Page 58 of Wicked Ambition

“But I need to take care of this.” She gestured toward the puke.

“I’ll handle it. Go upstairs and rest.”

For a moment, Oz thought she was going to continue arguing, but the red faded from her cheeks, leaving her face ashen again. Yeah, his Pollita was fighting a hard bout of morning sickness and losing. “If you’re sure…” She let her voice trail off.

“Positive. Take the crackers with you.”

Señora Alvarez passed a bunch of the packets to Ayla. “Do as your husband says. You’ll feel better after a lie-down.”

Oz walked her to the foot of the stairs, and when she hesitated, he said softly, “Go, Pollita. I’ll be up in a few minutes.”

He watched until she reached the second floor. Fuck. He’d brought her to San Isidro to keep her away from trouble. Instead, trouble had found them.

That Russian mobster had seen Oz escort Ayla to her hotel room three days ago when she wasn’t in disguise. There was no chance he hadn’t been noticed. There was no chance Oz hadn’t been recognized today.

They were in a shitload of trouble.

It was dark,the only illumination coming from the moonlight encroaching around the sides of the curtains. Ayla’s eyes had adjusted, and it was enough to give the small room a soft glow.

Oz sat in one of the hard wooden chairs, gun in his hand, and he faced the door to their room. That expressed his level of concern clearly. He didn’t want to waste even the few seconds it would take to draw the weapon from its holster.

She didn’t have to ask. Not when she already knew the answers. If they left as soon as the Russians arrived, it would appear odd. It was the same reason they’d remained at the caféand eaten lunch the other day. She and Oz had to stay the night or risk raising suspicion. Señora Alvarez hadn’t been able to turn Petrova and his men away, and by the time Señor Alvarez returned to the inn, it was too late. The mobsters had rooms.

It was a minor miracle that Oz explained what happened without her asking. The dynamics were interesting. The innkeeper and two of his friends were retired from Puerto Jardinese Special Forces and they kept the town free from crime. They’d done so for decades.

Ayla turned on her side, toward Oz.

The motion, or maybe the rustling, caught his attention. “Are you okay?” he asked softly.

“Yes.” When he continued to gaze at her, Ayla added, “I napped too long today. I’m not tired enough yet to fall asleep.”

He nodded. “You can sleep in the car on the drive back to Trujillo tomorrow, but try to get some rest tonight.”

“I’m trying.” But her thoughts were whirling.

Part of it was safety. Oz had escorted her to the bathroom earlier and stood guard while she used it. Now he was alert and ready to defend her should anyone try to enter their room. The guest rooms had locks, but they were flimsy. They wouldn’t keep anyone out, not for more than a few seconds.

The other topic making her brain work was Oz himself. His protectiveness, the way he watched out for her in little ways as well as big, and how he took care of her needs. He actually low-key fussed over her. It was sweet.

Ayla didn’t do casual when it came to sex, and with his appearance, Oz should have been the last person with whom she hooked up. And yet the more time she spent with him, the more she believed she was lucky this man was the father of her baby.

She considered the layout of the rooms. There were four, and a bathroom on the second floor with a front stairway that opened to the restaurant and a back staircase that went to the kitchen.The room she and Oz had was in the corner with the hallway in front, the stairway to the kitchen along one side, and outside walls along the other two sides. They should be able to talk if they kept their voices low.

“Oz?”

“What?”

“You’ve never asked if the baby is yours.”

His lips curved. “I know it’s mine.”

Ayla wasn’t sure if she was insulted or satisfied with his response. Her confusion must have been obvious on her face because his smile became a full-fledged grin. “How can you be so certain?” she finally asked.

“You mean besides the fact you told me about half a dozen times on the way up to my hotel room that you hadn’t had sex in so many years that you wouldn’t be surprised if your virginity had grown back?”

Her cheeks heated. Herentire faceheated. “I said that?” Ayla barely remembered to whisper.

“The virginity part only once. The part about not having had sex in years? Yeah, probably half a dozen times.”

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