“What else was I supposed to do? You kept going on and on, so when I finally asked who the hell Hose was and you actually answered, I figured I may as well entertain myself. You got it pretty bad for this Rose, huh?”

Vince didn’t answer. He was racking his brain now trying to remember any dream he had recently, but he couldn’t remember any, except for the one that ended in Rose telling him to run.

“She must be something else—”

“She,” Vince said trying to keep his cool, “is none of your damn business.”

“All right, all right,” the sergeant said chuckling as he looked out the hole again. He immediately closed it. “Don’t move,” he whispered.

Vince froze in place, literally able to hear his heart thump in his chest as footsteps and voices outside not speaking English got louder.

Something rattled above them sending sand flying all around them, and Vince covered his mouth, trying not to cough. As the rattling continued, it became apparent that the men outside were trying to make their way into the bunker. Vince thought about the sergeant mentioning he’d been collecting canteens. Why hadn’t Vince thought to ask what else he’d collected—like weapons?

He sat there feeling completely vulnerable. If they were caught they’d either be taken prisoner or assassinated on the spot. He squeezed his eyes shut, picturing his beautiful Rose. If he was going to die, he wanted her face to be the last thing he saw.

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

Rose

Lorenzo had been right. Giving her a shot had been a cinch for him. She felt kind of rotten about lying to Ben. She’d told him one of her co-workers was studying to be a nurse and would give the shot from now on. He knew the truth about Vincent now also. She’d told him the night after she’d written the marathon letter to Vincent. But after all he’d done for her and all the times he’d been there through it all even taking the time to come to her work to give her the injections, she hated having to admit that he was being dismissed so easily. But she didn’t have much choice. Lorenzo was threatening to tell Vincent, and after everything they’d been through already, she didn’t want to add this. Not yet anyway. She’d explain it to him eventually. She’d continue to text Ben and talk to him on the phone, but the visits would have to stop. He was juggling several girls at the moment anyway. He’d be fine without her company.

Feeling much better now that the injections were really kicking in, Rose no longer had shaky hands or tingling feet and fingers. It seemed now that the weight of the world had come off her, both from knowing that something was being done about her vitamin deficiency and knowing the truth about Vincent. Everything was going perfectly.

Even her college soccer team was one game away from winning their division for the season and moving on to state finals. Everyone had gone to her game even her mother. It couldn’t have gone down in more dramatic fashion with Rose’s team scoring at the last minute to take the lead and avoid having to wait until her next game to clinch the division.

With Grace being so pregnant and wobbling around, swollen ankles and all, Alex suggested they all go back to his place after the game to celebrate. Lorenzo had been at the game, but an hour into the gathering he still wasn’t there. She was anxious to ask him if he’d heard anything from Vincent yet. She still hadn’t received a response from him herself and was beginning to worry maybe he was angry or too hurt to respond.

“I don’t know; maybe it’s just me,” Romero said as Rose walked out into the patio where they were all gathered.

“It is just you,” Eric laughed.

“I’m sorry,” Romero threw his hands in the air, “I don’t like other men touching my wife.”

“He was rubbing her pregnant belly.” Sal laughed.

“Yeah, but you didn’t see how he was doing it,” Romero protested.

“And didn’t you say he was an older man?” Grace asked holding her hand to her back as Sal helped her sit down.

Romero shook his head making a face. “Izzy said that. He wasn’t that much older…in his forties probably. And what does rubbing her belly have to do with him talking about her pretty hair?”

Isabel laughed now. “I swear you turn everything around. He said the baby would probably have thick pretty hair because mine was so thick.”

“You see!” Romero said picking up his beer bottle. “There you go.”

“There you go, what?” Sal laughed again. “So you kicked his ass for that?”

They all laughed now, even Rose. All the men in this family had short fuses; she even saw it in Lorenzo, but she’d heard stories about Romero. His temper was legendary.

“I didn’t kick anybody’s ass.” He turned and leaned into Isabel for a kiss. “I don’t do that anymore, right babe?”

She kissed him but rolled her eyes. “Um, yeah, only because the guy practically ran when you grabbed his wrist and threatened to break it.”

Everyone except Romero laughed. “Yeah, but I was bluffing.” He smirked. “I wasn’t really gonna break his wrist.”

Sal answered his phone, and then stood up suddenly walking inside to take the rest of the call in there. Rose saw Alex and Angel exchange glances but didn’t think anything of it. She flinched when her mother very uncharacteristically came up next to her and rubbed her back. “Where is your boyfriend?”

“My boyfriend, if he’ll have me back, is in Iraq.” She smiled shrugging. “I was never really with Ben, Mom. I just told Grace that so she wouldn’t worry so much about me being depressed. But now that I know what really happened with Vincent, I don’t wanna be with anybody else but him. I’m gonna wait for him to get home.”