by Elle Kennedy
Luring him away was her best bet, but that meant she’d need to find a way to handle Kane. If she told him that she was meeting Devlin, he’d never let her go alone. But if she lied, faked a headache or something equally contrived, he’d know something was up. She’d fought tooth and nail with him to let her be part of the rescue, even if it meant simply waiting on a helicopter. No way would he believe she’d suddenly decided to sit it out.
“All right.”
Devlin’s harsh response jerked her from her thoughts. “All right?” she echoed.
“I choose you, luv.”
Relief soared through her. “And you won’t interfere with the rescue effort? You won’t tell Blanco that his auction might be in danger?”
“Do you honestly think I give a damn about Blanco’s auction?” Devlin said in a cavalier tone.
“I want your word.”
He laughed again. “Then you have it, my sweet Abby. I give you my word that Blanco will not know what hit him. To be honest, I’ve grown rather tired of the man. Perhaps he’ll have a run-in with Morgan’s rifle.”
He sounded sincere, but Abby didn’t trust the bastard. Not one bit. She’d done all she could, though. She would warn Morgan that the team might be expected, but she would not be on that chopper with them.
“Now, back to business,” Devlin chirped. “There’s a little mining town about two hours north of Bogotá. We’ll meet there.”
“Fine,” she agreed.
“There’s an abandoned emerald mine in the western foothills. I’ll expect you there at— When is that silly auction? Seven. Yes, we will meet at seven. If you don’t show, I pick up the phone and warn Blanco.”
“I’ll show,” she said in a low voice.
“Good.” He paused. “And I don’t need to remind you to come alone, do I? No backup, Abby.”
“Any backup I may have brought will be indisposed at that time,” she reminded him.
“Yes, I imagine so.” He chuckled. “You know, I find myself almost rooting for Morgan. I’ve always thought of him as a worthy adversary. Not as worthy as you, though.” His chuckle transformed into a hearty laugh. “I will kill you, luv. I hope you realize that.”
She offered a laugh of her own. “I’d like to see you try, luv.”
He hung up.
Shit.
Abby drew an unsteady breath, hoping she hadn’t just made the biggest mistake of her life. But what other choice did she have? Devlin could not be at that compound when the rescue went down. His insane obsession with her would ruin everything, endanger not only Kane and his team but the lives of those innocent girls as well. The only way this mission had even the slightest chance of succeeding was if she distracted Devlin. If she killed him.
Exhaling slowly, she got to her feet. She had to go.
Now. Before he gets back, Abby.
Jeremy’s voice in her head. Sharp and confident as always.
Right. She needed to leave. It was only one o’clock. The mine was two hours away. If she left now, she’d get there at three, four hours ahead of Devlin. It meant being out in the open, exposed, for far too long, but there weren’t many other options available to her. She had to leave the safe house before Kane returned, or else he’d try to stop her.
Her mind raced as she worked over the details. She needed a vehicle. Weapons. A way out without the other men seeing her.
The sound of the front door opening caught her attention. Frustration slammed into her when she heard Kane’s voice drifting from the living room.
Damn it.
Damn it.
Lucia’s hands trembled as she followed the unfamiliar guard into the familiar room. Her pupils were still struggling to adjust to the sunshine streaming in from the window. It felt like they’d been locked in that cold, dark bunker for months rather than days. Blinking, she looked around in surprise.
Mamá had brought her here before. This was where the staff went when their work was finished. The other girls looked confused as they glanced at the frayed couches and the small but tidy kitchen area.
“Where is this?” Valencia whispered, sounding uncertain.
“Quiet!” the guard snapped. He stalked around and did a head count, nodding stiffly when he confirmed they were all there. “If any of you make a sound…” He didn’t finish the rest of his sentence, simply lifted his scary-looking gun and waved it around before making a move for the door.
A burden lifted off Lucia’s chest as he closed the door. A lock clicked into place, and then they were alone.
