Hot & Spicy: De La Cruz Saga (34 page)

CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
 

I
NEED
TO
TALK
TO
CHRIS
.
I need to ask him to stop by Friday or to call me at about one. Jose Enrique calls him several times, and the phone is busy. I will call Gabriel and ask him to tell Chris to call me or show up at mi office, he thought, calling Gabriel.

Gabriel’s cell rings and he answers. “Hello,” he said, wondering who is calling him.

“Hola, Gabriel. It’s Jose Enrique. I need a favor,” he said smiling, knowing that Gabriel will do it.

“Si, primo, what’s up?” said Gabriel grinning, wondering what Jose Enrique wants.

“I have been trying to talk to Chris, but his cell has been busy. I think that he’s talking to Mona, and I don’t blame him.” He chuckles. “Gabriel, I need to talk to him in the office or on the phone on Friday. It’s extremely important. Can you tell him to call me Friday in the afternoon about one?”

“Si, Jose Enrique, I’ll tell him. Don’t worry,” said Gabriel grinning.

“Gracias primo, I’ll be seeing you soon. Take care,” he said contento.

“Si, primo, I’ll see you soon,” said Gabriel nodding in agreement.

Jose Enrique ends the call.
I need to make a quick stop at the hospital to check on Ricky.

Jose Enrique walks into the hospital cuarto. Ricky is hugging Jacki. He smiles.
Yeah mi primo is doing well
he thought.

“Primo, how you doing?” whispers Jose Enrique, noticing that Jacki is sleeping.

“I’m doing better. Mi cuerpo is aching.” Ricky grins, looking down at his reina. “Primo, it was the cartel.”

“Si, primo, Tony informed me. They are getting vicious,” said Jose Enrique with rage. “We will contract more security guards at each job site.”

“Si, that will be good,” said Ricky, sighing. “I will be out in a few days.”

“Don’t worry about it and just get well,” he said, smiling at his primo. “You need to be ready for tu boda.”

“Si, y I can’t wait,” he said beaming with alegría.

“Okay, I just needed to check in to see how you’re doing. I need to get to Jessy,” said Jose Enrique.

“Si, primo, thanks,” said Ricky, nodding at his primo.

Jose Enrique arrives at Jessy’s casa anxiously goes to her. Jessy is ready for him. “Hola mi amor, are you feeling well? Where do you want to go to have dinner?” asks Jose Enrique with concern. “Mi amor, you have been working hard, and I want you to slow down even if you have to schedule two clients a day. I know that Monique is not going to be here on Friday.”

“Si, mi vida, I’m feeling well. I get a little tired at the end of the day. I’m starving,” she said, grinning. “I want some Chinese food.”

“Okay, that sounds great,” said Jose Enrique, pulling her to his side.

They went to dinner y Jessy truly savors the food. She consumes a fair amount. This pleases Jose Enrique. “Mi amor, have you scheduled a doctor’s appointment for the bebe?” he asks with concern in his voz.

“Mi vida, I have not thought of that, but I will mañana,” she said nodding in agreement smiling, wondering what they are having. “You don’t care if it’s un niño or niña?”

“Jessica, I want todos los bebes you want to give me. No, I will never prefer one over another,” he said, pulling her close to give her un beso.

“Mi vida, I love you,” said Jessy in heaven, looking at him con todo su amor.

“I love you.”

CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
 

JOSE
ENRIQUE
IS
ON
HIS
way to see what’s actually happening at the job sites. I need to connect with the workers, he thought, pulling into one of the last sites on his list.

Jose Enrique approaches the job site foreman to ask him several questions about the job and the materials. Satisfied with the status of the job, he went to his carro. He sits there scrutinizing each worker.

Hmmm, some are workers that I know and some are new. I have to look and see how many workers we have and the years that they have been working.

I think I will stop and see how Tony is doing.
He drives to the last job site and gets out of his carro.
Tony should be around here
, he thought,
since his carro is still here.

