in
the same breath. His bullet hit the attacker right between the
eyes, killing him instantly.

After all, a close-shot to the head with a
.9mm didn’t often leave survivors.

He raised the business end of his weapon and
pointed it at Antonio, stepping to the side of the door so that the
only way out of the room was through him and his team.

The fucker has nowhere to go but
down
.

Antonio’s hand inched toward his pocket, and
Joseph growled, “Don’t do it. Hands up.”

Antonio laughed and raised his hands in a
mocking surrender. “I only wish I’d killed the bitch before you got
here.”

Joseph let out a breath at the man’s words.
“If you had, you’d be in hell right now. Instead, you get to spend
the rest of your life in jail. I heard the men in prison love
rapists.”

He lowered his weapon, motioning his team
forward as he stepped out of the way. If Joseph so much as laid a
finger on the fucker, he’d kill him, so it would be best to keep
his distance. The team members rushed forward, but in the same
moment, Antonio lifted the knife over Eva.

Joseph raised his weapon and fired three
quick shots, each hitting Antonio in the back—right between his
shoulder blades.

Antonio jerked where he stood and then
dropped to the ground like the garbage he was. Joseph rushed to
Eva, swallowing down bile at the sight of her naked and covered in
this disgusting monster’s blood. He grabbed her ripped nightgown,
wiping her off the best he could. Wrapping her in a dirty
comforter, he cradled her in his arms and strode out of the
room.

She moaned, and he cuddled her closer. She
looked even worse up close than she had from across the room.
Swallowing heavily, he searched her face, trying to decipher the
extent of her injuries.

Her nose pointed to the right side, so
swollen and abused she looked like a different person, with blood
smeared all over her face. In addition to the discoloration on her
breasts, she had several bite marks on her neck.

“Fuck,” he snarled. He wished he could kill
Antonio over and over again. Daily.

As Joseph exited the building, Hugo arrived
and rushed toward them. He examined the naked bundle in Joseph’s
arms, his expression pinched.

“Is she…?” He reached toward his daughter’s
face. “Is she dead?”

“No, but she needs help right away.”

“Thank God. The ambulance is on its way.”
Hugo stepped to his side while men rushed all around them. He held
his arms out. “Give her to me.”

“No! I’ve got her. Just get the fucking
ambulance here faster.” Joseph pulled her closer to his chest, eyes
narrowed on Hugo’s face.

After a moment’s hesitation, Hugo nodded.
“Okay. You can hold her, but I’m coming, too.”

“Fine.” Joseph turned his attention back to
Eva, kissing the clean spot near her temple. The only clean spot,
from the looks of it.

“She never stopped loving you,” Hugo
mumbled.

Joseph scowled at Hugo. If only love were
enough to make her want him back. “And I never stopped loving her,
sir.”

Sirens sounded in the distance, and Joseph
stalked toward the approaching vehicle. He’d failed to keep her
safe from Antonio. Sure, he’d rescued her in time, but did that
count?

His gut said no.

Four days later, Eva stumbled through her
doorway and kicked off her flip-flops, assaulted by memories the
moment she stepped foot onto the cool hardwood. Her nose still
throbbed, complete with stents stuck up her nostrils and gauze
taped over the bridge. Her father had managed to wrap up his
assignment, but even so, they had been forced to move. If the
Cartel decided to get revenge against him, she and her dad were now
too easy to locate.

Eva studied the boxes stacked against the
living room wall and sighed. She tried not to dwell on the fact
she’d not seen Joseph since the day he’d saved her from Antonio.
When she’d awoken in the ambulance, he’d been holding her hand with
a haunted look in his eyes. He hadn’t been back since then, and it
hurt more than she cared to admit.

She’d thought he would have come by to check
on her or maybe a dutiful follow-up since she’d been his
assignment. But no. Nothing. Not even a freaking phone call or
e-mail. The nurses caring for her had said that he’d called the
hospital each day to check on her. But he hadn’t bothered to show
his face.

