Page 105 of Lethal Vengeance
“Seven,” she answers. “Too many, I know. I was lost in thought.”
He says nothing, but I can see he’s come to the same conclusion as me. We need to do something to jolt her out of this hole.
“Why don’t you come to the warehouse today? We’re only halfway through the rescues, and we could use more help. We’ll take you on a tour of Miami and grab some dinner out,” I say, adding an incentive to sweeten the deal.
She stiffens. “Maybe tomorrow. I’m still working on a few things.”
“Tomorrow, okay,” I agree. Today, too, if my plan works. “How’s your leg?”
Her eyebrows raise. “The cramps are gone. It’s amazing.” She carefully puts her feet on the floor and stands. When nothing happens, she walks across to the TV and back. “Thank you. I’ll have to put some salt in my pockets.”
Raider stands up. “You need to stop pushing yourself. It’s not going to help. This isn’t going to go away until you deal with it. Accept it.”
The blankness on her face tells me she doesn’t understand what he’s saying. “You don’t understand.”
He looks at her incredulously. “I don’t understand? Me? If there’s anyone here who knows what you’re going through, it’s me.”
“You don’t know the whole story,” she cries.
“Tell us. Let us help. I can’t stand seeing you like this, mon petit oiseau. Please,” he rasps.
Gabriel’s singing ends the conversation.
She takes advantage of his arrival to flee.
Curse words flow in French from Raider’s mouth, and he storms out of the room in the opposite direction.
“Morning,” Gabriel says, his arms extended toward me.
I reach over and hug him. “Morning. How’s my favorite boy today?”
“Good. Eggs?” he asks.
“We can have eggs this morning. Let’s go whip some up,” I agree cheerfully. “It’s going to be a great day.”
“Yeah,” Gabriel agrees, and I laugh.
Gabriel takes the last bite of egg. “Done,” he announces with pride.
“Great job. High five,” I praise him, and raise my hand for him to smack. “Now, why don’t you go into the living room and wait for Caroline? I’ll put Paw Patrol on for you.”
He grins and scrambles down from his chair.
Sterling watches until he sits down in front of the TV. “What’s up?”
“I’ve got a plan to get Quinn down to the warehouse today. Henley’s agreed to change Gabriel’s birth certificate, so she can copy it and plant his new ID in the civil registration office in Monterrey. It will allow us to request an official copy. It’s the best way to establish a solid background for Gabriel. I wanted you to know, though. It’s a risk. If she wants to proceed with adopting Gabriel out, it will give her official documentation to do so.” I watch him swallow hard at the news.
With a pained expression, he spears his fingers through his hair. “She needs to take a step forward, move beyond the past, and if this is what helps, I’m all for it.”
45
QUINN
I’m scanning the video footage of the last restaurant on my list. Over the last week, I’d found more footage of them together. It’s almost all the same. The first month they were together, everything was roses and love. But it slowly started to evolve into a controlling relationship—for both of them.
There’s no doubt Julio was a jealous man. But Sophia would also do things, like flirt with a guy in front of him, to provoke that response. It’s like they fed off each other.
In one video, they would be fighting. In another, making out and laughing.
