Page 69 of Beautiful Dangerous

I leave him in the courtyard and head back into the house, passing by the kitchen first to make sure Celine is okay, and to thank her for the food tonight, it’s delicious, as usual, before I rejoin the party. Lucca’s out by the pool, and for a moment I just stand there and watch him, he has his back to me, his head up, his eyes staring forward, his hands in his pockets, and I wonder what he’s thinking about. And now everything I should be feeling for Javier is hurtling forward, so fast it’s making me breathless, because those feelings are now all for this man in front of me. And it hurts so much, this love, because it feels so out of reach. An impossible love.

That’s exactly what it is.

Impossible.

Does it have to be…?

Taking a deep breath, I walk over to him, and stand next to him, crossing my arms against myself.

“I can’t shake the feeling that this is just one, long, really weird dream. Can you?”

Lucca looks at me before he briefly drops his gaze, smiling as he slowly raises it. “Yeah. I guess.”

I wait a second or two before I speak again. “You lied to me, Lucca.”

His eyes lock on mine, and I desperately try to batter down the butterflies in my stomach; the tightness in my chest, the rapid beating of my heart, all feelings I should be experiencing because my husband is back. But those feelings just aren’t there when I look at Javier. And I don’t think they’re ever going to return.

“I’m so sorry,” he whispers, and I know this is a conversation we haven’t really got time for now as the sound of a car approaching from the front of the house signals the arrival of Hawkins. “Come on. We should go.”

I nod and follow Lucca out of the room, out into the sprawling main hallway, Angel joining us as Javier grabs my hand and we make our way outside.

Hawkins and Harry slam their respective car doors shut and walk toward us as Javier and I step forward, Lucca and Angel behind. Hawkins stops a few meters away from us, Harry by his side, and the tension in the air is palpable.

“Detective.” Javier greets Hawkins with a small dip of his head, his hands in his pockets, he’s exuding arrogance and calm. “What can we do for you this fine evening?”

“What the fuck is going on here, Javier?”

Javier looks at me, and we exchange smiles. “I had other matters I needed to attend to.”

“Jesus fucking Christ…” Hawkins looks at Harry. “I spend most of my life trying to navigate through the shit this family causes, believe me, we’re gonna be spending a lot of fucking time here.”

“These people aren’t a problem for me, Jack.” Harry’s expression remains stoic as he locks eyes with Javier. And the fact he’s already on first name terms with Hawkins means he’s gained the detective’s trust. He’s a fast worker. A good find. A necessary asset.

“Sent from fucking heaven, this one.” Hawkins seems incredibly pleased with his new partner, and the fact he’s played straight into our hands tells us, once again, how easily manipulated this man really is. “Unlike the last one.”

Ah, yes. Poor Jimmy…

“I’m sorry…” Javier cuts in, “are we going to spend all night discussing your new partner’s merits? Or do you have a reason for stopping by here tonight, only, I have a party to get back to.”

“A fucking party…” Hawkins laughs, shaking his head, but he knows he’s going to get nothing here. Just a whole lot more unanswered questions. “Where did you go, Javier?”

“I just needed a little time away from everything. Call it, a bit of a break.”

Hawkins turns his attention to me. “Did you know? That your dead husband was alive all along?”

Javier presses his hand against my lower back, and I stay silent, because that’s what he wants me to do, for now. Instead, I just smile, give nothing away, it’s the best way to deal with this situation. Give them nothing, without proof of anything linked to us they can’t do shit. And Hawkins knows that.

“Does any of this have anything to do with the murder of Tony and Emilio Pino? Hmm? Because we’re all very much aware that your families have been engaged in some kind of war for decades now. And the timing, come on, evenyouhave to admit it’s a little too coincidental.”

“Coincidences happen.” Javier shrugs, his hands back in his pockets. “That’s all this was. And as for the Pino brothers, they have – had – a lot of enemies. I’m sure you’re all too aware of that, too.”

Hawkins narrows his eyes, but he knows he can’t pursue this much further, not right now. Not yet. Not when he has zero proof that we were involved in anything.

“This isn’t over. You don’t get to rise from the dead and not have me want to know why you did that, where the fuck you were, or what the hell you were doing.”

Javier raises an eyebrow, the corner of his mouth turning slightly upward. “It is not up to me to tell you how to spend your time, Detective.”

“This isn’t over,” Hawkins repeats before he retreats to the car, Harry striding ahead of him.

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