Page 26 of Naughty and Nice
“What the fuck?” I turned to Em who was now driving. We’d left my car stashed in a parking garage as soon as we heard what was happening at the apartments. My father’s voice was coming through the speakers.
“Hang the fuck up,” Em said. “Mí padre is en route.”
“I’m on my way,” my father acquiesced. “I just saw a text from Andrés.”
“Go now,” I said before disconnecting the call. “Fucking Cabezõn.” The two soldiers they dumped were a way to lull Em and me away from the apartments.
“They’re not all whores.” Em’s fingers blanched on the steering wheel as he maneuvered his way around the midday traffic. “Isabella is safe. I have to fucking believe that.”
My thoughts went to Liliana.
Em spoke. “If Liliana hadn’t said she was going to stay, Izzy would be safe at my parents’.”
“They’re both going to be safe. They have Horace with them, Javier, and half a dozen soldiers.”
The muscles pulled tight in the side of Em’s face. “How did Cabezõn find the location of the apartments?” He turned toward me. “Do you think we have traitors feeding Cabezõn information?”
“Liliana said something this afternoon about the way the residents obtain information from clients. It probably goes both ways.”
“Damn whores.”
I braced myself as Em took a turn at an intersection on two wheels. “I’m not saying they said anything maliciously. They talk.”
“When there isn’t a cock in their mouth.”
Fuck, was that the way I spoke about the residents? If it was, Liliana had every right to call me out. “It’s a theory. I think el Patrón should consider utilizing the residents’ undercover skills more than we do.”
Em pressed his lips together and arched his eyebrows. “Undercover.”
“Spy network, asshole. Think about something like the Russian Red Sparrows. We’re struggling to determine loyalty—who is faithful to Roríguez and who’s behind Cabezõn? Those women hear things. Men like to talk especially when they’re showing off.”
Em hit the button on his dashboard, trying to call Isabella again. The line rang twice.
“Em, oh, Em,” her whisper came through the speakers.
His chest deflated as he let out a breath. “Fuck, Isabella. Are you all right? Are you safe? Where are you?”
She took a staggered breath. “Horace told me to hide in Mia’s office bathroom. The door’s locked, and I believe all the doors to the office suite are too.”
“Can you hear anything?” he asked.
“No, it’s quiet. Too quiet. The alarms were ringing, and the emergency lighting was flashing. Now nothing. Everything is dark.”
“Stay there. We’re on our way.”
“Isabella,” I said, “is Liliana with you?”
“No. She told Horace she wanted to be with the residents.”
Heat boiled beneath my skin.
“Where did he take her?” I asked. “Where are the residents?”
“In the big lecture hall. It’s reinforced. I don’t know for sure, but I think all the women are there.”
“Isabella,” Em said. While the strain was evident in his expression, his voice was silky sweet, a way of reassurance. “Honey, you’ll be all right. Stay there. I’m coming. I promise we’re almost there.”
“I love you.”