In the hotel, he’d told her he’d given up on
their relationship, cursed her out, and left after swearing he’d
moved on from her warped heart. But, she hadn’t allowed for the
chance he’d meant his words. People often said things in anger or
fear they didn’t mean.

She’d told him she didn’t want to be with
him. That had been a lie spoken out of panic. She’d been caught
off-guard by his confessions that he was innocent of being a
cheater all along.

But she craved his touch. His love. She
needed him. With her. And now, it was too late.

She and her father were relocating tomorrow,
and she had no idea where Joseph even lived. Nor did she have his
current phone number. She swallowed past the throbbing in her
throat and shoved off the door to head into the bedroom. Had the
movers packed up everything in her room, too?

She entered and nodded. Yup, all boxed up.
The closet doors stood open, and she went to the one on the left
side of the room and closed it. Turning to Joseph’s closet, she
frowned.

Empty. Just like her life.
Why hadn’t he
called
?

She wished with all of her heart that he
hadn’t come back and made her remember how much she loved him. She
wished she could go back in time and say the right things in their
damn hotel room. Wished she could make him forget her angry words
and kiss him until he threw her on the bed and made love to her. Or
she’d let him explain the circumstances behind him and the stripper
long ago.

But, really, who wouldn’t have thought he’d
cheated when he lay naked in bed with another woman? She’d asked
her father if he’d done all the things Joseph had accused him of
doing six weeks ago. Turns out, her dad had done even more. He’d
gone so far as to threaten Joseph with a drug test—and a sure
failure of said test—if he didn’t leave her alone.

Yet, Joseph had kept attempting to get to
her—until her father had pulled some strings with his buddies in
the US and had him sent to Afghanistan on a covert mission
requiring deep undercover activities with no access to phones or
Internet. He’d left Joseph to suffer over there until he had use
for him in Mexico—protecting her. Ironic that Joseph had been sent
away so that he couldn’t see Eva but brought back for the very
opposite reason.

She hadn’t spoken to her father since he’d
admitted the truth to her. He’d left her a message, letting her
know he’d checked into the story about the stripper, and it turned
out she was in jail right now for drugging and robbing over twenty
unsuspecting men all over the country. Just as Joseph had deduced
she’d done to him. So, he had told the truth about that, as
well.

But why the hell hadn’t he called now that
the truth was out?

She stalked toward the closet door, ready to
slam it shut, but a shadow caught her eye. There, in the corner of
the closet, a floorboard stuck out of joint. She tilted her head
and bent her knees, prodding it slightly. The wood plank lifted,
and she hesitated before reaching a hand into the dark space
below.

Her fingers closed over a square shape, and
she plucked it out. When she saw the small, velvet box that
unmistakably held jewelry, she gasped. Had Joseph hidden a present
for her long ago and left it behind? In her mind, an image of his
guilty face emerged as he hovered in front of the closet, and how
he’d shut the door when she’d entered. Had he been checking on his
secret hiding place?

Dare she open it? Her fingers itched to do
just that…but her conscience screamed not to invade his privacy.
She sighed and slipped the box in her pocket before searching for
her cell phone—the replacement cell phone Joseph had sent her just
as he’d promised.

She dialed her father.

“Hello?” he said, picking up after the first
ring. “Are you talking to me again?”

“For now.”

“Eva!” His voice bellowed at her through the
phone way too cheerfully. “What a great surprise! Are you finished
packing all of your stuff for our move tomorrow?”

“Dad,” Eva moaned. “I’m not deaf, remember?
And you know I hired movers to handle all of the hard work.”

“You’re all ready to leave, then?” he barked
in her ear.

She flinched and held the phone away from her
head. “Yes, like I said.”

“Great! I’m pretty much ready, too.” He
cleared his throat and lowered his voice. “Sorry, must have had a
frog in my throat. Anyway, what’s up, dear?”

With caution, she returned the phone to her
ear. “Do you know how I can contact Joseph? I have something of
his, and I’d like to return it before we leave.”

