The streets of Cartagena were humming in a way that didn’t bring to mind jovial music and laughter. A frenetic fear was in the air. Vendors who would normally accost you on the street to make a sale were a little more hesitant with all the military trucks rolling down the streets of the marketplace.
Gil walked by a grand structure with brightly colored tiles adorning the outside and elegant archways framing the first story, shielding the porch from the hot Colombian sun. Woven baskets were stacked high against the inside of the porch, one on top of the other. The second floor balconies were beautifully decorated with colorful potted plants that trailed over the railing, almost down to the first floor.
Vendors hurried to put their items for sale on their carts. Every so often, a military vehicle would roll down the center of the street, commanding their attention. The vendors stood for a fraction of a moment and stared, wondering who had caused such a disturbance in their otherwise routine lives.
Gil walked past them without looking. If they only knew all this fuss was for a little baby who never should have been in Colombia in the first place.
People were nervous. He could feel it like the pulse in his hand. Even if people hadn’t heard about Eduardo Sanchez’s press conference or didn’t care, they knew something was up.
In a country where the law was a blurred line that was easily crossed, people turned inward as a matter of survival. They knew the dust would settle eventually. But it usually involved bloodshed and someone’s disappearance.
Right now, the quaint balconies that the locals sat on in the early morning before the heat became unbearable were empty except for the flowers in their pots. People laughed and bartered and went on with their daily lives, but every so often he could see them scanning the streets, as if searching for the source of unrest.
Gil didn’t know where he was going. He just walked. As he reached the old military dungeons that had been transformed into quaint shops, he realized he never should have brought his team to Colombia. No matter how quick Sonny was to let him off the hook, Gil knew he’d put his team in danger. She hadn’t judged him but it didn’t matter. He didn’t have a harsher critic than himself.
That speech Sonny had given him about not blaming himself had to do with her brother Cash. Gil was sure of it. Had people blamed him unjustly? Was there more to his story than anyone was giving credence to?
It happened all the time, as he well knew. People’s lives could easily be destroyed by false accusations and a rush to judgment. It wasn’t his place to judge Cash Montgomery or his sister. But he had anyway, he realized.
Gil had always been of the belief that if you didn’t have something to hide, then you let justice take its course. Only guilty people ran. That’s what his first partner, Bruce, had always said.
That was a joke, he thought, wiping the sweat off his forehead with the back of his hand. Guilty people didn’t always run. And sometimes, the people who loved them intervened with deadly force out of revenge or fear. That’s what had happened to his partner, Bruce. They hadn’t underestimated the danger of the fugitive they were trying to apprehend, but they had underestimated his wife, who put a bullet in Bruce’s head. Now Bruce’s wife was a widow.
Bruce and Karen had been married only two years. But it seemed like so much longer. She’d wanted Bruce to get out of bounty hunting so they could start a family. He’d wanted his last bounty to be a big one and it cost him his life. That’s it, adios amigo.
The last time Gil had seen Karen, she’d said she was happy. She was married again to a cop who already had two children from a previous marriage. But when she looked at her new husband, Gil couldn’t see that sparkle in her eye she’d always had when she’d looked at Bruce. And when Bruce had looked at her.
Only guilty people run. Well, not in Bruce’s case. Justice hadn’t prevailed and no one was doing time in the state penitentiary for killing him. I’m not going to take the chance of losing another partner just for a bounty.
How Sonny could so easily let him off the hook for putting her life in further danger was beyond him. But then, the woman was a tough one to figure out. She had determination, guts—not every woman would go head-to-head in a hot zone with a kingpin like Eduardo Sanchez. Gil actually didn’t know if that amounted to bravery or insanity.
And Sonny had faith. He couldn’t help but wonder if leaving his faith behind had been where he’d taken the wrong road in his life.
He continued to walk for a while, listening to the chatter of the people but not really taking it in. He came to the brick footpath leading to Castillo de San Felipe de Barajas, one of the many fortresses built on the coast of Cartagena to protect the city from pirates in the sixteenth century. From the top of the fortress, he could see the whole city and the Caribbean Sea. It was strange, he thought, that the walls could protect the city from those outside it, but not from those inside—like Eduardo Sanchez.
Colombia adored Eduardo Sanchez. The people here would go to great lengths to thank him for the work he’d done, including putting military soldiers on the Aztec Corporation payroll. Heads were turned when the right amount of money was flashed in front of them.
Marco had found good information about Eduardo Sanchez and the Aztec Corporation. But what Sonny knew would help them move in the right direction more quickly.
Gil made his way back toward the square and stopped at a cart to look at some brightly woven cloth the vendor was selling. Just then, a military truck passed him, slowing to a stop. Gil saw four soldiers in the back, their guns trained on the crowd of people in the square.
They were definitely looking for something or someone. But Gil couldn’t allow paranoia to make him think it was Ellie.
He dropped the fabric back on the cart, much to the protest of the vendor, who continued to yell after him as Gil walked away.
The soldiers jumped off the back of the truck and walked through the square, stopping tourists with small children, talking to street vendors. With a shake of their heads, the soldiers moved on. The relief in the tourists’ faces was evident.
The cathedral, one of Cartagena’s grandest structures that could be seen from anywhere in the city, was just a few hundred feet away. There were many beautiful old churches in Cartagena, some as old as the city itself. But the elegant cathedral, with its high spire and ornate design, was the grand dame of them all. It seemed to beckon Gil to come inside.
Gil looked up at the stone face and wondered why he’d ended up here. He hadn’t sought out the company of the Lord in many years. But then, he’d found many surprises on this trip. He surprised himself once more by climbing the stone steps, pulling on the brass door handle and walking inside.
Gil found an empty bench and did something he hadn’t done in many years. He bent his head, and he prayed.
