Before I Die

“I’m Raquel Romero,” the woman says with a smile. “Ethan’s… mother.” She’s petite, dressed in skinny jeans and a flowy top. She can’t be more than five feet and a couple inches, but she’s wearing a pair of high heels that make her taller. Her face is done up with makeup, and her lips are plump and bright red. She’s gorgeous. With tiny crow’s feet in the corner of her eyes, I can tell she’s closer to Ethan’s father’s age than mine, but it’s clear she takes care of herself.

“It’s nice to meet you,” I say. “I’m…” Shoot, what the heck am I to Ethan? I’m not his girlfriend… but he did give me that soul-shattering orgasm. Does that make me his one-night stand? No, we would’ve had to have had sex for that. Are we friends? No, friends actually speak to each other. Ethan hasn’t spoken to me in days. His captive? No, he made it clear I can leave any time I want.

I must take too long to finish my sentence, because Raquel laughs, her honey-colored eyes twinkling just like Ethan’s do when he laughs. “It’s okay, sweetheart. You don’t have to explain. Our son is a grown man.” She winks saucily and I instantly like this woman.

“Dad?” The question comes from Ethan, and we all turn to look at him standing in the doorway, dressed to the nines in a suit, just like the night I met him, and the day he saved me from Logan.

His confused gaze then swings over to his mom and his eyes turn hard. “What the fuck are you doing here?”

“Ethan!” I gasp at the cruelness in his tone. “What’s wrong with you?” Why would he speak to his mother like that?

“I asked you a damn question,” he demands, ignoring me and stepping toward his mom.

“Ethan,” his dad growls. “Don’t speak to your mother like that.”

Ethan’s eyes leave his mom and dart back over to his dad. “Are you defending her?” he hisses. “The fuck happened while you were away?”

“We’ll discuss that in a moment,” his dad says. “But first, I’d like to know why, when I got here thinking the place would be empty, I found this woman and your employee here.”

Ethan’s cold eyes bounce between his mom and dad for several long seconds before he says, “Your office.”

His dad nods then steps over to Raquel. He says something to her in Spanish that has Ethan tightening his fists and stalking back into the house.

Once all three men are gone, leaving Raquel and me alone, she speaks again. “I’m so sorry you had to see that. We thought the house would be empty. We planned to tell Ethan, but not like this.”

“I’m sorry, but I don’t really know what I saw,” I admit.

Raquel nods and gestures toward the table and chairs. “How well do you know Ethan?”

“We just met a week ago.”

Her eyes widen.

“Oh, no. It’s not like that.” My mind goes back to the way I grinded against his pelvis until I came… well, maybe it is kind of like that.

“You don’t have to explain,” she says. “The day I left twelve years ago, lost me the right to know anything about my son.” Her red-stained lips turn down into a heartbreaking frown.

“You haven’t seen him in twelve years?”

She shakes her head. “I’ve seen pictures of him. And every year since I left, I come to town and check on him, but we haven’t spoken, no.”

I have so many questions, but I don’t want to pry, so I just nod as if I understand.

“I know you’ve only known him for a short time,” she says after a few minutes of silence, “but could you maybe tell me about him?”

My heart cracks at her request. She’s right, we just did meet, and what I know isn’t exactly the stuff you tell people about—especially a mother who hasn’t seen her son in over a decade. But when her eyes lock with mine in a silent plea, I feel like I have to say something, so I blurt out the first thing that comes to mind. “He saved me from being sold as a sex slave.”

Her eyes bulge out in shock, and my hand flies up to cover my mouth.

“Jesus Christ,” a masculine voice says.

Our heads swing over to see Ethan and his father standing there.

“Is that true?” Raquel asks Ethan.

“It’s none of your business.” He hits her with a hard glare before turning it on me. “She’s not to be trusted.” He points to his mother and steps toward me.

Raquel opens her mouth to respond, but Ethan beats her to it. “I don’t care that you’ve somehow convinced Dad to take you back. He and I aren’t the same person. He might forgive you for leaving, but I don’t. And I sure as hell don’t trust you.”