Unbound by Sara Humphreys Page A

isn’t found, she’ll need to be issued a new one.” Vargas punched a few buttons on the keyboard of the computer, then swore in Spanish and banged the side of the monitor. “ Pinche mierda !” He let out a sound of frustration. “I am sure the effort will be well worth it. Your girlfriend is quite lovely, Señor McKenna.”
    â€œYes,” Zachary answered absently while he continued to watch Annabelle through the office window. She kept her back to them, and he could tell she was talking to someone on the other end of the telephone line. He turned back to Vargas and nodded. “She is something else.”
    â€œForgive me for saying this, but it doesn’t seem like you know each other very well.” Vargas leaned back in his chair and folded his hands in his lap while eyeing Zachary intently. “How long have you been dating?”
    â€œWhy do you ask?” Zachary kept his tone even and smiled.
    â€œJust curious.” Vargas’s eyes twinkled. “Call it a hazard of the job, I suppose.”
    â€œWe’re still in the getting-to-know-you phase.” Zach met Vargas’s stare and those alarm bells started to go off again. He smiled and sat casually in the chair, trying to act as though the questions about their relationship weren’t highly uncomfortable. “Of course, figuring each other out is half the fun. Wouldn’t you agree?”
    â€œ Sí .” Vargas laughed and wagged a finger at Zachary while giving him a knowing look. “And if you find the right girl, you can continue to try and figure her out for the rest of your life. I’ve been married to mi esposa for almost thirty years and I’m still trying to figure her out.” He let out a sigh and turned around the double frame on the desk. One photo was from their wedding day and the other looked to have been taken quite recently. “She is still as beautiful as the day I met her.”
    Zachary nodded and smiled while the detective regaled him with the story of how he met his wife. While Vargas spoke, Zachary looked at the two pictures, taken thirty years apart, and a sense of longing filled him. It was true that he and Annabelle barely knew each other, and it pissed him off because if she had her way, they never would. Zach glanced over his shoulder at Annabelle, who had just hung up the phone and immediately captured his gaze. His gut tightened with need from that one look from her, and in that moment, Zach knew he would do whatever he had to in order to get Annabelle to stay with him.
    ***
    The conversation over lunch was surprisingly easy. She’d panicked back at the police station when the detective used her phony last name. It dawned on her that if they did find her passport, it would have her real name—Annabelle Caedo—in black and white. At this point, she was praying they wouldn’t find it. Grace was sending some money, which Annabelle would use to buy a bus ticket to the American consulate.
    She was worried that Zach would press her for more information about what she was running from, but he didn’t. He did, however, regale her with stories about the Amoveo and his friends back at the ranch in Montana, and Annabelle was riveted. These people were not the monsters her family spoke about. In fact, the more she heard about the Amoveo, the more it sounded like the Caedo were the monsters.
    Annabelle took a swig of her beer and sighed contentedly as another warm ocean breeze floated over her. They sat at one of the paper-covered tables right on the edge of the beach, and even in the shade, it was hot as hell. Zachary had been right about the food; it was amazing, and the portions were enormous.
    â€œYou’re not finishing yours?” Zach asked after wiping his mouth with the napkin and tossing it onto his empty plate. “Didn’t you like it?”
    â€œI loved it.” Annabelle rubbed her belly and leaned back in the plastic