Alejandro (6 page)

A suggestion Ale had made to Lana to help with her cover and it had frightened her. The terror in her eyes, the way her fingers shook — Ale almost called the whole operation off when she walked out the door of the marshals’ office for the last time. “What happened, Miguel? Don’t tell me she refused you.”

Miguel gave him a twisted grin full of ego and vanity. “Of course not. She came to me like we’d never parted.”

Ale’s stomach turned.

He’ll want proof that I’m loyal!
she’d said to him.

And he knew exactly what that meant. Physical proof.
Lana, it doesn’t have to go that far. Just make up some excuse and get out of there
.

She’d only agreed to the plan because he had convinced her she wouldn’t have to touch Miguel ever again. Ale swallowed the thick lump of emotion at the thought of Lana’s last moments on earth — in Miguel’s arms. The one position she’d begged not to be placed. She would’ve been too vulnerable to fight back. Ale thought of Audrey. He couldn’t tell her this; she’d never forgive him. “But she wasn’t enough for you? She’s the only woman you’ve ever mentioned by name. I figured you lost yourself to her.”

Miguel snorted. “I did. I loved
mi querida
. But she lied to me.” His dark eyes steeled over. “No one lies to me and lives.”

The muscles in Ale’s throat tightened, limiting the supply of air. He picked up his own mug and sipped his cold coffee. “What did she lie about?”

“
Mi hijo
.”

Alejandro nearly choked on his second gulp of the lumpy java. “Your what?” He’d understood Miguel perfectly, but that didn’t stop the surprise question.

“My son.”

Angel…
“¿
Su hijo
? Are you sure?”

“I’ve had reports on him.”

Ale’s eyes widened.
Reports…
If Miguel had given orders to watch Lana before she’d contacted the marshals, it’d mean a serious security breach in the operation. Did Miguel know she was working undercover with the marshals? “Reports? I didn’t know you were having Lana followed.”

“A few of my men saw her with a child and some old woman at an ice cream shop. These men have been loyal since long before you arrived, so don’t be mad I didn’t tell you. I had them follow the old lady.”

When did the surveillance start on Lana? The more he questioned Miguel, the colder his gaze became. Ale had to admit the difficulty he was having reading Miguel lately, especially when it concerned Lana. “How long ago was this? If you had let me know, we could’ve snatched the child and be done with this place.”

Miguel grinned. “I’ve never known you to be impatient, Ale. There’s no rush to these things. You know I always get what I want.” Leaning back in the chair, Miguel folded his hands in his lap, staring long and hard at Ale, who busied himself with some service orders. “You’re having trouble with a woman.”

Ale’s eyes snapped up, his mind immediately replaying the kiss he’d shared with Audrey.
Focus!
“Trouble? I don’t have trouble when there’s no one to cause it.”

Miguel threw his head back and laughed. “You don’t have trouble? Perhaps it’s because you don’t know how to woo a lady.”

Ale worked his stiff jaw. Wooing a woman was a skill he’d perfected since high school. No, securing a woman’s attention was not the issue. His job left him no time to pursue any romantic relationships. He led a nomadic life, constantly on the road chasing fugitives or being undercover for months on end. If he allowed attachments — if he compromised his heart — then he’d be vulnerable, open to blackmail from his enemies all while emotions clouded his judgment.

In that way, he was like his father, who’d abandoned Ale, his mother, and his two younger brothers when Ale was barely in high school. The answer to how a father could leave his family had always eluded Ale, but one thing was clear: the man had been emotionally detached from his family.

Smirking, Ale indulged Miguel’s line of conversation, if only to keep the mood light. “When have I ever had a problem with women?”

Miguel chuckled. “Okay, I admit, never. Whatever happened to that little
puertorriqueña
that was in here last week? The one with the long hair and short, red skirt?”

Ruby
. A stunning woman with golden brown eyes and lips as smooth as velvet. Undercover work was often lonely. Short bursts of uninhibited human interaction allowed him an escape from the constant tension of always being in character. A moment of release. He couldn’t keep sane without it. “She started draining my wallet.”

“Already?” Miguel laughed. “Women. Always trying to spend our money. When do they ever concern themselves with our hearts?”

