Page 18 of Owen (Storm Enterprises)

A scoff rumbles from Shaw. “She didn’t leave her name or number. Pretty sure it’s self-explanatory.”

A pang of guilt hits me when Reed’s face falls, then he clears his throat. “Not like there aren’t a billion other women in the world falling at my feet.” He shrugs and plasters on a fake smile.

When all this is over, I’ll hunt down this woman. Then it’s up to him to pursue her.

In my experience, if they don’t want to be found, there’s a good reason for it. They’re hiding something.

FIVE

LAYA

Carlos slides his hand around to our baby bump. “You look beautiful, amor.” I bite into my lip. The man never fails to tell me how beautiful I look, no matter how fat or uncomfortable I feel.

“I really wanted you to meet my parents before the baby arrives, Carlos.” We’ve been in the Bahamas for over a month, all while Tate got married. At Carlos’s request, I’ve been pushing back the date for him to meet my family, telling them we’d like to wait until we’re settled in our new home before they visit.

He sighs heavily and steps back. “I know. But I’ve been busy, Laya.” The dark circles under his eyes prove it. “When I meet your family, I want it to be perfect.”

I soften on his words. I understand but, in my mind, everything is perfect. Besides, I don’t even know where our new home will be, and the thought has me anxious. As caring and loving as Carlos is, he’s also very closed off. He only allows me to see what he wants me to see, and I’m very aware of it. It’s almostlike he doesn’t want me to see all of him, and the thought of that has sickness rolling in my stomach.

If he thinks I believe the armed guards, bulletproof cars, and undercover bodyguards who follow us in the shadows are because he’s a successful nightclub owner, then he has another think coming. Each time I bring anything up, he shuts me down or becomes distant, and I hate it. It feels like I’m losing him, and I can’t lose him, not when I’ve already lost Owen. So instead, I put up and shut up, and take each day as it comes.

“Who did you say we were going to meet for dinner?” I place the diamond earring in my ear and fluff my hair, allowing the waves to flow down my back.

Carlos steps forward, his chest hits my back, then he smooths the stray hairs from my neck before his lips touch my neck. “A colleague of mine.”

I’ve only ever met one colleague of Carlos’s, a childhood friend, Nico Garcia. “Nico?”

Carlos chuckles. “Not Nico, no. I’ll rephrase it, a potential colleague of mine.”

My mind is already whirling with what we will talk about. I know full well Carlos won’t discuss business in front of me. “Does he have a plus one with him?”

Carlos’s ghost of a smile sends goose bumps over my skin. “I don’t think so. Apparently, he doesn’t date.”

A bubble of laughter snickers out of me. “My brother never dated, but always had a plus one.”

His palm rubs over our bump. “Hmm, this one is mending a broken heart if what I hear is true.”

“That’s…” I try to think of the right word. “Sad.”

“It is. But one man’s loss is another man’s treasure.” He pulls back from me, and our eyes meet in the mirror. His gaze is intense and stormy; he gets like this when he has meetings, anedge to him I don’t recognize. It unnerves me, especially being so far away from home.

His cell buzzes in his pants pocket, so he withdraws it but stuffs it back in. “Come, amor. It’s time to leave.”

My hand slips into his as we make our way outside, and the moment my eyes lock onto the six black SUV’s each with a guard standing beside them, I know this will not be any ordinary dinner, and a ball of unease knots in my stomach.

OWEN

My leg bounces uncontrollably as I try to rein in my emotions. The table is set for three; does that mean he’s bringing her with him? Surely not.

I told him this was to be a one-on-one business meeting. I was planning to use it to gauge the kind of man my girl is married to and chose to have a baby with. My mouth goes dry and nausea overwhelms me at the thought of them together, but I push past it, determined to block the image of them together out and remain professional. The man cannot know my feelings for her; he cannot know she’s my weakness.

The sound of footsteps approaching has me snapping my gaze up. And there he is, the Mexican drug lord with business links to a notorious human trafficking Mafia family.

His eyes sear into mine with hatred, yet his face remains impassive. I rise from my seat to greet him, but my blood turns to ice and I still, my hand outstretched toward him when the clicking of heels invades me.

She’s here.

The bastard brought her here.

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