by Linda Warren
“Sure you did. Remember all the times you cursed at me in Spanish?”
“I did not curse at you.”
“How about the times when I was in a hurry to get to work and left the towel on the bathroom floor? The little vein on your forehead would almost burst and a few choice words would fly out of your mouth.”
“How hard is it to pick up a towel?”
He pointed to her forehead. “That vein is starting to work.”
“Shut up. I did not curse that much.”
“If you say so.” He opened his door. “I know enough Spanish to get by.” He got out and waited for her to lock the door before walking down the street.
Bastardo was on the tip of her tongue, but she wouldn’t say it. Maybe because she remembered those little scenes always ended with them making love on the bathroom floor. Then he would rush off and she’d put the towel in the hamper. At that point it didn’t matter anymore. Until the next time.
Down the street she saw Levi talking to a group of men. The Mexicans gestured with their hands. Levi seemed to be listening, but soon walked off. A guy lounging in a doorway shouted to him and Levi stopped to converse with him.
Out of the corner of her eyes she saw two men come out of a bar. The sign read El Cantina. They had tats and wore bandannas and reminded her of gangbangers she’d prosecuted many times. One chattered on his cell and the other puffed on a dark-looking cigarette. They walked by the truck and the one with the cigarette paused and glanced at her. Goose bumps popped up on her arms and she was glad when he moved on.
Levi strolled to the truck and got in. She let out a long breath. She hadn’t even realized she was holding it.
“What’s wrong?”
She glanced out the back window. “Those guys give me the creeps. One of them was staring at me.”
“We don’t need to draw attention to ourselves.”
“He was staring at me,” she reminded him.
He lifted an eyebrow. “And you were going to come here alone.”
“I know. It was crazy. I just want to locate Daniel and get out of here. Did you find out anything?”
“The guy in the doorway was helpful. I told him my made-up story and that I needed a gun. He said he could get me one.” He pointed down the street. “We’ll check into that fleabag hotel and he’ll bring it there.”
“Are you sure that’s a hotel?” The dirty yellow two-story building had rusty bars over the windows. Two other buildings were crammed up next to it.
“Yep. He said there’s parking in the back and it’s cheap.” Levi drove around to the rear. A strange odor greeted her when they entered. She could swear it was marijuana mixed with dust, sweat and mildew.
A portly man in a sweaty T-shirt, chewing on a cigar, signed them in, or if one could call it that. Levi gave him some money and he pointed to a door down the hall.
The room was small with a concrete floor and barely big enough to hold a full bed. The one window had a broken pull-down shade hanging lopsided over it. Nothing else was in the room, except maybe a family of cockroaches.
“Where’s the bath?” she asked.
“It’s down the hall. It’s communal.”
“Are you kidding me?”
He gave her a dark look. “Just remember the reason you’re here.”
She made a face and sat on the bed to test it. “Firm and springy.” Pulling back the thin bedspread, she added, “The sheets look clean, but the color is questionable.”
“It’ll have to do.” He set his backpack on the floor.
She still had her bag over her shoulder and eased it to the bed. “What do we do now?”
“Wait for the guy to deliver the gun.”
She removed her sneakers and scooted up against the headboard. “I guess we wait, then.”
He retrieved his iPad from his backpack and immediately went to work.
“What are you doing?”
“Reading more about the Mortez security cameras. They’re digital and hooked up to a TV screen. I just wanted to jumble it up to confuse it long enough to get into the place.”
“So you’re planning on going in?”
“I’ll see what tomorrow brings, but I don’t plan on staying in this place very long.”
“I’m in agreement with that.”
A light knock sounded on the door and Levi got up to answer it. He stepped out into the hall and she quickly put her shoes on just in case. Levi came back in with a small handgun. He stowed it in the backpack.
“Let’s get something to eat and then we’ll turn in early.”
They ate at one of the outdoor patios, a mariachi band playing in the background. Large Christmas lights hung from the rafters and were the only lights. The place was cozy and could even be romantic if...
It was best not to go there. She placed her bag at her feet because Levi said it wasn’t safe to leave their things in the room. He ordered an El Grande plate, which had a little bit of everything and was actually a lot of food. She ordered enchiladas and guacamole and he had a beer and she had a glass of sangria. The food was delicious. Since she hadn’t eaten much lunch, she was hungry and even ate a tostada off Levi’s plate, which drew a scowl from him.
They walked back to the room in darkness. People milled everywhere, laughing, talking and drinking. Levi seemed to have an eye on everyone, watching for anything out of place.
In the room, she asked, “Where’s the bathroom?”
“Down the hall. It’ll have Señoritas on it. I’ll leave the door cracked in case you run into problems.”
She took her bag and went down the hall and found the door. No one was around, but she tapped, anyway. When no one responded, she went inside and caught her breath. The smell of urine hit her in the face like a baby’s diaper. She held her sleeve over her nose, trying to block the smell. Cockroaches swarmed around the drain in the shower. She’d intended to take a quick one but immediately changed her mind and hurried back to the room.
