Page 41 of Hidden By His Side

“I’ll go order some food. You focus on getting settled in.” He didn’t look back when he left.

Her fingers hurt from how hard they’d clenched on the bed.

Ramiro had asked her to get settled. She stood on shaky legs to cross to her suitcase. She’d only packed enough for a few days. Her underwear and pajamas barely took up one of the dresser drawers. The closet in the room still looked mostly empty after her dresses hung inside. She tucked the suitcase against the back wall. The suitcase reminded her that this was temporary.

Ramiro was just putting her together again, like he’d done for the seventeen-year-old she’d been so long ago. Ten years had changed them both, but the way he’d looked at her back then and the way he looked at her nowwasn’t so different.

He hadn’t told her he’d loved her back then, not like he had now. She didn’t doubt his words, but there were all kinds of love. The way Ramiro loved her was warm and steady and made her ache with the need for something more.

He’d said the words, but her tears tore down his defenses until he’d give her absolutely anything to make her stop crying. Ramiro hadn’t lied. He wouldn’t do that. He just didn’t love her in the same way that she loved him.

The spare room she stood in made that very clear.

She crawled on top of the hated green bedspread, curling into herself, relieved she had no tears left.

She’d allow herself five minutes. Five minutes to wallow in the loss of the small bit of self-respect she’d clung to.

Then she was going to fake being all right. With enough effort, even Ramiro would believe it. She knew. She’d done it often over the years.

Ramiro looked through the movement of the cartel, or the lack of it. His hit on the club had served its purpose. All the noise Hayes was able to gather showed them scrambling. With none of the older Guzmans left to lead, those that were left would splinter off.

He leaned back in his office chair and closed his eyes. Summer had barely eaten any of the pizza he’d ordered. Bruised-looking skin dragged down her eyes, and that fake smile of hers thatcarved pieces out of him had returned. He’d known it would appear and hadn’t pushed her on it this time.

Too much pushing and she’d break again.

He’d gone out to the gate himself to accept the food delivery, assuring himself that the perimeter of his property was secure. Summer had fallen in love with the house when she’d seen it, and he’d known in that moment that he would buy it. Ramiro had fallen in love with the security and the seclusion.

High gates, surveillance that Diego had recently upgraded, and bulletproof windows were more important than a cleanly designed kitchen and more space than anyone could ever want.

Hayes adjusted the paperwork. No one would find the name Ramiro Rodriguez linked to the property. Summer would be safe here, even if the Guzmans managed to patch their organization back together.

He should have been relieved. Things should have felt settled, but all Ramiro could think about was the way Summer had stiffened in his arms when she’d woken up. He deserved it. Pretty words didn’t erase the ones that came before.

Even though Summer had always loved his house, she’d looked lost in it today. Tomorrow, he hoped to erase that lost expression on her face.

The doctor called earlier. Ramiro regretted telling him to release her prick of an ex, but he could change his mind later, once Summer realized she didn’t want her baby’s father in her life.

Summer had defended what the asshole said about her. The idea of her lying beneath the men she’d been with and enduring made him want to kill each and every one of them even more than he had before.

He paused in front of the guest bedroom’s closed door. Having her in there was the last thing he wanted, but the way she’d become cold and stiff under his body lingered in his mind. Fucking her would be the worst thing for both of them. It’d just continue the pattern.

Ramiro didn’t want Summer to come to him to be healed or out of some toxic need to make him happy. He wanted her to be horny for him. Nothing else would do.

He dragged his hand through his hair and retreated toward his office. A few hours working would hopefully settle him enough to try to sleep.

Chapter 14

Summer almost didn’t make it to the hall bathroom in time. She managed to flush the toilet after, sitting still as her stomach continued to twist. The tiles in Ramiro’s bathroom were chillier than hers had been. A small nightlight plugged in near the sink kept the bathroom from being pitch-black. As she lay down on the floor, the world felt so far away.

She wasn’t dizzy like the night before, but the cool tile against her cheek was soothing. She spread her arms out, letting them absorb the chill as well. Her frantic pulse slowed the longer she lay there, her nausea fading.

If Ramiro found her like that, he’d likely freak out again. She daydreamed about that happening. She wanted her morning sickness to disturb his sleep so he’d take care of her again. If she got dizzy enough, he might even hold her. He couldn’t resist her when she needed him.

Her stomach twisted at the thought. She wasso pathetic.

Dragging herself up, she made her way to the sink, splashing water on her face. She brushed her teeth as well, spitting out the mint foam before it made her gag again.

The hallway outside the bathroom remained dark. Her morning sickness kept visiting before the sun rose, but there was no way she was going back to that guest room to try to sleep more. She hated that room so much.

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