Page 67 of Hidden By His Side

Ash had been in the perfect position to find out the location. No one would even realize he knew. His cover would remain, in case they needed to do anything else. Ramiro doubted they would.

Seb remained silent as they walked through the containers and climbed the steps to a better view.

The shipment had already been off-loaded, and most of the men present stood around talking while one worker used the crane to set the containers onto the truck.

The truck Seb had already rigged with explosives.

Ramiro waited until the last container was placed.

Then he pushed the button.

Watching the explosion was cathartic. Ramiro had never liked the drug running portion of the business. It was better than the sex trafficking he’d tried his best to ignore until he couldn’t any longer, but drugs still fucked with people.

He was looking forward to going legitimate, even though he’d no longer get moments like these.

Seb’s smirk formed, the flames dancing in his eyes. “All right, that was kind of fun.”

Ramiro slapped his shoulder before crawling backward. Seb stared for a moment longer before following. He slipped into the passenger seat where Summer had sat not that long ago.

The need to pull up the feed dragged at Ramiro, but it was more important to drive the damn car. He’d look in on Summer once he dropped Seb off at his own car.

“You really know how to show your date a good time, Rodriguez,” Seb said, that smirk still on his face.

Ramiro shook his head, but his shoulders eased at the teasing. “Don’t expect a goodbye kiss.”

When Seb laughed, he felt a little better about the man.

“I wouldn’t dream about stepping on your girl’s toes.”

Even Seb knew Summer was his. The idea of it settled something inside of Ramiro. Maybe he’d kiss Summer tonight. She seemed to enjoy kissing, and he would be able to keep himself in check. The way he’d scared her before was great incentive. Ramiro never wanted to lose control with her again.

Chapter 22

Summer put away the remaining snacks and tossed the empty rum bottle and the other trash the small get-together had created. Her friends had finished the bottle quickly and were already losing momentum. The two women weren’t sisters, just roommates, but the way they finished each other’s sentences, teased each other, and stuck up for each other had been what drew Summer to them. She’d imagined them treating her like that.

The relationship hadn’t developed that way. Instead, she watched them with each other and felt like a voyeur—a jealous one.

She pulled the blanket off the back of the couch and covered their legs with it, rewarded with a smile from one while the other began to snore.

“You’ll be a good mother.”

Summer froze, staring down at her neighbor. These women didn’t know her at all. They didn’t hear the way her mind tempted her to scream at them. She’d told them she’d moved, and they hadn’t once said they’d miss her. Of course they wouldn’t miss her. They wouldn’t think badly of her, at least, but no one in her life had ever been drawn to her. That’s why she made herself useful, so she could absorb the crumbs of affection thrown her way when she was.

She hadn’t been useful the night she met Ramiro. She’d been too broken to be anything but the emotional mess she was. It had become a habit to throw all of her emotions at him, just like she had that first night. He let her do it again and again. The dread of him getting fed up with her was almost as bad as what she imagined the reality would be.

He’d said he’d never leave her, and that dread had dissipated for a brief shining moment. Now it was back tenfold. This week, he’d felt out of reach, more than he ever had before, even though they were living together. It was as if she’d watched him take that first step away.

The women dozing in front of her hadn’t had to take any steps. She’d told them this would likely be the last time she came over, and they’d barely said two words to her, talking to each other instead. The way they’d always done.

A part of Summer wanted to slap them. That violence existed inside of her, even if she was scared to let it out. She’d never actually hit anyone, but what would it take to let that piece of herself free? Would she want to smack her baby around, too?

The worry only proved how nasty she was inside. She understood why her friends didn’t care about her. They’d never been her friends. They’d never even liked her.

Summer didn’t want to stay in the apartment with them anymore. She escaped to the hallway instead, closing the door quietly so she didn’t disturb the sleeping women she left behind.

She rested her head on the door, closing her eyes. If she told Ramiro she likely wouldn’t see him anymore, how would he react?

Ramiro’s flexing jaw rose in her mind. She imagined his hands on her shoulders, pulling her close, telling her she was never going to get rid of him, not completely.

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