operates in Mexico. His name is Salvador. I forwarded the lead to my connections at the FBI but Salvador was tipped off before we could get there.” He lets go of me and starts pacing again. I can see that he is tortured by guilt. I move in to comfort him but I can see the anger in his eyes so I don’t touch him. I am not sure what to do or say at this point so I just stand there.
“Lily was sold back to the Polski brothers almost five years ago. I know that she is here in Portland. Knowing that I am so close again to finding her kills me. I cannot fail this time.”
I ignore his angered expression and I take his hand in mine. “James, we will find her and get her back. I will help you.”
“No! Eva, you are not going back. We are both leaving tonight and I am taking you somewhere safe. You can finally be reunited with your family. I am not letting you go.”
Looking at me square in the eyes , I can see he has made up his mind. I would love to leave this place and never go back to the Parish but I can’t do that.
If we go to the authorities they will be tipped off. They will pack up and move and we will never find Lily. I will also lose my best friend Gabi. I have no choice but to go back. I just can’t tell James.
“What about finding Lily? We have to get her. You are so close , James.” I plead with him knowing that I can’t change his mind but I have to try.
“Eva, I am not letting you go. End of discussion.”
“Okay , James. But what about Lily?”
“Remember Dobbs? He is my private investigator. He is ex-special ops and an experienced hostage negotiator. He is more than capable of handling it. I’ll take you to my safe house and I will come back to help Dobbs with the rescue mission.”
“What was that argument about when he was here last time?” I couldn’t shake the feeling that I caused it.
“It was just a disagreement on how to handle the situation with you. It’s nothing.” He shrugs his shoulders and doesn’t really give me an answer.
“James, that is not good enough. What about me?” I ask.
He sighs deeply and runs his fingers through his hair in frustration. “Eva, we didn’t know before if you were in on this operation since you are related. He had doubts. I didn’t. It is that simple.”
“Oh. So we were both getting bad advice from our friends, huh?” I smile at him and kiss his cheek.
“Who gave you advice about me? Did you tell anyone about us?” Worry wrinkles his face and I wish I could take back what I said.
“James, don’t worry. She is my best friend in the whole world. She has looked out for me since the very beginning. We tell each other secrets all of the time. Gabi is the only person that I could trust before I met you.”
“How do you know that she didn’t tell the Polski brothers?”
“Because, she is like my sister. She would never tell anyone.” I try and convince him of this but I suspect that it is a lost cause.
“James, we talked about you after our first date. I just told her that you were different. That you were a gentleman. That I thought that I was falling for you.” I look up at him and I can see a big smile on his face.
“Oh , Eva, I fell for you that night, too. You are the most amazing woman that I have ever met. You deserve the best of everything. I am not letting those scumbags put another hand on you ever again.”
Kissing him I can feel our connection stronger than ever this morning. I feel my body heat up with each flick of his tongue and soft caress of his lips. “Oh , James. I love you.”
He stops kissing me and looks down with his smoldering eyes, “I love you, too. My Eva.”
His phone rings and our romantic kiss is interrupted.
“Hey , Dobbs. What’s up?” James stands up and moves away from me.
He walks into the other room and again I am left out of the conversation. Argh! It is so frustrating!