Whispered Lies

She made him feel guilty for her son’s problems. This was no his fault. The fault lay at Alejandro’s feet.

She knew that.

“You don’t have to thank me for everything, Sister. Blood always takes care of blood.” Durand sighed. She asked for so little and only for Eduardo. Just one of many reasons he could deny her no request.

She nodded. “We still thank you for the roof over our heads and the medical treatments.”

“Sí, gracias, Uncle,” Eduardo mumbled on cue as he always did right after his mother.

Durand clamped down on the guilt creeping up his spine. He had provided well for them, been a loving brother to her and loving uncle to his broken nephew.

He had no reason to feel shame.

“I pray this surgery will be the last one for you, Eduardo,” Durand said, changing the subject.

“Gracias.” Her son’s gaze remained on the book in his lap. What could be that interesting?

“Thank you for finding a new doctor,” Maria added.

Dios. Durand wanted to yell at her to stop thanking him. But he reached over and hugged her instead.

“I will see you tonight.” Durand walked off, deciding it was time for Julio to find a place to care for Eduardo around the clock. Maybe leave him in the States, then his sister would have to get on with her life. Maria might fight him on it, but in the end he controlled the checkbook for Eduardo’s care, and this was the last surgery.

Just as soon as he found and dealt with Mirage.

That would happen as soon as Julio broke Ferdinand’s son.

HIS ARMS WERE a safe zone where nothing could touch her.

Gabrielle sighed, happy even if she was living a fool’s dream. She snuggled her back closer against Carlos’s warm chest. After all the years alone and unloved, she refused to face the possibility that she and Carlos might not be able to stay together. What would Joe do after this was all over?

What would he do if he knew that she and Carlos had been intimate? Would Rae or Korbin say anything? She didn’t think so after seeing this team work together.

There were so many more things she didn’t know.

Such as whom Carlos, Joe, and all these people worked for. Who was this Fratelli group they were trying to stop, and what exactly were they trying to stop? Where was Linette and how did her friend fit into all of this? And one big question.

Had Durand learned the true identity of Mirage?

She didn’t know a lot of things, but deep in her heart she believed one thing. Carlos might not be the kind of man who would get seriously involved with a woman, but she believed he cared for her. That didn’t change that he had orders to bring her back.

Carlos kissed the top of her head. A hand brushed over her hair, stroke after stroke.

She smiled. He was so affectionate she could fall hard for a man like him. As if she hadn’t already?

Mon Dieu. Her mind could deny it, but her heart wouldn’t.

“Why aren’t you asleep?” he asked in a voice thick with exhaustion.

“I don’t know. Just thinking.”

“How can you have any energy after the last three hours?”

“The Tynte women are made of stronger stuff than other women,” she teased.

“Yes, they are, and if you’re the signature design, they’re all beautiful, sweet, and intelligent.”

Her whole body sighed with pleasure.

“What’s bothering you?” he asked.

“Nothing really. I haven’t even worried about Durand Anguis catching me for a while.”

His breathing slowed, then his chest moved with one deep breath. “Why are you so focused on the Anguis?”

She’d sidestepped some of his questions earlier.

That was before he’d saved her life yet again. Carlos and his people fought dangerous groups such as the Anguis, so they’d have no reason to share her story or expose her. She’d wanted to tell someone for the longest time, but couldn’t. Carlos knew exactly who she was, so where would be the harm in telling him?

“I’ve targeted the Anguis for a long time,” she started. “My mother believed in being more than a figurehead for a dynasty. She was a bit of a rebel for her era. Her parents didn’t understand the depth of Mama’s humanitarian commitment. Neither did Papa. Against his orders, she slipped away and traveled to South America incognito with a group of teachers who were going to open a new school in Venezuela, but her real plan was to help a very dear friend escape a dangerous man her friend unknowingly married.”

Carlos stopped brushing his hand over her hair and seemed intensely focused on her story. She appreciated his interest and that he didn’t give her a standard “Just leave this to the authorities,” as so many others had said years ago.

“Mama’s friend lived in the Venezuelan town where the teachers were going to set up a school,” Gabrielle continued. “On the way there, the bus passed through a small town near Caracas. Reports said a big black sedan ahead of them was stopped by goats in the road. Just as the bus caught up to the car, bystanders said grenades were launched at the vehicle from a rooftop. The explosion lifted the car into the air and ripped the bus apart.” She’d kept this inside for so long she could hardly share it now without strangling on the pain.

“All the teachers were killed,” she continued, reciting the events she’d played over and over in her mind from memory. “Mama had left a letter for the maid to give Papa two days after she left so he wouldn’t panic when he returned home from a trip and found her missing. Papa sent a highly skilled tracker immediately to find Mama and bring her home. This man did catch up to her, but not until just after the bombing. Papa was devastated when he got the news.” Gabrielle hesitated. “We all were. The man Papa sent to Venezuela was much like your people, with many resources. He arranged for documents that proved the body was his wife, which wasn’t hard to do since Mama was…unrecognizable.”

Carlos rubbed her arm, but remained silent.

Now that she’d started she wanted to get it all out.

“Papa wouldn’t let me tell anyone what really happened since Mama had entered the country illegally. He said the media would focus on that and not the fact that Durand had killed i

That had been a lifetime ago. Gabrielle still remembered standing in the rain at the cemetery, soaked to the bone, while she waited for everything to go back to normal.

As if it had all just been a bad dream.

“So you went after the Anguis?” Carlos said softly.

“Not exactly. I just got frustrated when as years passed it became clear Durand was not going to be held accountable. No one could prove he’d been behind the bombing even though eyewitnesses swore his men were on-site. The world forgot a month after the bombings, but I didn’t. I didn’t get serious about trying to do something until after I’d graduated, married Roberto, then divorced him and went into hiding, where I spent so much time on the computer.”

“Because of being afraid of Roberto,” Carlos muttered.

“Oui. So I turned to what gave me comfort, researching things. I used my skills to find out everything I could on Durand and the bombings.”

“What exactly did you find?”

“That Durand Anguis was definitely behind the bombing. He’d wanted to make a statement so others wouldn’t try to enter his area. He’s killed many i

Carlos turned rigid as a statue at that, which she understood because of his protective nature around a woman. Considering his line of work, Carlos was probably more aware of Durand’s atrocities than her.

“Over time, I established a reliable contact,” Gabrielle continued. “Thanks to this person, I have the name of the son who Durand credits with many of the murders.”