I absolutely love this show, and I really got my husband into it as well. These two just have such insane chemistry.
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters or the title, which comes from This Love by The Veronicas.
1.
The first time that Teresa Mendoza met James Valdez it was at a party thrown by Epifanio Vargas. Teresa didn't really like Epifanio, she got a bad feeling when she was around him and she didn't like the way that his gaze would rest over her too long or the way he acted as though he was above everyone else in the room, but she kept her eyes down and her mouth shut because of who he was and because he was her boyfriends godfather. This was only the third time that she had met Epifanio, but he was legendary throughout Mexico, and especially in the state of Sinaloa.
Raymundo 'El Güero' Davila was drunk, and Teresa was okay with that, because when they came to these sorts of parties, that was the norm. She personally wasn't getting drunk, just because she wanted to keep her wits about her and she didn't want to accidentally say something that she actually meant to Epifanio when he made his rounds around the back deck and yard where the part was taking place.
"Hey, babe," Güero tossed an arm around Teresa's shoulders, pulling her in close so quickly that she nearly tripped over her feet. "Can you go and get me another beer?" Teresa nodded, and was about to step away when Güero straightened up, jerking her body to the side again. She looked around in confusion, wondering what it was that had caught Güero's eye. She didn't see anyone of particular interest until her eyes were drawn to where Epifanio was standing with a beautiful woman who looked regal and in complete control. She recognized her as Camila Vargas, Epifanio's wife, and then her eyes drifted to the man next to her, and they stopped and drank him in.
He. Was. Gorgeous.
There was no other way to describe him.
Or, maybe there was.
Mouth watering, beautiful, powerful, dangerous...
"James," Güero muttered, but Teresa didn't respond to him, her eyes still glued to the man. James Valdez seemed to only pay attention to half of what was being said between the Vargas' and his eyes were flickering around the party. They skimmed over most of the people, not paying much attention, pausing over a group of younger men that looked as though they were about to break out in a fight, but then continuing. His eyes found Güero first, and then they fell to her.
And it felt as though he could see right into her head and his eyes were burning right through her clothes.
His lips pulled up in a lazy, half smirk, and she felt Güero twist his head to look down at her.
Ten minutes later, James was gone, following Camila out of the house.
2.
Teresa and Güero had been on the rocks for a while now, and even though she loved him—he was the only man that she had ever loved—she was beginning to accept the fact that they were soon to be over. There was still a part of her heart that wanted to force herself to keep going though, to keep fighting for this relationship that had saved her when she had felt like she didn't have a way out from the dark hole her life had become, but she knew that wasn't smart.
She wasn't the same girl she had been when she had first gotten together with Güero.
She had been alone and she had been weak, and Güero had helped her had helped her see that she was more than that. She was strong and beautiful and confident and smart and she could make something of herself in this world. Something more than just a girl who worked under the thumb of a man, changing money on the streets of Sinaloa. She felt horrible, that she was considering leaving him, but they had grown apart.
Güero loved someone that he could protect and keep safe.
Teresa wanted to protect and keep herself safe.
She wanted to make something of herself, not just be a girlfriend who stayed at home and waited for her man to come home.
And she knew who she wanted to work for.
Camila Vargas.
She ran the cartel from Dallas, and word was, her operation was getting even bigger. Bigger than what Epifanio had expected and potentially bigger than his operation here in Mexico, and Teresa couldn't help but admire her.
"Teresa?" There was a knock on the door and Teresa blinked, snapping out of her daydream. James was standing there, looking edible in a leather jacket and a pair of sunglasses. "I'm here for Güero."
"He's not here. He's out with Chino," Teresa replied, curling the fingers on one hand into a fist and digging them into the palm of her hand. She had been around plenty of attractive men before—she had been around James a couple of times now, since he and Camila had been back in town a few times—but she still had to force herself not to blush.
