Dangerous Heat (Aegis Group, #8)

by Sidney Bristol

“We get by.”

  Coco turned her head and spied a list stuck to the refrigerator. A grocery list.

  “I’ll make you a deal.” She turned her attention back on Cameron. “If you’ll make one phone call, I’ll take care of that grocery list.”

  “A phone call? What’s the catch?” His eyes narrowed.

  “It’s to a friend of mine. Mlilo won’t rehire you, but I know someone who needs help he can trust. You have a good work ethic, you just made a mistake. How’s that sound?”

  “Too good to be true.”

  She held out her hand. “Sometimes the good stuff is true.”

  SATURDAY. OUTSIDE MLILO Animal Reserve, South Africa.

  Ebrahim swung his arm, batting at the tall grass with his stripped-down stick.

  Where the fuck was she?

  They’d killed the rhino and left a trail a child could follow. So why was no one looking for them?

  Every other time he’d poached from the Mlilo land, they’d had security up their ass within minutes. But not this time. Why? Had they been too careful?

  Other than a pair of Mlilo security guards, Ebrahim’s men hadn’t seen anyone poking at the trail. Bekker had given Ebrahim one task, to take care of the Mlilo bitch. He couldn’t be happier to take on his first job for his new boss. Except his perfectly laid plan wasn’t working out as he’d intended it to.

  “Does anyone know what the fuck is going on?” Ebrahim turned toward the four men lounging by the campfire.

  They all found somewhere else to look.

  Ebrahim muttered under his breath and turned back toward the trail.

  This should be over with by now.

  She was the one behind the police reports. It was her fault the cops had come after Ebrahim’s family.

  So where was she?

  They’d taken the prize rhino bull to make sure she gave chase. If she didn’t come after Ebrahim he’d have to go after her.

  He turned his head toward the Mlilo resort, hidden among the hills out there in the distance. The sky had gone an inky black dotted with a hundred million pinpoints of light. Insects chirped and sang, creating the song of the land.

  It was her or him, and he intended to win the day.

  9.

  Monday. Mlilo Animal Reserve, South Africa.

  Coco gripped her phone in both hands, eyes shut, and allowed the grief to wash over her.

  Four days since Utata died, and no one outside a small circle of people knew about it. They didn’t talk about it and so far, no one had asked about the rhino. But now Coco knew who killed him and possibly where to find the remains.

  The ballistics weren’t official. It was a preliminary report, but because the bullets they’d found matched other poaching cases, the identification process would be faster.

  The person who’d shot Utata was a repeat offender when it came to poaching. It wasn’t the first time this crew had targeted the animals at Mlilo and it wouldn’t be the last. But this time Coco needed to do something about it.

  She had to talk to Paxton.

  Her feet began walking before she’d finished the thought.

  The last few days were a whirlwind of action. Coco hadn’t truly been prepared for what was going to happen. Sure, she’d known the Aegis Group was donating new equipment, but no one was prepared for how much. The trucks had begun rolling in while everyone was still groggy from the party that had lasted until almost dawn. Coco hadn’t stayed that long, which in hindsight was a good thing.

  She and Paxton had fallen into an easy rhythm, which was surprising. Coco didn’t warm up to people quickly. It was a product of the environment she’d been born into. But he’d slipped past those barriers and she didn’t have a minute in her days to worry about what that meant. He was here now, and that was what mattered.

  Coco pushed her sunglasses up her nose and cut across the paths leading toward the big tent that had been erected on the south lawn of the old resort.

  “Coco, wait up,” Daluxolo called out.

  She glanced to her right and slowed her pace a bit as the head of security jogged over to join her. Her insides twisted up even more, making it hard to speak.

  “Mrs. Pedersen was asking about you. Said you haven’t been to see her,” Daluxolo said.

  Coco glanced away, shame making it hard to look at him.

  Most days it was still too painful to visit her mentor’s widow. It was the reason why she rarely ventured to the staff kitchen because Mrs. Pedersen was always there tending the stove.