“Tony,” he calls out, eager to locate him quickly. He wants to go back to have lunch with Jessy. Jose Enrique walks all over the entire job site and can’t locate Tony.

This is just great. All I need is to have another of mis primos hurt. All the workers are at lunch y Tony’s carro is still here. Where is he?

Jose Enrique walks quickly back to the carros, hoping to see Tony. Tony is not there. Jose Enrique is getting stress y alarmed, thinking of calling him on his cell.

He then hears un carro coming down the road, turning he sees a small sporty carro with Tony in it. Jose Enrique stays where he is, observing Tony.
I know he hasn’t seen mi carro or me
, he thought with amusement.

Cynthia pulls right next to Tony’s carro, smiling at him. “Well, will I be seeing you later?” she asks, praying he will say si.

“Okay, I’ll see you at the coffee shop at six. It’s on Main,” he said smiling, slipping out of the carro before she pulls him back.

I’ll let him go right now since I will be seeing him again.
She smiles at him and waves.

What am I going to do with her? I know she’s the one, mi amor. I can feel it. How will la familia handle the fact that she’s Lopez hija?

How can I deal with a chica that is pushy, spoiled, y demanding? I know that she is already driving me loco on so many levels. She makes me burn for her. She gets me pissed off when she doesn’t listen. She is pushy y demanding. I know she’s spoiled and gets everything she wants. How did she know where to find me?

“Tony!” yells out Jose Enrique, walking toward him in a hurry. “Where were you?” he asks, worried that he had been hurt. “I was worried when I couldn’t find you. I thought the worse,” he said, stopping in front of Tony, looking at his flushed cara.

He turns and then notices la bella chica that is waving y smiling at him as she pulls out.

Hmmm, was me primo with that bella chica? Is she someone special? She looks bellisima
, he grins, looks back at Tony with relief. “Primo, why are you keeping tu novia from us? Why the secret?” asks Jose Enrique, punching him in the brazo, laughing at his primo with felicidad.

Tony turns and barely sees Cynthia smiling y waving at him. Cynthia is making him furious y at the same time muy feliz. “Primo, she’s not mi novia even if she does want to be,” he said, turning to look at Jose Enrique.

“Why don’t you want her to be tu novia? She looks like a nice bella chica,” he said with curiosity, waiting for him to enlighten him, noticing the love bite.
It has gotten hot
, he thought with a grin.

“Primo, I’m so confused with todo los feelings that she provokes in me. She makes me burn like no other, and at the same time, she frustrates me. She is spoiled, demanding, and aggressive, and everything that I didn’t want en mi mujer, but I know that she is the one, mi amor, I can feel it,” he said, clenching his jaw to the point that you can see the muscles flex.

“Una chica can be spoiled, demanding, and aggressive in her everyday life, but, primo, she can also love, be strong, and be faithful to the hombre she loves. Those traits are also qualities that can be tu support when you need it in a marriage. She looks to be bright,” he said, looking at his primo.

Tony hears his primo and considers his words.
Am I seeing Cynthia in the wrong perspective? Can it be possible she can also use those traits to be strong qualities like mi primo mentions? I need to think about this.

“Mi amor has all of those traits, and she is completely different with me,” said Jose Enrique. “I admire una mujer that can be strong and can survive without me.”

“Si, primo, but she is also Lopez hija. That’s the biggest reason that I have been fighting this amor that we have. I keep pushing her away and discouraging her, but she will not let me go,” he said with frustration, pacing back y forth.

“Are you serious?” said Jose Enrique, realizing why he is really pushing her away.

“Si,” he said, looking at his primo with dolor in his ojos. “How is la familia going to accept her as mi mujer when her padre is the cause of our heartache?” he said with exasperation.

“Primo, this is a huge mess. The cartel is getting more vicious, and I’m scared for la familia,” said Jose Enrique, trying to think of a solution.

