Page 41 of Velvet Deception

“It’s been a few weeks since you found me,” I reminded her. “If anyone had been out looking for me, they would’ve given up by now.”

“Maybe.” She watched me, forcing a small smile.

“I’ll wait a little longer. But I’ve got to go to the market. If I’m going to be your chef”—I laughed with her since I’d mostly burned the lechona, roasted pork, we’d had for dinner—“we need to stock up.”

She stood, busying herself with cleaning up. “I’ll set out money for you.”

I gritted my teeth, hating that I couldn’t contribute.

The next day, when Sofia was at work but Ramon was home with me since it was the weekend, I wore a hat and set out for the nearest market with Ramon as my guide. Señora Vasquez hadn’t questioned Sofia when she told her that an old family friend was visiting and could watch Ramon.

Ramon, Sofia, and I walked around last night, pretending to check out the neighborhood’s Christmas lights and decorations. If anyone had noticed us or asked who I was, our line was just that I was an old family friend visiting. No one approached us, though, and not many were out walking, anyway.

I used the opportunity to scope out the area and learn the way to the market. But I’d forever cherish the memory we’d made of talking about dream houses. I wasn’t sure where Ramon got the idea in his head about having a house with a huge pool, but I admired the wistfulness in Sofia’s gaze when she admitted her secret fantasy was to have a house on the beach, to hear the waves.

When I thought about adding what I’d like in a “dream” house, I strained to recall where I’d lived before. Nothing came, only frustration that those details remained out of reach. Sofia noticed, attuned to my moods, and held my hand to comfort me, to let me know it was okay.

“I’ll show you where the ice pops are,” Ramon said as we headed to the market.

I winked at him, conspiring with him for a treat he seldom received.

Once we arrived, I struggled through a slight panic at being near so many people. This was the most I’d seen since I was knocked out. Perhaps I had a fear of crowds when I was younger, but as time passed and Ramon continued to stick with me, holding my hand like he promised Sofia he would, since she was so protective of him, I relaxed. The more I got used to the bustling area packed with shoppers, I realized that I could blend in well and not let the crowd get to me.

In some way, fitting into this role of merging with the mob felt a lot like how I’d just known how to fight those two men.

Ramon and I collected the things on our shopping list and we located the stand with the ice pops. Before he turned to leave, Icaught on to the sixth sense that was warning me someone was watching.

Dammit.

Attention was what we wanted to avoid.

Scoping the people near us, I found the culprits.

There.I noticed them and they looked away, as if they didn’t want to be caught tailing me. The realization that someone was looking for me bothered me. It also intrigued me. If I were to go up to them, would they be able to tell me who I was? Or were they the invisible enemy Sofia feared, the people who’d tried to kill me before?

Or were they just noticing me because I was a stranger who’d just arrived in the neighborhood?

Maybe I’m imagining it. Maybe it’s nothing.

Guiding Ramon home, I checked as we walked whether the men followed.

They did, alarming me, but I remained cool and refused to panic.

Each time I saw the man in a reflection on a car bumper or in a store window, I fought the idea that I almost recognized him. No name came to mind. No details popped up. Just this tiny, niggling suggestion that I might have known him before.

At a street intersection, waiting for the light to change for pedestrians to cross, Ramon tugged on my hand to get my attention.

I leaned down, and he whispered in my ear. “That man in the brown hat who’s following us works for the Cartel.”

Shit.

“How do you know?”

“Mama pointed him out once. And Juan’s seen him around.” He nodded. “I remember his hat.”

“Okay.” I stood up, refusing to let him see me panic.

If that man was from the Cartel, the group Sofia feared, I had to handle this worry that the guy and his friends were watching Ramon. Not me.

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