She instinctively looked at Valencia, whose tanned arm was wrapped around Sylvie’s quivering shoulders. Consuela stuck close to Valencia, while Emiliana, Nita, and Gabrielle huddled together. The other six girls stood there with blank expressions, waiting for someone to take charge.
“My mamá works here,” Lucia said, her voice barely over a whisper.
“Do you think she’s here, in the house?” Valencia whispered back.
Lucia shrugged helplessly. “I don’t know.”
Valencia led Sylvie to one of the couches and urged the girl to sit. Sylvie obeyed, curling into a little ball, her head propped against the armrest. Several of the others sat down too, but not Lucia.
“I don’t like this,” she whispered. “I think Señor Blanco is going to hurt us.”
“Is there a way out?”
The question came from Consuela. Lucia was quick to shake her head. “Only the door.”
“The man with the gun is out there,” Emiliana reminded them, her big blue eyes filling with tears.
“We can find a way,” Valencia said, her mouth grim. “We have to find—”
Voices sounded outside the door. The lock scraped open, and then a dour-faced woman with long black hair entered the room. She was rolling in a long metal rack. With dresses. There were see-through white dresses hanging on the rack.
Fear exploded in Lucia’s belly.
“Undress,” the woman said briskly.
The girls looked at one another, apprehensive.
The woman glanced at the guard, who promptly lifted his gun. “Undress!” he snapped.
Thirteen pairs of hands fumbled at their clothing.
“Hey,” Kane said as he entered the bedroom, his green eyes lighting up at the sight of her in a way that made Abby want to burst into tears.
Oh God, what was she going to do?
“Did Luke tell you about Inez?” Kane asked, oblivious to her distress. He crossed the room and sat next to her on the bed, one muscular arm casually draping over her shoulder.
She nodded. “Inez managed to do it. The plan worked.”
“And now Trevor and Isabel have a shot to get out of there alive.” Kane’s lips curved into a frown. “I don’t like being in the dark about how many guards there’ll be or where they’ll be positioned. Once Trev and Isabel are in the compound, they won’t be able to contact us to let us know. Blanco will search them for transmitters.”
She tentatively touched his thigh. “You’re worried.”
“Yeah,” he admitted. “It bugs me that we won’t be able to communicate with them. We’re working under the assumption that they’ll be in position at eight thirty. If they aren’t, we’ll all be screwed.”
Not her, though. Of course, she could very well be dead by that time.
Kane took her hand and stroked the inside of her palm. “But let’s not think about any of that now.” A dimple appeared in his chin as he grinned. “We have some time before we need to leave. Wanna fool around?”
She laughed. “Are you serious?”
“Sure. It’s a good way to relax before all that adrenaline kicks in.”
Without waiting for a response, he flopped back on the bed, pulling her on top of him. Abby’s heart raced as he cradled her head and brought her closer for a soft kiss.
An idea floated into her mind.
No. No, she couldn’t.
“So what do you say?” Kane’s voice was light, teasing, and his lips met hers
again, accompanied by a wicked tongue that he dragged over her bottom lip before thrusting it into her mouth.
She closed her eyes and kissed him back. Tried to keep herself in check and stop her mind from turning to mush the way her body seemed determined to do. Ignoring the tiny bursts of pleasure exploding inside her, she threaded her fingers through his hair, then ran them over his neck.
You have to, Abby.
God, Kane would never forgive her for this.
“Fuck, I love kissing you,” he muttered against her mouth, slowly caressing her back in a way that made her fingers tremble.
Steady hands, Abby.
Fuck you, Jeremy.
She dragged her fingers over the nape of Kane’s neck, guilt and sorrow combining in her stomach, making her insides burn.
Kane’s tongue slid into her mouth again at the same time she located the precise spot.
“I’m sorry,” she murmured.
