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“She did,” I eventually croaked.

“Is she a good person? Then, and now?”

A pang cut through my heart just thinking of her locked in a useless body and unable to be her old, vibrant self. I had to force the reply around the lump in my throat.

“She is.”

“Then you did right by her, brother. You’re lucky to have h-” He cut off with a sharp hiss through his teeth, cursed to himself, then changed the subject. “Christian and Greer are on damage control. No doubt they will tell you not to engage with the media.”

I snorted humorlessly. “Trust me, that’s the last fucking thing I want to do.”

“All I’m sayin’ is I know how hard it is to sit back and bite your fucking tongue while they have a field-day with lies and bullshit.”

Despite the situation, I let out a sinister laugh. “You’ve always had a temper.”

“So, you know not to fucking push me, Ortiz. Call me when you get back.”

I started to pace the corridor, heading toward the more private end. “Sure. And hey,” I added, before I lost the nerve. “If you need me to distance myself from the foundation…”

Colton’s huffed an exhale. “We’ll talk when you get back, Raf.”

“Yeah.”

We disconnected at the same time. There was nothing else left to say. I’d fucked up, let people down, and put futures in jeopardy.

With that sour taste in my mouth, I closed my eyes and physically braced myself on the wall for Boss Lady’s voice message. She didn’t disappoint either.

“Rafael, your ass, my office,now!”

“Fuck!” I hissed.

Now that my day had turned to shit, I didn’t have time or patience left to deal with this drama. It would have to wait until tomorrow. Although cracking a deal for the Caddy was the last thing on my mind, I at least could control that situation.

I clung to that as I bolted from the airport terminal and hailed an Uber.

Normally I’d grab a hotel for the night and drive the car back home the following day, but I didn’t have that luxury today. Driving from Portland to L.A. was a stretch—the fourteen-hour trip destined to take far longer in the ‘59 Cadillac, and I now regretted not buying it remotely and getting it trucked down.

Regardless of hindsight, I had to find the seller as fast as I could, then get my ass on the road.

Chapter 39

-Greer-

Roxiee eyed me from over the rim of her mojito glass, one perfectly pencil eyebrow arched high in question.

“Don’t say it,” I snapped, then took a long sip of my own mojito.

“I told you so?” She smirked and let out a snigger. “I wasn’t going to breathe a word.”

I swallowed a large mouthful. “Bullshit.”

God, I needed this drink so bad. Today had been literal hell, and between Christian’s bouts of pacing, ranting, researching, pulling together a plan and a new media release,andnot being able to contact Rafael, all I wanted to do was have Jethro drive me home and soak the hours away in the bathtub.

Roxiee had other ideas. “Okay,” she reneged, “I was totally going to sayI told you so,because Itoldyou we would be having mojitos over Rafael Ortiz before long.”

I groaned into my cocktail. “I wish it wasn’t over this sort of shit though, ya know?”

She hummed. “I do, babe. Though, I have no doubt you can handle it.”

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