Get it together,Starr.
She had hundreds of plants to repot today, and she wasn’t going to get the job done by daydreaming. She washed the plant’s rhizomes, then cut them to create four viable plantings, each of which got its own pot. But soon, she was hummingagain.
Oh, how she wished she understood Spanish. She’d be able to understand the lyrics of all the songs. She’d be able to speak with Joaquin in his mother tongue. She’d be able to understand those little terms of endearment he’d used. Okay,mi amor—that was simple enough. But the otherone…
Why couldn’t she learn a little Spanish? She could learn a few words and phrases over lunch, and then she could surprisehim.
With renewed focus, she set to work propagating orchids, then grabbed a sandwich in the cafeteria and sat down in her office. She booted up her computer and searched online for Spanish languagewebsites.
The first offered nothing but profanity and slang in Mexican Spanish. Telling Joaquin to fuck his mother was really not what she’d had inmind.
The next page had a lot of basic phrases, the kind a person might want to know on vacation. But she didn’t want to ask Joaquin where she could find the restroom or how far it was to the next gasstation.
She clicked the next and found a mix of basic phrases, some of which were romantic. While she ate lunch, she memorized them, copying them to a Word document, repeating them aloud. “Te quiero. I like you.Te deseo. I wantyou.”
The phrases kept getting hotter. “Tócame. Touch me.Quiero arrancarte la ropa.I want to rip your clothesoff.”
Oh, hell, yes, shedid.
The next one was long and a mouthful, but no truer words had ever been spoken in any language. She worked her way through it. “Creo que eres el hombre más sexy que he conocido. I think you’re the sexiest guy I’ve evermet.”
“Why, thank you,Mia.”
Mia shrieked, jumped to her feet and dropped what was left of her sandwich onto the floor. Heat rushed into her face. “Michael. I … um … I’m studyingSpanish.”
Michael chuckled. “I heard. My wife is from Ecuador. After I met her, I did exactly what you’redoing.”
“Oh. Well, it must have worked.” Mia tried to sound casual as she bent down and picked up the remnant of herlunch.
“It did.” Michael gave a little laugh. “Sorry to startle you. I went to check the greenhouse but didn’t find you there. I wanted to make sure you wereokay.”
“Apart from feeling utterly embarrassed, I’m fine.Thanks.”
“Don’t worry about it. It will be our secret. Whoever he is, he’s a lucky guy.” Michael left her inpeace.
She printed out the phrases she wanted to memorize, whispering them while she worked on orchids. She was still practicing the phrases when she arrived at Joaquin’s place more than five hours later. She parked in the guest spot and walked toward the security door and elevators, mentallyrehearsing.
Te quiero, Joaquin.Creo que eres el hombre más sexyque…
What was the rest ofit?
She unlocked the security door and pushed the button for the elevator, which was up on the third floor. She pulled her cheat sheet out of herhandbag.
Movement caught her gaze—a reflection in the elevator’s polished steel doors. She glanced over hershoulder.
A man in a blackhoodie.
On a surge of adrenaline, she dropped down to a crouch, her hand thrusting into her handbag after the SIG, but it was toolate.
BAM!
The first shot shattered the glass security door, splintering it intofragments.
BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM!BAM!
Bullets whined past her head, hitting the steel behind her with a thud. Something burned across her hip and ribcage. She heard the elevator ding and rolled through the open doors, then sat up and fired back just before theyclosed.
BAM! BAM!BAM!