Page 49 of Under His Sheets
“Are you worried?”
He shook his head but it wasn’t definitive. “Not really? I anticipate it will be a house full of wealthy, influential people who will be throwing their money around to gain favor. Potentially there will be some inflammatory statements made, but I hope I will have a clearer picture of who the players are.” He frowned. “Randall, promise me, if anything goes wrong, you will leave. I will show you a rendezvous point on our way in and if anything happens, you run straight there. I will have a member of our unit there for backup, but I don’t want to have to call them.”
“Yeah, of course I will, but what could actually happen?”
I should have known better than to even voice that thought.
Because the shitstorm started twenty minutes later.
Alonso had gotten me into bed and feeling nice and relaxed, ready for a good night’s sleep, when his phone rang.
“Mama. ¿Qué ha pasado?”
I heard her speaking in Catalan through the phone, her voice thick and shaky from her tears. I held Alonso’s hand as he listened carefully, squeezing every so often when she grew particularly emotional and her voice rose in pitch.
“I’m coming now. Go with Mateu. I’ll meet you at hospital. Sit down until I get there. T’estimo, Mama.” He disconnected the call and ran his hand through his hair.
“What can I do?”
He turned to face me with a scowl. “Say you will stay here. Lock the door. I need to go. My cover is blown.”
“Your cover?”
He stood from the bed and looked around for his boots. “My father had uninvited guests at the winery today. Turned out they were pro-independencia and they had an argument. After they left, my father had chest pains, so Mama called an ambulance. He had a heart attack twelve years ago and had to mostly retire from the winery, that is why first Felip and now Mateu are running the business, and why my family wants me there more often. I should have been there.”
“But how does this mean your cover is blown?” I didn’t want him going into a dangerous situation, though I knew he would immediately go to his family no matter what.
“One of them recognized me in a picture on the wall and asked why, if things were so good at Cava Segura, was his son working as a custodian at the international school.” He put on his coat and grabbed his backpack. “Has to be someone from the school. She did not know these men.”
I climbed from the bed and wrapped my cardigan around myself.“I’m so sorry, Alonso. Do you want me to come with you?”
He shook his head and looked down at his feet.“I need to see to my family. I’m going to call my commander and tell him you aren’t going tomorrow.”
“Wait, Alonso.” I placed a hand on his arm, feeling the tension flowing through him. “I have to go tomorrow.”
He scowled at me. “Not without me. It’s not safe.”
I promptly removed my hand from him and raised my eyebrows, but I kept my voice gentle. “I have to go. For Pere. For all the kids who are in danger from these people fighting at their school. This is your state, your country, so I understand that you are involved, but this has become my community, and I need to do what I can to help. You said you’d have a colleague outside? Well, is there someone else who could go as my date?”
I didn’t think his scowl could get deeper.
“You know what? You go check on your family. We can talk tomorrow.”
He exhaled and nodded, but wouldn’t make eye contact with me.
Until he did.
And his gaze was that of a man who was on his last gasp of control.
“Hey,” I said, cupping his jaw, running my thumb over his dimple, which the more I studied the dip there, it was uneven, almost like a scar. “It’s going to be okay.”
He squeezed his eyes shut, nodded, and stepped away from me. He walked toward the front door—the first time he wasn’t sneaking in or out—and placed his hand on the knob. I suppose he didn’t care who saw him leave in his current state of mind.
When he didn’t speak, I walked toward him and placed a hand on his back. I got the desired response when he turned and took me in his arms with a big sigh.
“Si us plau, amor. Ves amb compte.”
I could gather what that meant.
