by J. L. Drake
“Ms. Mendez, I’m very impressed. Not many would have taken the time to do such research. I will be in touch with my decision. But for now,” she took the bottle from my hand and filled another glass and handed it to me, “we celebrate a wine that is laced with wonderful memories.” Her glass tapped mine before we both took a sip.
My hands were frozen by the time the presentation was over. Char was in the back with Kyle for moral support.
“Holy hell, Cat, that was amazing! Who knew you knew so much about Nicole Miller! We held our breath there a couple of times when the marketing director asked questions. Thankfully, we know how seriously you take your work, but you must have done a boatload of research.”
I beamed and allowed a little of my own pride to sink in. I did kick ass today. It also helped that I took the owner of the downtown boutique out to lunch to get the real skinny on Mrs. Miller. It turned out they were good friends. There was nothing like getting to know someone through the eyes of a friend. I learned Nicole loved wine. Sometimes a little dash of something personal went a long way.
“Come on, our weekend awaits!” Charlotte pulled me from the conference room.
“Wait, Catalina.” Linda stopped us at my desk. “That was impressive.” She looked over her shoulder at Brent and Tina, who were trying to act like they weren’t listening. “What was even more impressive was that you won over Nicole.” Her brows pinched together. “How did you know about the wine?”
A smile broke free. “Her college roommate’s best friend owns a shop downtown, and it turns out after a little Moscato, she had some stories to tell.”
Linda’s eyebrow perked up. “I think I need to keep my eye on you. Well done.” She turned and walked away but stopped at the others. “The bar just rose.”
Charlotte’s eyes nearly bulged out of her head as she gave a silent scream of excitement. I grabbed her arm and my bag, and we rushed outside.
We linked arms and chatted the entire way back to my place. I was on a serious high. Sadly, we came to a standstill when Jeff stepped off the stoop and blocked our path to my door.
“I can keep that smile on your face permanently if you’d just come inside.”
I rolled my eyes, but he stepped closer. “Jeff, stop.”
“Come on, baby girl.” His hand brushed down my shoulder, and I wanted to shiver.
“She’s not interested.” Charlotte batted his hand away. “Never has been and never will be. She has a boyfriend, you creep.”
“Tame your dog,” Jeff said and snickered at me.
“What did you say?” Charlotte went to get in his face, but I pulled her away, and we went inside. Jeff was an asshole, but he was also my landlord, and I didn’t need my stuff out on the front step when we get back from our weekend.
“You need to do something about him, Cat. He’s really creepy.” She sat on my bed and kicked her feet up. “Peek through a hole, stand behind a curtain kinda creepy.”
“I’m agreeing with you, Charlotte, but what can I do?” I tossed her a water before I started to pack my bag.
“My brother needs to set him straight.”
“Your brother would actually need to be around for that to happen.”
Her face twisted like she was concerned. “Are you finding his coming and going too much?”
“The last time I saw Mike was with you at lunch three weeks ago.”
“If he hasn’t texted you, it’s because he can’t. I hope you know that.” I loved that she defended him.
In fairness, Mike did say he couldn’t text or call sometimes, but three weeks was a very long time, especially when we’d only had one real date. “I know, and honestly, it’s okay.”
She sat up and brushed her hair out of her face. “Wait, don’t you like my brother?”
I folded my jeans and tucked them under my sweater.
“Cat?” I could feel her eyes burning a hole in my face.
“Yeah, I do.”
“Great,” she said, beaming.
“Why do you care so much?”
“Honestly, with the risk of you shutting down on me, I just want to see you have a little happiness, and I know Mike could give you that.”
“I am happy.” Even I could hear the lie in my voice.
“Not surface happy, happy-happy.”
I didn’t like the conversation anymore, so I turned and held up a ripped tank top with studs on the fringe. “Yes?”
“Definitely.” She let the topic go, and I let the high of my presentation sink back in. We needed to get on the road. The four-and-a-half-hour drive to Bristol was just what I needed to clear my head and really let what happened today sink in.
***
The Silver Fox Cottages were just fifteen minutes from the Bristol Motor Speedway and were pretty damn impressive. There were seven little cottages in a horseshoe surrounding a small lake and fire pit in the center. Massive trees provided privacy and shade for those hot summer days.
It was late, but the five of us were wired. Kyle, Chris, and Lizzy were squeezed in the back, and somehow, I lucked out and got to ride up front. Kyle shot me a few pissed-off looks about Lizzy and her need to be the center of attention, and all I did was smirk. I loved the kind of friendship we had.
After we unpacked and the drinks were made, we made our way down to the lake and lit a fire.
“You know what I love?” Kyle grinned at us and poked the fire with a stick. “Even on vacation, we spend it like we’re at the Irons’ house.”
“We know what we like.” I shrugged unapologetically. “So, we do what we like everywhere we go.” I turned to Charlotte, who was on her phone. “You good?”
“Yeah.” She suddenly beamed at me. “What do we have here?”
I twisted to see a bunch of guys wearing board shorts, heading our way with coolers. What was kind of funny was that they all had on bright orange sunglasses.
