"Now, let's go. He looks like he's hungry." Agostino ordered, his eyes trailing down to a fussy Emilio.
"Oh, what do you know!? He's most likely tired from all our moving today. He's not used to being dragged around like this." Bobbie twisted up her face.
"Then why's he pulling at your shirt?" Agostino pointed at his son, who was clawing at Bobbie's blue tank top.
Bobbie peered down at her infant and frowned. He was hungry.
"Where's the room?" Bobbie asked, looking away from Agostino.
Agostino walked off and up the stairs, a sour chuckle floating from his mouth. Bobbie quickly followed the path he made, ending up in a huge, fancy Lily-white and blue decorated room. It was simple and neat. Bobbie stepped in and set Emilio down on the bed before dropping her bags on the floor. She went about pulling a fresh diaper and pj's out, preparing for Emilio's bath. Something moving in the corner caught Bobbie's eye, and she looked up to Agostino, shrugging out of his suit jacket. Once it was off, he started undoing the buttons on his button-down, making Bobbie's cheeks grow warm.
"I was under the impression that only Emilio and I would be sleeping in here." Bobbie sassed, which made Agostino chortle dryly.
"When have we ever slept separately as man and wife, Bobbie? And what makes you think you're sleeping alone when someone's after you? It seems like I was wrong earlier, you're still my little misguided Bobbie." Agostino eyed her up and down, his eyes twinkling.
Bobbie grew irate at his comment. Ignoring him completely, she scooped up Emilio and his bath items, walking to the in-room bathroom. She sat the clothing, diaper, and baby wash down as she placed her son in the sink. She cut the water on warm and began to lightly wash him. She caught Agostino, watching them intently through the bathroom mirror, and her rage only built. As well as something else. God, she was sick! How in the hell could he possibly be turning her on while simultaneously grating her nerves?
Bobbie silently cursed her entire being for even finding that violent thug attractive. After finishing up Emilio's bath, she dried him off and dressed him, then they ventured back to the bed. Taking a seat, Bobbie lifted her top and undid her maternity bra. As soon as Emilio caught sight of her breast, he latched on. Bobbie sighed, relaxing into the pillow as Emilio began twiddling her other nipple as he fed. Agostino leaned against the doorway, taking in the sight. Bobbie looked up and saw him staring at them closely, making her feel self-conscious.
Although she had lost weight, there would always be something about Agostino's gaze that made her feel insecure. Agostino watched them for a few more minutes before disappearing out of the room, to Bobbie's relief. Leaning back into the pillows, she focused on Emilio, stroking his thick curls as he ate. As her son suckled, her eyes grew droopy until she fell into Dreamland.
Hours later, light rustling sounded throughout the room.
"Hola, mi chico." Bobbie's brow jumped in her sleep as a deep voice spoke within the darkness of the room.
She wanted to sit up, but she was too tired. The multiple car rides and flight took a lot out of her. Her head was pounding, and her limbs felt like goo. Emilio's whines pierced the unlit room, and Bobbie rolled over, eyeing his pack n' play. She saw a pitch-black figure standing near Emilio's pin, fear growing in her chest.
"Te amo hijo." She heard the figure say as she fought to keep her eyes open.
Emilio's whines soon turned to soft giggles, and Bobbie drifted off to sleep.
CHAPTER EIGHT
While living under Andres' roof, Bobbie noticed the differences between him and Agostino. Andres may give off a powerful air about himself but, he was a sweetheart. He gave Bobbie and Emilio free reign of his mansion, and there was barely anything Agostino could do about it. The only thing she hated about being back in Agostino's world was that Giorgia wasn't here. Bobbie missed her so much. She was the only good thing... She was caring and attentive and was always there for her.
