His Mystery

Eight

Jacob

The second those six words spilled out of her mouth, I knew someone was going to die!

The minute Kevin sent me her file, my mind saw red. Her name was not Valentina Bedoya. She was Ximena Sanchez, wife of an FBI special agent. My question was, why was she running away from him, and why did she land here?

I wanted to get all those answers from her, but how she acted when she told me made it seem like she would be unable to handle much interrogation. She was either one hell of a good actress or in danger. One thing was for sure. I would be finding out.

“Why are you running away from your husband?” I asked her in the most soothing voice known to humankind. It almost sounded as if I was speaking to a child, not a beautiful woman sitting right in front of me.

She shook her head, not wanting to answer my question. I stood up from the desk, walked around it, and reached her. I grabbed the chair’s handles and turned it, scraping the floor. She jumped in fear, then looked at me, her lower lip quivering in fear.

I raised my hand to cup her jaw when she flinched. I was tense, and the ticking in my jaw was increasing. My anger was boiling. If this were her husband, I would ensure he paid for everything he had done to her.

“I will never hurt you.” I assured her, emphasizing the ‘never’ in my sentence.

“I lost my ability to trust anyone, and words won’t suffice.” She replied in a whisper. I was unsure if she was wringing her shaky hands with nervousness or worry.

“I want to bring you in for a hug.” I said, watching her eyes widen. “I won’t. Not until you feel completely comfortable with me. I am sure you are withholding more information from me.” I told her, standing up from my crouched position.

My finger moving on their own, traced down her nose, making her shiver. I could see the hairs on her arms prickle. I grabbed the chair’s handles, returning it to its original position. I walked around the desk and sat back down, holding her papers. These were papers I was not going to be filing legally. Not until her husband has been dealt with.

“So, tell me a little about yourself. What do you like to do on your spare time?” I asked her, trying to get her comfortable enough that she was not stiff. She chuckled and shook her head.

“I haven’t had ‘spare time’ since I was a teenager and lived with my parents. I wouldn’t be able to answer that truthfully.” She replied while she bit the inside of her mouth.

Never in my life have I paid this much attention to someone, the way her chest rose and fell every time she took a breath. Her breathing hitched when I was near her, or her hands trembled when I tried to touch her. I wanted to make her forget all of that. I wanted to plant new memories and new feelings in her brain.

“Well, on your next day off, how about I take you out to explore?” I asked her, feeling silly as fūck. First off, I don’t explore. I stay busy with the club and Aria.

“Are you married?” She asked, ignoring my question thoroughly, her brows furrowing.

“I am not.” I said, wiggling my ring finger so she could see I was not married. I was available, very available. She squinted her eyes at me, maybe thinking I was lying to her.

“I will never lie to you, Valentina. I also have issues trusting people. Since you gave me one thing about you, I will give you one thing about me. When I was eighteen, I was in love with a girl. I moved in with her, and we made plans. One day I came home and found her in bed with my best friend.” I told her as her mouth hung open in disbelief.

“I never had proof, but I am sure I was also cheated on.” She said while I was trying not to show her how aggressive I could be. I would never hurt her, but I would hurt anyone that hurts her.

“Well, whoever he was, is stupid.” I told her, enjoying her cheeks’ red hue when I said that.

“Okay, let’s get to business. How long did you do bartending?” I asked her, trying to steer her away from any more questions she would feel uncomfortable answering.

The next couple of hours were spent talking about the bar and making a menu for the drinks. It was already time for her to leave.

“Well, I am going to head out for the day. What time should I be here tomorrow?” She asked as she grabbed the satchel she called a purse, throwing it over her shoulder and turning around to face me. I didn’t want her to go, but I didn’t want to sound like a creep.

“Here. Have these.” I told her as I removed a spare key for the bar from the key ring I was carrying around. “You can be here whenever you want. This could be your safe space if anything happens.” I assured her.

“Thanks.” She replied, smiling, and reached out to grab the key from my hand. I knew that the second I laid eyes on her, she would be mine but feeling her soft hand touch my finger was all I needed. I would kill for her, and she was not even aware of it.

“Would you like to have dinner with me tonight?” I asked her, trying to spend as much time with her as possible.

“Um, sure.” She replied, sounding hesitant.

“Great. Let me lock up, and we can head out together.” I said, turning around and grabbing my gun from the top drawer of the office desk. I turned off the lights and walked out of the office into the bar club where she was standing.

“I am ready.” I told her, catching up to her. She looked up at me and smiled.

I pushed open the door, allowing her to walk out first. Once she was out of the club, I closed the door, locking it. I turned around to face her and said, “This way.” I pointed in the opposite direction from the one she was facing.

“Where are you taking me?” She asked. I could feel the nervousness pouring out of her question.

“The best Italian restaurant in the world.” I replied, placing my hand on her lower back to guide her. She was tense the first couple of minutes but slowly relaxed.

Two minutes into walking down the busy streets of Italy, she got tense again and jerked her head back and forth, searching around and looking for the faces in the crowd.

“What is wrong?” I asked her as I also searched with her. I had seen a picture of him, so if he were here, I would know.

“I feel as if someone is watching me.” She whispered, stopping and turning around in a full circle. I could see the fear in her face and in her eyes. I grabbed her arms, shocking her, then moved my hands up to cup her cheeks.

“I will not let anything happen to you, okay?” I told her, then tested my luck by placing a peck on the tip of her nose.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath as she nodded. I let go of her cheeks and then turned her around to continue our journey to the restaurant. The rest of the walk was spent in uncomfortable silence, she was tense under my touch, and I was pissed that she was feeling like this. I opened the door to the restaurant and walked in with her. I made sure that she was settled first before turning to her.

“I will be right there. I need to make a quick phone call.” I told her as I pointed to the big window by my designated table. She nodded in agreement. I walked out of the restaurant and stood looking at her. I quickly dialed Kevin’s number.

“Where the hell—“ He said before I cut him off.

“I need you to find out if her husband is here in Italy. She has been feeling as if someone is watching her.” I told him.

“I will find out and let you know. How soon do you need this?” He asked me.

“Yesterday.” I said, ending the call.