"Alright," James nodded, lifting the sunglasses up so that they were perched on top of his head, in the black hair that looked crazy soft. "Can you let him know that we're looking for him?" Teresa nodded, giving him a smile that she hoped came off as just friendly, and not 'I-would-like-to-climb-you-like-a-tree'. Over the past few months, Teresa had learned that James and Güero didn't like each other. It didn't sound as though there was anything particular thing that had set it off, it was just that the two had both been teenagers moving up the cartel together and they had a competition that wasn't so friendly.
But Teresa was pretty sure she would like James if they got to know each other.
3.
Teresa and Güero decided to go on a break.
Teresa had wanted to break up, but Güero was insistent, so she had agreed to a break instead.
Then she had used the fake papers that she had brought last week and had crossed the border, heading straight to Camila's club.
Camila had been surprised when she had shown up, and then a bit suspicious. Teresa had known that something was going down between the woman and her husband, but she hadn't realized just how bad it was. For the first few months, Camila had thought that she had been sent as a spy. It had taken her a long time to work her way up, starting with being one of the mules, which really was scraping away at the bottom.
But she had to start somewhere, and it wasn't long before Camila was letting her do more.
With James watching her every move, of course.
She knew that he was doing it because he was Camila's second and she was still the new girl, but she couldn't help but feel the heat of his eyes whenever they were together and she was walking in front of him. She felt the heat of his body behind him whenever they were meeting with a client or someone unsavory that James felt she needed protection with. And she could hear the weight in his words when he warned her to be careful every time she went into a situation by herself.
A couple of months passed, and there had been a few moments when she had thought about saying something, about making a move, about crossing that line. There were hardly ever moments when they were off duty, but there had been a few.
There was one day in particular, when they had had a long day and had been going shot for shot with tequila. James had brushed her hair behind her ear, and his fingers had trailed across her cheekbone, and Teresa thought that he would finally lean in and kiss her. But then there had been a shout from one of the other men, telling James that Camila wanted to see him.
The next day, James was gone.
On a mission to Bolivia to meet with someone called El Santo.
4.
It was Isabela Vargas' engagement party, to Kique Jimenez, and of course Camila wanted to be there. Things between Camila and Epifiano were on the rocks, everyone close the couple knew that, but of course they came together for their daughter. Teresa went as well, along with two of Camila's other body guards. James would usually come to this as well, but he had been handling things on the Bolivia front for nearly a year now, and he had only been back a couple of times to touch base.
Camila had taken Teresa out shopping, something that Teresa really wasn't interested in doing, but Camila had been insistent. She had ended up with a dark red dress, that had a deep v in the back and in the front, her hair long and curling down over her shoulders, and a pair of high heels, things that she used to wear on a daily basis when she was with Güero and now never wore.
Güero was there.
It shocked Teresa a little, even though it made sense that he was there. They hadn't really talked since she had left, just under two years ago, and it was very clear that it was no longer a break that they were on. They were broken up. He looked good and he was with a petite blonde girl who would definitely need the protection that he wanted to provide. He smiled at Teresa and looked surprised to see her there and it looked as though he was maybe going to come over and talk to her, but then she felt a hand on her elbow.
"Teresa," James' voice was low and it sent a shiver down her spine. It had been nearly three months since she had heard that voice other than down the end of the phone.
"James," Teresa breathed out, and she couldn't bring herself to turn around because she didn't want to bump his hand from where it was touching her elbow. They were quiet for a moment, just standing together, James close behind her and smelling incredible, and then he brushed his thumb gently over the thin skin of her elbow.
"You look beautiful," he told her and Teresa's heart skipped in her chest and she held her head a little higher. His fingers were warm and then they moved, resting at her lower back, putting slight pressure on it and Teresa couldn't help but lean back into his touch.
"Are you coming back to Texas with us?" Teresa asked, feeling herself hold her breath as she waited for his response. James was quiet and she couldn't help but turn around and look up at him, needing to face him. James licked his lower lip and sighed, and his hand came up to touch a curl that was resting just beside her eye. He gave her a small smile and tilted his head to the side, and she noted that his facial hair was a little thicker and his hair was a little longer.
It looked good.
Then again, he always looked good.
