Page 92 of For The Days We Can't Forget

“I know. I miss her, too.” He kissed my forehead again. “Hopefully, we can go home soon.”

I cuddled closer and sighed in safety. I didn’t want spoil our quiet moment, but I needed to know.

“What happened?” I gulped. “With him?”

He tightened his hug. “He’s gone.”

“So, we’re safe? Is it over?”

He took in a deep breath and squeezed my arm. “Well...our issues with him are over. He’ll never bother us again. But there’s still a lot that needs to be done. And I doubt his family will let his death go so easily.”

I burrowed into his chest, hugging his torso. “And how are the guys?”

As if prompted by my asking, someone knocked at our door right before Mia, Ben, and Aaron walked into the room. I sat up, already stretching my arms as Mia headed my way. We embraced each other tightly, and I suppressed the urge to bawl again.

“Danny told me what happened. Thank you,” I choked.

She squeezed me for good measure and stepped away. “That’s what family is for.”

The men kissed me on the side of the head, asking me how I felt, and looked relieved at my answer.

At some point, all of us had changed into clean, dry, and heavy clothes someone had brought us to the hospital since we hadn’t left yet. I appreciated it for a lot of reasons.

For one, we weren’t wearing those cold, dirty, and wet clothes anymore. Besides, I wasn’t ready to see them up for going or coming from combat again. I already had enough bad memories. Dressed just for the winter, like any other day, they seemed more approachable and laid back, not like a huge cartel was after them.

Although, some reminders were hard to ignore.

I pointed to Ben’s bruises around his neck as he leaned against Danny’s bed next to mine. “How are you?” Someone had tended to him already to clean the wounds and apply ointment, yet they were still visible.

He waved his hand, dismissing my question with a cocky grin. “Just another combat scar.”

“That I’m sure you’re going to exploit with Izzie,” Mia volunteered dryly.

“What can I do? If my woman feels better taking care of me, thinking I almost died, I won’t stop her.”

“You’re such a jerk,” Mia said, although there was no bite to her words. Dressed in heavy clothes and a beanie, much like I was, and with her feet embraced by ladybug-shaped sleepers, she sat down on the couch, pulled her legs up, crossed one foot in front of the other on the edge, then rested her arms between her bent up legs, holding her shins. Only then did I notice how tired she looked, despite her smile. It was probable Danny and I expressed the same exhaustion.

After our breeze moment, Aaron went back into work mode. Or what I figured was his constant mode. “The body was found. It’s confirmed.”

Matias was really dead. I let out a heavy breath of relief. Danny had just told me it wasn’t totally over, but his death felt like a huge step. “What now?”

Aaron sighed. “Now we keep that information to ourselves, take a break to recharge, then regroup to attack.” He touched my hand in reassurance. “But let’s count today as it is. A victory. We had a lot of close calls, yet we overcame them all. We even managed to eliminate someone high on their rank—Matias—and several otherAlacránsare either dead or arrested.”

A moment of silence descended upon us as we considered all that was accomplished, and our manyalmosts.

“How long did it take for your men to get to us?” Danny blurted.

“A few minutes after you took off with Mia in the cartel car.” Aaron sat down next to her. “Longer than I wanted, to be honest. With the two of us,” he waved between him and Ben, “needing to seek shelter and protect ourselves inside that hell, it was almost a minute too long. Why?”

“When they shot us in the back of The Mansion, someone was already on the roof, firing against them.”

Aaron fidgeted and questioned in a strained voice, “Did you see the person?”

Danny shook his head. “No. But whoever it was, they gave us the time we needed to run after Matias and Lisa. I wanted to thank the person.”

Before Aaron could respond, Sonia stormed into the room, holding a tray with several to-go cups. She placed the tray on the rolling table and raised her palm to placate Danny before he could argue. “Don’t you worry. Rosie and that sweetie, Haley, have Sofia until I get her back for the night. Now give your worried mother a hug.” She squeezed his big frame into her arms and then marched to me. “Pobrecita, Lisa,querida.” She framed my face with herhands, inspecting me and my bruises before pulling me into a hug. “I was so worried about you.”

I hugged her back, welcoming her warmth. My parents had spent the afternoon with me at the hospital and hugged me just as tightly. I didn’t think I’d ever been more hugged. But after almost being killed, those hugs and their care were exactly what I needed.

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