Page 72 of Velvet Deception

“No.” He shook his head. “Sebastian is sterile. A botched infection or something. Many years ago. He couldn’t have fathered the boy.”

“Then why would he say he did?”

Stefan shrugged. “I recall that, though, after he was wounded and needed a nurse. Two nurses were here, I think. It was when I lived in the other compound.”

I nodded. “Me too.” He’d moved me to another location for several months while he dealt with deals in that region. Sebastian must have taken too many liberties without the boss here.

“Maybe Sebastian took her, but Antonio was also wounded then. He might have been near the nurses as well.”

The thought of Antonio raping Sofia was far, far worse.

“He’s been stationing himself near the hospital lately,” Stefan added.

“Probably because he tried to kill me. And he panicked when he couldn’t find my body.” I gripped my hair and yanked hard. “He had been doing surveillance over there, and that’s probably when they noticed Ramon.”

“Then go, Diego. Go. Go protect this boy if you see him as your son now.” He exited the room, hurrying out with me on his heels. “Finish him,” he said. “That’s your last order. Your last job. If you won’t retire, you’re getting a boring, safe job so you can be there to raise your son.”

“And my wife,” I added.

He almost tripped over his feet. “Youmarriedher?”

“Not yet. But when I do, she will have full protection. Both of them.”

He smiled and shook on it. “Just so long as I get to be Grandpa.”

I laughed once. Convincing Sofia to see a Cartel boss as Ramon’s grandpa would take some mighty persuasion.

But first, I had to hurry back to her and make sure Antonio could never try to ruin my life again.

29

SOFIA

“Where will we go?” Ramon asked as we hurried to clean the house and find what we wanted to pack.

I knew the idea of getting up and moving somewhere else was a big adjustment for him. In any other situation, he’d be excited, like when we had that walk and talked about dream houses with Diego.

“What about Christmas?” he asked.

It was only two days away. Uprooting so close to it had to be so hard for him. Especially when I had no clue where to stay.

“And what about Diego? How will he know where to find us?” He shoved a couple of T-shirts into a small duffle bag, but slowly.

“I don’t know, Ramon. I just know that after those men came in here and took you away, there is no way I can feel safe here.”

I can’t feel safe without Diego.

“I can’t sleep here and worry and?—”

“Okay, Mama. I know that, but…”

I sighed, sticking some more protein bars into a bag. “I don’t want to do this, but I need to. I need to do everything I can to keep you safe.” I glanced at him. “And I can’t even begin to guess when Diego could come back.”

Or if he will.

What if now that his former life was coming back to him, he preferred it over us?

“But—”

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