Saint (34 page)

She flinched at his vicious tone. “What?”
She blinked at him.

“Get dressed and get your ass downstairs.”
He grabbed his pants from the chair and pulled them on.

“Seth—”

The door slammed behind him with such force
Maria jumped, along with the windowpanes. What had happened between the time
she fell asleep and this morning to make him turn on her like a rabid dog?

Scrambling from the bed, she reached for
her clothes, pausing to look out the window as she passed.

“Oh my God!” Not yet! Bethy! They’d brought
Bethy back with them. She threw on her clothes and raced down the stairs. Seth
was standing on the porch when she burst through the screen door, his eyes cold
and accusing as the parade made their way up the drive. Three soldiers, a
stripper, and a teapot-toting five-year-old who looked enough like her for
anyone to—

“Mommy!” Bethy squealed happily when she
caught sight of her, breaking away from Joan’s side.

Maria started for the edge of the steps,
but Seth’s forearm across her middle halted her.

“Mommy?” he repeated dangerously low.

“It’s not what it looks like. Seth, listen
to me—”

“Separate them,” he barked out the order.

Joan caught Bethy up in his massive arms,
her protesting screech ringing in Maria’s ears as Seth caught her arm.

“Mommy!”

“Bethy!” She struggled against the hold he
had on her. “What are doing? Let me go!”

He hauled her off her feet, practically
ripping the screen door off its hinges before striding roughly down the hall to
the back of the house. When they reached the study, he kicked the study door
shut and threw her on the couch.

For one stark moment she thought he was
going to strike her. Her face must have blanched white because he backed off a
step. She felt sick inside. She’d never intended for him to find out this way.
Not now, not after… “Let me explain—”

“Move from that spot and God help you, you’ll
find out firsthand what I’m capable of,” he warned.

“Bethy’s not my daughter, she’s my niece.”

“I don’t fucking care whose kid she is! You
kept her existence a secret purposely. And dammit, that’s the last time you’ll
lie to me.”

“I didn’t have any choice, Seth. If you’ll
calm down and listen to me… I can explain—”

“Everything out of your mouth is a lie.”

That hurt. But then he’d meant for it to.

“Things okay in there, Colonel?” Francis
called through the door.

“Fucking peachy,” he spat over his
shoulder. “And if you don’t have that list, you might as well stop breathing
right now.”

“Right.” Francis shuffled away from the
door.

Maria swallowed hard. “I was going to tell
you. This morning, as a matter of fact. It was the only safety net I had,
putting her with Lolita. I couldn’t take the chance Juarez would find her and—I
did what I thought was best under the circumstances!”

“Best for whom?” he shot back viciously. “Not
the child, certainly. What would you have done if Juarez had found her? How the
hell did you expect that woman to protect a helpless little girl from a twisted
bastard like Juarez? All you can think about is clearing your sainted brother’s
name. Believe me, it would have only been a matter of time before he found the
connection and went after her.” He moved swiftly, catching her upper arms. “Why?”
he ground out, giving her a hard shake.

Tears formed in the back of her eyes. He
made her actions sound so crass, so completely selfish. “There was no one else
I could trust,” she whispered.

“There was me.”

He released her and she fell back against
the cracked leather, wrapping her arms around her waist. “I need to see her,
Seth. She’s probably scared and worried after witnessing that scene on the
porch.”

“You won’t be seeing her until the trial’s
over. The three of you will be separated indefinitely.”

“What? No!” Her eyes widened in disbelief. “You
can’t do that! Bethy—”

“I can and I will,” he stated implacably. “I
won’t be responsible for the senseless death of another…
Francis!
”

The door swung open before the last
syllable died on his lips. “Hiya, Angelface.” Francis’ expression said he was
less than enthusiastic about the latest turn of events.

Seth held out his hand. “The list.”

Francis dug the folded sheet from his
pocket. “Sorry it took so long but Lolita was a bit uncooperative at first.”

“Did Gabe visit Juarez?”

“Yeah. Right about now Hocksteder’s balls
should be in a vise.”

“You must be losing your touch,” Seth
grunted, glancing over the list.

“The kid threw me. We kinda got off to a
rocky start with Lolita. Gabe sweet-talked her around, though.”

Maria left the couch, heedless of the
warning he’d given her minutes before. He could go to hell. “Francis, I’m
really sorry about this, but please understand. I was afraid to trust any one
person with too much information. Agents were dying all around me, Juarez was
on my trail and—” She broke off inadequately, massaging her temples where a
dull ache was starting to form. What was left to say? She’d done the best she could
and was tired of apologizing for it. She could tell by the look on his face
that nothing she said would make any difference.

Francis shook his head regrettably. “We may
not be the most honest pack of heathens to ever walk the earth, or the sanest,
but one thing we are is trustworthy and loyal. You should have trusted us,
Maria. Basically, we’re not such a bad lot.”

“We have to spread out.” Seth folded the
list and shoved it in his pocket. “Pack up, Maria. You’re going with Francis.”

“I’m not leaving Bethy.”

His hard blue eyes flashed cryptically as
he stepped toward her, looking as though he’d like nothing better than to choke
the life from her. But Francis moved smoothly between them, giving Seth time to
compose himself.

“I’ll take care of it, Colonel.”

“Keep tabs on the L.A. newscasts. The date
for the trial will be flashed all over the networks. Bringing down a drug lord
is good for business.”

“Will do.”

Seth didn’t even look at her before turning
on his heel to leave.

Disappointed, Francis shook his head. “Of
all the things to hold back, Angelface, this was the worst thing you could
possibly have picked.”