“The thing is that she’s not letting me go. She shows up today with lunch. I promised to meet her at a coffee shop later. I’m trying to avoid any further attachments. Every time I touch her, kiss her, I feel stronger feelings,” he said, running his manos through his pelo. “To make things worse, I feel possessive, jealous, and protective toward her. She shows up in these incredible hot short shorts and a halter top here on this job site where there are all of these gueys. I went loco just thinking of all of these gueys seeing all of that flesh.”

Jose Enrique looks at his primo and understands what he is saying. Good thing that Jessy doesn’t go to those extremes in dressing.
Hmmm, well only for me.

“Primo, if she’s the one, it is what it is. All I know is that when you find the one, it’s hard to resist. You might not get another chance in tu vida,” he said, looking at his primo pace.

“Primo, I know what you’re saying, and the feelings are all there. That’s why I’m so frustrated. She has traits that I’ll have to work on to get acclimated, she’s Lopez hija, and she’s mi amor,” he said. “That’s why I have to think because when she’s near me, I can’t.”

“Primo, I don’t want you to let her go. I know that I will not let go of mi alma,” said Jose Enrique, gazing out to the job site.

“I don’t know what to do. I thought maybe she’s just an innocent in what her padre is involved in. That is one reason why I haven’t questioned her on the cartel,” he said, looking at Jose Enrique. “I also thought that I can avoid her until the entire mess with the cartel is resolved.”

“That sounds like the best option. If she feels the same as you do, and I know that she does, she’ll be there when this is all over,” said Jose Enrique, looking at his primo.

“That’s exactly what I have been trying to do and trying to tell her. That I need time to think, but she just keeps after me,” he said, shaking his cabeza grinning. “If everything was okay, I would not be running.” He laughs, looking at his primo with a wicked grin.

Jose Enrique looks at his primo and laughs.
Ya, he’s right. Who wants to run away from a loving bella chica?
“Primo, you have to try to keep the relationship from getting too hot and involved.”

“I know, and that’s why I’m meeting her at the coffee shop, hoping to keep it impersonal,” he said, shaking his cabeza.

“Okay, primo. I only stopped by to see if you need anything and if everything is cool,” he said, looking around the job site, seeing everything in order.

“Si, primo, everything is working out on schedule. I had Bella get security at the job sites for the day also to prevent any further injuries,” said Tony, looking at all the workers. “I was thinking that we all need to meet and greet all of the workers on the job sites, to become familiar with the faces and their jobs. It will be easier to spot an intruder. Maybe we should make a picnic lunch on Friday,” he said, looking at his primo.

“Tony that sounds like a great idea and it will also make the workers contentos. We will all come and meet them,” said Jose Enrique, thinking of getting Paty y Bella to organize it.

“Okay, we will have the lunch this Friday. The sooner that we meet the workers, the easier it will be to notice if there is someone that doesn’t belong. We should also use this time to get a picture for their badges,” he said, looking at the workers, knowing that they are their employees.

“Si, primo, I’ll have Paty y Bella on it. Okay, I’m heading back to the office. If you need anything, make sure to call. Don’t fight tus feelings, primo. Sooner or later, she will be tu esposa,” he said smiling, walking away toward his carro.

Jose Enrique calls Bella. “Prima, I was just at the job site with Tony, and he mention that we should have a lunch picnic for the job site workers to meet them and to have them get a company badge with a photo mañana,” he said.

“Primo, that’s a great idea. I’ll take care of it,” said Bella, smiling at such a great idea nodding in agreement.

Ricky y Jacki went home to la casa. Jacki made sure that Ricky is in his cama. Jacki is at his side. The phone rings, y Jacki answers. It is Jessy. “Hola, hermana,” said Jacki, going to the restroom, trying not to wake Ricky. “What’s up?”

“Jacki, how is Ricky doing?” ask Jessy, wondering if he is okay.

“He is doing well. Right now, he is resting,” said Jacki.

“Okay, Jacki,” said Jessy. “I have to let you go. I have lots of work to do.”