by Tawny Weber
Then, knowing that it was time to pull up her big girl panties and do the right thing, she reached for the phone.
* * *
Travis wanted to rant. He wanted to curse and demand and blame. He really wanted to punch something. Instead, he buried the urges along with his fear and gave Manny a calming look.
“Quit beating yourself up, man. Just tell me again what happened.”
“Senorita Lila, she was angry. She tricked me into lowering my guard, into making mistakes. She snuck away in the dinghy.” The words were a little muffled since Manny had his head between his legs trying to keep from passing out, but Travis got the gist. “I tried to call you. Tried and tried and tried. I was afraid something happened, so I called the other number.”
Dammit.
Pissing her off enough that she bailed was, possibly, salvageable. But calling her father’s number?
He was so screwed.
Okay, he thought. The op’s gone south and things looked dire. He’d been here, done this plenty of times. Extricating himself and his men—or in this case, his woman—from precarious situations was his specialty.
First, assess the damage.
“You called that number. Did you make contact?”
“It took seven tries but I didn’t give up. You gave me an assignment. I’d never fail you, Hawk,” Manny said with self-righteous fervor.
“And the response?”
“Response?” Manny looked blank for a second, then he shook his head. “You mean, like a message? There wasn’t anything like that. I said what you told me. I said that Senorita Lila was here and she needed help. The man, he said Puerto Viejo and I told him yes. Then he hung up.”
Seriously?
Travis scraped his hand through his hair and tried to process that.
He wasn’t sure what he’d expected but abject indifference wasn’t it.
“No ETA, no directions, nothing else?” he confirmed.
“Nada.”
“Then it looks like we’re on our own. Rally the troops, Manny. Step one, find Lila.”
“And step two?”
“Step two? In step two, I’m going to kick some ass.”
* * *
Lila drew in a long, slow breath. She wasn’t ready, but that didn’t matter.
It was time to pay the piper.
She needed Travis if she was going to get the rest of her luggage. But given a choice between leaving a message and hoping he’d ship it or facing him, she figured she’d be fine without it.
Or maybe he’d deliver it in person.
Maybe she mattered that much.
Even as the thought occurred, Lila flicked it away. They’d had a fling. One she’d blown to bits by ignoring his command and sneaking away.
There was no way in hell he’d ever want to see her again.
Lila had to blink hard to clear the tears from her eyes when the elevator reached the lobby. No point crying over something that was never meant to be.
As soon as she stepped out, she recognized the hulking bear in a suit as one of her father’s staff, standing by the glass doors. Lila hitched her bag higher on her shoulder and lifted one hand to get his attention. Before she could wave, someone clamped a fist over her mouth.
Lila screamed anyway.
She kicked and squirmed and tried to bite. A quick jab of her elbow got a grunt, but the abductor kept dragging her toward a narrow hallway. Not sure if anyone had saw them and knowing her chances of escaping a second time if he got her out of here were slim and none, Lila fought harder.
“Calm down or we’ll shoot Hawkins in the head,” the man growled.
Lila stopped her struggles for a brief second. As much faith as she had in Travis’s skill, she wasn’t about to go quietly while someone took shots at him.
She kicked, twisting and turning until she could hip butt the guy in the groin. He cussed, loosening his hold enough that she could get her teeth around one meaty finger.
Lila chomped down.
He cursed, but not quite loud enough to catch the bear’s attention. So Lila bit again, then let her legs buckle so her feet slid out from underneath the rest of her. Her deadweight pulled the guy off balance. As soon as his hold loosened, she gave a quick wrench and yanked free. As soon as her butt hit the floor with a loud thud she screamed.
“Travis!”
* * *
Travis walked into an impressive Charlie Foxtrot, his mind automatically using the military acronym for one hell of a mess.
Cops and suits—very expensive suits—milled around the hotel lobby with expressions of frustrated indignation. The reason why was obvious. What wasn’t obvious was why the guy holding court next to the elevators was standing on a table. It sure gave him a good view of his minions, though.
Catching sight of Montoya’s rigid face, Travis pushed through the minions.
“What happened?” he asked when he reached the cop.
“Senorita—excuse me, Ms.—Adrian is missing.”
Missing?
Travis’s gut clenched, fear gripping his body in an icy fist. There was a roaring in his head that made it hard to get past the single fact that Lila was in danger.
As soon as the roaring faded, his body kicked into rescue mode. Gather intel, pinpoint target, execute plan and release hostage—all while ensuring that not one single hair on said hostage’s head was hurt.
But all he let show was an arch of one brow at that corrected form of address. “She was abducted last week and you blew it off. Why is this time different?”
“Please, senor. Last week the abduction was reported after the fact. It was not, as you say, blown off. This time, however, there are witnesses. And then there is that.” Montoya inclined his head to indicate the man on the table. Middle aged with gilt hair and a chiseled jaw, the guy directed his minions like he was conducting an orchestra.
