Confessed (Vargas Cartel #3)(29)

“Mucho gusto,” he answered with a quick nod of his head.

Ignacio shifted on his feet. “I don’t anticipate any language issues. Dr. Mendez speaks English, but I can stay if you’d like.”

Heat flooded my face, and my stomach flipped. I didn’t know if Ryker told him about the pregnancy, but I didn’t want him to find out this way. “No. I think I’ll be okay.”

“All right.” Ignacio’s shoes clipped over the tiled floor as he walked toward the door.

“Wait.” I sat up and rested my elbows on my knees. “Can you send Ryker in? He’d want to be here.”

Rubbing his hand along his jaw, his eyes met mine, then flicked away just as quickly. “He’s not here right now.”

“Oh.” My stomach plummeted, and my fingers curled into the creamy white sheets until they strangled the circulation to my fingers. One more twist and I’d rip a hole in them. “Can you call him? I’d feel more comfortable if he were here. I’d do it myself, but I don’t have a phone. I lost it when everything happened. Is there a phone in…?” My voice trailed off, and I licked my lower lip.

I was rambling. Ignacio knew it. I knew it. The freaking doctor knew it, but I couldn’t stop myself. I felt like one of those colorful betta fish alone in a glass bowl. Both of them stared at me like I was about to snap. Maybe I was.

“He told me to tell you he’d be unavailable for the majority of the day. He said he’ll catch up with you tonight sometime.”

I blinked repeatedly as I struggled to fend off the tears burning in the corners of my eyes. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Ignacio sighed. “Miss Covington—”

“Hattie,” I shouted. “You know my name. You don’t have to pretend like we’re strangers. I’ve been here before. Tell me what’s going on!”

I didn’t understand why I said it. Truly, I didn’t care what Ignacio called me. I didn’t care if I ever saw him again. I hated him. In a roundabout way, his greed and corruption resulted in me becoming a hostage twice—once by him and once by the Alvarez Cartel. As far as I was concerned, he could jump off a cliff. I wouldn’t shed a single tear.

Ignacio rocked back and forth on his heels, and the doctor’s gaze ping-ponged back and forth between the two of us. He didn’t even try to hide his surprise. I guess most people didn’t talk to Ignacio like that given his penchant for murdering people.

“Hattie.” Ignacio cleared his throat. “This is a conversation you should have with Ryker. It’s not my place.”

“But you know something, right?”

“All I’m going to say is that he won’t be back for a while. Beyond that, you’ll have to talk to him directly. It’s not my place.”

I shivered, trying to ward off the sudden chill racing down my spine despite the balmy breeze from the open windows. I stared at the woven ceiling fan as it rotated in slow circles. A faint buzz hummed through the room.

I’d hoped Ryker would want to spend the day with me. I needed him, more now than ever. I was scared out of my mind about so many things, but now I feared he planned to abandon me. Ignacio had never held his tongue before. That he felt the need to do so now could only mean Ryker had given up on me. Our baby. Us. My vision tilted as the realization slammed into me like a swift punch to my gut.

My gaze drifted to Dr. Mendez. His greedy eyes darted around the room, drinking in my anguish like a glass of ice water on a hot day. I swallowed hard, making a heroic effort to stifle my rising dread.

“Right,” I said, my voice flat. “Do you know if my suitcase is around here somewhere? I’d like to get dressed so I can go for a walk later.”

“No. Not today,” Ignacio answered.

My eyes narrowed, and my heart drummed to a panicked beat. “So, I’m a prisoner again. Is that what you’re trying to say? Here, I thought Ryker rescued me, but I guess I just exchanged one sadist cartel warden for another one.”

“Dr. Mendez, can you step outside for a minute?”

“Por supuesto.”

“Those are Ryker’s rules, not mine,” Ignacio said after Dr. Mendez stepped into the hall. “You can take it up with him. If it were up to me, I’d have you on the next flight back to D.C. You don’t belong here. You’re not right for him anymore.” His lips pressed into a thin line and his eyes darkened into twin lumps of coal. “You’re a liability and Ryker doesn’t need any distractions right now. He owes me.”

Pain rippled through my chest, and I struggled for my next breath. “What’s that supposed to mean?”