Match much?
“Who are they?”
“Fresh meat,” Lizzy hissed as she yanked down her tank top to give herself more cleavage.
It didn’t help.
“Ladies!” The guy holding the cooler granted us a huge smile. “We’re in cabins six and seven.”
“Were in one and two,” Lizzy blurted.
“For the weekend?”
“Yup.”
He looked at Charlotte then me. “Lucky us.”
Lizzy pushed to her feet and stood a few feet in front of me. I rolled my eyes at Kyle, who was checking out one of the other guy’s girlfriends. He loved to play both teams. He called it “Undecided.”
“I’m Lizzy.”
“Jason.” He introduced the others, but my phone alerted me to a text, and I pulled it free.
Javier: Are you there?
Excitement burst through my veins, and a smile ripped away my frown. My mind scrambled to type a response.
Catalina: I am. Where are you? Was that you calling me before?
Javier: Catalina?
Catalina: Yes, it was me.
Javier: What’s your middle name?
I paused and shook my head because he was back to being super paranoid. I wondered what kind of trouble he was in now. He may have been my older brother, but I always felt I was the smarter, wiser one. If he was in trouble, I only hoped our father hadn’t gotten wind of it.
Catalina: Sierra.
Javier: Good.
I waited for a moment and then typed again. I needed more.
Catalina: Are you okay? Where are you?
Javier: I need to see you, where are you?
Catalina: I’m away, won’t be home until Sunday night. The key is where it normally is, under the third flowerpot. I’d come home, but we just got here.
Javier: It’s fine, just need a place to crash.
Catalina: How bad is it this time?
A pause before he replied.
Javier: Bad. But I’m heading your way, just really need family right now. Thanks, Cat, and I’m sorry.
I didn’t care what
he’d done right now. I was just relieved to hear from my brother.
An enormous weight lifted off my shoulders, and I felt like I could breathe again. I dropped my phone on the seat and stood with a bounce in my step.
“What’s up?” Charlotte grinned at me. She must have sensed my change in mood. “Did my brother text you?”
“Why would Mike text her?” Lizzy cut in and glared at me with probing eyes.
Damn, I forgot she was here.
“No.” I ignored Lizzy and lowered my voice so the guys couldn’t hear. “I heard back from my brother. He’s okay, and he’s heading to my place tonight.”
“Really?” She wrapped her arms around me. “I’m so glad.”
The new guys wanted to party, but I really needed to chill out, now that I could, so I said my goodnights early and headed to bed. For the first time in a long while, I was able to put my head on the pillow and fall into a deep, peaceful sleep.
***
“Seriously?” Char spat her toast out when she caught sight of my outfit the next morning. “Where did you get that buckle?”
I smirked as I stole the other half of her toast and poured myself a cup of coffee. “This isn’t my first race.” I caught my reflection in the glass door. My white Chucks and ripped jean shorts looked good with the white t-shirt. The number four in the center stared back at me. My Jack Daniel’s belt buckle rested right below my bellybutton that peeked out under my t-shirt.
“You look cute.” Kyle rubbed his tired eyes. He joined me as he checked his watch. “We should get going, or we might miss…” He trailed off, and I looked at him over the top of my mug.
“Who?” I swallowed.
“A girl I invited.”
“Not another Facebook friend?” I groaned. He had a bad habit of dating people from his personal page.
He shrugged, and we all made our way outside. Once Lizzy finally decided to join us, we headed to the track.
Of course, the place was packed, and parking took forever, but once we were through the gates, we all relaxed and hit up the beer truck.
“Wow.” I leaned over the railing at the track below us. “Damn, girl, you scored some good seats.”
“Perks of some family friends.” Charlotte shrugged.
“Mm.” I spotted my driver and grinned at how close he was. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath to enjoy the smell of fumes and asphalt. I became obsessed with NASCAR when I arrived in the States. I needed something fast and heart-pounding to help release the adrenaline. My life had finally taken a swing in a positive direction, but the fear of it being ripped out from under me was always right there.
“Stop,” I hissed to myself. I didn’t need that in my head today.
I felt the heat of someone beside me. A colorful arm slid into my peripheral vision, and a lightness in my chest fluttered. “Who’s your driver?”
I kept my eyes on the track, not wanting to show my excitement right away. He had no problem with staying quiet. I could stay level too. “Kevin Harvick.”
“Hmm.” Grit laced his voice, which hit straight to the center of my stomach.
“You?”
“Harvick.”
A long stretch of time passed before I spoke. “You’ve been gone a while.”
“Yeah.”
“You all right?”
Mike turned to face me, his eyes shaded by his ball hat. “I am now.”
I bit the inside of my lip and thought. “When you’re there, are you ever by yourself?”
“Hardly ever.”
CHAPTER SEVEN
Mike
My boots were soaked, mud caked my face, and my clothes were like cement. The team had come upon a group of young kids who were training with the cartel. We had to blend in with the environment to stay out of sight, which meant immersing ourselves in the muddy lake for over an hour. I tried hard to contain my anger. It was sick that boys as young as seven were being taught how to shoot a gun and how to kill.
