“I don’t know, Megan.” He brushed a hand through his thick hair. “People have been saying that for years. There are entire organizations that have tried to bring them down. No one can touch them, and they’re gonna keep growing.”
Megan shook her head. “I don’t care. I’ll find a way. I’ll go to the media. Wait a minute.” She paused, furrowing her brow, deep in thought. Then her eyes widened, and she snapped her fingers. “You work for them. Maybe you can find out what they’re doing. I’m sure they’re doing things illegally.”
“I can’t do that. I don’t want to lose my job.”
“You still want to work for them? Emma doesn’t have a mother anymore because of them.”
“You don’t understand, Megan.” His voice was somber. “I have to take care of my family.”
“You could’ve died too, Chuy! Who would’ve taken care of your family then? I bet you wouldn’t go back to work for them if Prescott Oil killed your family.”
Naomi’s breath hitched as she watched Chuy’s brown eyes darken and his nostrils flare. His voice was low and steady as he looked intently at Megan. “I lost my uncle when Jane Sutherland killed him in a car accident. My cousin tried fighting back, and days later, she disappeared.”
“Oh, Chuy,” Naomi whispered as she felt tears stinging her eyes.
“I know she’s dead. I felt it the moment it happened. It was like a part of me disappeared that day.” His voice was thick. “I can’t help but think that somehow Luke Prescott was involved in all of it.”
Megan placed a hand on his arm, speaking softly. “Then how can you still work for them?”
“I have no choice!” He spun around and headed toward the window. Looking out with his back to her, he said, “They took everything away from us. Everything! I couldn’t get a job anywhere.”
Megan went to him and placed a hand on his back. “I’m so sorry.”
He turned to face her. “Believe me, I tried. I got a lot of interviews, but every time I showed up, it was like suddenly the job was no longer available. The only one who offered me work was the Prescott Oil training program. I didn’t even apply for it! I got a letter offering me a job. Lalo got the same letter two days later. We thought it was offered to everyone who lived in the neighborhoods that were bought out by the company.”
Chuy sank into the chair under the windowsill and dropped his head into his hands. “I sold out. I didn’t know what to do. I’m sorry, Naomi. I’m so sorry. I didn’t know what to do. God, I wish I had her strength.”
Tears streamed down Naomi’s face as she went to Chuy. She placed a hand on his head, wishing he could feel her. “It’s okay, Chuy. I’m sorry I wasn’t there to help. I’m here for you now.”
Chuy lifted his head and looked around.
“What is it?” Megan asked.
He tilted his head as if listening.
Naomi’s eyes widened, and she looked to Jeremy. “Can he hear me?”
“It’s doubtful, but I think he can sense you,” he replied.
After a moment, Chuy shook his head. “Never mind.” He took a deep breath and reached for Megan’s hand. “Look, I know if Naomi were still here, she’d want me to help you.”
Her face lit up. “Will you?”
“Yeah, but we only have a brief window to do this. All Prescott Oil employees were given time off to attend the senator’s presidential campaign announcement Friday. You can get national media coverage there.”
“I don’t have any proof to expose them, or anything that will at least get the feds to investigate them.”
Chuy stood and reached for his cell phone. “Yeah, let me give Lalo a call.”
“Lalo?” Megan and Naomi voiced at the same time.
“They have him doing janitorial work in the offices where they keep confidential information. He can get into their servers and dig up some information for us.”
“He can?” Megan and Naomi said in unison.
Chuy grinned. “Lalo has mad computer skills that would make even Mark Zuckerberg drool.”
14
Naomi stood at the entrance of Sunrise Haven. She couldn’t believe that in a few minutes, she would be with Welita again.
“Nervous?”
Jeremy looked down at her with the same tender expression that he had at the hospital. She didn’t know what to do about it, especially now, when he was going against protocol and allowing her to see Welita. She owed him so much. She didn’t want to hurt him.
“A little.”
She felt a quiet calm when he placed a hand on her cheek. “Want me to go in there with you?”
She gazed into his eyes and saw the love he had for her. He cared...too much. She turned her head and took a step back, feeling a stab of pain when she did so. She hated hurting him this way after he’d been so kind to her.
“No. I’ll be fine.”
“It doesn’t look like Megan will be leaving the hospital anytime soon, and Chuy is with Lalo. I’ll watch over Megan for you, so take your time.”
He turned and started to walk away.
“Jeremy.” She grasped hold of his arm before he could leave. “Thanks for letting me do this.”
She watched his broad shoulders stiffen at her touch. When he turned back to face her, his face was somber. His eyes held hers for a moment, and he swallowed. Then his face shifted, erasing the pained expression and putting on his normal, flirtatious twinkle. “Let’s just call it my gift to my future sister.”
He winked, and then he was gone.
Naomi closed her eyes and sighed. It was going to be more difficult than she thought, working so closely with Jeremy. She loved Jeremy; he was so sweet and caring. She wanted so much to be close to him, like a true sister. Maybe if she had a talk with him, aired it all out in the open, they could find a way to be like family, without all the awkwardness.
I’ll have a talk with him when the assignment is over. Now, she needed to see Welita.
She headed toward the glass doors, and they slid open as she approached. She really didn’t have to use the entrance. It was a habit. She still couldn’t get used to being an angel. She could’ve easily just made herself appear anywhere in the building, although she didn’t know exactly which room Welita was in.
She glided down the halls, listening carefully for any signs of where Welita might be. She heard the muffled sounds of women talking to each other and dishes clattering. In one room, she heard an older woman cooing and the sounds of a baby giggling, making her smile. She thought about going into the room so she could see, but then thought against it, reminding herself that she shouldn’t abuse her angelic abilities. The family in the room that the happy noises were coming from deserved their privacy.
In that moment, she realized Welita would never have a chance to hold her child, and the thought saddened her.
Then she heard a loud and familiar voice that chased the thought away.
“Ay, Dios mio! No, Pablo! Don’t listen to her. She’s lying to you. Maria slept with your brother. She’s carrying his child, not yours.”
Naomi chuckled at Welita, yelling at the television. She always did that when she was watching her favorite show—a telenovela about Pablo Rivera, the handsome ranch owner, and Maria, his maid turned movie actress.
She followed Welita’s voice until she found the place it was coming from. She stepped into the room, and her hand flew to her mouth, stifling a cry, when she saw Welita sitting on a small sofa. Her brown wrinkled hands stroked Bear’s fur while she stared intently at the TV screen.
“Oh, Welita,” Naomi sobbed. “What’s happened to you?”
Welita’s raven hair was now almost entirely white. Her once-strong hands were like brown toothpicks, ready to break at the slightest touch. She was so frail. It was as if the life in her that made her rock solid had been zapped away, leaving her a shell of who she once was.