Total pages in book: 102
Estimated words: 96206 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 481(@200wpm)___ 385(@250wpm)___ 321(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 96206 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 481(@200wpm)___ 385(@250wpm)___ 321(@300wpm)
Trees got that, but it didn’t tell him what he really wanted to know. “What do you think her feelings for Ramos are?”
“Are you asking because you want to know what yours should be? Man, I can’t tell you how to feel about her.”
“I’m not asking you to. I doubt I could stop loving her if I tried. I just don’t know if I can trust her.” Trees sighed, feeling suddenly exhausted. “Thing is, she gave me this elaborate story to explain her backstab. It fits…but I’m not sure I believe it. I need a more objective perspective.”
“I’ll be honest, I’ve gone back and forth a couple of times because Laila’s choices don’t add up. On the surface, what she told you—that she’s always belonged to Victor and loves the rough sex they have—seems like the most obvious scenario. But if that’s the case…then a lot of her other behavior makes no sense. I mean, she was emotional when you said you wanted her for life. And she kissed you like you were her everything. But the instant you insisted on rescuing her from Ramos, she turned on you and claimed he was her man and all that shit. If that was true, why did she do everything short of tackle you to keep you hidden from him? And why did she misdirect Ramos and focus his attention away from you and onto Montilla?”
“I’ve had similar thoughts.” Trees squeezed the phone. “What happened after Ramos shot me?”
“And you fell on your head? Dude, Laila sobbed like her world was ending. Then she dropped to her knees and did her best to stem your bleeding.”
Also just as Laila had claimed. “Anything else?”
“In retrospect, I gotta give her credit. She begged me silently to help you without giving away my position. She never asked for any help for herself. And when the mechanic came after you with a blowtorch, she nearly lost her shit. But she couldn’t help you. She tried. I overheard her offering herself like a sacrifice to Ramos forever if he would get you medical attention.”
Trees sucked in a shocked breath. “You don’t think it was a ploy?”
“How would that have helped her cause?” Matt challenged. “In the end, it didn’t matter because, after Ramos dragged her away by her hair, he accused her of being in love with you. That’s when I began to wonder if I’d been looking at the situation all wrong.”
Trees understood. He was definitely wondering that now, too.
“But then she sent you that shitty video of them in bed, and…I started questioning everything again.”
So Matt couldn’t shed any light. Then again, the guy was right. Matt couldn’t tell him how to feel about Laila. As much as Trees hated it, he was either going to have to take a leap of faith or cut her out of his heart…somehow.
“Same, but thanks for your opinion,” he told Matt. “I owe you, and not just for saving my life.”
“You’re welcome. The Edgingtons have offered me a full-time gig if I want it. I’m past due to return to Wyoming, but…”
“You’re thinking about staying?”
He hesitated. “There’s nothing for me back there.”
No friends? No family? No women falling all over themselves to be with a hot, hunky cowboy type? “Here ain’t a bad place, man.”
“Different than where I came from. What about you? Every so often, I hear the South in your voice, but it’s not like any accent from these parts.”
“I’m from coal mining country in West Virginia. Here’s really different. But I like it. The bosses can be tough, but they expect results. They only hire the best. I hope you’ll think about it. We’ve been short-staffed, and it wouldn’t suck to have you around. I wouldn’t be alive if you weren’t.”
“Thanks. I’m definitely thinking about it. And I hope you figure this thing out with Laila soon. And I’ll stay diligent out here, because Ramos probably knows you’re alive by now and he’s out for your blood.”
Trees figured as much. But what about Laila? That was the million-dollar question, and he didn’t have an answer. Either she was keeping him occupied so her lover could sneak up on him and blow his brains out or she’d been telling the truth about her power play to use Ramos as a pawn to weaken Montilla, keep her family safe, and protect the bodyguard who had fallen for her.
He plucked up Ramos’s phone again, turning it in his hands. Laila hadn’t had this device when he’d run into her in La Pesca. And if she’d had a phone of her own, why would she have stolen Ramos’s? For the information on it? Maybe. But the more likely scenario was that she hadn’t had one of her own and had needed a way to contact her sister. She’d done that through a gaming app, right? Why choose that method if she had her own phone and could simply call or text? And if she hadn’t been carrying a phone then, that probably meant she’d used Ramos’s to film their fucking.