  “Yeah.” Coco cleared her throat. “It’s been busy, you know?”

  “I know.” Daluxolo shook his head.

  She stared at his profile. “We need to talk about Utata.”

  He turned to look at her, brows lifted. There was hope in his eyes. “You have news?”

  “Yeah. Come on.”

  They sped up, walking in silence while others bustled around. It was easy to pick out the staff. They were all wearing similar expressions of disbelief. Everyone who’d worked at Mlilo for even a short amount of time knew that their goals were always about providing land for the animals to thrive on. Diverting funds from directly benefitting the animals to build the new resort had caused a lot of problems, but the end result was to bring more people to their park to spend their tourist dollars. The investment in a nicer resort meant more people and more money in the long run. Many of the departments were running on fumes as they awaited these first fully-booked months to bring an influx of cash to simply keep operations going.

  The Aegis Group gifts were going to put their security and anti-poaching teams years ahead of where they had hoped to be. Using state-of-the-art equipment would give them the edge they needed to make deaths like Utata’s rarer.

  Daluxolo pulled the tent flap aside and held it for Coco. She stepped into the field headquarters for the Aegis Group team. Her gaze went straight to Paxton.

  He had his back to her facing a map, talking to Silas and two familiar faces. The security guards who’d found Utata.

  Coco’s heart wept, but now wasn’t the time for tears.

  She circled the other two areas and headed for the back of the tent.

  Last night she’d been very close to asking him to stay at her place, but she’d chickened out moments before he stepped on the last shuttle to the resort. Now she was going to have to accept that their chance to spend time together was dwindling as their focus changed to that of the poachers.

  Then again, maybe it was better this way.

  They’d had one night, a memorable evening, and some stolen moments including a hot interlude over lunch. It was more action than she’d gotten in a while and she wasn’t sure that she’d ever had as easy of a relationship with a man as she did with Paxton. But all things came to an end.

  Except things didn’t have to stop if she took the scholarship, a voice whispered in her mind.

  Coco slammed the top on that can of worms shut.

  One thing at a time.

  Paxton turned and glanced her way. Their gazes snagged and butterflies fluttered in her stomach. It was a strange thing to be flustered, aroused, guilty and sorrowful all at once. Her hands didn’t know what they should do and her feet chose that moment to find a rock to stumble over.

  “Easy.” Paxton caught her by the elbow and offered her his coffee. “You might need this more than I do.”

  “Thanks.” She took the cup and drank a bit, giving her a mind a moment to focus.

  He let go of her arm and slid his palm down her back. It was a brief touch, nothing more, then it was over.

  Paxton lowered his voice. “We were just discussing going out and taking a look at where Utata was killed.”

  “Actually, I wanted to talk about that.” She glanced at Silas and found him looking at her.

  “He told me,” the man said.

  “Oh.”

  Coco wasn’t sure what she thought about Paxton’s best friend. The two men couldn’t look more different. Where Paxton was tall and broad
, fair and golden, Silas was shorter and stocky with reddish brown skin that made her think of the red sand dunes out at Kalahari Desert. His brown eyes were nearly black, and he kept his dark hair shorn military short. During the few times she’d been around Silas all he did was stare at her.

  “You were saying?” Paxton asked.

  “Sorry.” Coco pulled out her phone. “They called to let me know their preliminary assessment on the bullets. The gun is linked to a man named Ebrahim who has been charged with poaching in the past.”

  Daluxolo shook his head and muttered words.

  She kept going. “We know him because he’s part of a crew we’ve had a lot of issues with in the past.”

  “What about the tranq darts?” Paxton asked.

  “Those are going to take longer. Whatever they used to bring Utata down isn’t something we’ve seen before. It’ll take weeks to be tested, track down who made it...” Coco shrugged. She knew that whoever was behind the dart would be long gone by the time they were ready to go after the poachers legally.

  “Got it.” Paxton grimaced. “What do you want us to do?”

