“No way. She’s not going anywhere, Monday.”
“It could work, Alex,” Valerie chimed in.
“Hell no!” He’d give in to Valerie on a lot of things, but not this. He took her off speaker and brought the phone to his ear. “It’s not happening, Z. Understand? You’ll be with me all day Monday. Even if it means I have to handcuff you to me.”
“Just what gives you the right-”
“I’ll tell your dad.” Oh yeah, he was pulling out the big guns now. If she wasn’t listening to him, he was sure her dad would have a thing or two to say about this. In his state he knew that’s the last thing Valerie would want him worrying about. Alex felt a little dirty about the threat, but she left him no choice.
“You wouldn’t.”
“Try me.”
Romero charged him. “Alex, listen to me. This is our chance. You can’t be there with her every minute, forever. You cancel this shit, and his ass will come up with something else. Let’s end this now!”
Alex put the phone behind his back and turned back to Romero’s face. “Damn it, Romero, I’m not putting her up as bait, so think up something else!”
“You can be there!” Romero stood his ground. “I might have a plan. But if you think this psycho’s gonna give up just like that you’re nuts. Let’s get him now.”
As much as he hated the idea, Alex knew Romero had a point. He brought the phone back to his ear.
“Alex! Are you there?”
“Yes.”
Romero stared at him. “Let me and Romero work this out. But we’ll talk tonight, okay?”
She was quiet for a moment then, “I’m going to that interview.”
“Yeah, I figured that much.” He glared back at Romero’s dogged stare. “I’ll talk to you tonight…” He turned away from Romero. “I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
He hung up and loomed over Romero. “This better be good.”
*
Romero’s plan was actually not half bad. They’d have Valerie park her car in Alex’s attached garage Sunday night so that Monday morning Bruce wouldn’t see Alex slip in the back seat. Hank and Steve weren’t going to be the only ones tailing them. Romero was going to put a few more guys on the job.
He was also working closely with Mr. X trying to find more details to Bruce’s plan. Today he’d be driving down to the building where Valerie would be interviewed to get an exact visual of what they were facing. He said he would plan a place for each of them to park so they’d have Valerie covered from every angle.
Alex had to admit he was little impressed with how fast Romero had come up with a plan. He filled Valerie in on it last night when he went to see her at her dad’s. She didn’t seem nearly as apprehensive about this as Alex was. The only good thing was that Alex would be there the whole time. He’d been so immersed filling Valerie in on the plan and making absolutely sure she would be prepared for Monday, he nearly forgot to ask anything about Luke.
His concerns about Luke had lost a little steam, especially after learning about Valerie’s plans to leave the office and why she’d met him for breakfast. Even the seminar today had moved down on Alex’s list of most screaming worries. He still had this wedding dinner to deal with.
Valerie would be at her seminar all day. She’d be out of there by eight tonight, then go back tomorrow in the morning. Hank and Steve were still keeping a close eye on her. Alex wasn’t taking any chances, but he felt fairly certain she’d be safe there.
Just after eight in the morning, Alex headed into the restaurant. He had to check on the Birria and make sure it’d be ready on time. They couldn’t afford to screw this up. The last thing he wanted was to disappoint the old man.
Both Sal’s and Angel’s cars were already there. Angel had only flown back in from his honeymoon last night, and he was already back at work. Angel was opening, but Sal was supposed to be there tonight to work the wedding. He must’ve had the same thought as Alex and decided to come in to check on the food.
The delectable spicy scent of the Birria hit him almost as soon as he walked in the back door of the restaurant. He headed straight for the kitchen. Sal and Angel were both in there looking into one of the huge pots of Birria. Sal turned when Alex walked in and smiled. “Looks good.”
“Does it?” Alex welcomed some relief finally.
“Yeah,” Angel confirmed. “I feel like having some.”
Sal started toward the door. Angel was still picking at the food. Sal lifted his eyebrows at Alex. Damn. The moment of relief hadn’t lasted long before having to think about what he had to do now.
Sal tapped him on the shoulder. “You gotta tell him.”
Even though this might be something that would hopefully be over on Monday, Alex couldn’t chance it. He’d never forgive himself if anything happened to Sarah, and he hadn’t warned Angel at all.
Some of the cooks had just arrived and started things up for breakfast. Alex glanced around. This might get ugly, so he decided the kitchen wasn’t the best place to have this conversation.
“Angel, you got a minute? I need to talk to you.”
Angel didn’t bother looking away from the pot where he’d pulled a spoonful of meat out and was blowing on it. “Sure, go for it.”
“In private… it’s about Sarah.”
Angel turned immediately. Alex knew that would get his attention. If his expression was any indication of what the conversation might be like, he was definitely not looking forward to it.