Page 18 of Cartel King

“Wow. How long will it take me to read through your catalog?”

She looks at me sideways, unsure if I’m serious.

“I don’t just work out, Ellie. I do read, and it’s not all for my edification.”

She nods. “I have one hundred and ten.”

I think my mouth hangs open. That’s hardly what I expected her to say either.

“A hundred and ten in ten years? I thought you might say fifty—sixty—but I didn’t think you’d average eleven a year.”

“Some years it’s been more than that. Some years it’s been a little less, but I love what I do. So, that old saying that ‘it’s not work if you love it’ actually is true. I always thought it was a pile of bullshit. Work is work, and your job is a job. You might enjoy it, but not always. As an adult, you get on with it, and you pay your bills. But I realize there is truth in that. I just wasn’t doing the right thing before.”

I furrow my brow once more, unsure what she means, since I got the feeling she might’ve been a stay-at-home mom. But perhaps I totally read that wrong. I’ve been wrong all evening.

“You look nervous to ask me what I did before I was an author. I was an accountant, and I enjoyed it. I specialized in forensic accounting. I like puzzles and mysteries, hence the mystery and suspense parts of psychological thrillers. But it wasn’t as rewarding as being in my imagination all day, which is a much better place most of the time than reality. Or at least it was the escape I needed for the last decade of my marriage.”

“I guess I figured you did something other than that.”

“You thought I was a stay-at-home mom because of what I said about sticking around for my boys.”

“Not that accounting doesn’t have its challenges, but I can’t imagine a harder job than being a stay-at-home parent. But I also think it’s probably one of the most rewarding experiences.”

“It can be, and there were certain periods over the years when I was, but not my boys’ entire childhoods. I worked outside the home for a long time, then there were also several years where I had a home office. I’m glad now that I travel even more for this work, I’m not leaving my boys behind. They’re young men who fend for themselves. It’s given me freedom back.”

We’ve taken our loop around the park, and we’re back at her driveway. She’s revealed more to me than I expected, but I love it. I know I’m going to have to do the same for her, or she’ll feel taken advantage of. It’ll make her vulnerable and close off to me, and that’s the last thing I want.

“Should I start with your very first book, or is there one you recommend over the others?”

“You could start with the first one. It’s not my best, but all the series connect to each other, and the books within each series connect to each other. If you’re going to jump into the world I created, you may as well start at the very beginning. Hopefully, you don’t think I’m too twisted once you get an actual glimpse of how my mind works.”

I wish I could tell her there’s not a chance in hell she’s more twisted than I am. I grin instead. “What name do you write under?”

“Elodie McCann.”

“I’ll be filling my digital library when I get home. I shall blame you if I get no sleep tonight because I’m up reading the whole time.”

Her smile falters. “Enrique, you don’t have to flatter me. I’ve been at this long enough to know I can’t please all the people all the time. At best, I can please some people some of the time, so it’s all right when people don’t like my books. It won’t offend me if it’s not your cup of tea.”

“I’m still going to read at least one, Ellie.”

She watches me for a moment, and I know she caught the other time I called her that, but she hasn’t said anything about that, or the two times I called herchiquita. Her hesitation makes me wonder if she’s thinking about inviting me in. She let Constantine off his leash, and he’s sitting in front of the garage. But she doesn’t, and it crushes my soul a little.

“I won’t ask you tomorrow what you think. I’ll know by your expression. So don’t worry. I won’t put you on the spot.”

I smile and nod, but it’s not true. She’ll never know anything I’m thinking that I don’t want her to. I’ll only give away what I want, never all of who I am.

“Have a good night, Ellie.”

“Night, Enrique.”

I head back to my place after we say our goodbyes. I snapped a picture of the license plates as I jogged past the car still parked across the street from her. They come back as fake. Not stolen, not mismatched, but fake.

They’re not in the system at all. That sounds all sorts of alarms in my head, even if it has nothing to do with Ellie and isn’t a direct threat to her. Something shady is going on near her, and I don’t like that. I arrange for two of my most trusted and discreet guys to stake out her place.

I often have bodyguards with me, but the route through her neighborhood is in a gated community and close enough to my home that I enjoyed the time to myself. Now I enjoy the privacy of being with Ellie without an audience besides Constantine.

My men set themselves up in two separate spots in wooded areas near her house. They’re on private property, but no one will know they’re there unless they make their presence known. Alejandro trained them.

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