“What—”
She applied just enough pressure on his carotid artery, eliciting a startled curse from his lips. A second later his green eyes glazed over and rolled back in his head. And then he went motionless.
Her throat was so tight, she could barely take a breath. Pain streaked through her body as she stared down at his still form. God. A knot of raw shame tangled in the pit of her stomach like a pretzel. It had been a risky move going for his neck. It took most martial arts experts years to use pressure points safely, but she’d been taught well. Aside from a bad headache, he’d be fine when he came to in a few hours. Angry as hell, but fine.
She inhaled slowly. Okay. She’d bought herself the time she needed. Better make good use of it.
Abby left the bedroom, shutting the door tightly behind her, then made her way to the doorway across the hall. She knocked softly.
D appeared almost instantly, despite the fact that he was supposed to be sleeping. She gazed past his broad shoulders, noticing Ethan sprawled on one of the twin beds, out like a light.
“What do you want?” D said coldly.
“I need your help.”
He moved to close the door.
“Please,” she pleaded. “Please. Come with me, okay?”
Something in her voice must have alerted him to her state of desperation because he stepped out into the hallway. His stiff body language radiated suspicion as he followed her into the bedroom she and Kane were sharing.
“Inside,” she murmured.
D entered the room, took one look at Kane lying on the bed, and spun around to face her, murder in his eyes. “What the hell have you done?”
“I didn’t kill him,” she said quickly. “Please. Just…” She took a breath. “Just dial the rage down a bit. I need your help.”
D was already heading for the bed. He leaned over Kane to check for a pulse and Abby wanted to scream. Did he honestly think she would hurt Kane?
“What the fuck is going on?” he demanded when he was certain Kane’s heart was still beating.
“Devlin called. He knows about the rescue, but I convinced him not to alert the other guards about it. He gave me his word, but we both know his word means shit, so make sure you tell Kane and Morgan that the element of surprise might have been lost.” The words spilled out fast and urgent. “I agreed to meet with him at the same time the rescue is going down. I have to lure him away from the compound, otherwise he’ll fuck everything up. I need to get out of here, D, and I need your help to make that happen.”
He stared at her incredulously. “Are you serious? Do you honestly think—”
“Kane would have tried to stop me,” she interrupted. “Or worse, he would have found a way to go with me, even if it meant leaving you guys in the lurch. You need him on the extraction, D. You can’t do it without him.”
“So you knocked him out?”
“I had no other choice.” Desperation bounced off her words. “Devlin wants me to come alone. Kane wouldn’t have let that happen. You know it.”
D’s jaw was tight, his expression feral. “I once told you that if you hurt any of my guys, I’d break your neck.”
“I remember.” She met those furious black eyes. “But you know I did the right thing. Kane can’t be a part of this.”
“He’ll kill me if I help you.”
“He’ll get himself killed if he tries to help me. Not to mention leave you one man short on this rescue. So for the love of God, stop arguing with me and help.”
D shook his head. “You want me to send you into Devlin’s clutches? I worked with that man once, Abby. He’ll tear your throat out.”
“Would that really bother you?” she said, sarcasm oozing from her tone. “You don’t give a damn what happens to me. But you do care about this mission, and making sure that everyone involved gets out of it alive. The extraction will go smoother if Devlin isn’t at the compound. That’s one less thing to worry about.”
He didn’t argue with that one. Like he’d said, he’d worked with Devlin. He knew better than anyone what a vicious pain in the ass that man could be.
D went silent. She could see him thinking, working it over in his head, and then some of the ice in his expression thawed, and she knew with a burst of relief that he would help her.
He squared his shoulders. “Follow me.”
Knowing better than to ask questions, she did as he asked. The living room was empty when they entered, but Morgan’s voice wafted out from the den, followed by a loud guffaw from Luke.
“Out, now,” D said almost inaudibly.
They quietly moved toward the front of the house, but rather than leave by the front entrance, D gestured to a narrow door to the left of the hall. She’d assumed it was a closet, but to her surprise, it opened to reveal a metal staircase.