  “Let’s go take a look at the...the spot.” Coco tipped her chin up. Today wasn’t a day for feelings. It was a day for action. “I want to look around, see if we can follow their trail. Maybe we can figure out how they’re getting past our security.”

  “You got it.” He glanced at Silas sitting by the map taped to the tent wall. “Coming?”

  A slow smile spread across Silas’ face. “Someone’s got to watch your back, nerd.”

  “Jerk.” Paxton looked back at her. “We’ll grab our gear and be ready in a few minutes, okay?”

  “Uh, okay.” Coco frowned at Silas. She was growing to like the man less.

  “We’ll get the truck and meet you.” Daluxolo gestured to the other two security team to follow him.

  Paxton strode away, leaving Coco with Silas. The other man stared at her, his hands clasped behind his head.

  “Can I help you?” Coco asked.

  “Just trying to figure you out.” He pushed to his feet, eyes narrowed.

  She arched her brows. “Figure me out?”

  Silas took a step closer to her and popped a piece of gum in his mouth while his eyes searched her face, studying her. “Pax is a good guy.”

  “And you’re saying I’m—”

  “I’m not saying anything about you, señorita.” He held up his hand, speaking over her. “Pax is a good guy, and he needs good people looking out for him. Got me?”

  She crossed her arms over her chest. How many times had she been made out to be the problem? “No.”

  Silas muttered words she didn’t understand. “Look, Pax grew up rough. If he was anything like his dad, he’d be in prison for unspeakable crimes. But he’s not. Somehow that dork over there is one of the best people I know. We look out for each other. He likes you. Which means he’s probably going to do something stupid, like pick a fight with a gang he can’t win because he wants to make you happy. As his best friend sometimes I have to think about what’s best for him—”

  “I didn’t—no.” Coco shook her head. Sure, she’d daydreamed about busting up a poacher group, but that wasn’t real. She grabbed Silas’ arm and pulled him further from the others, speaking quieter for him alone. “I would never. Never, you understand me?”

  “Good.” Silas nodded. “It’s okay to want the bad guys to get what they deserve. I do that every day. Pax...”

  They both glanced across the tent where Paxton was talking to another man wearing the Aegis Group polo shirt.

  “Pax is that guy, the one who’d go to the end of the earth for the people who matter to him. I was a real dick to him in the beginning then he saved my sorry ass,” Silas said in a low voice. “Don’t ask him for the moon, okay?”

  “What would I do with the moon?”

  “Great, the nerd found a smartass.” Silas grinned at her and this time there was a friendly glint in his eye.

  Had she passed some test?

  Coco swallowed and glanced back at Paxton. She knew a little about his parents, what Paxton had told her that first night. It was clear there was more to the story. She didn’t need to know it all to see that Paxton was a good person. It was evident in how he listened, the way he showed up first and left last. She might have been attracted to his looks in the beginning, but it was the man who had her wanting to come back for more.

  He made her feel safe. Even when he followed her around, it wasn’t like he was smothering her. It was as though they were a team.

  Did she feel this way because she’d been alone too long?

  She didn’t see how anything could happen with Paxton. Her life was here, his was everywhere else. Unless she took the scholarship. But even then, what could they have? What did she want?

  And there was the question Coco had been avoiding for years. It was easier to hide out, do her job and focus on tomorrow.

  PAXTON STRETCHED HIS arm along the back of the padded bench seat, gripping the bars that protected the passengers in the safari truck. Silas and the two security guards sat facing Paxton and Coco. No one spoke, mostly because it would be too hard to be heard over the wind and engine.

  Back in the tent he’d turned around to say something to Silas, only to spot his best friend inches away from Coco talking at her. Paxton wanted to know what the hell had been going on, but there hadn’t been a chance. The only thing that’d stopped him from demanding answers was that Coco didn’t seem the least bit bothered by whatever Silas had said.

  There was no telling what Silas might have told her.