“Why is he being so hard on himself?” Sonny asked Cooper as she burped the baby over her shoulder. “This isn’t his fault. Well, not completely.”
Cooper rolled her eyes. “It’s a character flaw. He has this thing about being the mighty man. He never got over his childhood dream of being a superhero.”
Sonny chuckled, and was surprised that even with the sound of commotion on the streets outside the courtyard she was still able to laugh. But Cooper didn’t laugh. The faraway look in her eyes told Sonny that she was worried. She wasn’t the only one.
“I get the feeling he’s very protective of you, too,” Sonny said.
Cooper shrugged, then picked at a colorful flower by the stone bench she was sitting on. “He claims it’s part of his charm but I find it totally annoying. He thinks he needs to protect everyone.”
“Why?”
She blew out a quick breath. “He’d kill me if I told you.”
Curious, Sonny settled Ellie on her lap and gave her a rattle to play with. “So don’t tell him you told me.”
Cooper gave a quick laugh. “Did he tell you he used to be in Special Forces?”
She shook her head. “It doesn’t surprise me, though.”
“Why?”
“He reminds me of my brother Dylan. Code of honor and all that.”
“Like I said, annoying,” Cooper sputtered.
“Oh, I don’t know about that.”
“Years ago, Gil lost a member of his team in a raid while trying to apprehend a fugitive,” Cooper explained.
Sonny gasped. “That must have been awful.”
“I never met the man. It was before I joined on. But the guy tried to play hero by breaking up a fight. See, the wife of the criminal he was trying to find didn’t know the guy was on the run. I guess it was common for him to do this vanishing act every now and then, and she’d just accepted it as part of their marriage.”
Sonny made a face. “Strange.”
“Yeah, I know. Anyway, the rent was due, the thug didn’t have it and wifey had a fit. In comes Gil and his partner, Captain Courageous—I think his name was Bruce—looking to collect their fugitive, right in the middle of the fight.”
“What happened?”
“Gil sent the wife in the other room while they put the cuffs on the husband. Gil thought it was odd he didn’t try to run. Most fugitives run when they see us coming. It was just long enough for her to go into the bedroom and get a gun.”
“He didn’t see the gun?”
“Gil? No. But Bruce did. That’s when he decided to be a hero and step in front of a bullet to protect his fugitive. The dirtbag fugitive. He didn’t want to lose that bounty.”
“Wow.”
“Yeah, things don’t get much heavier than that.”
“And Gil feels responsible?”
Cooper threw her hands up in the air and pasted on a mock smile. “He’s big brother to all.”
“I can see why it would affect Gil, but he can’t blame himself for that. He didn’t know.”
“You don’t know Gil like I do. He feels responsible.”
“He didn’t shoot his partner.”
Cooper shook her head. “Doesn’t matter. It was his call to go into the house in the first place. Bruce wanted to wait until the suspect came out. His call, his responsibility. Gil doesn’t see it any other way.”
“Like at the airport.”
She shrugged. “Right. The worst part was when it went to trial, the wife got off because she said she thought Gil and Bruce were burglars coming to rob the place.”
“And the jury believed that?”
“Yeah. No justice.”
Sonny knew there was a whole lot of difference between what had happened to Gil’s partner and what was happening now. But she doubted Gil saw it that way.
His call, his responsibility.
“I need to change Ellie’s diaper,” Sonny said, getting up from the bench. She went into the bedroom, grabbed a towel and placed it on the bed. The baby didn’t seem content to stay still on the towel and tried to roll over onto her side with all her might. With one hand on Ellie’s stomach to still her, Sonny fished through the suitcase on the floor for a fresh diaper.
“Not for nothing, Sonny,” Cooper said, coming into the room, “but Gil doesn’t need another distraction, if you know what I mean.”
Sonny looked up sharply, her hand still on the baby. “No, I don’t know what you mean.”
She looked at Sonny for a long moment and then shook her head. “Forget it.”
“I can’t forget it,” Sonny said. “It’s out there. What do you mean?”
Cooper rolled her eyes. “Come on, Sonny. You don’t see the way he looks at you?”
Heat crept up her cheeks. “He looks at me like he’s angry all the time. Yeah, I see that.”
Cooper’s mouth dropped open. “Fine. Okay, forget I said anything. I thought maybe you could read men a little better than that.” She grabbed her empty suitcase and shoved it on the bed. She tossed the clothes she’d had in the bureau drawers into it and zipped it shut before looking at Sonny again.
As she placed the packed suitcase on the floor, she added, “A woman knows when a man looks at her if he means her harm…or if he’s in love. But hey, it’s none of my business, you know?”
“Is that a warning?”
“Only if you’re looking to protect yourself. I’ve never seen him like this. You’ve got him all stirred up and that’s scary. He’s always been the one in control.”
Sonny couldn’t find the words to answer and instead watched Cooper walk out of the bedroom, leaving her suitcase on the unmade bed. Maid service hadn’t been by because they’d put the “Do Not Disturb” sign on the door. They didn’t want anyone poking around inside the villa.
Sonny closed her eyes. She wasn’t a stupid woman and she knew Gil didn’t mean her any harm, regardless of how much they argued over their situation. She had seen something in his eyes last night as they talked and then again this morning before he left for his walk.
Sonny could no longer deny she had a strong attraction to Gil. Especially since it was obvious from Cooper’s comment that whatever it was they were feeling was clear to the others.
It had been easy to push aside her feelings at first.
Gil wanted information about Cash, and she couldn’t give it to him. She wouldn’t have given it to him even if she could. But he’d stopped asking, and something had shifted between them. And now Sonny had no idea how to deal with her fear that she was falling in love with Gil. No idea at all.