Page 97 of Cartel King

Constantine stood by me at the door when I peeped through the hole, but the moment he saw it was Enrique, he just wiggled until he got bored. I know he nudged Enrique’s thigh, and Enrique patted his head once before Constantine went to his bed. He’s thumping his tail right now since we walked past him.

There’s nothing beastly about my gentle giant. Just the opposite.

“I don’t know, Enrique. I know your property is safer with your guards patrolling, but I have an unreasonable fear of going near your men even though you’re with me. It was Andrés and Carlos who spotted the dash cam, but how do we know they weren’t the ones taking these photos?”

I shake my head at my own thoughts.

“That makes no sense. They didn’t know me when whoever this is took some of them. They had no way or reason to suspect me of anything. I—I’m not even thinking logically right now, Enrique. I don’t know what to make of all of this.”

“I know, little one, and neither do I, but we’ll figure it out together, whatever it is.”

“Thank you. I am not usually this easily bothered by things, but it just feels off, and I can’t put my finger on it. It’s throwing me for a loop. I don’t want to see ghosts where there are none.”

“No, this is a serious invasion of your privacy, Ellie. I don’t blame you for being upset. It was bad enough looking at them the first time, but I’m certain you were looking at it as evidence, not emotionally, as somebody who’s had their privacy violated.”

“True. It feels different looking at these a second time. All right. I can go with you, and I’d prefer that.”

“Of course you’re coming with me.”

“No, I mean in the same vehicle.”

“I didn’t think we’d drive separately. Pack a few days’ worth of clothes. We’ll pack Constantine’s food and bowls. We’ll take one of his beds, his treats, and his toys. You can stay as long as you want. We can always come back here at any time, either to return your stuff or to get more.”

I merely nod. He gives me a kiss and a soft pat on my backside before pointing me toward the stairs. I hear him dialing his phone while I grab my pants from the living room. Then his voice fades as I head up the stairs, but it’s still clear.

“Joaquin, I want you at my house with your computer. I have prints for you to run.”

Chapter Nineteen

Enrique

I don’t want Ellie to know how bothered I am by these photos, but I also won’t lie to her about whatever results Joaquin gets once he examines the prints she pulled. I put all the photographs back in the envelope as I speak to him and round up the test kits’ results. Once I have those in another envelope I found on the shelves behind her desk, I head to where I’ve seen her keep Constantine’s food.

I grab his bowls and the storage container of food, stacking them by the garage door. I grab his bed as well and toss some of his toys into a reusable grocery bag hanging from the pantry door.

“Thank you for getting all of that together.”

I turn as Ellie enters the kitchen. She has a large duffel bag with her, then a smaller looking overnight bag. When my gaze reaches her again, something dawns on me, forcing my attention back to the black duffel bag.

“Yes, Enrique, it’s what you think.”

She’s got her rifle and whatever other weapons she owns in the bag with her.

“Do you object to me taking these to your home?”

“Hardly. I have a full arsenal, as you can imagine, but if you feel more comfortable with weapons you know, then I won’t say no.”

She nods.

“Funny thing is, I never believed in keeping weapons in a home before I got married. I didn’t imagine having them with kids in the house. I wasn’t blind to what my dad did, but I was naive enough to think the arsenal he kept was unnecessary. I figured the average person could probably rely on the police coming and are more likely to hurt themselves than not, but this lifestyle required us to have them. We always kept them out of reach of the boys until we were certain they were old enough to understand the danger that went with them. We had drawers installed in the kitchen and bathrooms, bedroom dressers—all over the place—that had special latches that only opened if you knew where to press them. That’s where we kept the guns, not in a safe that would take us too long to open. When I moved in here, I thought I would tuck these away and let them get dusty. They had been for a while. Little did I know not only would I need them once, but that I would want them with me just to leave the house.”

“I understand, little one. Take whatever will make you feel comfortable while you’re at my place.”

“I can tell you, panties would make these capris more comfortable, but I don’t think I’m allowed to take those.”

“Most definitely not. You tempt me to outlaw anything but skirts and dresses.”

“You really want free access, don’t you?”

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