visit?” Carmen was the only woman I knew who was associated with the cartel. Although I’d longed to see her again and assure her that I was okay, I didn’t want Raúl to get into trouble if she found out he’d been hiding me from her. He promised that we’d be reunited eventually, when it was safe for everyone involved.
I could wait. I trusted him.
“Isabel Vera,” he replied.
A pinprick deflated my joyful bubble. “Vera? As in, she’s related to Daniel Vera?”
Suddenly, the toxic heat of his groping hands burned my hip and breasts, and I shuddered at the memory of his cruel sneer when he’d left me terrified and wounded during the coup.
Raúl’s strong, warm hands roved over my body, unerringly finding the places where Daniel had touched me. The tick in his jaw and his possessive squeezes told me that he remembered, too.
I melted into his hold with a sigh, settling into his protective embrace. He pressed a tender kiss against my forehead.
“Yes, she’s Daniel’s sister. But you have nothing to fear from her.” The deep, hypnotic timbre of his voice reassured me. “She’s relieved that he’s dead. Apparently, he was always cruel to her. He didn’t even tell her about the coup, and he left her alone at home during Arturo’s planned ambush. He gave her no warning. She could’ve died in the firefight.”
His muscular arms rippled once as anger rolled through him. The indication that he felt protective of Isabel drew me deeper into his embrace. He was furious that Daniel had left his sister for dead. Raúl undeniably did bad things for his cartel, but he fiercely defended innocent women.
I squeezed him in return; a small show of my appreciation of the good in him. “Thank you for inviting her to meet me. It means a lot.” I pulled back slightly to offer him a teasing smile. “I know this is a big deal for you. Have you ever had a guest in your house?”
His low laugh filled my chest, enfolding my heart. “No,” he admitted. “I wouldn’t do this for anyone but you. And I’m still going to my workshop as soon as the introductions are over with.” The surly twist of his lips was belied by his dancing eyes.
My laughter bubbled up to echo his. “Of course. I wouldn’t dream of asking you to endure small talk.”
His phone dinged an alert, and he stepped away to pull it from his pocket. He nodded when he checked the notification, his mouth tugging down in a small frown.
“Isabel’s here,” he announced. He tapped the screen a few times, then slipped the phone back in his pocket. “Gate’s open. She’ll be at the door in five minutes.”
I traced the line of his frown with my thumb. “Thank you for doing this for me.”
His lips quirked up at the corners, and he offered me a grunt in reply. I could tell it was his happy grunt, so I returned his smile with a broad grin of my own.
Grasping my hand in his, he led me to the front door. He took a deep breath, bracing himself.
I shot him a wry smile. “I promise this will be totally painless. I assume Isabel knows you well enough not to trap you with boring niceties. And if she tries, I’ll make your excuses, so you can escape to your man cave.”
I yelped when he gave my ass a sharp pinch in rebuke for my teasing. His slightly cruel chuckle was punctuated by a tentative knock on the door. He rolled his shoulders, as though loosening up before a fight.
I smothered a giggle before he could pinch me again. I really did want to meet Isabel.
Now that I was facing the prospect of socializing, I realized how much I missed female companionship. Before I’d moved in with Gehovany and faded from my community in shame, I’d had lots of girlfriends. We’d spent our days gossiping and our weekend nights dancing.
Raúl would’ve hated it.
As much as I loved spending time with my taciturn protector, he’d never be the type to settle in for excitable chatter. And I could hardly imagine him laughing on a dance floor, losing himself in revelry at a big party.
He opened the door, angling his body in front of mine.
“Isabel.” Her name was a chip of ice on his tongue.
I peeked around his massive frame to find a slender young woman shrinking away. Glancing up at Raúl’s fierce scowl, even I had to resist taking a step back.
Okay, he