Teresa lifted her hand until her wedding band glinted in a beam of moonlight. Something had changed. Something had shifted between her and James and she could feel it. After she told him they would make it real, after she realized just how much worse this all could be- But she hadn't expected to feel the way she did when he kissed her.

It was for show- their first business meeting since the wedding. Someone who had been at the wedding cried out for them to kiss and Camila hadn't given them an out. But Teresa thought she had been prepared. It wasn't much, a few seconds longer than the kiss on their wedding day- their first kiss.

But it felt like more. The way James had pulled her close, the weight of his hand on her cheek. He wasn't distant or putting on an act this time and she could feel it. This was what it felt like to be kissed by James when he meant it. Soft, easy, but full of a slow kind of heat. It had made her fingers tremble just a little.

And that was the problem.

She hadn't expected to feel so much from one kiss. She hadn't expected to want more. Not so soon. She wasn't ready for more. So she had kept her distance for the rest of the night. And she knew James had noticed- he noticed everything. But he hadn't said anything. And she hadn't said anything either.

She looked at her ring again. She had always wanted this with Guero- only Guero. Even with other boyfriends she hadn't seen anything so permanent. And now…Guero was dead. She was married to a man she wasn't in love with- who wasn't in love with her. But she felt bits of what she had felt with Guero.

The longer she stared at the ring, the more she could see her life with James. She could see herself falling in love with him. She already felt more than she should for a business partner. She knew James had the same type of feelings even if he wasn't saying it. So seeing their life together- it was a good one. It was a life she didn't think she could ever begin to want with someone other than Guero.

And she was terrified.


"You need papers? 'Cause I'm single."

Teresa laughed at Carl's words. From the corner of her eye she saw James roll his eyes before glancing at her. "Sorry, Carl," she said lifting her left hand and showing her wedding ring. "I'm not." Teresa didn't miss the way that James tensed for a moment. Or how Carl's eyes immediately went to James. They weren't in love, they weren't even together in any meaningful way other than legally. But Carl hadn't even asked if James was the spouse in question- he'd just…assumed.

She thought of the scene she had walked in to in Pete's tent. James was tied to that chair and he was bleeding. She had heard what Pete had said before she went in. She had seen the way James protected her in the desert. Maybe their connection was less vague than she kept trying to make it be.

Sometime during her spiraling thoughts Carl and Pete had left and James had moved closer to her. She forced herself not to react to his sudden closeness. But for once James wasn't paying attention to her reactions. "You should stay back for this," James whispered, even though they were alone. She opened her mouth to argue, but he cut her off before she could. "Look, if this goes south, you need to be able to get out of here quick. Get help."

"And just leave you behind?" She hated that idea. She always hated the idea of leaving James in dangerous situations. Even when they were barely more than two strangers. Even when he still locked her in a wire cage at night. She shook her head sharply, ignoring the slight dizziness she felt. "I'm not going to leave you here if something goes wrong. You're my hus- I'm not leave you."

James' eyes finally met hers. He stared at her intently but said nothing. She wondered what he saw in her eyes. She hated that she wondered. But whatever it was, it made him shut down. The mildly concerned expression that had been underneath the intense focus was gone. He reached behind him and pulled his extra gun from his waistband. Teresa was surprised that Carl had given him back his guns, but she didn't say anything. James held the weapon out to her. "Win or lose, live or die. I don't care what happens- if the choice comes, you live."

Then he pressed the gun into her hand and moved away.


Something was wrong. Teresa could feel a strange kind of tension as soon as she stepped out of the hotel elevator. The trip to Chicago had been bad on so many levels, but Devon Finch was at least willing to speak with Camila. But that fact was the least of Teresa's worries as she Pote and Guero walked into the parking desk.

The entire place felt empty. But James had left not five minutes before them to bring their bags to the van. Teresa's steps quickened so she could get to the van faster. She saw Guero try to catch her hand, but she didn't have time for his jealousy. Something was wrong. James was quiet, but every sound in this deck echoed. She should be able to hear something.

Finally the van came into view and she froze. The key was in the rear door. James was nowhere in sight. And his aviator sunglasses were crushed on the ground. Her heart stopped. Her mind circled with all the things that could have gone wrong- all the ways he could be hurt or dying. And it took her right back to Sinaloa- running down the stairs in a towel, praying that it wasn't that phone ringing. Only this was so much worse.

Guero stood in front of her, not understanding what she was seeing. Not understanding how bad it was. He was too focused on her. Pote was quicker. Teresa caught the concern on his face before a voice caught her attention. Stepping around Guero she moved towards the running footsteps. She saw the DEA agent- Loya- stepping into the elevator.

Her feet were moving before her head had caught up. Pote and Guero both called out for her, but she didn't stop. All she could see was James in handcuffs, James in court, James behind bars- away from her. She nearly tripped when she reached the elevator from stopping so quickly. But she was the floor number that Loya got off on. She hoped it was the floor- she hoped no one else had gotten on at another floor.

