But I kept that knowledge from showing on my face. “Did you live there with your family?”
From the way her upper body was starting to shake, I could tell her leg was jiggling beneath the table.
She nodded. “Mi má, papí, and abuela raised me and my younger brother and sister. We’re all close.” Then her face broke into a smile, alleviating some of the pressure in my chest. “Tonight’s taco recipe was one of a hundred mi abuela taught me. She was the most resourceful person I’ve ever met. We never had a lot, but she always found ways of making the strangest ingredients come together to create the most incredible meals.”
She’s opening up.
I wanted to push for as much as I could get while this door was open, but I had to practice caution. “Are your brother and sister good cooks too?”
She huffed out a laugh. “Hardly. Eduardo is rarely ever seen without a fútbol in his hands. His dream has always been to become a professional player. Then again, in my country, that’s most eighteen-year-old boys’ dreams.”
“What about your sister?”
The wistfulness in her expression died a quick death, only to be replaced by something resembling heartache. Maybe sorrow? Those emotions were somehow transferring from her face and settling at the bottom of my stomach like a thousand-pound barbell.
“Luciana was always a reckless child. But in a fearless way, you know? She’s never been afraid to jump into anything new or unfamiliar. I’ve always admired that about her.”
Cat said that like she didn’t possess those same qualities. But ever since I met her, she’d always seemed pretty fearless to me. And as admirable as it was, that quality of hers scared the shit out of me.
“It sounds like you miss them a lot.”
Even as she nodded, she still refused to look me in the eyes.
I suspected my next question might break the spell, but I also knew there was a reason for it. There was a reason why Cat didn’t offer up much information about her past or personal life. Even if it might drive her away, I had to know. If this question caused her to pull away, I’d just chase her down. If she ever decided to run, I’d be one step behind her.
“Why did you leave, Cat?”
Finally, her eyes slowly ticked up to mine, her breaths quickening. “We’ve gotten by over the years, but it wasn’t enough anymore. We needed more money, and it’s my job as the eldest to go out and earn it. Papí has health issues, and Eduardo needed to stay and help him take care of the farm.”
“You’re saying you came to New York to earn money to send back to your family?” Yeah, I wasn’t buying that. Sure, I understood the responsibility of taking care of one’s family. But that wasn’t the whole story. Not by a long shot. “There are plenty of strip clubs much closer to the Mexican border. Why come all the way up here?”
Heat stained her cheeks, but she kept her chin lifted. “It wasn’t like Rumors was my first choice, Luka. Don’t you think I looked elsewhere for jobs? But employers aren’t exactly jumping at the opportunity to hire a GED-wielding, degree-less Mexican immigrant. Somebody has to pay Papí’s medical bills. This was the fastest way to earn money for them.”
“I’m the last person in the world who would judge you, Cat. I’ve done plenty of things I know my parents wouldn’t be proud of. All I want is to help you any way I can.”
She held my gaze, finger absently tracing shapes on the worn table’s surface. “Is that all you want?”
The husky tone of her voice was like an acetylene torch to my insides. Lust was burning me up from the inside out, making me want to lay her out on this table and lick that homemade hot sauce off her chest, just to see which was spicier—Cat’s skin or that sauce.
But I still got the sense that she was deflecting. It pissed me off and was frankly, the only thing that prevented me from taking exactly what I wanted in that moment. I think part of her wanted me too, but the part that was speaking louder was whatever self-preservation she still felt she had to maintain around me. I nearly snapped my fork in half in an effort to repress my impatience.
I didn’t want things getting physical between us until I had her trust.
Scratch that.
I wanted things getting physical right fucking now. But something felt wrong about letting her get away with her dodging just so I could fuck her, especially when she clearly didn’t fully trust me yet. Somehow, that just felt beneath us. I wasn’t quite sure what these feelings I had toward her were, but I knew it was necessary to explore them further.
Because they were unknown.
And I didn’t do well with the unknown.
Ever since Cat had danced into my life, she had embodied the unexpected. Everything about her, every day with her, was new territory for me. And well, that was jarring to someone like me. I never executed a mission until I’d gathered every piece of intel about it first.
I never went in blind.
Which was what made my behavior around Cat all the more out of character. From the beginning, I’d been stumbling around her with a stick and a seeing eye dog. My acceptance of her closed door policy was waning, though. My patience for her refusal to let me in was wearing thin. I couldn’t even tell if I was making progress with her or not because she was the most guarded woman I’d ever met in my life. Most women in my experience wore their hearts—or lack of hearts—on their sleeves. Not Cat, though. Oh, no.
But I’d learned more tonight than I’d thought I would.
I’d pushed enough. For now.
“No, Cat,” I rasped, my eyes boring through her. “That’s not all I want. But it’s going to have to be enough tonight.”
Her brow furrowed.
Had I surprised her? Good. I didn’t want this woman to think she had me figured out yet. Especially since so few people did.
When silence once again loomed over us, I knew that was my cue. If I stayed any longer, the strings I’d been tugging on all night would snap loose and I’d escape. I would say, to hell with her trust, to hell with progress, let’s just slake our needs, baby girl. But every time I pushed us across that line, Cat always pulled back. There was resistance on her end to take the intimacy too far.
