by Donna Young
The wind whistled, finding its way through the gaps and crevices of the wall. She slipped off her shirt and pants. A shiver danced across her skin, but not from the chill of the evening.
She’d planned on waiting until Calvin left before she talked again with Padre Dominic, but now she wasn’t sure.
In less than twenty-four hours she would be on her way back to the States with Argus.
And a hundred things could go wrong before now and then. A hundred things could go unsaid.
The past few days had shown her what kind of woman she could be.
The kind who took risks. The kind who walked into a guarded compound without a weapon. The kind who chased the man she loved across a field riddled with gunfire.
And she did love him. And tonight she would take another risk.
He’d leave in the morning. But unlike the last time, his departure would be expected. No echoes of hurt or betrayal accompanying them.
Quickly, she washed up with the cold water. She slipped on the pants and shirt, shivering, but from nerves or the cold, she couldn’t be sure.
Either way, her decision had been made.
Cal stood just outside the door. He’d made no sound but she sensed him nonetheless.
As if she’d willed it, the pine door swung open.
His gaze pierced the darkness, his body tensed. Without warning, he shut the door and then stepped toward her.
He wore identical loose cotton pants low on his hips and a plain white T-shirt that stretched tight across his chest.
His eyes cut through the semidarkness, lingered over her face. “Julia, nothing will have changed come morning.” His hand slipped behind the base of her neck, rubbed the tender skin with his thumb.
I will, she admitted silently.
“I understand,” she agreed in a low, husky tone. “But tonight…” With deliberate hands, she slipped out of her T-shirt and pants. “Nothing between us.”
He growled deep in the back of his throat. Her arms snaked around his neck as she pressed her body to his.
Her hips shifted, cradling him intimately, until she felt him shudder against her.
His hand traveled down her spine, drew lazy circles with his fingertips. She arched farther into him.
He gripped her butt, brought her in tight. She gasped at the suddenness, the sensation of hard against soft.
Her eyelids fluttered, then closed, her head fell back against his shoulder. Unable to resist anymore, Cal touched his lips to hers, felt them tremble. His body screamed to take her with the insanity that plagued him but something in him resisted. Something in him needed to show her the gentleness, the—love.
Desire flooded him. He cupped the back of her neck, brought her close as his mouth delved deeper into the soft, warm recesses of her mouth. His tongue traced and caressed until she stretched up against him, her body pressed against him, begging him silently for more.
Julia felt his shirt scrape softly against her breasts, the rough cotton abrasive and erotic against her nipples.
She drew his T-shirt up and over his head, groaning when he was forced to break contact.
The scent of the rain, the moisture clung to them both. The bare skin of his chest and shoulders gleamed in the dark of the night. Slowly, almost cautiously she ran her fingertips over his collarbone, following the indents at the base of his neck. She felt him swallow against her touch and her mouth curved with pleasure. She’d forgotten how much he liked to be stroked.
Her fingers trailed down the bare skin of his chest, stopping every few seconds to trace the indentation of his ribs, the ridges of his torso.
“Enjoying yourself?” The words came out in a low rasp, but he didn’t stop her progress.
“More like reacquainting myself,” she answered, the teasing lost in her own breathlessness.
The other times he’d taken control, shown her, led her, taken her where he’d wanted to go. This time, if it was to be the last time, it would be the way she wanted it to be. Take him where she wanted him to go, be with him every step of the way.
She slipped her tongue between her teeth, licked his skin in short velvety strokes. He groaned even as he buried his hands in her hair, urging her with the slightest pressure to continue.
She pulled the knot loose on the drawstring of his pants.
“Julia—”
“Shh,” she whispered. She cupped his arousal, desire snapped at her nerve endings. He was hard and ready. The heat of his passion radiated from his body, but still he held himself tight.
Panting, her breath hot against his stomach, she slipped her hands around his hips and under his waistband and slowly followed the hard contours of his butt, his thighs, until both his pants and briefs lay in a pool at his feet.
He was rigid and hard against her cheek. The scent of his arousal flooded her senses. Her need to taste him almost painful but she held herself for a moment, suspended in time, enjoying once again the power she had over him.
He didn’t beg, but Lord knew Cal wanted to. He didn’t recognize this woman kneeling before him. Teasing, tormenting him.
In the darkness, he could see her tongue play against the edge of her teeth, as if she was anticipating the taste of him.
Cal growled.
Julia laughed wickedly, thickening his blood, setting his body throbbing.
Then her mouth was on him. Hot, tight, stroking.
Cal’s knees nearly buckled under the pleasure.
Her fingers circled him, squeezing just enough to give more pleasure than pain. This time he fell to his knees.
“Enough,” he rasped. His arms circled her and he snatched her against him, stopping her torment, but intensifying his.
He fell back onto the ground, taking her with him, cradling her against his chest.
She sighed and stilled, content to have the hard security of his arms around her, his body curled around her in protection. Suddenly, Cal shifted her up until her breasts were level with his mouth.
