Page 17 of Reckless Woman
“Keep your voice down,” I hiss, slamming my palm against her mouth.
“Chill!” She laughs, shaking me off. “There’s no one about. They’re all off chasing their spiritual super-highs.”
“Vi, don’t take this the wrong way or anything, but can you please justfuck off.”
“You faced your demons in Colombia.” She traps my face between her hands suddenly, looking so serious, and so like Santiago,that my breath catches. “I was there when you slayed them,parcera. You never hesitated. You did what needed to be done. You saved me, and I won’t forget that. Whatever happens, I willneverforget that,” she repeats solemnly, a strange expression crossing her face before she’s jerking her head at the door. “Now, let’s go have some fun beforeEl Asesinotakes you back to my uncle’s secret island again.”
Her blast of sincerity almost makes me consider it.
She always did offer temptation like a shiny, red apple.
“No, Vi,” I say firmly, taking a step away to break her spell. “I’m staying here. I’m not going back to how I was before. No way.”
She considers me for a moment. “Then I’m staying with you.” Linking her arm through mine, she pulls me close, hip-to-hip.Addict to cartel princess. “How else am I going to get to speak to you these days withEl Asensioscreening my calls.”
“Please don’t call him that—wait,what?”
“You didn’t know?” She blinks at me. “Checked your emails lately? Your messages? I’ve been trying to reach you for weeks,parcera, and I’m betting you haven’t received any of them.”
I wrack my brains for the last time we spoke. It’s true. I haven’t heard from her in ages.
“The moment I found out you were here, I had to see you. I was desperate. I’m sick of him keeping us apart.”
I study her face for traces of deceit, but it’s a picture of innocence.
“I know that you and Joseph have history, Vi, but I can’t imagine him ever—”
“Are you sure about that?” she says sharply, driving her insinuation deep into my doubt. “There’s something weird going on with him. I saw it for myself in Colombia last week.”
My silence stretches, and her eyebrows lift in curiosity. She just spun a map of possibilities and landed a pin on the problem.
“Fuck! I knew it! What’s happened? Are he and Santiago—?”
“No, it’s nothing like that…” I trail off and glance at my sneakers. “Damn. We’re meant to be in this meditation.”
“Fuck meditation,” she drawls, teasing a smile from my lips. “What the hell do I want inner peace for when my best friend is sad.”
“I’m not sad,” I huff, but I’m blinking back angry, confused tears as I say it.
“You’re the saddest fiancée I ever saw.” She folds me into her embrace. “How about we ditch self-enlightenment and you can tell me everything.”
Chapter Seven
Joseph
Iwatch her walking into rehab with her head hanging low and her sneakers dragging. There’s no life. No bounce. She’s confused as fuck why I’m acting so distant. She’s trailing her moonshine behind her like she’s bleeding that shit out.
The fact that I’m doing this to her burns like fire. In punishment, I force myself to watch until the last blonde strands of her ponytail are swallowed up by the sliding doors, just to make the guilt hurt more.
I’m still sitting in the parking lot five hours later, in a black SUV with black interior and tinted windows that bears more than a passing resemblance to a coffin. Once again, I find myself reaching for the handle to follow her inside. I want to slam her up against the wall and force an apology and an explanation into her mouth. They’ve been hovering over us for the last two days now. She never demanded them, but every time we touched, I felt my deception.
“Fuck!”
My hand drops to my lap again. She came here for peace, not my past. The very least I can do is leave her alone for two days.
I’m slamming the SUV into drive when a message comes through from Dante.
New York. Nine p.m.