Audrey
. From the moment she kneed him in the groin, Ale knew she was a different breed of female. Her carefree style of dress told him she probably put little value in money. She was the type to settle down and raise a family. Something Ale wouldn’t — couldn’t — ever do. And her kiss… Ale forced the frigid, chunky coffee down his throat, although it did little to cool the heat searing his veins. A man could lose control to those lips. Compelling his thoughts back to his investigation, he steered the conversation in that direction. “Lana’s dead. Any news on your son’s whereabouts?”

Miguel cleared his throat. “Not yet. But my men are watching the old lady. She may be the
abuela
. If Lana lied about my son, then she probably lied about everything else.”

Ale went cold. Mrs. MacGruber. Audrey and Mel were supposed to be picking Angel up from her house today. Miguel’s men would see them both. He casually looked up at the clock on the wall above Miguel’s head. He’d been at the shop for hours. Audrey and Mel should’ve arrived at Mrs. MacGruber’s by now. He pulled his cell from his pocket, keeping it below the edge of the desk. No messages. Either Mel didn’t spot the team Miguel had sitting on the house, or something had happened. Ale shivered involuntarily.

“Cold? You’ve been drinking coffee.” Miguel eyed him curiously.

Ale glanced at his cup. “The coffee has been cold and stale for some time.”

“Let me get you a fresh cup.” Miguel came around to Ale’s desk and reached for the mug.

His eyes — their depths, dark and cold as steel — met Ale’s, and he resisted reacting to the jolt of fear coursing through him. He had to act natural; he didn’t know whether Lana had blown his cover. “
Gracias
.”

Miguel came back to the desk with a steaming mug of fresh coffee. Ale forced a sip of the strong black brew down his throat, praying for Miguel to leave so he could call Mel. Instead, Miguel lingered, reading service orders, throwing grins Ale’s way, grins that didn’t reach his eyes. Ale busied himself with work, waiting for an opportunity to call Mel without looking suspicious. Meanwhile, he surprised himself with how much he prayed in his head. He hadn’t done that since he was a little boy when his mother would take him and his two younger brothers to church. He didn’t know what else to do; Miguel had trapped him, and they both knew it.

The minutes ticked by slowly. Ale argued with himself about compromising his investigation. He weighed the options. If he left now to see about Audrey and Mel, he’d lose access to Miguel and subsequently Alba. If he stayed, Audrey and Mel could be hurt, if not killed, and his cover blown… and his access to Miguel and Alba lost. Ale cut his eyes to Miguel, who casually chatted on the phone.
I have to risk it.
He waved to get Miguel’s attention and pointed to his cell, as if needing a break to make a phone call. Miguel nodded and waved him off.

Ale practically ran out of the office and out the back to the shop’s scrap yard. He passed junk car after junk car, weaving deeper into the twisted metal until he came to the steel fence enclosing most of the property. He grabbed the steel chain-link fence and looked across the street. A couple of teenagers sat on their car smoking and listening to loud music. An old woman with a humpback slowly pushed a cart full of her personal belongings down the dusty sidewalk. The teens watched her closely, but didn’t budge from their spots.

Ale sighed. No new messages. He punched in Mel’s number. The call immediately went to voicemail. Groaning, he tried Audrey’s cell, only to be met with the same result. He phoned the office. His boss had received word from Mel when she and Audrey arrived at Mrs. MacGruber’s, but nothing since. He promised to send an unmarked car around to the house to get an updated situational report. Ale slowly retraced his steps back to the garage. He’d have to be content to wait for word from Mel. In the meantime, he considered Miguel’s words.
I’ve never known you to be impatient, Ale
. He was slipping. He’d been undercover so long his nerves were frayed, his patience thin, sleep elusive, and even more alarming, he didn’t know how much longer he could keep up the act.

****

Audrey smiled at Mrs. Annabelle MacGruber. The older woman sat across from her and Mel with Angel at her side. Audrey shifted her smile to her nephew, who sat silently, his round green eyes, so like Penny’s, fixed on her.

“Where’s Mommy?” he asked Mrs. MacGruber.

“Oh dear, we talked about that, remember?” She squeezed his shoulders. “Mommy is in Heaven with Jesus. She’s looking down on you, so don’t you worry.”

Heart clenched, Audrey’s mouth dropped, her eyes stinging with tears. Her sister in Heaven? Penny led a life that wouldn’t suggest a faith of any kind. Did she return to that faith before she died?

