by Desiree Holt
A corner of Max’s mouth hitched. “Of course he does. I wouldn’t expect any less.”
“We both have met too many people just like Jed Whitlow and I’m sure, based on Si’s profiles, the others in this group are the same.” She reached out and paced a slim hand on his wrist. “Analyzing is my business, Max. We’ll be in control. Just remember that.” She grinned. “As long as we stay alive.”
“Yeah. Not funny, Regan.”
“I know. But we can use a little levity right now.”
Speaking in low tones, they sipped their drinks and continued to dissect the rest of the conversation with Jed. To anyone observing them, they looked like any other man and woman having a pleasant drink together.
“Well, I think we’ve dissected this body as much as we can,” Regan teased. “We left hardy any flesh on it.”
“I’d like to take the flesh off all of them,” Max growled. “I never can figure out how people with obscene amounts of money can turn on the countries that allowed them to make that money in the first place.”
“Power,” Regan told him. “I have an acquaintance I used to have this argument with all the time. Put three little kids in a sandbox I used to tell her. It’s a great sandbox, painted and with the finest white sand. Give them each an equal number of toys and tell them they can swap if they want, but they must share. In fifteen minutes, you have one kid hogging most of the toys and ordering the other two kids around.”
“That’s the damn truth,” he agreed. He drained his glass, set it down in front of him, and leaned across the table so his face was closer to Regan’s. Might as well put it out there and get past it. If this was a problem, they should deal with it now.
“You know, Regan, in all my SEAL training, one of the things I learned over and over again was the mission requires personal discipline. No matter how tough the assignment, no matter what my personal feelings might be, the mission was the only important thing. Everything else was sublimated to it.”
“I know that.” She smiled. “I was married to a SEAL, remember? And I work with several. Is there a problem I’m not aware of?” The smile disappeared from her face. “Is it me? Did I do something? I thought—”
He held up a hand.
“There isn’t a thing wrong with you, Regan. You’re not the problem. I am.”
Regan frowned. “I don’t understand.”
He sighed. “I shouldn’t even be telling you this, but I thought you should know in case my behavior is odd at times. And just so you know this is not a situation I’ve had to deal with before.”
“Damn it, Max. Whatever bug you’ve got up your ass, just spit it out.”
“Look.” He took in a breath and let it out. He was in very unfamiliar territory here. “We’re supposed to be acting like a couple who are for all intents and purposes newlyweds. I believe Si said they’d only gotten married less than a year ago.”
“Regan nodded. “That’s correct.”
“That means we’ll be expected to project an air of intimacy. That’s not the hitch here. Damn it, Regan, I’m attracted to you. Have been since the first moment I laid eyes on you. And I don’t mean just the ‘Hey, I want to get in your pants’ kind of attraction.”
He stopped, trying to organize his words, and raked his fingers through his hair. This wasn’t just unfamiliar territory. It was damned embarrassing.
“Max, listen, I—”
He held up his hand. “Please let me finish. This is embarrassing enough as it is. I’m only telling you this because I’m trying to be a gentleman.”
“And you are,” she assured him, grinning, “A perfect gentleman.”
“Yeah, maybe not so perfect. I’m going to be working real hard to make sure this stays as playacting because it seems I’m…attracted to you.”.”
A tiny smile teased at her lips. “Attracted? To me?”
“Yeah.” He cleared his throat. “And think about it. To carry out this charade we’ll also be sleeping in the same room once we get to the lodge where the meeting’s being held. My mind might be 100 percent on the business at hand, but I’m not sure my body is.” He sighed. “Like I said, I unexpectedly find myself very attracted to you. No, more than just attraction. And it shocks the hell out of me. In my entire life, I’ve never had more than a superficial relationship with any woman. Never wanted one. Maybe that’s why I’m so ripe for it, but I think it’s way more than just that.”
Her laugh was soft and musical and, when he looked across the table, he was surprised to see a faint blush color her skin.
“If you’re saying what I think you are,” she said slowly, “should I tell you I might be having the same problem?”
“Oh?” His eyebrows rose. “Is that a fact?”
She nodded. “I was actually counting on you and your SEAL discipline to keep us both in line.” She lowered her gaze. “Max, there haven’t been very many men since Dylan. No one who really appealed to me that way. The few times I tried, it was a disaster for both of us. I just figured I’d be celibate for the rest of my life. Talk about being shocked at my body’s reaction to you—that’s a mild way to describe it. And I guarantee you have more experience with this than I do.
“But not the right kind.” He took one of her hands in his. “Nothing’s ever going to happen unless you want it to. I just thought you ought to be aware of this in case I do or say something by accident.”
She gave a low, throaty laugh. “By accident? Huh. Too bad it wouldn’t be on purpose.” Then she leaned toward him. “Listen, Max. This may sound corny, but the future and safety of this country—maybe other countries—depends on you and I being able to put a stop to this and gathering information to put these people in prison. We’re going to do just that.”
“Yes, we are, despite my misbehaving libido.”
