Page 30 of Naughty and Nice
“I couldn’t see him very well in the dark. He smelled of gunpowder and body odor. He had a long gun. The power was out, and he searched the room with a flashlight. Thankfully, he didn’t come inside too far. He shone his light and banged on one of the tables. All the residents were quiet and hiding behind the tables.”
“And you?”
I tipped my head toward the wall where I was standing. “I was so close to him. For the first time in my life, I wished I had a gun.”
Nick reached for my hands and squeezed. “You’re not a killer.”
“I could have been. I would have been to save their lives.”
“Can I please take you to Andrés’s or Mia’s home to spend the night por favor? I need to stay at Wanderland tonight. I want to do what you did.” He clarified, “I want to make sure our employees are safe.”
Employees.
I smiled at his choice of label. “Okay.” I nodded. “Mia’s.”
“Tomorrow, we talk to el Patrón and Mia about our marriage.”
Chapter
Thirteen
Liliana
* * *
Mia met us at her front door, wrapping me in a hug. “Liliana, are you okay?”
I looked over my shoulder at Nick and back to Mia. “Sí, I am.” We walked toward the living room.
“Nick.” El Patrón’s voice bellowed from his office. “Ven aquí.”
Nick nodded to me and backtracked to Jano’s office.
Mia reached for my hand and pulled me out to the deck. I squinted as sunshine reflected off the crystal blue pool water and sparkled onto the Pacific Ocean. After what we’d been through in the apartments, it felt as if I’d escaped hell only to land in heaven. I took a seat at an umbrella table and sighed. “It was horrifying.”
Mia sat on the chair to my side. “I’ve talked to Isabella and gotten messages from many of the residents.” Her lips curled upward. “You’re a hero.”
I shook my head. “No, I’m not.”
“You are. I heard about the man that came in the lecture hall.”
My nose wrinkled. “He was close enough to smell.”
“Honey, what if he’d known you were there?”
“I don’t know. All I was thinking about was keeping the residents safe.”
She laid her hand over mine. “Liliana, you’re important.”
I blinked, unsure if I’d heard her correctly.
“You are,” she repeated. “Isabella told me what you told Horace, that you wouldn’t be missed if anything happened to you.”
“The fuck?”
We both spun toward the open glass doors. Nick was standing just outside the living room on the travertine patio pavers, his dark stare again laser focused on me.
“Did you say that?” he asked.