  Usually Paxton didn’t mind Silas’ sense of humor. Sure, they were sometimes over the line and Silas went too far with things, but he wasn’t all bad. But this was Coco, and Silas didn’t know her. Paxton was still very much a stranger, but he knew enough. Until she told him to back off, Coco was his girl. No, they hadn’t agreed on it in clear-cut terms, but she had told him she was interested in him, she came looking for him and she kissed him just as often as he kissed her.

  Silas wiggled his eyebrows at Paxton.

  Why?

  What did that mean?

  He wanted answers, damn it.

  The truck slowed.

  Paxton’s questions would have to wait. Getting to the bottom of Utata’s death was first on the list.

  Coco was up and out of the truck before it had come to a complete stop. While he appreciated her tenacity, he also wished she’d meet things a little less head on.

  Paxton leapt out after her, pausing to scan the area, look or any sign of movement—either human or animal. It would be easy to forget that while they were hunting humans, there were other things out there that could be hunting them.

  “Scavengers have been here,” Coco said.

  He turned and followed her to the spot. The grass was still beat down from where Utata had lain. The tracks from another vehicle weren’t as clear, but even Paxton could tell what direction they’d gone.

  Daluxolo joined them. “Based on the limited footage we have and the tracking data from Utata’s chip, it looks like they came in on foot then drove him away from the resort.”

  “When we came out here three days ago, I saw signs that someone set up a perch over there.” Paxton gestured to a cluster of trees with sturdy branches. “There weren’t any casings and I don’t think that person did any firing. All the rounds in Utata were close-range.”

  “What are you saying? And when did you have time to come out here?” Coco pushed her sunglasses up on her brow.

  “You were supervising the pangolins. The guys were coming out anyway, so I hitched a ride.” He shrugged.

  Daluxolo nodded at him. “Paxton and I share the same theory. Utata ran away from them in the beginning because they caught him unaware. He was always too smart. They let him run too long, and he figured out how to get away from them. He got shot either as a way to slow him down or because Utata charged one of them. Once he was stunned and injur
ed, they darted him and...”

  “How’d they get past security to begin with?” Coco glanced from Daluxolo to Paxton.

  “Don’t know yet.” Daluxolo shrugged.

  Paxton glanced down at Coco. “I was talking with the guys earlier about seeing how far we could go with the tracks.”

  “Let’s go.” She strode off through the grass, her teal boot a lone splash of vibrant color.

  A sweat broke out along Paxton’s spine. His knee jerk reaction was hell no. But this was Coco’s home. She knew these grounds and had walked them long before Paxton arrived.

  Silas slapped Paxton on the shoulder. “Don’t get left behind, bro.”

  He kept pace with Silas, Coco drawing a little ahead of them. The others returned to the truck, lumbering after them.

  “What was that about earlier?” Paxton asked, pitching his voice lower for Silas’ ears alone.

  “Just getting to know her. That’s all.” Silas thrust Paxton’s backpack at him.

  Great.

  Just what he needed. Silas giving Coco the family treatment.

  The Herrera family was a lot to take in. As a whole, they were a big, boisterous family constantly busting each other’s balls. Paxton had gotten used to it after a while, but at first it was an acquired taste.

  “What did you say to her?” He glanced at Silas, his face shadowed by a baseball cap and sunglasses.

  He nodded ahead of them. “She’s going to be a lot to handle, isn’t she?”

  Coco had drawn farther ahead of them. She’d picked up a long stick and tapped the ground as she walked, somehow continuing to outdistance them.

  It was a picture that captured everything Paxton knew about her.

  She was strong, unafraid to push ahead, but he had this idea that she was all alone in the world, because she never paused to look at all the people cheering her on. He’d known her a few days and he could see how much of an impact she made on others. And yet she was blind to it. Paxton had been like that, and then the Herraras got a hold of him. He hoped someday she realized she wasn’t as alone as she felt.

  MONDAY. CANE DE JONG Office, Johannesburg, South Africa.