Page 46 of Rescuing Baylee

Baylee winced a little. She wasn’t sure what to say to that. “Thank you.”

The man reached over and patted her hand. “Don’t ever be ashamed of your scars,mija. We all have them, and they mark your courage.” He reached up, pointing at his own widow-peaked hairline. There was a long line of scar that cut throughhis thick salt and pepper hair. It looked like it ran all the way around to the back of his head. “I received this when I first took overmi familia. But I survived and made them great.”

The laugh lines near his eyes deepened with a smile, and Baylee found herself responding. He seemed like a nice old guy, and he appeared to be here alone. Dr. Grant hadn’t been Hispanic, so the man must be a friend of the family, or maybe someone he’d worked with. He held an old-fashioned black fedora hat on his lap.

“You are the one who took out the attacker, yes?”

He gave her a searching look, and she took a deep breath. More than one person had tried to talk to her about that already today. The old man was looking at her, his brows raised, and she felt like she needed to answer him. “Yes,” she said reluctantly.

“Did you know he was a gang member?”

“We suspected he was, because of the woman he was looking for.”

“Well,” the man said with a heavy sigh, settling the hat on his head. “Sometimes, the young have moremachismothan sense. You saved a lot of people.” The old man held out his hand, and Baylee took it, automatically. He leaned in toward her, his dark eyes gaining an intensity that hadn’t been there before. “You are a jewel, Ms. Mitchell, and I want to assure you that no one will be coming after you. Chino Vega was a walking dead man. You just corrected him before I had a chance to.”

Baylee blinked, wondering if she’d heard what she thought she heard. Frowning, she tried to pull her hand back, but the old man held it more firmly now.

“Don’t be alarmed,” he admonished, smiling at her lightly. Now, though, she could see the hint of threat. “If I had wanted to kill you, I could have done it a long time ago. Even in the middle of this grieving crowd. This is my way of proving to you that you are safe. I have no need to kill you. None of my Syndicate will killyou. I give you my word. Chino Vega and his Tango were a thorn in my side, and you rectified the situation for me. And I rectified the situation with Hector for you. Luis,” he made a face, “Luis is young, and I will take him in hand. I promise you that.”

He lifted her hand to his lips and pressed a kiss to her knuckles.

Baylee’s heart was racing, and she tried to look for Landon, but the old man had positioned himself directly in her line of sight. To the side, the funeral director stood up to draw everyone’s attention. The hearse doors were opening, and the ushers were removing the coffin.

“And now, I have to go,” the man said, glancing toward the front. “Please, I came to pay my respects to the family, but maybe you can do that for me. I know your police friend is watching, but it’s in his best interest if you don’t react when I leave. Have a wonderful day,soldaderaMitchell.” He started to turn away but paused. “Oh, and your car is taken care of. It will be in your driveway when you get home.”

Finally, he let go of her hand, stood up, and faded into the crowd.

Landon felthis phone buzz in his pocket, and he pulled it out, then swiped open the message from Cass.

One of my informants says the head of the Texas Syndicate is going to be here.He’s not sure why.

Fear raced through him, and he searched for Baylee. He could see the edge of her dress, but her face was blocked by the old man beside her. The old Hispanic man.

Landon started moving, fear filling his heart. Everything was probably all right, but he needed to see her. He needed to see her face and make sure she was all right.

People were moving to the right, and he really didn’t want to disrupt a funeral, but he would if it meant keeping her safe. Then the crowd cleared, and he saw her. She was standing and looking straight at him. Even from this distance, he could see the fear in her wide eyes and open mouth. But she shook her head at him adamantly and made a halting motion with her hands. Then, very carefully, she smoothed her skirt and sat back down in her chair.

Everything in him screamed to move forward, but she seemed to be okay. There was no sense causing a scene if he didn’t have to. Despite the pounding drive to keep her safe, he waited.

Landon was sure the service was beautiful, but he was only peripherally aware of it. All his attention was on Baylee and making sure she stayed safe. She sat perfectly straight in her chair, the seat beside her now empty. The crowd had gone still for the ceremony, and there was no one moving anywhere else in the cemetery that he could see. He typed Cass a message that something had happened, but that Baylee seemed okay. They would meet up after the service.

As soon as the crowd disbursed, he waded through to Baylee and took her elbow in his hand. “What happened,” he hissed.

Her eyes met his for a long moment. “Not here,” she said.

They walked out of the cemetery and went straight to his car, on the far access road. The line of attendee cars moved slowly through the manicured grounds as they left. As soon as they reached his car, he took her into his arms.

Baylee sagged into him, and he could feel the slightest quiver shaking her body.

Landon breathed in her hair, resting his jaw on top of her head. It was totally unprofessional, and if anyone saw them, he would have some serious explaining to do, but he felt like they were pretty secluded. He held her for a long minute, beforedrawing back enough to kiss her. She cupped his cheeks in her hands and rested her face against his own as she breathed.

“What happened,” he asked again.

She drew back enough to look up at him, and she related the conversation with the old man. As he listened to the details, his blood chilled. He glanced around, but he knew he wouldn’t see anyone. “Get in the car,” he growled.

Landon secured her inside the vehicle, then circled and got in. Before he took off, he sent Cass and Morgan a message to meet up at the station. “I’m going to need you to do an official statement, Baylee.”

She nodded, drawing the seatbelt across herself. “I thought you would.”