Cops to the streets, suits to the phones, hotel staff to the dungeon.
Who the hell was this guy?
Travis watched him toss off a few final orders, then jump gracefully from the table to stride his way. The man spoke with a few people here and there crossing the room, but his gaze stayed locked on Travis.
Interesting.
Once Travis got past the arrogant tilt of the head and the way the guy looked down his nose at everyone and everything in view, it was easy to see his resemblance to Lila.
“Mr. Adrian?”
“Mr. Hawkins, I presume. Perhaps you could do what these people seem incapable of, and tell me where my daughter is.”
Travis was impressed. The guy managed to pack a ton of supercilious disdain and familial disinterest into that single sentence. He wasn’t big on arrogant jerks, but he was pretty sure that level of asshattery took talent.
“I’m Hawkins. What’s the situation with Lila?”
“The situation, such as it is, will be rectified soon enough. In the meantime, I think it would be best if you give whatever information you have available to the police before returning to your home.”
Oh. Really.
Travis’s lips twitched with barely concealed amusement that this guy thought he could give him orders.
“According to the police, Lila is missing. Do you have the details of her abduction?”
“Weren’t you in charge of protecting my daughter? Given the current situation, what makes you believe that those details are any of your business?”
“Charged by what authority? Am I to take it that you’re the person in command of ensuring Lila’s safety and issue such protective orders? Given that this is the first time we’ve spoken, sir, I believe there has been a dereliction of duty.”
The man blinked. Frowned. Blinked again.
“Yes. Dereliction of duty on your part,” he finally said, jabbing a finger in the direction of Travis’s chest.
“Not possible, given that I was never given those orders,” Travis countered. He’d enjoy this if it wasn’t for the worry over Lila knotted in his gut. “But I’m happy to accept them now. Give me the details you have and I’ll get her back.”
Actually, he’d get her back regardless of what this ass did. But he figured he should give the guy a chance.
“Actually, my son will facilitate the situation from here on out.”
Travis had been dismissed plenty of times in his career. So he recognized the tone. And ignored it.
“Details, sir.”
The man’s face flashed with surprise before anger screwed it tight. Before he could explode with more orders and abuse, a shadow moved between them.
“Hawk?”
Frowning, Travis looked over. His eyes widened in shock.
“Frosty?”
Holy hell, it was Frosty the Snowman, otherwise known as Lieutenant Lucas Adrian.
Lucas Adrian, Travis silently repeated, his head dropping back a little with the weight of the realization.
“You’re Lila’s brother?”
“She didn’t tell you?”
“That’d be a negative.”
“I want this man out of here. Now,” the elder Adrian snapped. “He’s disrespectful and insolent, and I will not tolerate his presence.”
“Isn’t the priority getting Lila back?” Lucas asked, giving a tilt of his head toward a handful of men milling between cops and suits. It took only a second for Travis to recognize them as fellow SEALs. Some of his tension eased at the realization that the best were on hand to rescue Lila.
So while Lucas reeled in his father’s drama, Travis processed the new intel. Lila hadn’t talked much about her family. Just enough for him to know she had issues with her father. There had been no indication that she had a sibling, let alone one who served in the Navy as a SEAL.
He could see why she’d kept all mention of her father on the down low. The guy was a nightmare. But they’d talked SEALs. They’d discussed Travis’s career. Why hadn’t she ever mentioned her brother?
He’d add it to the list of things to ask her as soon as he got her back. Right after why the hell had she left?
Before he could ask, though, he had to get her back.
“This man is not qualified to be in charge of anything, let alone the rescue of my daughter,” the old man snapped, his expression cold enough to freeze a penguin.
“This man is as qualified as I am. Which means the two of us are a hundred times more qualified than you are,” Lucas snapped, launching into an icy barrage of reasons that his father wasn’t worthy of leading a sing-along, among other things.
Travis appreciated the support, but didn’t need anyone taking a punch for him.
“Excuse me, Mr. Adrian,” he said, stepping between the two of them to get right in the man’s face. “But I think that’s enough.”
“Hawk—”
Travis lifted one hand.
“No. Right now the priority is Lila. I want every piece of intel, and I want it now. Because one way or the other, I’m going to get her in T minus thirty seconds.”
Chapter 15
Okay, this sucked.
Lila told herself to focus on that, to count the many ways she was irritated and put out. As long as she thought about her grumbling stomach, the fact that her hair was a tangled mess that she had to keep blowing out of her face, and how bad her butt hurt from the fall, she was able to keep the panic at bay.
She knew where she was. This time, she knew the face of the guy who’d grabbed her and recognized the voice talking in the other room as the bartender from the restaurant, so she was sure that Dory Parker was involved. She’d been grabbed in a more populated place than before, which meant chances were higher that someone had seen something. Had heard her scream. Anything.
Her arms were tied behind her back to a table leg, but her ankles were free so she used her heels to scoot to one side. The table moved with her, scraping like nails attacking a chalkboard.
