Read Online Born Into Love by Catherine LaClaire - Free Book Online Page A

existed as something other than Mercedes’ dream man. Being sick to one’s stomach was more dramatic for him than for humans. When his bout ended, his only consolation came from having no witnesses.
    He washed his face and when he glanced up, Remy and the thug entered. Diego hid his condition with a smile and a squaring of his shoulders. Had he not faced down surly mariners and greedy compadres? “Not satisfied with stalking my neighbor, you now seek me?”
    Remy’s luncheon partner leaned against the bathroom door preventing anyone from entering. Procteur moved to the sink next to Diego and washed his hands.
    “What I can’t figure out Castilla, is how your family history makes sense.”
    “Ask a genealogist.”
    A smirk smoothed his lips. “I have. He’s at a loss.”
    “Don’t look at me. I wasn’t around till thirty-five years ago.” The number he had selected worked well enough because of its proximity to the age when he actually died.
    “Too bad your parents vanished at sea.” He hesitated. “Your only relatives are missionaries in the Amazon? Does that sound right to you?”
    “They were. They passed away last year with a fever.”
    “Why is it so hard to find the female line of your fabulous family? Tell me that.”
    The weakness passed. “Get out of my way.”
    Procteur sidestepped like a cabaret dancer. “Know what I think? You’re up to your eyeballs in crime. What’re you hiding? If you were trafficking in drugs, I’d know. Maybe you’re a spy?”
    Someone in a hurry banged on the door. Using his thick torso, Procteur’s buddy pushed off from the door. Remy narrowed his icy eyes. “You’re a crook and I’m going to cut myself in.”
    If nothing else, his verb usage showed promise. Diego walked to the door, pulled it open so the anxious gentleman on the other side could use the facilities. He stepped into a small foyer and waited for their attack. Remy and associate did not follow.
    After that encounter, the business meeting rated as anticlimactic. Diego went where his heart yearned to be—down to the museum workshop. Mercedes turned the key in the cabinet and did not glance his way.
    “I recognized your footfall. You strike a little harder with one foot.”
    An Inca lance had pierced his calf. Because of his situation, his body had no scars, but he favored the leg because his past played games with him. “I should have gotten here sooner. I could have seen the pieces.”
    Mercedes hesitated. “Want to examine them?”
    “No.”
    “Not even the pitcher?”
    He had not seen the artifacts in ages another twenty-four hours would not matter. “Tomorrow will be soon enough.”
    By the time they approached Mercedes’ home her energy waned. He escorted her to the door. “If you would like a swim later, you would be welcome.”
    “I don’t know. It depends.”
    He hid his disappointment and she said good-bye. Daylight always took a toll. His body ached and nothing could cure it but darkness and cold stone. When he entered the house, Luz escorted him to his chamber. A bowl filled with cattle blood rested on a carved granite table that belonged in a proper garden. He drank and settled his body onto his resting place. Grains from the village where he’d lost the most important battle of his life kneaded the muscles of his back.
    Several hours later he surprised Luz as she reached for another DVD. “Master, will you join me?”
    “I must leave. Should Mercedes arrive, entertain her.” Luz seemed puzzled.
    “I intended to say something about her, but it’s slipped my mind.”
    “Do not fret. What happened when you checked on Annie?”
    “As instructed by the doctor, she stayed lying down. We had orange juice and watched deliverymen return three tables and four chintz armchairs that had been refurbished. Not the fabric I would have chosen. She spoke with a man on the phone. I heard his voice.”
    “I met him. He has known evil.”
    Luz nodded. “Doesn’t matter what century