“Joseph?” he yelled.

She frowned and held the cell at a safe
distance once more. Why did he continue to shout? “Yes. I know you
don’t like him, but I have to get a hold of him. Help me,
please?”

“I have his number, but I have to talk to
someone first. I’ll give it to you in a few minutes. Love you,
bye.”

He hung up on her, and she shook her head in
confusion. That had to be the weirdest conversation she’d ever had
with her father. And they’d had a lot of odd discussions over the
years.

***

Joseph entered Hugo’s study, eyebrow arched
in amusement. “I take it your sudden need to speak as if you were
deaf was for my benefit?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,
son.”

“Yeah, okay. Eva called? How is she?” Joseph
had avoided asking this question, but damn it all to hell, he
missed her. He’d sworn to her he would leave her alone, promised
not to press his unwanted attentions upon her, but he hadn’t
expected it to be so damned hard. Maybe it seemed so hard because
this time he knew he couldn’t get her back. He’d told her the
truth, and she’d still pushed him away.

Now, he had to ask random people how she had
been doing. Had to rely on secondhand observations of how well she
recovered from the attack. He knew if he dared to approach her, he
would grab her and never let go. No matter if she agreed or not.
He’d tried to make it through the whole day without approaching
Hugo about Eva, and had almost accomplished it. He’d been on his
way out the door when he’d heard Hugo on the phone with her.

Unable to stop himself, he’d approached
Hugo’s office, needing one last bit of news about Eva before she
moved away from him.

“She’s okay….”

Joseph tensed. “What’s wrong? Is she having
headaches? I heard headaches after a concussion are fairly common.
Maybe she should lie down and rest instead of worrying about
moving.” He ran a hand through his hair, pacing. Images of Eva
sitting down, rubbing her temples and grimacing in pain, flashed
before his eyes. Her nose probably remained black and blue. “She
needs to take it easy. Tell her to calm down and rest.”

Hugo laughed, and Joseph scowled at the man’s
obvious enjoyment.

“Joseph, perhaps you should tell her
yourself.”

“I told you, she wants nothing to do with me.
I would think you’d be happy about it.”

“A few months ago, I would have been.
However, I’ve changed my mind. It’s obvious to any idiot—which I am
not—the two of you are in love. You only have to make her see
it.”

Joseph tried to ignore the hope rising within
his chest. Could it be possible she believed him? “She still
doesn’t trust me. Even after I told her the truth about that night.
Did she tell you?”

“Yes, she told me you were innocent.”

“Imagine that,” he drawled, raising an
eyebrow.

Hugo ignored Joseph’s sarcasm, shooting him
an amused look. “She asked to see you. She says she has something
of yours.”

“Of mine?” Joseph racked his brain but could
think of nothing he’d forgotten at her place. Had she used the
excuse of a forgotten object to get him to go see her? If so, maybe
he hadn’t lost everything. Excitement pumped through his veins, and
his voice came out rushed. “Oh, okay. Is she home now?”

Hugo nodded and smiled. “Good luck.”

***

Twenty minutes later, Eva sat, scowling at
her phone. She’d been waiting for her father to call her back, and
each second she held the box, the urge to peek inside grew. If she
didn’t see Joseph, and soon, she would cave to the temptation. The
small size suggested it held earrings…or a ring.

God, how she longed to go back in time. If
only she’d not kicked him out that night and let him explain. If
only she’d noticed the stripper stealing her unconscious
boyfriend’s belongings, or how sick he’d looked.

Holy shit. Could he have been planning to
propose
?

Her heart sped up, and she set the box on the
coffee table to wipe her clammy hands on her jeans. They’d been
happy enough to warrant such an action—until she’d found him in bed
with the whore. But, before that, he could have bought the ring and
tucked it away. They’d made plans to go out to a “special” dinner
before the incident that had ruined their relationship. The memory
of their plans had long ago faded in the face of his betrayal—or
rather, of what she’d
thought
he’d done.