I knew damn well she was no virgin.
She was way too sure of herself when it came to her sexual needs to be naïve and inexperienced. She knew very well what she wanted and how she wanted it. But for whatever reason, she was holding back and I didn’t want to blow my chances by rushing her before she was ready.
Who the hell is saying these things?
Since when was I patient?
I rose to my feet. “I should go. Got an early morning.”
She took both of our plates to the sink to rinse out. “Yeah, same here. Full day of classes tomorrow.”
Don’t fucking remind me.
It was going to require every ounce of self-control I possessed not to periodically peek in on her in that studio.
“Thanks for dinner.” I grabbed my toolbox and walked to the door. “Even though I now have the beginnings of an ulcer, it was really good.”
She giggled. “Suck it up, tough guy.”
“Oh, speaking of classes.” I turned around in the open doorway, my body dwarfing her petite frame. She was so much shorter without those platform heels. “I need you to come by my office sometime tomorrow and finish filling out your employee forms. Bring your ID and bank information.”
Her face drained of color.
My senses went on alert. “Cat?”
She fidgeted with the drawstring on her pajama pants. “I haven’t opened a bank account here yet.”
“No problem. I can just give you hard copies of your paycheck to cash. But I have to file those employment forms for tax purposes.”
My alarm rose as her face seemed to pale even further.
“You okay?”
Her answering smile was so fake. Now having seen her real one and the one she gave her customers at Rumors, it was easy to tell the difference. Tension stirred in my gut. My inst
incts were rarely ever wrong. And right now, they were dinging and flashing like crazy, like a Vegas slot machine that just hit the jackpot.
“Yeah, fine,” she answered way too cheerily. “I’ll come by to fill them out when I have a free moment. Oh, I almost forgot!”
She bounced across the room and grabbed something from her big yarn basket. When she came back, she looked uncertain, even a little self-conscious. Eventually, she passed the item over with an almost embarrassed expression.
“I, um, made this for you.”
Momentarily forgetting her odd behavior from moments before, I accepted the object, immediately appreciating how damn soft it was. “A beanie?”
“Yeah, I noticed you like to wear them. And five o’clock in the morning around here is like living in a giant ice cube.” She waved her hand around, trying to affect nonchalance. “You don’t have to wear it if you don’t like it. My feelings won’t be hurt.”
I huffed in annoyance.
It could have been the ugliest thing on the face of the planet, and I would have still worn it into the fanciest restaurants in Manhattan. And beat the shit out of anyone who wanted to turn their noses up at it.
I slipped it on, pulling it down past my ears. “Jesus. I think I’m gonna sleep in this thing.”
Her entire face lit up. “Really?”
“It’s like a freaking Snuggie for my head.”
Her smile was probably the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen. “Well, that was the goal.”
“Nicely done. Thank you.”
I swear to God, her look of pleasure nearly had me lunging for her. My restraint had never been stretched so thin in my entire life.
“I’ll see you tomorrow, Cat.”
“‘Night, Luka.”
I turned away from her, breathed deeply through my nose, then got the hell out of dodge.
My special ops training had saved my ass more times than I could count. It had gotten me through some of the harshest environments, the deadliest of situations. If I’d questioned anything on a mission, I’d always had my training to fall back on and pull my ass out of the fire.
But all that training was fucking useless against this woman.
Between her reaction over providing her ID and bank information, and her non-explanation about why she’d really left Mexico, I knew Cat was harboring major secrets.
Something was wrong.
Something bad surrounded her.
And I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that I would protect her from whatever the hell that was. But because I couldn’t do that without knowing exactly what I was dealing with, I made a phone call that I would later regret. Big time.
Bryce answered on the third ring. “Connelly.”
“You said to let you know if I wanted you to look into her.”
He paused. “Yeah?”
I rattled off the name of her village. “I need everything you can possibly get on her. I need to know who she is.”
Because something told me that I couldn’t afford to wait around until she was ready to tell me herself.
The boss pushed the speakerphone button on his ringing desk phone without glancing away from his computer screen. “Yeah?”
“I think I might have something.”
He immediately plucked the receiver out of its cradle so this conversation would remain private. “Tell me.”
The sound of shuffling papers came over the line. “A detective in New York is asking for information about a Mexican woman matching her description. Even mentioned the name of her village.”
The high from the two lines of coke he’d snorted ten minutes prior had nothing on the one that immediately shot into his bloodstream at the sound of those words. He’d never been one to sample his own product. But he’d been dabbling ever since Catalina had disappeared on him. Ever since that first line went up his nose, he’d thought why the fuck have I been denying myself this?
“He give a name?”
The voice on the opposite line grunted. “No. Claimed he didn’t have one. Just her description. But coming from New York, I’d say that’s an awful big coincidence.”
He couldn’t agree more.
The boss pulled up a certain police database on his computer. “What’s the detective’s name?”
“Bryce Connelly.”
He typed the name into his search. “I’ll look into it.”
