Instead of fighting him, I shoved my face in his chest. I did this mainly because I figured I wouldn't win.

I also knew what "mi corazn" meant. It meant, "my heart" and I didn't even have to ask Jet if that was a step up in endearments.

I realized that my arms were around him and I brought my cold hands up to the heat of his chest. I was still carrying my cell phone and now I wanted to throw it into a margarita pitcher. He stroked my back for awhile until I couldn't fight it (it felt too nice) and I started to relax into him.

He must have felt the tension leave me but he held my relaxed body for even longer until it seemed kind of weird that we were standing there, not talking, just him holding me.

Finally, he said, "If you're gonna be all right, I'll go home."

Instantly the panic started crawling again and before I could think my head snapped back and I cried, "No!"

Blooming heck.

Someone, please tell me I didn't just do that.

To cover, I jerked out of his arms, all the while shaking my head with the hand holding my cell phone up in the air.

"No, no. Go home. It's okay. Don't listen to me. I'm just " I started but he reached out, pulled the cell out of my hand then his fingers wrapped around my wrist.

He tugged me into the living room, straight to the decorative chest that held the extra toss pillows and blankets (Z Gallerie, of course). He opened it, pulled out a blanket, handed it to me and walked us to the couch. I watched in stunned silence as he threw my cell on the coffee table, sat, yanked off his boots then reached out and pulled the blanket from my arms. He tossed it to the end of the couch, his hands came to my hips and with a gentle tug he brought me off my feet. His hands went tight on my hips as he leaned back and I fell with him, Hector controlling my fall and me landing right on top of him (yes, right on top of him!). He rolled me to the side so I was stuck between him and the couch, did an ab curl, nabbed the blanket, shook it out and placed it over us.

When he settled on his back, his arm around me, me tucked to his side, my cheek on his shoulder, I belatedly found my voice and asked, "What are you doing?"

"Go to sleep, Sadie."

"I "

"Sadie, go to sleep."

"But "

"Please, mamita, I'm wiped."

I snapped my mouth shut.

Well, so much for siccing the Ice Princess on him to get rid of him.

That was my last thought before I gave up the struggle and, within minutes, I fell asleep.

Chapter Ten.

Powder Room.

Sadie.

"Wakey wakey, kids. Time for coffee," Ralphie said and I opened my eyes.

I could see the coffee table and Ralphie's legs in his robe walking across the living room. Again, since this wasn't my normal upon waking vantage point, I assessed my situation.

I was on the couch, my legs bent, something heavy was resting on my waist and there was immense heat coming at me all down the back of my body.

It would seem Hector and I were spooning on the couch. Sometime during the night, I'd moved from having my back pressed to the couch and my front tucked into Hector's side to being in front of Hector at the front of the couch.

How I slept through that I had no idea.

The arm around my waist curled around more, slanting across my midriff and I was pulled up to sitting. Then two hands came to my waist and I was pushed to a standing position in front of Hector. Hands to my shoulders, he turned me to face him and before I could say "boo" his head descended, he brushed my mouth with his, giving me a soft, sweet, morning kiss. His head lifted, he turned and left the room.

Frozen to the spot, breathing nowhere near normal, I heard the powder room door open and close.

My body jerked out of its stupor and I ran upstairs to my bathroom.

I forced my mind to still as unbidden thoughts of last night rushed into it, thoughts of crazy Marty, incarcerated Harvey and still-at-large Ricky and also thoughts of Hector coming to my rescue.

Instead, I forced myself to think about my most recent predicament and I decided to take it one step at a time. Each step taken would get me through, for now.

I'd think of all the rest of it... later.

First, brush teeth then floss teeth and then wash face. After that make sure I didn't look like a fright and then put on something so I was wearing more than just silky, lacy pajama bottoms and a camisole but not something that would make me look like I was embarrassed or a prude because that would show weakness and my father told me (time and again), even if you had a weakness, you should never, never expose it.

Finally find my Ice Princess, click her into place and then... proceed.

I took a deep breath, forced all other thoughts out of my head and I went through my mental morning to-do list.

By the time I walked into the kitchen I was fresh-faced, fresh-breathed, I'd put on my full-length, cream, cotton, waffle-weave robe (but I didn't close the front because that might show I lacked confidence) and I was certain sure I could handle whatever came at me.

Hector was sitting on a stool at the island, so was Buddy, both of them had a steaming mug of coffee resting in front of them. In the air I could smell the brioche toasting and Ralphie was at the counter manning the toaster.

"Hey there, sweets. Coffee?" Ralphie asked me, twirling a knife in the air.

"I'll get it," I replied and moved into the room not looking at Hector.

Hector, by the way, was one of those things I was going to think about later.

I made my coffee (dash of milk, one sugar, just like Hector).

"Double H is staying for brioche this morning," Ralphie informed me happily, like this was akin to William Shakespeare rising from the dead for the sole purpose of eating brioche with us while reciting a couple of his sonnets.

"That's nice," I said but it didn't sound like I meant it. It sounded cold and uninterested and Ralphie's head snapped around so he could look at me closely.