Andres' housekeepers were kind, but they mostly spoke Spanish, which caused barriers in communication. Bobbie usually had Andres' play translator when he was around or used Google translate. Although it wasn't 100% accurate with translations, it still made relaying requests and short conversations easier. She never asked Agostino for help, and for some odd reason it angered him. And Bobbie didn't know why. He told her to stop testing him, and the only sure-fire way to do that was to avoid him. She knew Agostino couldn't stand the fact that she wasn't timid around him anymore.
Was she still scared?
Jesus Devonte Christ YES!
But...she wasn't going to show it in front of Emilio. She wasn't going to let Agostino degrade and beat on her with her baby around. She'd be damned if Milio turned out like his father. Fortunately for her, Agostino had yet to raise his hand at her. Bobbie was thankful, but she still kept her guard up. She and Emilio had only been here for a week and Agostino's attitude could morphe any second.
"Beep, beep! Coming through!" Bobbie said in a silly voice as she currently sat in Andres' spacious den area, playing with Emilio's trucks.
Her son giggled and kicked his chunky thighs as he watched his mother push his fire truck around. Bobbie beamed at her little boy. So much was going on, yet her child wasn't even aware they were in danger. He was just enjoying being a baby. That innocence...it was so precious. He was completely oblivious with a smile on his little, fat face. Who would have thought something so pure could have come from Agostino? Something so priceless.
"Ma, ma, ma!" Emilio chanted as he jerked the fire truck from his momma and began banging it against the expensive hardwood floors.
"Oh, no, baby. You can't do it." Bobbie chastised softly as she reached for the truck.
"It's fine, Bobbie. He's just enjoying himself." Bobbie looked up and saw Andres and Agostino standing in the archway of the den.
"I know, I just don't want him to mess anything up. These floors look like they're ten times out of my tax bracket." Bobbie replied to Andres, avoiding the intent stare Agostino was throwing her.
"You know I'd never make you repay me for anything Emilio might break around here." Andres waved her off.
"Just like you promised to never reveal my whereabouts?" Bobbie shot back, causing a rumble of laughter to tumble from Agostino's lips.
"Bobbie… You and the baby being here is the only way to keep you saf-" Andres started to explain, but Bobbie interrupted.
"Andres, I'm about as safe here as a bitch on her period in chummed open water with your cousin on the premises." Bobbie cut her eyes to Agostino, who was giving her an annoyed look.
"Oh, my dearest cousin. What you don't understand about my wife is that she can't let shit go and come to terms with her current situation. Aren't I right, Bobbie? You remember that whole debacle with Freddie, don't you, Dear? You see, Andres, my gorgeous little wife here was given to me as collateral by her own fiance." Agostino smirked when he noticed Bobbie stiffen.
Hmm, it seemed his wife wasn't over her ex. That only caused the rage that had been simmering in Agostino's gut to grow hotter. She still thought about that pussy?
"When I revealed why and how she ended up with me, she couldn't face the fact that the man who claimed to love her would just throw her to the wolves. She made our marriage quite hard constantly hanging on to her feelings for her ex." Agostino finished, a triumphant smile covering his lips at the expression on Bobbie's face.
She was livid!
"I made our 'marriage' hard? Considering I'm not the one that asked to get kidnapped, violated, pregnant, and forcefully married, I'd say that's a lie. I didn't ask to be thrown into you and Freddie's bullshit, just like I didn't ask to be put in this current situation. You're damn right I'm going to bitch about this. Every waking second!" Bobbie fumed, making Agostino squint at her.
Bobbie was pushing it. And hard.
Her small rant, coupled with his knowledge that she'd been keeping herself and Emilio away from him since she'd been here, only made Agostino want to march over to her and snatch her up. Bu
t his son was in the room. And Agostino wouldn't dare harm her with Emilio nearby. He had even chosen to sleep in a different bedroom just to keep agitation between them down for the sake of Emilio. Even if that meant hardly getting to see his son and wife. On the nights when Bobbie was truly exhausted from tending to Emilio all day, Agostino would creep into her room and look at his boy. Just gaze at him sleeping and talk to him.