“I’m not some sort of…emotionless monster.
I had very few choices at the time. There’s no one left alive in my family. My
grandparents are gone, my parents, my brother. I couldn’t even tell Will
because I was afraid somehow it would leak out. And I was right. I know Seth’s
upset because I kept it from him, but that’s no reason for him to be cruel.
Bethy’s been through enough.”

He took her by the shoulders, serious now. “Look,
Angel, it’s too dangerous to keep the three of you together. I’m not saying you
made a mistake by putting Bethy with Lolita—it was a good move at the time—but
you should have told the colonel right off the bat. I know he questioned you
about friends or family, that’s just standard procedure. He tries to cover all
the bases. You blindsided him. Now, Bethy and Lolita are in just as much danger
from Juarez as you are. The colonel’s not separating the three of you to be
cruel. Bethy’s gonna be fine. She’s decided she wants to be a general when she
grows up. C’mon now, don’t cry. I hate it when women cry.” He rooted through
his pockets for a handkerchief, dabbing at the escaped drops lining her lashes.

A commotion outside the door brought them
both around. Lolita’s shrill tone echoed through the hall. “I’ll shoot you dead
on the spot unless I lay eyes on Maria in the next ten seconds. And I don’t
care if you are black. I’m an equal opportunity shooter.”

It would have been funny if Maria didn’t
feel as though her heart had been cut out.

The redhead continued, her voice carrying
clearly through the closed door. “I’ve been kidnapped,
twice
, terrorized, bodily searched and
dragged to this Godforsaken broken-down house in the middle of nowhere over a
key and lousy piece of paper I didn’t even get to read. And another thing, you
stop telling that kid about Joan of Arc getting burned at the stake. What kind
of freaky fairy tale is that anyway? You’ll give her nightmares. Maria! Are you
in there?”

Francis opened the door, deftly relieving
Lolita of her weapon. “Didn’t anybody ever tell you it’s dangerous to play with
guns?”

“Maria!” Lolita puckered up, crocodile
tears forming in her eyes. “I’m sorry! I tried, I really did. But these goons
and…” She snatched the handkerchief Joan offered and broke down sobbing.

Maria spent the next fifteen minutes
calming the distraught Lolita. Finally, she was able to get away and go in
search of Bethy. But the child was nowhere to be found.

She found Gabriel in the kitchen fixing a
sandwich. “Where’s Bethy?”

“Gone.”

“Gone? Gone where?”

“Forget it, M. Telling you would defeat the
purpose.”

Her stomach clenched painfully. “Where’s
Seth?” she demanded through gritted teeth. To hell with giving him time to calm
down. He was going to listen to her. Now.

“He’s already split. You really pissed him
off good this time.”

“He…he took Bethy and left?” Suddenly her
knees felt weak. She grabbed onto the back of the nearest chair for support.

“I didn’t say he took the kid.”

“Then where is she?” she shouted, fingers
tightening around the back of the chair.

He didn’t answer. All he said was, “Get
packed. Francis doesn’t like to be kept waiting.”

Chapter Fifteen

Francis was Maria’s saving grace during the
weeks that followed. He moved her from one no-name motel to the next, kept up
their jogging routine, taught her to play poker and sang dirty ditties.
Sometimes they slept out under the stars. Francis refused to discuss Seth or
the situation, otherwise the problems of the world were theirs to solve.

Then the day came when Francis received a
message that it was safe for her to reclaim her life. Benito Juarez was found
dead in his bed, the cause of death apparently being a massive brain hemorrhage
resulting from a blood clot.

“Just like that, huh?” She folded her arms,
eyeing Francis skeptically. “From a blood clot? How convenient.”

“You shouldn’t mock the fates, Angelface.
Just be glad it’s him and not you.”

He delivered her to her house in Los
Angeles himself, on the back of his newly acquired hog. “See you around,
Angelface. Don’t get into any more trouble if you can help it.” With a wink and
a smile he sped off.

Bethy followed a day later, all smiles and
chattering about her recent adventure.

And just like that, it was over.

* * * * *

Nina found her beloved Benito dead in their
bed when she returned from an evening out with friends. The incompetent coroner
who performed the autopsy reported a massive brain hemorrhage resulting from a
blood clot as the cause for death.

Nina knew better. An expert with the knife
herself, she found the small but lethal wound and knew the truth. Benito was
dead because of the woman.

She was inconsolable in her grief and
wished fervently her friend Jared Dempsy were alive to offer solace.

It was more than she could stand. Not
enough blood covered her naked form. The metallic taste did nothing to soothe
her frazzled nerves. She ached deep inside her soul for the loss of her lover,
her husband. Who, now, would love her forever? How could she ever know peace again?

Everything she loved was gone.

All because of the woman.

Fools, all of them. Did they not yet
realize
she
was the
power? The one who held the reins of the vast Juarez empire, its lifeblood.
Manuel Juarez had left everything to his daughter to spite his only son, hoping
to drive a wedge between she and Benito. To punish Benito for loving her so
much. But she had outwitted the old man and kept Benito in the bargain. Stupid
old man. She had seen his secretive will long before his untimely demise.

“The woman must die, Jared.” She spoke
mournfully to the pile of rotting bones carefully arranged on the blood-soaked
earthen floor. “She must be punished for the pain she has caused me. She must
feel the power of my knife. But it will not stroke her lovingly as it did you.
No, her I will torture in the most painful of ways.”

Not enough blood.

She stood and wrapped the cloak around her
naked body.

“Seal the room,” Nina directed the guard
outside the door. “Then build a wall. I must take Benito home.”

* * * * *

Harris’ Mountain

Seth lay in bed, staring up at the ceiling.
He had done what needed to be done, simple as that. There was no regret. Had he
waited, like the last time, the situation would have escalated out of control
and more blood would have been shed. Innocent blood.