Abruptly, the shower curtain ripped backwards and Blake, now naked again, stepped inside and pulled her against him. “Kara—”
“You can’t die,” she croaked in a sob, her fists balling on his chest. “You made me care about you when I haven’t let myself care about anyone but my sister. You made me care, and damn it, you’re begging to die. And don’t say you aren’t. You are. You feel guilty about something. You want to die and feel like you did it making some assumed wrong right.”
He stroked wet hair from her face. “I’m here.”
“For how long? How long, Blake?”
He studied, and then softly prodded, “How old were you?”
She didn’t have to ask what he meant. The tears burned in her eyes again. “Seventeen. Myla was fifteen.”
“Myla’s your sister?”
“Yes. We lived in North Carolina and we woke to the roar of motorcycles. My parents hid us in a small hole in the basement wall. We barely fit. They wouldn’t fit, Blake. I heard the gunshots. I heard them and I knew…I knew they were dead, but I was strong for Myla. I kept her quiet. I kept her from…” She dropped her head to his chest and the damn sobs just wouldn’t let go. “I can’t lose her.”
His hand slid to the back of her head. “If there’s a way to get her back. I will,” he promised.
If there’s a way. Kara sucked in a breath and looked at him. “Thank you for being honest, for not saying you’ll get her back no matter what. We both know the chances. They aren’t good, but I have to try.”
“And we will. With every resource and piece of energy we have, we will.”
She believed him. She wasn’t alone in this anymore. At least for now…at least until Blake left, too.
Chapter Six
An hour after Kara had her meltdown in the shower, she and Blake walked into the hotel restaurant and headed toward the table, where Royce and Luke were waiting on them. The idea was that they would calmly talk through how to deal with their “situation”, as Royce had called it. Kara was pretty sure she’d bump heads with big brother again, and she’d done her best with her bag of makeup to hide the effects of her tears and feel pulled together. Not that anyone would notice her face. The t-shirt she’d borrowed from Tami was way too low cut for her taste, though it seemed Blake’s “Navy SEALs” t-shirt was getting the attention of several women at a table they were passing. Or maybe it was just Blake who had their attention. He certainly had hers.
Both Luke and Royce stood up when Kara and Blake arrived at the table and, with a murmur of greetings, Kara settled into the seat next to Blake, directly across from Royce. Somehow she thought having Blake and Royce sitting across from each other—a head-on confrontation waiting to happen—didn’t work. At least, not for her and Luke.
The waitress stopped to fill their coffee cups and take their orders, and Blake’s hand settled possessively, warmly, on her leg. The brothers exchanged a few comments, more manly jokes than anything, and Kara covered Blake’s hand with hers. There was a new intimacy between them, a sense of being together, not just wanting to strip each other naked. For the first time in her adult life, she’d let a man slip inside her life. No. Inside her heart. It felt both wonderful and terrifying. She and Blake were bonded in pain, she thought, and she couldn’t help but wonder if that was a good or bad thing.
Kara sipped her coffee and glanced around the table, a smile sliding onto her lips. The Walker brothers were a sight to behold—genetics at their best. “There’s enough testosterone at this table to shatter all the windows,” she teased them all and, focusing on Luke and Royce added, “Why do I know you’re all just as difficult as Blake and I’m about to be ganged up on?”
“You seem to like Blake’s flavor of difficult,” Luke commented, his lips curving in a charming smile. “So we’ll take that as a compliment.”
“Let’s talk about our plan,” Royce said, getting right to the point.
“Okay,” Kara said. Apparently there was no small talk for this big guy. “As long as it doesn’t include calling in the feds.”
“Just because we bring them in—”
“No,” Kara said, cutting off Royce. “I know why you’re pushing this. I know it’s to put the brakes on Blake. What you fail to see in your concern for your brother is that we’re both inside the operation in a way the feds only dream of being inside. We not only have a chance to find my sister, and the other women that have been kidnapped, but to bring Alvarez down completely.”
“You’re both too personally involved,” Royce said. “You know that. I know you do.”
“I’ve had time over the last two years to remove myself from the situation,” Blake said.
Kara turned on him. “This is removed?”
He grimaced. “You aren’t helping our case here, Kara.”
“I just think we should be honest about where we all stand. We are both too personally involved.” She glanced around the table. “Maybe that’s what it takes to break into something this big. We’re more inside the cartel than the task force working on this for years. The one insider close to Alvarez the feds had went missing three months ago.”
“You don’t think the feds will see the value in that?” Luke asked.
“I went off the radar,” Kara said. “I’ll be considered a risk.”
“She’s right,” Royce said. “The feds will be concerned. I’m not sure that means they’ll shut her down, but they might.”
“I can’t take that risk,” Kara said. “Not with my sister on the line.”
“The FBI and the ATF will both be all over this,” Royce said. “They won’t throw away an opportunity to take down Alvarez.”
“That’s the point,” Kara said. “They will get involved and they’ll red-tape everything. My sister won’t live long enough to go through the crossed T’s and dotted I’s. I need her out of this thing, and then I’ll hand over everything I’ve discovered.”