Levi looked up from his iPad. “That was fast.”
“Don’t ask. I’m not bathing until I get back to Texas and I’m sleeping in my clothes.”
“That bad, huh?”
“You wouldn’t believe it. I used the toilet and that’s it.” She removed her sneakers and pulled the sheet back. “I probably won’t sleep but I’ll give it a try.”
Levi laid his iPad on the bed. “I’ll be right back.”
Myra stared at the shade. People could look right in. She got up and used the string to tie it a little higher so it covered the window. The thing was literally covered with roach droppings. She did her best to put that out of her mind and went back to the bed.
As she crawled into bed, she thought how odd it was that neither she nor Levi objected to them sleeping together in the small bed. For her, it would be difficult sharing a bed with him again. Old memories would play the devil with her mind. For Levi, it didn’t seem to matter. He was truly over her. She should be happy about that, so why wasn’t she?
* * *
AS LEVI WENT back to the room, he heard voices in the lobby. He was sure he heard the word gringo. He listened closely but the voices were too low for him to understand. He’d have to be on guard.
Myra frowned when he entered the room.
“Now what’s wrong?”
“It’s hot in here. There’s no air-conditioning.”
“Maybe we can open the window.”
“It has no screen on it.”
“Well, then, we’ll have to tough it out.” He retrieved the gun from the backpack and checked it to make sure the firing pin hadn’t been removed, then slid it beneath his pillow.
“Why’d you do that?”
He sat down on the bed to take off his shoes. “There are some shady characters in
the lobby and I want to be ready in case they think we have money and plan to rob us.”
“Oh.”
Levi reached to pull the string to turn off the light. There was fear in her voice and he wanted to reassure her, but there was no reassurance in this situation. They’d just handle what came at them. He lay back on the bedspread and closed his eyes.
Myra kept tossing and turning. “I can’t sleep in this shirt and socks. It’s too hot.”
“Take them off, then.”
She climbed out of bed and was doing something. The room was in total darkness and he couldn’t see a thing, except for a sliver of light that shone through from the sides of the shades. He’d noticed when he entered the room that she’d tied up the shade. He’d meant to do that earlier, but of course Myra had taken care of it. She was the most self-sufficient woman he knew.
She climbed back in the bed. “I feel a little better.”
“Get some rest.”
“I don’t think I can sleep in here.”
“Just relax.”
They were quiet, but noises from outside could be heard clearly. He wasn’t going to sleep, either. He never slept much on a job. So maybe it was time to talk. “Can I ask you a question?”
“I suppose.”
“Why are you willing to risk your life for Natalie?”
“I don’t know. She just seems so sad at times. She’s an only child and I can identify with that. We talked a lot about her relationship with Stu. After her mother’s death, she came to Houston to be near him, to spend time with him. But things were tense because of all the years Stu hadn’t been there for her. Since Stu has been so good to me, I tried to show her he really wasn’t a bad person―he was just committed to his job.”
He clamped his jaw shut to keep from responding.
“They grew much closer and then Marco came into her life. Stu disliked him on sight and Nat was determined to see him. A typical I’ll-show-you relationship. And yes, I guess you’re right. She’s a lot like Jessie. She’s just a very good friend and I know if she wakes up and Daniel’s not there, she won’t make it.”
“Have you prepared yourself for the fact she might not make it, anyway?”
The answer was a long time coming. “I’d rather not think about that.”
“C’mon, counselor, you deal in facts.”
“Nat was so excited when she found out she was pregnant. Marco was furious, said she tricked him and he didn’t come around for a while. Natalie was upset, but she said she would have someone to love who would never leave her.”
And there the past was between them once again. He refused to give in to those feelings.
“Of course, Marco came back and they made plans for a future together. He wasn’t there when Daniel was born. I was the first one to hold him. I was used to holding Jessie’s boys and it was very natural. Daniel and I made a connection. I guess that’s another reason. A baby should be with his mother.”
Loud noises erupted in the hall and Levi jumped out of bed with the gun in his hand. There was singing and laughing, and then the voices went into the room next door.
He shoved the gun back under the pillow and lay down. “Just some hotel guests.”
“Do you think I’m crazy?” she asked.
“No. You’re just very passionate about your friends.”
The music next door grew louder. A headboard bumped against their wall and moans and groans followed.
Myra sat up. “You’ve got to be kidding me. Are you sure this isn’t a whorehouse?”
“I’m not sure of anything.”
The loud lovemaking continued and Levi started to laugh.
“It’s not funny, Levi.”
“Oh, I think it is. If someone had told me a week ago that I would be in a roach-infested motel in Mexico with Myra Delgado and listening to someone else making love, I would have laughed my head off.”
She flipped onto her side. “I’m going to sleep, and do not touch me.”
“I don’t plan to.”
The raucous noises died down about midnight and Levi drifted into a light sleep. He awoke when Myra curled into him like she had so many times when they were together. A delicate scent reached him. That damn lotion again. He loved to lie in bed and watch her rub it on her legs and arms. But that was in the past and had nothing to do with now. Today, they weren’t even friends.
