Page 46 of Dina's Favorite Mistake

“Um...sorry?” Lola called out from the doorway of the dining room. “I know this is a really bad time but...”

Steve groaned with frustration at Lola’s apologetic interruption, and Dina silently thanked her sister for stepping in before things spun out of control. Not about to let her go that easily, Steve kissed her chastely on the mouth and then the tip of her nose and right along her temple. “I meant what I said,” he reiterated in a whisper. “I’ll wait.”

Dina marveled at this steadfast man who had come into her life. Maybe he wasn’t a mistake after all.

“Listen, we have a problem.” Lola shifted Jasper from her right hip to the left and popped his pacifier back in his mouth to keep him soothed.

“What now?” Dina asked tiredly.

“Mama is missing.”

Chapter Fourteen

“Missing?” Dina echoed.

“She usually comes in to get Jasper around six. When she didn’t, I figured she was sleeping in or maybe she still had a headache,” Lola explained. “But I went to her room and her bed doesn’t even look like it was slept in! The Audi is missing from the garage, and she’s not answering her phone.”

“The Audi is the only car she’ll drive on her own,” Dina clarified for him.

“I went to see the security team, and they told me she left this morning after an argument with Jose.”

Steve’s blood ran cold. “They left together?”

Lola shook her head. “Different vehicles.”

“So she wasn’t being dragged away?”

Lola frowned. “Why would Jose drag her anywhere? He’s worked for our family since I was a little girl. He’s practically family!”

“Jose and Chavela are related,” Dina reminded her sister.

“What? Since when?”

“Since you were off at school as a kid,” Dina said. “He married into that family.”

Lola paled. “I didn’t know! I would have said something last night when Steve mentioned her!” Her eyes widened. “Does Beto know?”

“Obviously not,” Dina remarked with disdain. “It’s just like him to make a giant mess and leave it for everyone else to cleanup.”

Lola winced. “I don’t think that’s fair.”

Dina’s lush mouth flattened into a thin line. Was she thinking how unfair it was that others blamed her for bringing Diego into the family?

“We need to find your mother,” Steve interjected, hoping to avoid a sisterly spat. “Where is Beto?”

“He was called out late last night to deal with a big problem at one of his resorts,” Lola said.

“Steve and I will go find Mama. Can you stay here with Jasper and Camila?” Dina asked.

“Shouldn’t we call the police?” Lola wondered.

Steve shared her concern. “It would be better to loop them in, just in case.”

Dina scowled. “I don’t trust them. Not all of them. I’m sure most of them are good, but I have a hard time believing Diego was able to escape without help from the inside.”

“I understand, but I’m here as a guest of the Mexican government. I’m already on a short leash after the shooting. If we exclude them and all hell breaks loose—.”

“Steve,” Dina said urgently, “we don’t even know if my mother is in trouble. You don’t know her like we do. She’s not the kind of woman to be forced to do anything. She could have had all thesecurity on the estate at her side with a snap of her fingers, but she went quietly.”

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