were filled with tears. She’d known Walker was on edge and worried about her, but she hadn’t realized to what extent. She took a step toward him, and before she realized that he’d moved, she was in his arms.
“I love you, Walker. I understand, I do. I’m not saying I want to jaunt off to Austin by myself. I don’t think I’ll be able to go there by myself ever again. I assumed you’d be with me.” She looked up at him. “I swear I’ll be careful. I won’t complain if you dog my every step during the party. I just…I’ve worked hard to build up my business. If I flake out on this event, it’ll hurt. Clients will lose confidence in me. It doesn’t matter that I was possibly kidnapped by a drug cartel; people are selfish. They want what they want. They might be sympathetic toward me and what happened, but they still want their party.”
“I’ll want the rest of the team to be there as well,” Walker said after a moment.
Gillian nodded. “I have no problem with that.”
“And you aren’t to go anywhere without one of us with you.”
“Even to the bathroom?” she teased.
Walker didn’t crack a smile. “One of us will scope it out before you go in, and no one else will be allowed in while you’re in there.”
Gillian took a breath. She wanted to protest. Tell Walker that he was being paranoid. But then she remembered how scared she’d been when she’d woken up and realized she had no idea what she was doing in an ambulance, and why she was hurting so bad. “Okay,” she told her boyfriend solemnly.
Walker put his hand on the back of her head and brought it to his shoulder. “Okay,” he whispered.
They stood like that in his kitchen for quite a while, Gillian staring out the window that led to his balcony, watching the birds flying from tree to tree outside.
Falcon.
She abruptly pulled back and looked up at Walker. “Falcon!” she said urgently.
“What?”
“Falcon. I don’t know what it means, but it has to do with my kidnapping.”
He raised an eyebrow, but his expression hardened. “You sure?”
Gillian nodded. “Yeah. I don’t know why, but…yes.”
Walker ran a hand over her hair, then brushed the backs of his fingers over her healing cheekbone. “I’m proud of you, Di. You are every inch a Wonder Woman.”
“But it makes no sense.”
Walker shook his head. “Doesn’t matter. I’ll call Agent Tucker and let him know. He can research and see if he can figure out what it means.”
Gillian closed her eyes and willed her brain to recall something else.
Falcon, falcon, falcon. She repeated the word over and over in her head.
Then another word popped into her brain.
“Salazar!” she blurted.
This time, he looked shocked.
“What?” Gillian asked. “Who is that?”
“Alfredo Salazar is the head of the Sinaloa Cartel here in Texas. Calum Branch, the DEA agent you talked to, claims he’s headquartered right in Austin. I don’t know why you’re remembering that name, but if he was the one who took you, or had you taken, then it’s even more of a fucking miracle you’re standing here in my arms right now.”
“Why?” Gillian asked, not sure she wanted to hear the answer.
“He’s ruthless. He started as a part of the gang when he was still in elementary school. Killed his first man around age ten. Everyone knows that if they cross him, they’re dead. It’s said he has no mercy. That he killed his own sister when he thought she’d betrayed the cartel.”
Gillian’s eyes widened with every word from Walker.
“I need to call Tucker,” he said.
Gillian nodded. “I know.”
“Maybe I’ll see if Ghost and his crew can come to Austin with us as well,” he muttered.
As scared as Gillian was, she thought that was a bit overkill. Having fourteen men following her around during an anniversary party would be a bit much. But she’d fight that battle later. Maybe when they were both replete after a few orgasms.
“Walker?”
“Yeah, sweetheart?” he asked distractedly.
“I trust you.”
That got his attention. He raised an eyebrow.
“If something else ever happens to me, I trust you to get there in time. You’ve changed my life too. I always felt as if something was missing, even though I have great parents, amazing friends, and a job I love. Now I know it was you. You were missing.”
He leaned down and kissed her gently.
“We’re going to get through this,” she told him. “Neither of us is used to living with someone else. Throw in