“My turn,” he whispered, just before his mouth caught a nipple between his lips. This time Julia shuddered as pleasure raced through her. She moved restlessly against him as his mouth nibbled and stroked. His fingers found her secret spots between her thighs.
Without warning, his fingers slipped into the damp, dark heat of her. Stroking her from the inside, taking her to the edge with his mouth and fingers.
“Cal?” She fought against the urgency that seized her.
“Don’t stop it. Let it go,” he whispered, his breath hot against her ear. With his free hand, he cupped her chin, forced her to look at him.
His eyes were wicked black, his lids heavy with desire.
His fingers stoked her, his thumb finding the sweet spot between.
She whimpered, unable to stem the flood of heat that rushed and pooled between her thighs.
She tightened against his hand, gripped his shoulders and rode the tidal wave over the edge.
“I’ll give you a few seconds, sweetheart.”
But the orgasm only whetted her appetite for him, for the feel of him inside her.
Frustrated, she shifted until his hips bumped against hers.
“Now.” His arousal probed the apex between her thighs.
Then he was in her, filling her, taking them both over the edge.
Chapter Nineteen
Julia woke up in her bed alone; still, her hand searched the pillow next to her. No note. Nothing.
He’d left in the middle of the night. The same as last time.
Quickly, she dressed back into her now-dry clothes.
The storm had passed during the night, and the clean scent of the morning was left behind. She glanced out of her window and froze.
The first thing she saw was a young boy sitting at a bench, reading. His head down, his shoulders rounded.
Quickly, Julia opened the door and retraced her steps to the outside. It only took her a few more moments to find the boy.
“Excuse me,” she said softly in Spanis
h. “Could you direct me to the Padre?”
“Sí, señorita.” The boy was a handsome devil, with eyes the color of forest moss and a mop of hair that hung in an unruly sweep across his forehead and shagged around his ears. “But the priests have started morning prayers, so we cannot disturb them for another hour or so.”
When he shoved the bangs back with his fingers, she smiled, instantly taking a liking to the boy.
Julia sat next to him. “What is your name?”
“I am Argus Delgado,” he said with a small hesitation.
Hiding her surprise, she held out her hand. A moment later, he clasped it and shook.
“I’m Julia,” she said, deliberately leaving out her last name. “It is a pleasure to meet you, Argus.”
Startled, the boy continued to stare. “Thank you,” he said, then glanced behind her. “Julia, may I ask where you have come from?”
“Originally, from Washington, D.C.,” she said, testing the waters. Something tugged at her heart.
“Are you here on vacation?” Argus asked after a moment.
“Not really. I’m here to do a favor for a friend.”
“I see,” the boy said considering her answer for a moment. “Washington, D.C., is a very small distance from New York City, isn’t it?”
“That’s right.”
“I have a sister in New York City. She is in college, studying law.”
“That’s a coincidence,” she admitted. “I was a lawyer once, a long time ago.”
“I know,” the boy confessed.
Julia frowned. “Can I ask how you know?”
“Because I think your friend is also my friend. A man named Jason Marsh,” the boy answered. “Am I right?”
“Yes, Jason is my friend.”
“The favor involves me, doesn’t it, Julia?”
“Yes, Argus, it does.”
“If you are planning on taking me from my mother, I cannot allow it.”
Julia saw the set of the boy’s features, saw what she knew in her heart all along.
“Then I guess we go to the villa and get your mother, Argus.”
The shock brought his eyebrows up under his shaggy bangs. “You will do that for me?”
“Yes, but you need to listen to me first, all right?”
“Sí,” he said with excitement.
“I have another friend. His name is Calvin West. He’s also a friend of your fath—” She stopped, realizing what she was about to say. “Of Jason’s. I need him to help us. Is that all right?”
“You started to mention my father. Does he work for my father also?”
The boy was smart.
“No, he works for the U.S. government. He is one of the good guys,” she reassured him.
“My father has many ‘good guys’ on his payroll, Julia. Some who work for the U.S. government and others who are even friends of Jason’s.”
“I know. But Cal isn’t one of them. We need to find him, Argus.”
“Where is he?”
“On his way to the villa, I’m sure.” To possibly meet Renalto.
“I can get us there, but we have to go on foot,” Argus said. “And we must leave before the priests are done with their prayers.”
THE WIND TOSSED THE LEAVES AND vines—a flag of warning that a storm was building over the hills. Argus moved with amazing agility, but then of course, most kids knew their own backyards. Argus was no different.
“How much farther?” Julia stopped for a breath and put her hands on her hips.
“Only a few more yards. We have a cemetery with a small mausoleum. We can hide in there and rest if you need to.”
“I thought I told you to stay put.”
Julia jumped, her scream caught in her throat.
She turned around and saw Calvin dressed in different clothes. Fatigues. A machine gun strapped to his back and a pistol in his hand.
“Where did you get all of that?” she asked.
“From someone who didn’t need it anymore,” he answered in a flat tone. “What the hell are you doing here?”
Julia put her arm around the boy. “This is Argus. He helped me find you. We need to make sure he and his mother escape Delgado tonight.”