“Max. You know your SEAL discipline will take control. You’re an honorable man which is why you felt compelled to warn me your behavior might be a bit strange now and then and told me why. But if something happens between us, in the early morning hours, before we become the Ferrens again, well…” She shrugged. “I don’t shoot friendlies.”
He felt the tension easing from his body. “I’ll do my SEAL best to keep a lid on it. But it’s nice to know if the lid slips, you won’t take my head off.”
“How can I when I feel the same way. When this is over…”
“When this is over my engine will be revving full tilt. Now, let’s get out of here and put on our pretend faces. Jed was so stunned that we weren’t what he expected, maybe he will let a few things slip.”
“Let’s hope so. I was surprised that a man like him could be shocked by anything.”
“Me, too.” He raised his hand to signal for the waiter. “You ready, Mrs. Ferren?”
“As ready as I’ll ever be, Mr. Ferren.”
“Then, let’s do it.”
Chapter Six
Lorena Alvaro looked from her husband, Elias, to the man sitting next to him on the couch. A man she neither liked nor trusted but was tied to by an arrangement worth millions. An arrangement that was also about to open the door for more millions and untold power. If only he wasn’t so obnoxiously arrogant and had more concern for other people. Of course, if that was the case, he wouldn’t be where he was now.
Luis Rojas—known as El Toro because he was built like a bull—was one of the most powerful cartel leaders in Mexico. Maybe in all of Central America. He and Elias’ brother had been friends since they were both halcones (falcons) in the cartel named for Luis’ family. Now Luis was the leader of the group that rivaled Sinaloa and was continuing to expand its reach. They were among the most feared narcotrafficantes and considered the most adept at bringing high-value humans over the border.
More than a year ago, Elias’ health had prompted him to remove himself from an active role and stick to his ranching. However, he hadn’t removed himself from the arena altogether. He and Lorena received substantial amounts of cash for providing a sheltered route fo
r both drug shipments and human cargo. Those high on the terrorist watch list who needed to leave their own countries and find a fresh base knew Rojas could bring them over safely and help them find places to recreate their terror groups.
However, as Lorena was fond of pointing out, one man’s terrorist was another man’s key leader. It was she and Luis who had first hatched the idea of using these terrorists to their advantage. They could wreak incredible havoc on Rojas’ rivals, and the cartel’s hands would be clean.
Then they had met the others—the Whitlows, the Emerys, the Cavanaughs and the Ferrens—at a ranching convention, and they had all gravitated to each other. They all, it appeared, had seemingly unresolvable problems with the government and its regulations regarding cattle ranching. Jed had been the one to suggest they use one of the private dining rooms at the hotel for their dinner. They were heavily into expressing their resentment at the government restriction on land and water that adversely affected ranchers, and things had just unrolled from there.
Bernardo’s heart attack had sent a wave of panic through everyone except Jed. Luis, although not at the table per se, had voiced the greatest misgivings.
“We all have a lot riding on this,” he said now. “I don’t like strangers showing up at the last moment like this. How do we know they really are who they say they are?”
Lorena nodded. “Neither do I, but Bernardo’s heart attack has been verified and his brother and sister-in-law vetted, using everything short of blood tests.”
“Maybe we should have included that,” Luis mused. “If anything goes wrong, the effect would be disastrous for all of us.”
“Luis.” Lorena sighed. “I know how you feel, but I promise you this. When we get to the lodge, if anything about this couple feels off, we’ll just isolate and detain them until the big day.”
“And how will that help?” Rojas demanded. “They’d still be alive and able to do damage to us after they’re released.”
“By then it won’t matter,” she pointed out. “We’ll be in control of everything, and our person will be in place as the head of the government. What possible damage could they do at that point?”
“I don’t like to speculate, but there are unlimited possibilities. I think it’s brilliant that you picked July 4th to do this. It will make the biggest impact.”
“Thank you. That’s what we thought.”
“But keep this in mind. After the initial event, the people in the government and the military who are not under our control will have a chance to regroup and plan. Believe me, Lorena, I know what I’m talking about. We’ve had agencies of this government using every possible trick to fracture and destroy my organization as well as other cartels. They don’t give up.”
“But this time we’ve planned for everything,” she reminded him. “We’ve been very careful to set things up so no one yet knows who we are, and they won’t until the appropriate time. We’ve chosen someone to be the face of our organization. He’s just so happy to be sitting on the throne he doesn’t care if we make all the decisions. The right people will be in place to make sure that’s exactly what happens. Which is a good thing because by himself he’s a disaster.”
Luis took a cigar from his breast pocket, clipped the end, and pulled out his lighter. Lorena had a hard and fast rule about smoking in the house, but neither she nor Elias ever told Luis he couldn’t indulge in his cigars. They’d learned a long time ago just which things they could push him on, and cigar smoking wasn’t one of them. He lit up, took a heavy draw, and blew out a thin stream of smoke. “Just so you are aware, I’m doing my own investigating of this Max and Regan Ferren couple. I don’t like surprises. They are seldom pleasant ones.”