He eased away from her and got up, but his eyes strayed back to her smooth skin and dark hair. Memories spun like a loom weaving together vivid, colorful pictures of their passionate relationship. He drew a deep breath, shoving them away.
A drizzle of daylight peeped around the edge of the shade. He slipped on his boots and laced them. As he stood, he stared at Myra’s dark hair spread across the pillow. She was now on his side of the bed.
Maybe some people were unforgettable. He should have listened when she wanted to talk about the past. The only way to forget her was to get rid of the load of anger he carried around his heart. He had to forgive to really move on.
Before they parted for good this time, he had to do that. He had to forgive Myra for breaking his heart.
CHAPTER SEVEN
WHEN MYRA AWOKE, she was alone in the bed and panic gripped her. But she soon relaxed. Levi wouldn’t leave her here. She quickly slipped on her shirt and sneakers. Two roaches scurried up the wall and she picked up her bag, watching them the whole time. There was a slight crack in the wall and they disappeared inside. She shivered.
After brushing her hair, she whipped it into a ponytail. Levi came back in and her heart fluttered at the sight of him. That wasn’t good. Her heart was getting involved again. But he looked so sexy with his growing beard.
“You’re up,” he said. “I brought you a towel and a washcloth in case you want to brave the bathroom.”
She took the towel, which may have been white at one time but looked as if it had been washed many times. At least it looked clean. “I’ll brush my teeth and wash my face and probably hold my breath the whole time.”
He chuckled.
When she returned, he was zipping his backpack. “Ready for breakfast?”
“Yes.” She grabbed her bag and they walked out the door to the lobby. “It seems very quiet this morning. The amorous couple must be sleeping.”
He held the door for her. “One can only hope.”
They found a café serving breakfast and they ordered huevos rancheros and coffee. She doctored hers with milk and sugar and it was still bitter. But it was coffee.
“I paid for another night,” he said before sipping his. “It’ll be a good place to leave the truck if we have to.”
“What’s the plan?”
“Check out the Mortez house and see who goes in and when.”
After breakfast, they drove toward the house. The streets were so narrow Levi half parked in a driveway behind another car. The road to the house was empty and there didn’t seem to be any activity. They couldn’t even see the guard.
For three days, they repeated the ritual and nothing out of the ordinary happened at the house, except big trucks went into the compound a couple of times. And a Mexican woman drove to a grocery store and returned quickly.
Myra grew frustrated with the situation. Not to mention she hadn’t had a shower in days. Levi’s beard had filled out and he was an imposing figure, even to her. They continued to rent the hotel room and maintained an amicable truce, but she was more aware of Levi than she’d ever been.
After breakfast on the fourth day, Levi drove to the house once again.
“Do you think we’re wasting our time?” She glanced at him.
“Probably,” he admitted. “If nothing happens by the end of the week, I’ll have to rethink my plan. There has to be a way to find out if the baby is in there.�
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Suddenly, the gate opened and a black van came out. Levi followed slowly behind it. The van went into town and parked. Two men got out and spoke to the people filling the streets.
“What do you think is going on?” she asked.
Levi parked some distance away. “I’ll check it out.”
“I’m going with you.”
On the way, Levi stopped in front of a lady who was selling handmade scarves. “Put this on your head so you’ll look like everyone else.” He bought a dark blue bandanna from another lady and tied it around his head.
Myra fitted the scarf over her head and they walked closer to the little crowd that was gathering. One man spoke rapidly in Spanish and gestured with his hands.
“Can you make out what he’s saying?” Levi asked.
“Something about the big hacienda needing maids. If anyone wants to apply, they’re to meet back here in an hour and he’ll pick two to take to the house. He said to bring a bag and be prepared to stay. This is good, Levi. An easy way in.”
“I’m not too sure about this. If Marco is there, he’ll recognize you.”
“I’m sure he’s not doing the hiring. I can scope out the place.”
He took her arm and led her away from the crowd and back to the truck. “We have to talk about this,” he said as they got in.
“What’s to talk about? We’ve been waiting for this.”
“It seems too easy. Once you’re in the house, how can you leave with the baby? Marco isn’t going to let you just walk out the door. And we don’t even know if the baby is in there.”
“So what do we do?”
“It’s certainly an easy way in. But it may be hours before I can find a way into the compound, too. This whole scenario bothers me.”
“Do you have a better plan?”
“No.” He turned to face her. “I’ll likely have to wait until night so there’s less chance of being spotted. Can you stall that long?”
“I hope so. I’m sure someone besides Marco will interview the new maids. There’s no reason they’d take my phone from me and I can call or text you once I figure out the layout.”
He gave a derisive laugh. “If only it was that simple. Listen to me. This is dangerous. This is not Texas where you can dial 9-1-1. You can call the Mexican police but good luck with that. Mortez has a lot of power in this town.”