Nod. Step.
“You’re my husband’s cousin.”
“I am.”
“Ah. And you talk, too. I was starting to believe you didn’t have the capacity.” There is a teasing quality to her voice, but unlike Shay teasing it’s not meant to offend, only just to be friendly.
She relaxes her head onto her shoulder, angled just so, her brown eyes looking straight into my green ones. My brows pull together in confusion when she makes no attempt to lower her gaze and gawk at my scars. They are usually the first thing people see when they look at me. But Rosa is perfectly content just staring into my eyes. It’s unnerving, to say the least.
“Why are you here, Colin? Not looking for my husband since I’m sure you know his whereabouts better than I do.” She laughs sullenly, the sad melodic tune only serving to unnerve me further.
“The boss has requested that I be your bodyguard for the time being,” I explain.
“Bodyguard? Aren’t the prison guards with AK47s standing outside my room enough to keep me safe in my cell? Or is my husband fearful that one night he might come home and find that I’ve flung myself out the window? If that’s the case, remind him that these windows are all made from bulletproof glass. It will take more than a chair to break any of them.” She knocks on the glass to drive her point home.
“Are you suicidal?” I question hurriedly, worried that her mind went there.
“No, Colin. Sadness and homesickness have not yet made me that desperate. Ask me again in a month’s time. Maybe my answer will be different.”
My Adam’s apple bobs away as apprehension sinks its ugly claws into my chest, sure to leave its mark.
“I’ve made you uncomfortable.” She sighs. “I’m sorry. I guess you just caught me at a bad time.”
When I don’t say anything in return, her chestnut gaze sparkles with curiosity.
“You’re not much for words, are you, Colin?”
I shake my head.
“Then maybe my husband got something right after all. If I’m to have a bodyguard, I’d much rather it be someone who didn’t need to fill the silence with useless chatter. It would be awfully tiresome if I had to spend my days making small talk, when I’m perfectly content having deep, meaningful conversations with my conscience.”
She throws me a meek smile, and I hate how my chest suddenly tightens.
“So, bodyguard, what exactly are you here to do? Watch me do nothing? If that’s the case, then I can tell you right now that you’ll be begging Tiernan for another job in no time.”
“What would you like to do?” I ask, my soft voice sounding odd to my ears.
She cracks a smile. The first genuine one I’ve seen so far on her lips since I’ve known her.
“What can I do confined to this cell?”
“We could leave.”
“Leave?” she repeats suspiciously.
I nod.
“And go where?”
“Wherever you want.”
“Mexico.”
I squint my eyes at her with a frown.
“Sorry. I couldn’t help myself.” She lets out a halfhearted laugh. “Even if I knew where I wanted to go, I couldn’t tell you. I’ve never been to Boston.”
I take that in and think about where a woman of her caliber would feel at home. It takes me less than ten seconds to realize I haven’t the faintest clue.
“What kind of shit… I mean… things, did you like to do back home?”
“I liked spending time with my brother.”
“Alejandro?” I question, surprised, since Alejandro doesn’t exactly give off the “family man” vibe. He might care for his sister’s safety, but I don’t see him willingly wanting to spend time with her.
“No. Not Alejandro. I meant Francesco, my youngest brother,” she explains with true deep longing in her voice. “He had a knack for keeping me busy since he was always up to no good.” She laughs again.
Between her sad sighs and her genuine giggles, I don’t know which one I’m having a harder time dealing with.
“What did you do when you weren’t babysitting the brat?” I mumble.
“I like art. I loved going into Mexico City and visiting the historic museum they have there and seeing whatever new exhibit was in town. Does that help?”
I eat the remaining distance between us until my body eclipses hers in my shadow and I stretch out my hand. She blinks twice before she understands and places her hand in mine. I lift her up from the floor in one fell swoop.