“Hurry,” D snapped, sounding annoyed as he glanced over his shoulder to see her hesitating at the top of the stairs.
She quickly followed him down. Neither of them made a sound as they reached the landing at the bottom, which featured yet another door, this one opening to a spacious garage she hadn’t known existed. Several SUVs cluttered the large space, along with a pickup truck and a sleek yellow Ducati motorcycle that made her gasp.
“Is that a Desmosedici?” she demanded.
D looked like he was going to smile. He didn’t, of course. “Latest model on the market.”
“Those things go like two hundred miles an hour,” she said in admiration.
“Which is why you’re taking it.” He strode in the opposite direction of the bike, toward a metal utility cabinet. Yanking it open, he looked over his shoulder and snapped, “Get over here. Help me with this gear.”
Five minutes later, she had everything she needed and D was handing her a black helmet. “The garage door is automatic. They’ll hear it opening from upstairs.”
Abby tucked her hair behind her ears and slid the helmet on. Flipping the visor open, she shot him a grave look. “Stall. Make something up. Give me as much time as you can. And when Kane wakes up…” Her throat clogged. “Tell him…”
D waited impatiently.
Abby swallowed hard. “Forget it. I’ll tell him myself.” She swung a leg over the bike and straddled the powerful machine.
D stepped toward a control panel on the wall. “Ready?” he said gruffly.
She lowered the visor and revved the engine.
D pressed a button and the garage door came to life with a grating metallic roar.
A moment later she was gone.
His head felt like someone had pounded it with a baseball bat. Lord, why did it hurt this much? Why did—? Kane’s eyes snapped open.
What the hell?
Feeling groggy, he took a few seconds to orient himself, groaning as he tried to sit up. His temples ached. Blinking wildly, he tried to remember where he was, what had happened—and then it all rushed back with startling clarity.
“Son of a bitch!” He shot into an upright position.
Abby. Abby had knocked him out. The image of her dark yellow eyes, glim
mering with regret, swarmed his brain. Red-hot fury crashed into him like a tidal wave.
He heaved himself off the bed, but a deadly voice stopped him before he made it to the door.
“She’s already gone, man.”
Fighting a wave of dizziness, Kane spun around and spotted D in the armchair by the window, his ankles crossed, his expression nonchalant.
“What do you mean, she’s gone?” Kane demanded.
“She left. A few hours ago.”
Kane swore violently. “She knocked me out. She… kissed me,” he choked out. “She fucking seduced me and then knocked me the fuck out.”
“I know,” D said with a shrug.
“What?”
Sounding extremely calm, D uncrossed his legs. “She brought me in here afterward. She asked me to help her leave. So I did.”
Rage congealed in Kane’s blood. His body went stiff as the implication of what D had just said settled in. “You helped her? Why the hell would you do that? Where the hell did she need to go that was so damn impor— Devlin,” he said dully.
D didn’t respond.
“He got to her,” Kane muttered. He sagged against the wall—it was suddenly hard to keep himself vertical. “He convinced her to go to him. Why? Why would she agree?”
And why wouldn’t she tell me?
The question hung in the air, but neither man said it out loud. Didn’t matter. Kane knew the answer anyway. She hadn’t told him because he would’ve tried to stop her. Failing that, he would have gone with her.
And she hadn’t wanted him to come.
She hadn’t trusted him to come.
His chest felt ravaged, as if someone had burned it with a hot poker. He’d actually believed they were getting somewhere.
It was a slap in the face, knowing he’d been wrong.
“It doesn’t matter why she went,” D said calmly. “She’s gone. And all you can do is focus on the mission now.”
The fury swirling through his body channeled itself at D like an electrical current. Kane charged across the room and heaved the other man off the chair, slamming him against the wall with so much force that a picture frame came crashing down to the parquet floor.