But it was the best she had. Bursting into the stairwell, Teresa ran up the steps. Her eyes quickly scanned each door to make sure Loya hadn't gotten off on another floor. But everything was neat and quiet. Finally she reached the ninth floor. She peeked through the window in the door and saw open walls and exposed electrical wiring. Her mind told her all the reasons why this would be bad for James and no amount of pushing the thoughts away seemed to help calm her fears.

Guero and Pote met her a moment later. She could hear Pote's heavy breathing and she almost felt bad for making the man run up all of those stairs. But the feeling disappeared when she hear Loya yelling at someone to stop, just before the dim lights through the window flickered. She slowly turned the door handle and cracked the door open slightly. "Cortez, you are in the US and this is not how we do things!"

Teresa felt herself being pulled back and turned to fight whichever of her companions it was. But then Guero was slipping out the door and into the empty hallway. She watched him peek around a corner before shaking his head and coming back to the stairs. "I'm gonna need some help," he whispered. Teresa turned in time to catch Pote's nod, before looked at Guero again. "Cortez has him tied to a beam, he's pretty messed up. Looks like he shocked him a few times." Teresa closed her eyes- she couldn't think about that right then. Guero gave her a strange look, but kept going. "It's only Cortez and Loya. If we can take out Cortez, Loya will be easy. Pote you get behind Cortez, I'll deal with Loya."

Pote put a hand on her shoulder. "Teresita, you untie James and get the coke once it's all clear." She nodded, then stepped back so the two men could pass her. Her heart was pounding in her chest. She could hear Cortez and Loya talking, but it was like there was static somewhere, making the words unrecognizable. Her eyes were trained on the sheet of plastic that hid James from view.

Guero and Pote disappeared and she had to force herself to breathe as she waited for one of them to signal for her. A gunshot went off and she jerked forward, trying to see. Then Pote was calling out for her and the next second her knees were hitting the concrete floor behind James. Her fingers fought with the cord holding his arms in place. It finally came loose and she pulled it off of James, rushing around to get in front of him.

There was blood trickling from his forehead, and she could see a spilt lip, too. There were burn holes in his shirt but she couldn't tell how bad the damage to his skin was. His eyes were out of focus and his breathing was too fast, too shallow. "James?" He blinked slowly, but didn't look at her. Panic started to lap at her ankles, crawling higher with each second that he didn't respond to her. What if Cortez had done permanent damage? "James, look at me?" But he didn't. He just kept breathing too fast.

Then Pote and Guero were there, pushing her out of the way and pulling James to his feet. The rough movement seemed to knock him out of whatever daze he had been in and he stumbled towards the door. Teresa glanced around the space once. Cortez and Loya were both bleeding and unconscious and she was glad.

She hurried to follow after the three men she had come with. Her eyes never left James the entire trip back to the van. When Pote told her to take the drugs, she fought him. When Guero told her that he and Pote would take care of James, she fought him. They didn't understand. She had almost lost him. Cortez could have killed her husband.

"I'm not leaving him. I'm his wife, I'm not leaving him."

She didn't care about the surprised look on Pote's face. She didn't care about the hurt one on Guero's. All she cared about was James and making sure he was safe and that he would be okay. They had been through too much together. He had done too much for her. She wasn't going to just pass him off when he was hurt for a business deal. Their marriage- complicated as it was- meant more to her than that. James meant more than that to her.

Somehow, in the last twelve hours- in the last twelve minutes- he had become everything to her.


The private doctor Camila had hired ordered James to stay in bed for two days and go slow for the next week. Teresa had almost laughed at the annoyed look on James' face when she told him the news. But then she remembered the night they had gotten him back from Cortez and the laughter died in her throat. The doctor had been careful with his questions- he knew how things in this business worked. But Teresa could see the fear and disgust in the man's eyes as he had examined the electrical burns on James chest and stomach. Cortez had been brutal.

But the week was almost over and Teresa had spent most of it sitting with James. It wasn't something they did. And she wasn't sure if it was something he was comfortable with. But he didn't tell her to leave, so she stayed. It had been silent for the first few days. James never talked much and Teresa didn't know what to say after everything that had happened since their wedding.

Mostly, though, she didn't know how to handle her emotions. Something had changed for her when she saw what Cortez had done to James. It was as if all the feelings she had been hiding from and pushing away had broken through her walls. There was no ignoring them anymore. Somewhere between racing to the airport her first day in Dallas and having him hold her in a dark parking lot while she cried for her best friend, Teresa had fallen in love with James.

Through missing Guero and learning the business, she had seen the good in James- even when she didn't want to. Then Guero was back and she thought all the love for him had come back, too. But sitting in silence with James she realized that it hadn't- not all of it. And she realized that even though Guero was alive, even if she wasn't married, Teresa couldn't see herself with him. She realized that she missed the life they had had together- before the pain and the loss has forced her to become someone she didn't recognize. She missed the past more than she missed the man she had lived it with.