Something in his gut told him this could be it.
I knew you couldn’t hide forever, Catalina.
“There’s something else I need you to do in the meantime.”
“Jefe?”
“Find the sister. Track down her whereabouts and bring her back to me. I have a feeling Catalina might need a little incentive whenever I come to collect her.”
Honestly, he should have had the foresight to use the sister as leverage from the beginning. If he hadn’t been so foolish by assuming Catalina would just forget all about her bothersome little sister if she wasn’t around to worry about, he would have seen the value in keeping the little brat around as his ace in the hole. He had played the out of sight, out of mind card with the sister and it had backfired on him.
But if he brought the sister back, then Catalina would surely follow.
She would literally come running back into his arms.
Maybe he could even play the hero and act like he’d been searching just as desperately for her all along. And by rescuing her sister, Catalina would offer him her undying devotion. Her eternal gratitude would be his.
“Sí, jefe,” the other man said. “I’ll report back when I have her.”
He hung up the phone, feeling more invigorated than he had in months. He was one step closer to reclaiming what had always been his.
“Now…” He squinted at the image on the computer screen. “Who the fuck are you, Detective Connelly? And what the hell do you know about my Cat?”
It was official. Winter in New York sucked.
I wasn’t used to the frigid temperatures, and my body was making it abundantly clear that it wasn’t equipped to withstand them. Neither was my car, as it had so kindly informed me that morning when it decided to be a little bitch and not start.
Thus, my four-block pilgrimage on foot from Habanero in twenty-seven-degree weather. I didn’t know what a freaking wind chill even was before moving up here. The fierce wind chapped my already numb face as I trotted down the sidewalk toward The Ring. My next class was set to start in twenty minutes, and I’d need at least five of those just to thaw out. By the time I reached the gym’s front door, the wind was blowing so hard I had to pull on the handle with all my might just to squeeze through the tiny crack and get inside.
“Puta madre!”
Five pairs of eyes fell on me as the heavy door slammed shut behind me. Deja, three dark-haired women I didn’t know, and Luka all stood around the reception desk. Judging by a few of their amused expressions, they understood exactly what the curse words I just shouted at the top of my lungs meant.
Deja smacked her gum. “What did that door ever do to you, doll?”
My teeth were still chattering, but I managed to get out, “It threatened me with hypothermia. I had to put it in its place.”
Luka raised an eyebrow. “Good job. I’m sure it learned its lesson.”
“Thanks.”
The dark-haired woman in the leather jacket nudged Luka with her elbow as she watched me expectantly.
Luka cleared his throat. “Right. Cat, this is my extremely subtle sister Gia.” He waved at the petite woman with almond eyes. “Our sister-in-law Jasmine. And our brother Ace’s girlfriend Roxy.” She was the shortest of the three, with olive skin and voluminous dark curly hair.
Family.
These were members of Luka’s family, for God’s sake, and I’d just cursed up a hellacious storm in front of them. What a knack I had for first impressions.
Cautiously, I removed my glove and stepped forward to shake their hands. “Mucho gusto. I’ll smile once the feeling retur
ns to my face.”
Some of my worries melted away when they all grinned. “Not a big fan of northern winters, Cat?” Gia mused.
“I’ve officially become a hater. I’ll tweet all about it later. Again, once I get the feeling back in my fingers.”
Jasmine giggled. “I’m originally from Georgia, so I understand. I’ve been thinking about forming a support group.”
“Consider me your first member.”
“Or you could start a charity that donates wool coats from your new line to the less fortunate,” Roxy told Jasmine pointedly. “Like the homeless. Or poor medical students.”
Jasmine nudged Roxy with her shoulder. “Like Ace won’t buy you one. All you have to do is snap your fingers and that man falls at your feet.”
Roxy snorted. “Like Cris is any better? I think we’ve all seen the lengths that man will go to for his Jaz.”
Jasmine looked more delighted by that statement than bothered.
Gia rolled her eyes at her compatriots. “You’ll have to excuse them. They’re both so disgustingly in love it’s almost offensive. Especially since they’re talking about my brothers.”
Jasmine snapped her fingers. “Oh, that’s right. I always forget you two are related.”
“In case you’re confused,” Gia said to me, “Jasmine is the fashion designer in the family, and Roxy is in med school at Columbia.”
Perfecto.
I couldn’t feel more inferior if I tried. These women had talent, brains, and beauty. Whereas I had a few hundred bucks to my name and wasn’t shy about shaking my big boobs around for extra cash. To make matters worse, I was living under their brother’s roof, rent free.
Luka’s eyes narrowed at me when I attempted to straighten the messy ponytail I hadn’t touched since first thing that morning.
“And Gia here is the musician,” Roxy stated proudly, throwing her arm around Gia’s shoulders. “Selling out crowds all over NYC. But we keep it on the down low so Ma and Pa Rossetti don’t find out.”
Gia scoffed, suddenly finding her chipping nail polish very interesting. “Selling out bars all around NYC. Little different than selling out The Garden, Rox.”
Glitter and Greed (Brooklyn Brothers #4) Page 13