Page 16 of Carlos: Trilogy: Part Two

Zoe leaned forward and pressed a light kiss to his lips. “But there’s no comparison in my heart, Carlos. I spent two nights in your arms and one out of your arms…and there’s no comparison. I will always choose you. I will always pick you. I don’t care that it’s too fast, I don’t care that my brain hasn’t caught up to where my heart is. I need you in my life.

“We’ll figure out my identity, what sort of relationship you want to have with Kyle, and anything else that comes along. So long as we do it together, preferably with your arms around me.”

She paused long enough that Carlos asked, “Am I allowed to speak now?”

Zoe let out a light giggle. “Yeah.”

Carlos tipped his head down and claimed her lips. “You already know how I feel about you. I started falling for you when we bumped into each other in February. I have never felt such a pull towards another person. I saw you and your Bambi eyes and all I wanted was to take you into my arms, guard you and protect you. It kills me, not that you were married but that he treated you so despicably that you could ever compare me to him. I get it,” he added when she made to defend her words. “Trust me, I get it. And you know what? I don’t mind the comparison. Because I know it’s one way that I can kick his ass since you already shot him dead before I could.”

Zoe blinked at him in shock and then burst out laughing. “Carlos!”

He smiled before taking her lips again. “Sunshine, never be afraid to tell me your fears or discomforts. Believe it or not, I’ll have some along the way too. We need to be open and honest with each other. That’s the only way this will work. And I swear,” he added more sternly, “that I will always quiet the voices in your head.”

Zoe laughed again. “Thank you. I hope I do the same for you.”

Carlos rolled her onto her back. “You do, sunshine. You do that and so much more.” He kissed her again, knowing they weren’t leaving this bed until he made love to her at least one more time.

Zoe and Carlos walked down the hallway with their arms wrapped around each other, giggling like high schoolers in love. They rounded the corner into the kitchen—and froze.

Kyle sat at the kitchen table in his pajamas, drinking a cup of milk. He had a plate of half-eaten eggs and bacon in front of him.

Louisa stood at the stovetop, cooking up more food. “Good morning, lovebirds,” she said with a knowing look. “Did you forget you had a child?”

CHAPTER 6

It took less than two days for Keys to get back to them. He had set up Zoe with a new identity as ‘Zoe Scanlon’ and linked her as Jenna’s niece. He even took family pictures of Steel and Jenna with their children and somehow added a young Zoe into the mix. All three of Zoe’s ‘cousins’ had been filled in on the situation and were given Zoe’s backstory in case anyone ever questioned her presence in the family. It helped that both Jenna and her deceased sister Carolyn were estranged from Jenna’s parents, to the point where none of Jenna and Steel’s children had even met their maternal grandparents. It was completely believable, per Jenna, that Carolyn could have had a child and their parents would have never known. They had not even bothered to attend their own daughter’s funeral.

Jenna then spent a day going over her family history with Zoe. It was weird for Zoe. Not being integrated into another family or even the reminder that she’d lost her place in her own, but the fact that she’d lived under Jenna’s roof for over six months and she hadn’t even known anything about the struggle Jenna had gone through to be able to marry Steel. They were high school sweethearts, but he was from the proverbial wrong side of the tracks. Jenna’s parents had gone to extreme measures to keep them separated, but Jenna had risked it all. Her inheritance, her family, and her reputation to run away with “Jack” on her eighteenth birthday. Her parents had even gone as far as to have Steel arrested for kidnapping, but the charges had to be dropped because Jenna was over eighteen and did not back her parents’ story. Additionally, her father had tried to pay Steel to leave Jenna.

Steel had taken the money…but then used it to pay for their wedding.

Zoe’s jaw dropped. “What? Isn’t that stealing?”

Jenna shook her head. “They gave him the money. It wasn’t like he’d signed a contract.”

“Can I ask… I mean, how much was it?”

Jenna snorted. “A penny under ten thousand. But they thought Steel was so poor and would be so money-hungry that that would have been enough to entice him.”

Zoe looked around Jenna’s living room, at the memories upon memories of family pictures and the life Steel and Jenna had built together. “I can’t imagine. A part of me wishes my parents had tried to step in, seen who Davis was and warned me. But they were as blind as I was.”

Jenna reached across the table to grip Zoe’s hand. “We’ll find a way to get word to your parents that you’re safe and happy. That’s all we can hope for right now.”

“Thank you.” It would mean a lot to Zoe if that was possible.

Another couple of hours later and Carlos came in through Jenna’s front door. He had a massive smile on his face. “Ding-dong, the witch is dead!” he called in an excited voice. Though in uniform, Zoe noticed that his holster was empty.

Her eyes landed on his handcuffs and her cheeks immediately reddened at the memory of what they’d done with them the night before. Unsure of how she would handle being tied up, Carlos had suggested an alternative: they bind themselves together. Her right wrist had been cuffed to his, making for some interesting positions. Their laughter had been as loud as their moans.

His knowing smile as he bent down to kiss her in greeting told Zoe that he could guess where her mind had gone. Had he left the cuffs on his belt on purpose to get a response out of her?

Jenna gave Zoe a look too that said she wasn’t fooled, even if she didn’t know the specific cause behind Zoe’s sudden arousal.

To draw attention away from her, Zoe asked Carlos, “Who’s the witch that’s dead?”

“Belinda,” he answered, pulling up a chair next to hers. “Sat her down and told her in no uncertain terms that if she tries to show up for work again that I’ll have her arrested. The only way I could fire her more is if I literally put a match to her.”

Zoe still couldn’t believe the woman had had the nerve to continue showing up for work after Sheriff Hannigan had fired her. Like she thought his terminating her was some big comical joke.

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