"I'm here to help Camila negotiate a truce between us and Jimenez cartel," James told her. "And I'm back to Bolivia after that." Disappointment washed over her and James could see it all over her face. His hand slid around to the side of her neck, giving it a gentle squeeze. "But I'll see you again soon, yeah?" It was a lie, they both knew that. It could be another month before they saw each other again.
"Yeah," Teresa nodded with a purse of her lips. "I'll see you again soon."
5.
Teresa was running.
There was blood streaked down her face and her arm was hanging awkwardly at her side. She was pretty sure her shoulder was dislocated, but she didn't have the time right now to focus on putting it back in. She could hear shouts and dogs behind her, and she had to concentrate on getting out of this building and out of this neighborhood.
Out of this state, really.
It had been three years since she had been working with Camila, and she was one of her closest confidants. But the higher up she had gotten, the more she had realized that there were things that happened that Teresa just couldn't agree with her. She had always known that there was this even darker side to the cartel than just the drugs and the women as mules and leaving a statement with a trail of broken body pieces.
There was the selling women and children to make associates happy, and there were the lives of the families of their enemies that they completely destroyed, even though they were the innocent, oblivious parties...
Teresa couldn't do it anymore.
She thought that she was strong enough to be in this life, but it had turned out, she was stronger.
She wanted to be powerful and she wanted it her way.
And she was going to do it, and that why Camila was coming after her so strong.
Teresa had been building her own connections for the past few months, and there had been agreements that she had made with a few buyers and even though she wasn't going to be anywhere near as comfortable as she was here with Camila, she was going to go off on her own, make something of herself.
"Teresa!" Came a shout from a familiar voice that made Teresa's eyes widened. She had managed to duck between a few houses and jump over the back fence of one of the yards. She had seen a car parked on the side of the road that wasn't the nicest and would be discreet, and she had a plan to get away in it. "Stop!" She swallowed hard and turned back slowly. Her shirt was ripped and her knees were scuffed through her jeans and her lower lip was spit, it was stinging and making her eyes water every time she licked her tongue over it.
"I'm not going back, James," Teresa told him, not needing to lift her voice for it to carry in the night air. "I can't go back." James was holding a gun in one hand, and it was pointed at her, his eyebrows pulled together.
He wouldn't missed.
He never missed.
If he shot, she would be dead.
But even though she was scared, she knew that he wasn't going to shoot.
"Come with me..." she pleaded with him, taking a step in his direction. James didn't say anything, staring at her, and she could see that he was breathing heavily. Suddenly, both of their attention was jerked to the side as they heard shouts of the other men, who were getting closer. Teresa looked back at James, desperately. He let his eyes slide to her, and then he adjusted his grip on the gun.
"Go," he told her, and then he fired the gun, just above her shoulder, and she was running.
+1.
It had been eight months since Teresa had left Camila Vargas, and things were hard, but they were okay.
They were getting better.
She had Pote Galvez and he had her back, with everything he had.
She was moving from country to country and seeing the world in ways that she had never expected.
She had connections and she had money, and yes, she was definitely looking over her shoulder and being very careful about who she associated with, but she was making a name for herself and she was enjoying what she was doing.
She was in Italy, in a room overlooking the ocean, and Pote was off with some girl that he had been coseying up to in their time there, when she had felt the air change around her. It wasn't the smell, because he was wearing a different cologne, and it wasn't a noise, because he moved silently, but there was just something in the atmosphere that righted itself, that told her he was there.
Teresa turned around and James was standing there.
He was in a pair of jeans that fit him like a second skin and a loose, beige tee-shirt. A few buttons were undone and showing off a few tufts of chest hair, and he had sunglasses pressed up in that floppy, soft hair of his.
"Hi," he murmured. Teresa swallowed hard, blinking a few times as she tried to centre herself. James took a few steps closer to her and only stopped when he was right in front of her. "I'm here," he stated quietly. "I'm here to stay." Teresa felt a strange noise came out of her throat as relief flooded through her body and to the tips of her fingers and toes, and she was launching herself at him, their lips coming together in a long overdue kiss.
Let me know what you think x