Angel’s mouth dipped into a frown. Audrey would thank Mrs. MacGruber later for taking on the responsibility of talking to Angel about his mother’s death. Sure, the boy would have questions, and Audrey could handle them, but she was grateful she didn’t have to tell a five-year-old boy his mother had died. It was painful enough when she’d told Penny about their parents’ passing.

Mrs. MacGruber rubbed Angel’s back. “Miss Audrey is your aunt, your mother’s sister. Your mother wrote Miss Audrey to come and take care of you.”

Angel’s dark head turned to Audrey now. His eyes held fear — fear of a woman he’d never known existed. Audrey took a deep breath and slid off the couch, and kneeling in front of the boy, she grasped his tiny hands in her own. “I never knew I had a nephew.” She sniffed, tears brimming over. “I would’ve come to see you much sooner had I known. But I’m here now, and I can’t wait to be your friend.”

“Social Services will be here soon.” Mrs. MacGruber spoke. “Penny did well to prepare the legal papers in advance.” Her voice softened to almost a whisper.

A wave of sadness washed over Audrey as she glanced up at the lady, whose nose and eyelids glowed red.
I’m not the only one grieving for Penny.
“You knew my sister well?”

Mrs. MacGruber nodded. “Oh, yes. I invited her to church a few years back, when she was pregnant with Angel. I’ve been like a den mother to her ever since.” She blew her nose softly into a tissue she held in her hand. “My children are grown and gone, and my husband died shortly before I met Penny.” Mrs. MacGruber smiled warmly, her teary eyes on Audrey. “Your sister was such a comfort to me, you have no idea. Literally, an answer to prayer.”

Her sister an answer to prayer? Audrey ducked her head to hide the frown forming. She’d missed out on so much of Penny’s life: the change in her sister, the love she showed to Mrs. MacGruber, and her son Angel. All this time, Audrey had thought Penny still behaved like an immature child, not willing to grow up and move past their parents’ deaths. Yet she had. She’d even become a parent herself.

Audrey looked up at the handsome, well-behaved little man who had every right to question why she was there. Did Penny ever mention her to Angel?
I can’t blame her if she didn’t.
Angel eyed her curiously. Audrey smiled. The corners of Angel’s tiny mouth inched up ever so slightly.

“Where will you be taking him?” Mrs. MacGruber asked.

“Well, we’re going someplace safe, until our investigation is concluded,” Mel answered. “Hopefully it won’t be too long before he gets settled into some type of normalcy.”

“And you’ll be free to visit whenever you like, Mrs. MacGruber,” Audrey rushed to add.

Mrs. MacGruber’s brows rose. “Oh, so you are taking him away? Back to… where did you say you were from again?”

“Virginia. And yes, I am.” Audrey glanced at Angel, who looked around the room, unaware of the discussion about his future. “I still live in my parents’ home, so he’ll be able to see where Penny grew up.”

“I see.”

Audrey bit her lip. Mrs. MacGruber had lost Penny and now she’d lose Angel, who Audrey was sure looked up to her as his grandmother. Audrey glanced from Mrs. MacGruber to Angel and back. Why did she feel as if she was tearing apart a family?

All heads turned at the knock at the front door. Mel went to the door and looked through the peephole. She eyed them with a concerned expression on her face. “Are you expecting two men?”

Mrs. MacGruber’s brows rose. “I beg your pardon?”

Mel jumped at the bang on the door. With a finger to her lips, she ordered them into silence. Quickly, she moved back into the front room and ushered them to the kitchen at the back of the house. “We need a way out of here,” she said, looking at Mrs. MacGruber. “Where does your backyard lead?”

The older lady seemed calm and collected as she walked to a nearby kitchen drawer. She removed a key from her skirt pocket and unlocked the drawer. At the sound of a loud pop near the front door, Angel let out a squeak and darted to Audrey, wrapping his arms tightly around her right leg. She reached and pulled him up and into her arms. If they had to run, it’d be easier if she carried him.

“Mrs. MacGruber!” Mel entreated.

The woman produced a large revolver. Audrey guessed it was a .45, but only because that was the only name of a handgun she knew. Mrs. MacGruber checked the chambers. Seeming satisfied, she addressed Mel. “I’m not going anywhere.”

“Nana Gruber, you have a gun?” came Angel’s inquiring voice, full of a young boy’s amazement.

“Honey, this is Texas. Everybody’s got a gun.”