“How is this shit supposed to help your skin?” Keith muttered next to me.
“The nutrients seep into your pores and help moisturize them,” Mark answered but looked up when he caught us all staring. “What? Mia gave me the rundown.”
I continued to stare for a few more seconds then turned to John and a new topic. “So, are we on for the Peak next weekend?”
John tensed when the trees behind me moved. We all raised our guns and scanned the branches.
“Relax, boys.” Beast from Team North Rock chuckled as he and his team appeared. “Fancy meeting you guys here.”
“You look like shit,” Greg grunted and dropped onto the ground with a heavy thud. He always wore a pissed-off look, but I knew it was just that he took his job seriously and was a friggin’ good solider.
“It’s been a long day,” I growled. “About four clicks that way,” I pointed west. “there’s kids training.”
“So fucked up.” BT snickered. “All of it is.”
“Yeah.” Our job was rewarding, but really, the dent we make in the cartel could be patched up only a few hours later. The truth was, for every ten cartel goons we took down, they had another fifty ready to take us on. Not to mention the kids. You never knew who you could trust. One moment you were handing them a piece of candy, and the next they were shooting you in the chest.
I pushed that thought aside. It wasn’t something to let in at the moment.
“That’s what your sister said this morning.” Danny laughed at Mark. They were already in conversation. The two never shut the hell up when they were together.
“Hey, man.” Ryan was North Rock’s intel guy. He could find a grain of rice in a barrel of seed. He handed me a piece of paper that contained a hand-drawn map. “I did what you asked. It took a while, but we kept watch and eventually found her. Details later, but one thing, since Elena was taken from the container, I’d say by her appearance, she’s now a pretty.” I gritted my teeth. I knew being a pretty meant she was to be used for the high rollers. He glanced over the shoulder at his team. “Trigger was right to give you that address.” He pointed to the grounds and what they had for cameras. “Seriously high-tech stuff with optical zooms.” Shit, they had our military-grade cameras at Salvador’s house. “And I’d bet my left nut she’s there now, but until they upload her photos to the database, I can’t confirm anything. Right now, she’s a floater.”
“It’s a direction, and I appreciate your time on it.”
“Anytime, man. Say hi to your folks for me.”
“Will do.” I shook his hand and went back to my post.
“Where the fuck is Logan?” Steve popped through the trees with Greg.
“Took a call,” I shouted. I could tell something happened on their end. We often used North Rock when we had a big case and couldn’t spend great amounts of time in Mexico. They were our eyes while we prepared our next move. We couldn’t afford to have any surprises once everything was in place.
“Hey, guys.” North Rock’s Mike had a phone to his ear. “A team has been spotted tracking us.” I noticed Cole had joined us with the same grim expression. “We move before we have company.”
Before another word was spoken, we slipped into the trees and disappeared into the afternoon sun. Six hours later, we touched down on American soil, and I grabbed my bag, excited I was going to see her smile.
A breeze brought me the scent of her, and once again her heavenly smell smothered my senses and pulled me back from my memory.
Her brows drew together. “How did you know I was going to be here?”
I smirked. “Char.”
“What?” A smile tugged at her lips, and the urge to reach out and touch her was intense.
“I told my dad my plans, and Char made sure you guys were going to be here.”
“Ah.” She laughed softly. “So, you knew you’d be seeing me today?”
“Why do you do you think I told my father?” I grinned shamelessly.
Her smile slipped a little. “You coul
d’ve called.”
“I wanted to,” I admitted without missing a beat.
“Why didn’t you?” I liked that she was blunt. It meant I knew where I stood with her. No games, just raw truth.
“Maybe I was afraid you’d ask questions I couldn’t answer, then you’d shut down on me.”
Her lips pressed together, and I felt her mull over what she was going to say. “That’s an unfair assumption.”
“I guess so, yeah.” She was probably right on that one.
She looked back out to the track and tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. “If you like me, Mike, get to know me before deciding how I’m going to react to situations.” She glanced up at me. “I can handle a lot more than you think.”
I leaned back over the railing and joined her stance. “It’s not a matter of if you can, Catalina, it’s a matter of how much.”
Her mouth parted, and her gaze dropped to my lips. The gravitational pull we seemed to create around one another became almost overwhelming.
“Irons, you ready?” John slapped my shoulder as he eyed Catalina. “Oh,” he extended his hand, “you must be Catalina. I’m John.”
Her eyes lit up, and she smiled warmly. “I am.” She shook his hand but quickly glanced at me.
“I’ve heard a lot about you.”
“That so?” Her eyebrow cocked. “So, when do we get to be alone so I can hear all about what you know?” She laughed and reached out for my arm, and the instant she made contact, I felt our magnets fuse together. My arm wrapped around her back, resting my arm on her hip.
“How about tonight?” John winked at me.
“Deal.” She nodded. “So, how do you know each other?”
“Army,” we answered in unison.
“That’s well-rehearsed, boys.”
“You get used to it.” John shrugged. “We’re both in the same unit, if you will, which means we travel and spend entirely too much time together.”