“I am Cristo Delgado’s son.” The boy said the words matter-of-factly.
Julia studied Cal, saw the truth hardened in his features.
She realized she did trust him. Had all along.
“They’re in danger, Cal,” she said softly. “Help me save them.”
“Let’s go then,” Cal said, his tone low. “We’ll sort this out later.”
The boy led them down a short set of stairs to a door. Slowly he lifted a dead bolt from across the way. Cal blinked, clearing the grit from his eyes. He studied the surrounding shadows. Stale fetid air filled his nostrils.
His gaze shifted over the room. It was small. No more than ten-by-ten. The wall was lined with tarnished plaques and cement squares. Cal stepped closer. Saw names and dates.
Tomas Sanchez. 1908 to 1940. Died with honor.
“It is a crypt, Señor West.”
Cal smiled, his lips lifting with genuine humor. “I figured that out, Argus. Do you come here often?”
“Yes. No one else ever comes here. They are afraid it will bring bad luck to them and their family. I spend much of my time here.”
In the corner were stacks of hard covers and comic books, candles and pillows.
Argus pulled out some matches from one of the books and lit two of the candles.
“You’ve got quite a setup here, pal.”
Pleased, Argus’s lips spread into a wide grin. The shadows deepened the features, making him appear older, similar…
The same set of the jaw, the same curve of the mouth, the broad forehead.
He glanced at Julia, saw the truth in the way her eyes skimmed the boy’s features.
“Bloody hell.”
CAL DELIBERATELY KEPT HIS expression emotionless, but the anger burned in his gut. “Argus, how did you and Jason become friends? Was it after your father arrested him?”
Argus shook his head. “No. One day he came to the mission. He worked with Padre Dominic to raise money for the people in the area. A secret he kept from my father. I, too, helped Padre Dominic. We kept the same secret and became friends.”
“What did you do together?”
“We talked about different places, books. Many things.”
“Did you talk about technology?”
“No,” Argus replied, confused. “But we did discuss me visiting him in America.”
“How long have you been friends, Argus?”
“For almost a year. Then he disappeared. He told me it would be a while before he could come back. The next time I saw him was right before Solaris arrested him. Maybe two days before. Jason had promised to take care of my sister. My father does not like her. I don’t know why. But I’m afraid he might hurt her like…”
“Does he hurt your mother, Argus?”
“Yes.”
“Did Jason give you anything? Like an MP3 player or a cell phone.”
“Cal, he doesn’t have it,” Julia snapped, impatient.
“Why wouldn’t he?” Cal asked. “Obviously, he and the boy share more than a special bond, don’t they?”
“Yes,” Julia answered solemnly. “Jason told me before he returned here. He made me promise not to tell you.”
“No surprise there,” Cal commented, but for the first time with no malice. “You’ve made no secret of where your loyalty lies, have you?”
“It lies with you,” she argued. “I was going to tell you last night, but we—”
“I wouldn’t mention last night,” he bit out.
“And why not?” Then it dawned on her, the role reversal she found herself in. “This is how you treated me, Cal. When you stole my files. The situation is the same. But this time you’re on the receiving end.”
For the first time, she could see why he did what he did. Even if she didn’t approve of
his methods.
“No, Julia, it’s not the same,” Cal said, the anger brimming over. “I took those files to save your life, damn it. Just like I’m trying to do now. Delgado found out about my intentions to kidnap his son and he put a contract out on my family.”
“That’s why your parents suddenly retired? That’s why you haven’t heard from them? They’re in hiding?”
“Yes, and why I need Delgado under lock and key.”
Julia frowned. “But what does that have to do with me?”
“He also took a contract out on my lover. A contract he withdrew after he found out that same woman was no more than a pawn I used just to gain access to top secret government information.”
“Oh, my God.” Julia’s knees buckled, forcing her to sit down on a nearby stone casket. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
Slowly, disbelief turned to anger. “Why, Cal?”
“Jon and I decided there was no need to frighten you. I had already come up with the solution.”
“You solved the problem.” Her fists tightened, but the fury still showed in her face.
Argus took a step back. “Are you okay, Julia?”
“Fine, Argus,” she reassured him, struggling to keep the rage from overpowering her voice.
She stepped toward Cal, deliberately crowding him. “So you and Jon Mercer made this big choice for me.” She waved her hand in the air. “You just couldn’t trust to tell me the truth. Or trust me to decide how I wanted to handle a threat on my life.”
“It had nothing to do with you, Julia—”
“What?” This time her fists came up between them. “Of all the arrogant, stupid—”
“I saved your life, damn it!”
“You broke my heart, damn it!”
Silence hit the air, exploding around them. Tears pricked the edge of her eyes, but Julia refused to give in to them. “And when you did that, Cal, it hurt me far more than anything Delgado could’ve ever done to me.”
“You have no idea what he’s capable of.” His jaw flexed.
“No, but now I really do know what you are capable of, don’t I?”
“I chose to do the right thing, Julia. Whether you believe it or not.”