Page 73 of Ignacio

“How was your trip?” he asked.

“Good.”

He hated that he couldn’t see her eyes.

“I’ll take those,” he said to the driver, who approached with her luggage in hand.

“Are you sure, sir? I could?—”

“It’s fine. Thank you.” Ignacio took the carry-on and grasped the handle of the rolling suitcase.

“You’re welcome, sir.”

As the driver returned to the car, Ignacio followed Delta inside and closed the door against the cold. He then took the stairs up to their bedroom.

Theirbedroom. He didn’t know exactly when he had begun to think of the room as theirs, but the thought was now automatic. He couldn’t imagine staying in the house withouther. It wastheirhouse now. The place where they had become reacquainted and confessed their love for one another. Living together had reminded him of all the characteristics he appreciated about her, as well as revealed new reasons to love her.

Ignacio re-entered the bedroom after placing her luggage in the closet. “We need to talk.”

“I know.” Delta placed her large leather purse on the trunk at the foot of the bed. “Life is so funny. I don’t know what to think. The news didn’t offer much information.”

“News? Is there something in particular I was supposed to have seen?” Ignacio asked.

“You don’t know?”

“Know what?”

Slowly, she removed her sunglasses and placed them on top of the bag. Then she sat on the edge of the bed, her shoulders rounding in an odd display of resignation. “Leo Hargrove is dead.”

“Dead?” Ignacio repeated, in genuine shock.Holy shit. Had those men from The Cordoba Agency…? “How do you know he’s dead?”

“It’s all over the news. On the ride from the airport, I read several articles about what happened. A member of his security team found him floating face down in his pool last night. As of now, there doesn’t seem to be any foul play, just a freak accident. He’d been drinking with friends, and apparently after everyone left, he must have continued drinking and slipped and fell into the pool. A member of his security was doing his rounds, checking the property before he left, when he found Leo.”

Ignacio pulled out his phone, and sure enough, the executive’s death was trending online. He did a quick search and skimmed a piece summarizing the news of Leo’s passing. Much of what was available at the moment was speculationmingled with accolades about his accomplishments in the music industry.

“I guess I have to wait for the fallout,” Delta said quietly.

“What do you mean?”

She let out a small laugh. “Don’t you get it? He’s dead, and what he did to me will be discovered. Someone will find the video, and what happened to me will come out, and there’s nothing I can do about it.”

“You’re wrong. Everything is going to be fine.”

“I want to be optimistic like you are, but I’m a realist. I have to brace myself because it’s only a matter of time.”

Ignacio sat beside her and took her hand. “Remember when I told you I would take care of everything?”

Her eyebrows lowered over her eyes. “Yes.”

He reached into his pocket, removed the flash drive with the video, and handed it to her.

Delta examined the device, turning it over in her hand. “What is this?”

“The video.”

Confusion clouded her eyes. “Thevideo?”

When Ignacio nodded, she drew in a sharp breath.

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