He was a chunky thing, and that let his father know that he was going to grow up to have a solid frame, good for sports. He didn't want Emilio to be like him. To be a part of this life. When he had first entered the cartel, by way of his family name, Agostino was dead set on making sure his future heir followed in his footsteps. Yet, seeing Emilio's smile changed all of that. He wanted... normalcy for his boy. Just a regular happy life.
No constant house hopping to deter rivals. No fucking interstate shootouts. And most of all...no abuse.
Finding out that Bobbie wasn't dead but hiding out in Marathon Key left him irked. That all changed when he laid eyes on her in her hotel room in Islamorada. He was prepared to wring her fucking neck, but her fear...it stopped him. Not only that but the way Emilio cried when he saw the way he was holding his mother. His son was very aware. And...he loved his mother. Agostino could see Emilio's love for Bobbie by the way he lounged on her during feedings or how he'd crawl over to her whenever they were relaxing in the den, laying a big, wet open mouth kiss on her cheeks. It was so strange to him that a child that didn't understand the concept of love yet could exhibit it so easily while a grown-ass man nearly 40 couldn't even verbalize his feelings to his wife without growing frustrated.
He was a bitch, and that fueled his seething.
"Can you two save the sexually charged arguing for later? Bobbie, Agostino, and I simply came down to tell you that we're going to check out a lead, and we'll back before Sundown." Andres informed, and Bobbie nodded.
Good.
This would give her time to check out the house, plus the staff wouldn't question her much with Emilio in her hip. She was going to find all the easy access points to help aid in her escape.
****
"I've already told you. The guy saw me walking to the post office and called me over. He offered me five hundred dollars, plus more after I sent off the rest of the discs." The young Colombian explained, nerves coursing through his body.
"What'd he look like? I'm talking hair color, eye color. Any tattoos? Scars?" Andres interrogated the kid calmly.
"N-No, the guy that approached me was clean cut. Almost like he worked in an office of something. He had short, blonde hair and hazel eyes." The young man relayed.
"Did he look similar to this?" Agostino through Gabriel Vasquez's open file down on the table.
The kid peered at the photo of the handsome, Sandy-haired man and frowned.
"Nah, that's a totally different guy." The teen said truthfully.
A click sounded near his head, and he froze. Peering up, he saw Agostino aiming his loaded Glock at him.
"Are you 100% positive, kid? I'd hate for your grandmother to have a closed casket funeral for you." Agostino raised a brow.
"I-I, yes! I swear. Everything I said the first time, I'm saying now! My story hasn't changed." Agostino slipped his gun into his waistband and turned away at the boy's comment.
The boy was right. Everything he had told him the first time, he had also told Andres this second time. Andres gave him a look and Agostino sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. He nodded, Andres jerked his head toward the cellar door, where his security stood. The big, burly men pulled the steel door open, and the young man hightailed it out of there.
"Our best lead now is to visit the courier and see if they have any cameras on the premises. There's a big chance that if they do, then Rodrigo's interaction with Gabriel Vasquez was caught on camera." Andres advised, and Agostino raised his brow in thought.
"Let's go." He agreed, straightening his jacket as he neared the steel door.
Andres got up and followed him out. Trudging through his underground cellar in his home in Colombia, he led his cousin out into the main house, through the kitchen and out his massive foyer. The men near the door pulled it open as their bosses grew near, then followed them out the open doorway. Johnny noticed his boss and Andres walk out, and he slid into car, starting it up. One of Agostino's detail opened the car door, and he and his cousin got in, the rest of the men filing in behind them.
"Where to, boss?" Johnny questioned.
"472 Servicios Postales Nacionales Avenida Colón." Agostino listed off the local post office, and Johnny started the car.