Lorena exchanged a look with her husband. Elias had said very little during this conversation. He always preferred she did the talking while he listened and analyzed. They both knew from experience that Luis had a habit of being heavy-handed with things like this, convinced no one would object to anything he did.
“Luis, we’ve known each other a long time. We’ve been honest with you about this from the beginning. Are you saying now you don’t trust our information?”
“I’m saying that I have found it’s always better to vet things for yourself.” He glanced from one to the other. “You wanted our ‘soldiers’ as support for this. Our army, since you can’t exactly tap your own military. We’re providing the manpower to supplement what the terrorist leaders have gathered. We’ve been sending them all over your country to meet with the people you’ve put in charge so there will be enough manpower at every location.”
To make sure they have enough on what they’d come to think of as E-Day for Explosion Day, Lorena thought.
“It would be foolish on my part,” Luis continued, “not to investigate every possible thing that could go wrong. Comprende?”
“Yes, yes, yes.” She flipped her hand in the air. “But If you find something, anything at all, you come to us—to me—immediately. Do not act on your own. If you do anything to trigger something that blows up our plans…”
Luis held up a hand. “I am not about to affect that. I have as much at stake as you do.”
That was almost true, Lorena thought. With a new structure for this country in place, the man would be free to expand his cartel operations any area he chose. And the other cartels with whom he constantly fought for control of certain areas would have to take a back seat. That’s just the way it would be set up. She knew he was aware of that and wouldn’t be in a hurry to make a mess of it.
“I just ask that you be careful,” she told him again. “Jed Whitlow met with the Ferrens all afternoon today, and tonight he and Anna are taking them to dinner. He didn’t express any misgivings about them, so where is this coming from?”
Luis blew another stream of smoke and looked at her through it as it evaporated.
“Forgive me, senora, but Jed Whitlow cannot see through his own ego. It is convenient to let him believe he is the leader of the group. He does most of the work, and he is the conduit to provide the firepower. But once everything is in place, we may find it better to have someone else in charge.”
“Like you?” Lorena gave an unladylike snort. “That will never happen, and you know it.”
“No, my dear. I was thinking of you. With me as your silent partner. I cannot, obviously, be the face of this organization.” His lips curved in a humorless smile. “Just the actual el jefe.”
“They’ll never approve it,” she told him, even as her heart beat just a little faster. “Everyone in that group believes he should be the one at the head of the table. None of them will give up even an inch of their power.”
She’d lusted for this since the beginning, knowing even then it would be an uphill battle.
“Then it’s up to you to convince them.” He drew another slow puff on the cigar. “Or you and I.”
Lorena swallowed a sigh. Luis brought things to the table that none of the others could. They knew it, although admitting it was another matter. She’d have to count on the fact that they all wanted their plan to succeed so much that they’d acquiesce to El Toro’s request.
“I will talk to them,” she promised.
“Do it at this meeting,” he insisted. “We’re just days away from the big event. As I said, I have sent many men to supplement the ones your imported rabble rousers have gathered together. This will ensure success. If I pull out…” He shrugged and blew a thin stream of smoke.
Lena ground her teeth. They all knew just how disastrous that would be. She hated when Luis played this card, which he seemed to be doing more and more often lately.
“Please don’t push me on this. It’s enough juggling these egos to put the plan in motion and project what comes next.”
“Just as long as you don’t take too long.”
“I will take care of it,” she promised. “Remember, though. We can’t be sure, no matter what he says, how completely Bernardo Ferren briefed his brother. This will take some
maneuvering if I am to be assured of his vote, and that of his wife. And what if he’s really on the opposite side of the fence? What if he’s opposed to what Bernardo is involved in and is coming to this meeting to gather information to destroy us?”
Luis sorted a laugh. “Always suspicious, senora.”
“As are you, I might point out. And it’s how I’ve stayed alive and prospered all these years. Do you have any objections?”
“I leave it in your very capable hands, Senora. Except for one thing.”
She lifted an eyebrow. “What’s that?”
“I still have an itch about this unfortunate last-minute substitution. I might take a little trip to visit Bernardo in the hospital myself. Just to be sure these people aren’t spies.”
“spies?” She stared at them. “How would they even have learned about us? Luis, you’re seeing shadows where there are none.”
“That is how I’ve stayed alive and out of prison all these years. So I’m going to do a little investigating on my own. Be sure you have your cell phone with you at all times.”
“Don’t I always?” She sighed. “I have to admit I’ve wondered about this myself. Ferren wasn’t one of the original group when we met at the cattlemen’s convention. There were four couples in that dining room, discussing government over-regulation of resources that affect us as ranchers. Jed Whitlow brought Bernardo Ferren in as a source for weapons we could trust.” She barked a laugh. “It wasn’t as if we could look up someone on line and place an order.”
“I understand. Truly. But the rest of us only know what Whitlow has told us and what’s available online. And this last minute substitution business gives me chills. I don’t like the fact new people have been introduced at the last minute any more than you do. Like you, I also am a naturally suspicious person. I’m sure you don’t mind if I do my own investigating.” His lips curved in another of those humorless smiles she hated so much. “I have to check this situation out for myself.”