Page 10 of Breached

“Move a step to your right.” Ben flicked his finger, and I did. “Yeah, right there. He’s with a woman—I’m sure it’s Talya Canos—and they’re over your right shoulder now.”

“Be sure to zoom in.”

I stood there and silently mouthed words to Ben to look as though we were working. As I watched the video, I could see what Ben had seen. Eric Noah and Talya Canos were seated on the restaurant’s patio, looking cozy as they ate.

Eric smiled down at her, tipped her chin, and started kissing her. I was oddly drawn to them. She was beyond gorgeous. I had researched her before, and although she had been brought up in a ruthless family, I knew Talya Canos didn’t have the same mindset as her parents when it came to violence. Not that she wouldn’t plant a bullet in your brain if she needed to.

“What are they doing?” I heard myself asking Ben.

“Well, remember we heard that she was dating Grim Gates?”

“That rich guy, owns hotels in Vegas?”

I nodded. “Yeah.”

“Well, let’s just say she sure isn’t acting like it now.” He let out an uncomfortable chuckle. “If I was to guess, that woman is in love with Eric Noah.”

I looked shocked. “Shit, I don’t think I want to be around when Grim finds out.”

I remembered how pleased Ben and I were that we had discovered something huge but knew we could never air such information. If my boss, Glen—or anyone else, for that matter—found out those two were dating and let it be known, it could set in motion any number of negative events between the Castillo and Canos Cartels, not to mention the American mafia. We had enough on our hands with the Cartels alone.

“Maybe we should delete this,” Ben said as he pulled the camera away from the couple on the restaurant patio, so it was just on me.

I shook my head. “Move the camera back on them for a few more minutes. Just keep me in the frame as well.” He did as I asked.

As I watched the video, I was swept away by their obvious love for one another. The way she laughed when he said something to her, the way he reached out and stroked her cheek, and the way that no one around them seemed to matter left no doubt how they felt.

Chase’s little face popped up in my head, and I found myself getting emotional. I knew he could never know who his real parents were for the sake of his own life, but maybe when he was old enough to understand how dangerous his bloodline was, I could show him this film. Then he could know he had been conceived out of love.

“Cut. Don’t delete it, Ben, just give me the sim card,” I heard myself say. “I’ll keep it safe.” The video went black.

“Hey.” Paul made me jump, and I clicked off the video before the next one started. “Sorry.” His face turned to concern when he saw my eyes were glossy. “Everything okay?”

“Yeah,” I pushed away the moment and cleared my throat, “just thinking.”

He stepped inside and closed the door behind him. “What about?” he asked and sat next to me then looked at the computer with a grunt. When I didn’t answer. He screwed up his mouth as he realized.

“I know you don’t like me looking into him.” I knew he didn’t like to talk about Eric Noah. I assumed they’d had enough run-ins over the years for Paul to have an ugly opinion of him. “I’m just running through a lifetime of footage of him to see if I can find anything on him and Bruno.”

He rubbed his neck. The last forty-eight hours weighed heavily on his shoulders. “Did you find anything?”

I shrugged. “A few things but nothing that’s helpful yet.”

“What things?” He seemed interested, so I decided to share what I found.

“Well, you’ll never guess, but Eric Noah saved my life once.” I tapped the keyboard. “I mean, the guy is a monster, and I have no idea why he’d care about me or my guys, but nonetheless, I’m thankful. Watch this.”

Paul shook his head as he watched as if he couldn’t believe it either. “What else?”

“I just…” I stalled, feeling embarrassed that I had kept a video of something so intimate between two strangers, but I thought maybe he would see what I did, a moment that maybe could be shared with Chase someday.

“Just?” He waited, and I tapped the play button. His interested expression disappeared and another replaced it, one I couldn’t understand. He wasn’t angry, more like frozen.

I felt the need to explain. “We had been working in the area. My sources knew I always wanted info on Eric Noah, and when we got word he was at a restaurant in Playa Escondida, we headed over there. I had no idea who he was with. We never dreamed we’d ever stumble on this.” I paused as his face still showed no emotion, and felt I needed to keep talking. “Love in any language is still love. It doesn’t matter if you’re the sweetest or the most heartless human, if you find your person, love can grow.” I whispered the last part as he slowly closed the laptop. “I know they’re the enemy, Paul, but they’re still Chase’s par⁠—”

“I came to tell you we have some company arriving,” he cut me off, and I dropped what I was about to say.

“Who?”