I gave him a look that said, "What?"

He gave me a look that said, "You know what!"

"A few things we need to go over," Hector said into Ralphie and my non-verbal exchange, apparently oblivious to my cold shoulder.

Unable to do anything else, I turned Ice Princess eyes to Hector.

He wasn't looking at me, he was looking at Ralphie. "From here on in, Sadie goes to and from work with you. She isn't alone at the store and she doesn't go anywhere unless she's with one of you or one of the men. She needs to go somewhere and she doesn't have someone with her, you call me and I'll take her or arrange an escort."

Well maybe it should be said at this juncture that I wasn't certain sure I could handle whatever came at me.

I stared at Hector.

What was he on about?

"Why?" Buddy asked, also wondering what Hector was on about.

"Sadie got a threatening phone call last night from Marty Balducci," Hector replied.

"What?" Ralphie screeched.

Buddy stood up, body tense, eyes swinging to me.

My Ice Princess took a hike and now I was staring in horror at Hector.

What was he doing? I wasn't going to tell them about the call! Telling them about the call would take me one step closer to using them up.

I didn't want them worried. Or, more worried.

If he told them this, he would use them up. He couldn't use them up!

"She got a " Hector started to repeat but I came to and frantically acted to put a stop to his words.

"No!" I shouted, interrupting him and quickly I advanced across the kitchen.

Hector black eyes came to me and he stood as I approached.

"I need to talk to you a second," I told him.

"Sadie, they need to know " Hector started but I'd made it to him.

I reached up, put my healthy hand over his mouth and put my casted hand into his chest. Then I pushed him toward the door, Hector walking backward, me moving forward, my hand still over his mouth.

He wrapped his fingers around my wrist, pulled it from his mouth and halted at the door, making it clear he wasn't going anywhere.

I changed tactics, immediately twisted my hand so it was holding his and I walked around him, tugging him behind me and praying he'd change his mind and come with me instead of resisting. I didn't want to engage in a kitchen tussle with Hector in front of Buddy and Ralphie, firstly because it would be embarrassing, secondly because I'd lose.

He came with me (thank goodness!) and I pulled him into the living room, my step stuttered and I had to make a quick decision.

I knew Ralphie and Buddy could hear if we stopped there. So I dragged Hector through the living room, down the hall and into the powder room. I flipped on the light and closed the door.

Hector looked around us with obvious surprise that we were in a powder room and who could blame him, a powder room wasn't exactly the primo choice for this particular tete-a-tete (or any tete-a-tete) but it was the only option open to me. I wasn't going to take him to my room, the very thought of Hector in my bedroom made my toes curl.

When his eyes came to me, the surprise was gone and he was smiling his close-to-laughter, white, glamorous smile.

"Don't you smile at me, Hector Chavez," I snapped, not sounding like myself, not sounding like Any Sadie That Ever Existed. Sounding weirdly like Attitude Sadie and, if you asked me if I could even be Attitude Sadie, I would have told you, "heck no".

"We're in the bathroom," Hector told me, still smiling.

"We are. I don't want Ralphie and Buddy listening in," I told him.

"Why not?"

"Because I don't want them to hear what I have to say."

He started laughing softly (yes, laughing!) and said, "I got that, mamita, but why not?"

"I didn't want them to know about the phone call. You've got to go out there, say something that'll make them not so worried and then... I don't know..." I stopped because I didn't know, my mind was racing and I couldn't catch a thought.

Hector was still laughing softly. "Say something to make them not so worried about one of the Balducci brothers threatening you over the phone in the middle of the night? Tell me how I'm gonna manage that?"

"I don't know!" I cried, losing it in my panic. "Make something up. You're a private investigator. Veronica Mars is a private investigator type person too and she lies all the time!"

"Veronica Mars is a character on a TV show," Hector informed me.

"So?"

Hector's stared at me a beat, read my panic, his smile faded and his face got serious. "Sadie, I'm not gonna lie."

"But "

He came in close (or closer, we couldn't not be close as we were in a powder room).

"What I wanna know is; why do you want me to lie?"

Oh darn.

This was a sharing situation, as in, me sharing my private thoughts. I couldn't do that. I couldn't tell Hector that I'd never had any friends and I'd grown to love Ralphie and Buddy and I was terrified of losing them.

People were, well... people. In my experience they had only so much to give before they expected something in return.

I didn't have much to give in return. Heck, I didn't have anything to give in return.

But I couldn't tell Hector that. He'd think I was pathetic.

When I didn't answer, I watched in alarm as Hector's face got more serious and he closed the minute gap that was still between us. He put a hand to the side of my neck, sliding it up so his fingers went into my hair, his thumb resting along my hairline, his other arm curled around my waist and he pulled me into the heat of him.

"I don't wanna say this, mamita, but I have no choice. It's understandable, you not thinkin' clearly with all that's goin' down. But I have to remind you what's at stake here," Hector said.

"I'm thinking clearly," I informed him and I certainly knew what was at stake.

He shook his head. "You aren't."