Lila froze.
She bit her lip, waited for the sound of her heart roaring in her ears to quiet, then listened intently. Had they heard her?
She still heard the murmur of conversation in the room beyond, but when the voices didn’t come any closer, she slowly, carefully let out a long breath.
Lila scanned the room serving as her prison again, desperately mapping out possible escape routes. From the elaborate cooking supplies stocked in the greasy kitchen, she assumed it was Rodriguez’s apartment. The grabby guy and the bartender were in the living room, cutting off access to the only door.
But there was a window above the stove. Lila squirmed around, trying not to pull at the table as she angled her head to gauge the size. Long and narrow, it had a flip lock and appeared to be painted shut, but if she could get untied, she was pretty sure she could fit through it.
Instead of a rope, her hands were anchored to the table with what felt like a plastic zip tie. It had no give, but maybe she could lift the table somehow and set her wrists free.
She froze, all the saliva disappearing from her mouth when the voices grew louder. They moved away again, but she waited.
Just in case.
That she’d essentially been kidnapped right in front of her father’s head of security held a nasty taste of irony, offset only by the bitterness of knowing she’d walked right into a trap.
She should have trusted Travis.
Yes, he’d been high-handed and domineering.
But he’d also been honest with her. His only goal had been to keep her safe. Okay, she admitted to herself, he’d been a little bossy with it, but he’d never made her feel incapable or inadequate. Instead, he’d made her feel like he valued her. Not just for hot sex—although he’d been pretty darned appreciative of that. But over the last week, he’d show her that he valued her input, he’d listened to her advice. He’d made her feel special.
He’d made sure she had chocolate.
Oh, God.
Lila wiped a tear off her chin with her shoulder, not caring that the move scraped the table against the floor again.
She was such an idiot.
She let her head drop against the table leg and breathed deep to keep the tears at bay.
She’d spent her life crashing up against someone else’s pride and arrogance. She couldn’t believe she’d learned so little that she didn’t recognize the difference between protective caring and megalomaniacal disrespect. All Travis had done was try to safeguard her. Instead of appreciating his skill, his time and effort, she’d thrown it in his face like the spoiled brat her father had so often accused her of being.
Lila vowed if she got out of here, she’d apologize to Travis and tell him the whole story, every single thing, right down to the fact that he probably knew her brother.
She stiffened when the bartender sauntered into the kitchen. The tiny brunette didn’t look anything like a criminal mastermind as she pulled open the fridge and grabbed a beer.
“Want one?” Dory laughed and rolled her eyes. “Sorry, obviously you can’t drink in that position.”
“Maybe you could free me, then.”
“That’d be a no,” Dory chided, still using that friendly tone. “I can’t risk you doing something stupid.”
Lila debated promising she wouldn’t try anything, but knew she wasn’t a good enough liar to be convincing. Instead, she tried toughing it out.
“You won’t get away with this, you know. The police, my family, the Navy SEALs, they’ll be looking for me.”
“Nah.” Dory grabbed a bag of tortilla chips off a shelf and popped one into her mouth. “The cops are in my pocket, so they won’t bother us. Your family is in another country. And if you’re thinking that Hawk guy is the SEAL coming to your rescue, you really need to get a clue.”
Lila’s glare was for show, but her mind was racing. Dory obviously didn’t realize who she was, and had no clue that her father already had people in place. And dismissing Travis like that? That was going to be what brought this whole thing down.
Travis would stop at nothing until he’d rescued her. Holding on to that belief with all of her heart, Lila realized all she had to do was stall until he found her.
“Why are you doing this?” she asked. “What’d I ever do to you?”
“That’s crazy thinking.” The brunette shook her head. “Life isn’t all fair and tidy like that. It’s not about what you deserve or payback. It’s just one of those wrong place, wrong time things, you know?”
This philosophical cheerleader was in charge? Trying to wrap her mind around that, Lila could only shake her head.
“Still, I don’t mind filling you in,” Dory said, straddling a wooden chair and resting her chin on the back to give Lila a friendly look. “This has really screwed up your life, so while I’m not into that whole fair thing, I suppose it could be called fair to tell you why.”
“I don’t have anything, if that’s what you’re thinking. I barely spoke with Chef Rodriguez.”
“I wondered. Garcia, he’s my partner—” she put a little wink-wink-nudge-nudge into that word, as if she considered her partner a joke “—he’s sure Rodriguez passed something to you.”
“But you don’t believe that?”
“Nah. Rodriguez was a dumbass. He thought he could steal from me, hide the money in a U.S. bank and then skip the country. But I don’t figure he was stupid enough to put anything in writing.” She tossed back a handful of chips. Speaking with her mouth full, she added, “I figure it was a verbal thing. Like, he told you what was going on.”
“He didn’t tell me anything,” Lila insisted, leaning forward to give intensity to her denial.
“Then why were you and the hottie hanging out in the bar all week? Intimidation tactics?”
Well, yeah.