Because now when she saw the future, she saw James- and she wasn't quite sure when that happened.


Teresa sat on the patio at Camila's house. James had come over to talk business and Teresa had ridden with him. She was trying not to be overprotective, but it hadn't been a full week since Cortez- she didn't want James to push himself too hard. But she hadn't told him that even if she was sure he knew it. Instead she had used Pote as an excuse to come over to Camila's with him.

Her visit had been short. Pote was busy and Teresa hadn't had anything to say to him anyway, so she decided to enjoy the sunset. It wasn't something she could do often, but she had loved it at her house in Sinaloa. Her mind went to the last time she had been outside like this. Guero had just reentered her life and she was trying to understand what that meant for her.

The door opened and Teresa turned, expecting to find James ready to go. But Guero was the one standing there. She sat up straight. Something was wrong and she knew it wasn't about drugs or guns or anything else business related. "Guero?" she started, when he didn't move or say anything. His eyes met hers for a moment before looking up at the changing colors of the sky.

"I'm leaving, Teresa." Her brows furrowed at the use of her name. The entire time he's been back, Guero has only called her by her name a few times. It was his way of reminding her of what they meant to each other, his way of taking her from James in any way he could. It bothered her, but she hadn't told him to stop. Then she caught on to what he was actually saying.

"What? Is Camila sending you on another job?"

He shook his head. "Nah. I came back for you. And for a second I thought I might get you back- that your whole marriage game would end soon." She didn't flinch at that, but she wanted to. "You wouldn't leave his side. I've been in worse scrapes than that and you still went to see Brenda." She did flinch then. Guero took a deep breath and ran his fingers through his hair like he did when he was frustrated.

"Guero…"

But he kept going. "You said the marriage was for Camila, but I think I always knew it wasn't just that. I saw the way you looked at him sometimes. Then he got hurt and you wouldn't leave his side. And I tried to tell myself it was just you being you- big heart, ya know? But then you said you were his wife and that's when I knew. It's not business- not for either of you. You're not the girl I left in bed that morning. I don't know you anymore."

Teresa pressed her lips together tightly, and blinked back the sting of tears in her eyes. She didn't know what to say. A part of her wished she could be that girl. Just a girl watching telenovelas in her giant bathroom. A girl going on shopping sprees and gossiping with Brenda. But that girl was gone and Teresa didn't want to be her anymore. She was stronger than that girl- smarter than that girl. But that didn't make seeing Guero hurting any easier. "I'm sorry, Guero."

"Don't be. Not your fault." He held out a hand and Teresa took it and stood up. Guero pulled her into his arms and it still felt natural- it still felt right. A part of her thought it always would. Because there would always be a piece of that girl who fell in love with him and there would always be a piece of that man who fell in love with her and those pieces would always fit each other. Her arms wrapped around his and her face pressed to his chest. "You call me, if you need me, alright?" She nodded against the fabric of his shirt. She felt a kiss pressed to her hair just as a tear slipped free. "I love you."

"I love you, too."

Then he pulled away. He wiped the tear that wound down her cheek and pressed another kiss to her forehead. Her hands let go of his shirt to cup his cheeks. She wanted to remember him. She wanted to hold on a little longer. She didn't want him to leave. She had missed him enough- she wasn't ready to miss him again. But she couldn't ask him to stay. And she knew this was for the best- Camila wouldn't let him stay in her business forever anyway.

Her hands dropped to her sides and she took a step back. Guero turned and went back to the door. He paused for a moment, looking at something or someone through the glass. Then he glanced at her one more time before going inside. Teresa sat back down. She let her eyes close. Then she took a breath. Then another one. Then another until her heart didn't feel so broken and her stomach wasn't in knots anymore. Then she opened her eyes.

James stood in front of her. She hadn't heard him come out- but that didn't surprise her. She watched him take in her red eyes and the sadness she wasn't trying to hide. His eyes went to the window and she knew he was looking at Guero. But he didn't say anything when he looked back at her. Instead he held his hand out to help her up. If he saw her hesitate, he didn't show it. He dropped her hand and nodded his head towards the driveway before turning away.

"James?" Teresa reached out and took his hand. She followed the direction of his eyes and looked at their joined hands. Her hand seemed tiny compared to his- she'd never thought of that before. Teresa pulled her gaze from their hands. James' eyes were already on hers when she looked back up at him. "Maybe we can do something tonight? The two of us?" She saw the question he wasn't asking when he glanced at the window again. "I'm tired of pretending this is just business."

James dropped his head and scrubbed a hand down his face. He stood silently for a long moment. Teresa clenched her free hand behind her back as she tried not to say anything. She couldn't push him. After the way she had acted- after how he had given her space and time- she couldn't rush him. And if he says 'No'. She swallowed the lump that formed in her throat and blinked away the sting in her eyes as James turned and started walking towards the car in silence. She followed behind him, their hands still locked together.

"Do you like Steak 'N' Shake?"

She didn't, but she nodded anyway.