Pulling out of the huge driveway, he journeyed toward the post office and curved into the parking lot. Agostino, Andres, and their men hit out and ventured over to the entrance. One of his men held the door wide, and the group filed into the establishment. The entire building went silent, all eyes on the dark dressed men who had just entered. A small, white-haired elderly woman stepped to him, looking to be no older than 60.
"Puedo ayudarle señor?" The woman raised a brow.
"Estoy aquí para ver sus cámaras debido a un asunto personal." Agostino replied back in a serious tone.
"Y qué es esto, señor?" The woman questioned curiously.
"Alguien engañó a mi hijo para que enviara algunos ... artículos inapropiados por correo. Y ahora estoy tratando de encontrar a la persona para poder promulgar las consecuencias adecuadas." Agostino partially lied.
The old woman's eyes grew wide.
"Oh no, señor. Pido disculpas por cualquier problema que pueda haberte causado. ¿Tienes la fecha de este incidente?" She tilted her head and inquired.
"La semana pasada." The tiny woman nodded at his reply.
She guided him and his men toward the back, where packages, envelops, and plastic mail bags littered the floor. The came to a huge black door and opened it, revealing a room covered from head to toe with cameras. The entourage stepped in, and the woman shut the door. Gliding over to her cameras, she rewinds her system back to last week.
"Estos son todos nuestros videos de la semana pasada." The woman pointed out.
She began playing the first video from last week, which began with Monday morning, many people rushing in and out of the office. Not noticing Rodrigo, Agostino had the woman go to footage from the next day. Still no sign of Rodrigo. When the grey-haired woman rolled to Wednesday's video, he quickly spotted Rodrigo walking in, headphones in his ear. He stepped over to the P.O boxes in the corner and pulled what looked to be a key from his pocket. A dark dressed man walked up, but since the camera was facing from the opposite side, they only could see his back. They'd have to wait until he turned around.
The mysterious figure chats with Rodrigo for a second before pulling a stack from his pocket. He tore off bills and handed them to the young man, then took out the collection of discs. The kid accepted the discs and nodded rapidly. The man turned, and Agostino tapped the old woman, making her freeze the video. Squinting their eyes, he and Andres peered over the image.
"I… I think I know him," Andres whispered.
Agostino turned and gave him a sharp look.
"Will you stop being so fucking paranoid about me, Agostino! Granted, I did keep Bobbie's whereabouts a secret. I have not fucked you over. I was the one that alerted you to that bullshit with Ana and the Mexicans. C'mon! You're my family, idiota. Plus,you really think I'd hire someone to take you out when I'm in close proximity of you day in and day out? That's a waste of Ben's." Andres said honestly.
Agostino had to be smoking crack out the ass if he thought Andres had anything to do with this.
"Where do you know him from?" Agostino ignored his cousin's rant.
"I can't place him exactly, but I've seen him. I think maybe at a function or gala, in passing. But I know I've seen him. His face...it's just too familiar." Andres eyed the image intently.
"Hay alguna posibilidad de que pueda escuchar este video, señora?" Agostino turned to the woman.
>
He slid his wallet from his pocket and counted out a thousand dollars, placing it in the woman's left pocket.
"Oh, si. Por supuesto señor." The lady went over to her recorders and located last week's video for Tuesday. She handed Agostino the silver disc and nodded with a big grin on her face.
"Es un placer hacer negocios con usted, señora." Agostino and his crew bid her farewell, leaving the woman to drool over the money in her pocket.
CHAPTER NINE
Bobbie tipped through the grim Halls of Andres' mansion, making her way to the kitchen. She had just put Emilio to bed, and now she was in search of a drink before bed. She took the stairs cautiously, being careful not to make any noise. Reaching the base, she journeyed to the kitchen, bypassing the dark parlor. Bobbie grabbed a clean glass, then turned on the sink, filling the glass. Gobbling down the water, she sighed in contentment. Refilling the glass, Bobbie drunk the cup down before washing it out and replacing it in the expensive dish rack.
Deadly Love Page 6