Royce gave Blake a pointed look. “It won’t matter if Alvarez is already dead and my brother is either dead or behind bars from killing him.”
“If he’s dead,” Blake said tightly, “then we won’t need to waste taxpayer money on a trial, now will we? And give me a little credit for protecting my own ass.”
“I haven’t seen you act like it’s worth protecting in two years,” Royce bit out.
“Stop pushing me, Royce,” Blake said softly. “You and I both know it won’t take us to good places.”
They glared at each other and Kara cast Luke a pleading stare. He sighed and scrubbed his clean-shaven jaw. “We have a team of men and two scared women upstairs waiting for us to tell them what happens next,” Luke stated. “What do we know about the kidnapped women?”
“How they profile and who’s working this end of the operation,” Kara said, eager to get everyone talking again. “We don’t know who the buyer—or buyers—are, or where the girls are being taken.”
“Human trafficking is second only to drugs as far as profit goes,” Royce said. “It doesn’t surprise me the cartel is into this.”
“Yeah, well,” Blake inserted, “funny thing about that. Mendez hired me to find out who is stealing drugs from him, but he left this part out. Something about that smells fishy to me.” He glanced at Kara. “And you’re too exposed to work this from the front line, Kara.”
“Don’t start, Blake,” Kara warned. “You know I’m staying in this.”
“Hear me out,” he argued. “I’m not suggesting you get out. I’m suggesting you work with our team and let me handle the up-close-and-personal with Mendez and his crew.”
“I have access to documents that Mendez might not give you.”
“He is suspicious of you being more than a secretary. Add to that we came face to face with someone from accounting tonight, who is also working with Eduardo in the trafficking operation. They’re going to worry that you’ll put the pieces together and know who has been doctoring the reports Mendez gets. You’re not only a target, you’re female, and a pe
rfect candidate to get sold off like the other women. It’s too risky.”
“He’s got a point,” Royce said. “All good agents know there’s a time when you pull out of a cover. We have a team of ten men here. We’re going to find out where the women are being taken. You can be right here with us, making that happen.”
Blake’s cell phone rang and he pulled it from his belt. “Mendez,” he reported, and then answered the line. Kara would have tried to read the conversation but it lasted all of thirty seconds. Blake set the phone on the table. “Mendez wants me and Kara in his office in an hour.”
“Did he say why?” Kara asked.
“Just to be there,” Blake said.
Luke shook his head. “I don’t like it. We don’t have anything in place yet.”
“Kyle has surveillance set up on the main headquarters for Mendez’s cover-up operation, which is where we’re going,” Blake informed them.
“He does?” Kara asked. “How?”
“He’s a tech genius,” Luke said. “And so is Blake.”
This was news to her. It seemed there was a lot she didn’t know about Blake. She’d confessed her heartache to him, and he’d confessed absolutely nothing. He’d promised nothing, not even a desire to stay alive. He was the wrong man to count on, he’d told her. He was certainly the wrong man to fall in love with. And yet, she had.
***
Blake pulled the truck into a space near Mendez’s offices, and while he wasn’t happy about taking Kara with him to this meeting, he took comfort in it being a work day and mid-morning with plenty of people around. He texted Kyle and confirmed they had several men nearby and glanced at Kara. “We’re officially on the Walker clan’s radar.”
Her brows furrowed. “Walker clan?” She shook her head. “Never mind. I get it. Blake Wright is a cover. Blake Walker is the real you. I guess it’s time to go face the firing squad.”
“Mendez is going to question your ability to handle a gun.”
“My fisherman father would be proud of how well I defended myself. I’m sure Mendez will agree.”
Her father. Damn, just thinking about her being a young girl forced to hide while her parents were gunned down ripped a new hole in his heart. He shoved away the thought and focused on their cover stories. “You’re fucking me.”
She gaped and laughed. “Now?”
“I’m serious here, Kara. It’s part of you keeping your cover. You’re now my woman. I want him to know that. There’s a certain level of respect for a man’s woman with these people. It makes you less of a target for the trafficking operation.”
Her eyes met his. “If you want me to act like your woman, Blake, I’ll act like your woman.”
A hot, possessive fire lit in him and it took all that he was not to drag her against him, declare she was his woman, and kiss her. He’d known standing in that shower with her this morning that he wanted her to be his. They stared at each other and he sensed she wanted him to say something, to put meaning to their relationship. He just wasn’t ready. It wasn’t fair to her. He didn’t deserve her yet. He had to get the past behind him and see this mission through. For Whitney. For closure. To be a better man for Kara.
“Let’s go get this over with,” Kara said, cutting her gaze sharply and reaching for her door.
Blake fought the urge to reach for her again, feeling her hurt, knowing she expected something he hadn’t given her. But he would, damn it, and soon. He caught up with her at the front of the truck and when she wouldn’t look at him, he couldn’t take the idea of causing her more pain than she’d already felt this morning. He grabbed her and pulled her close, planting a kiss on her mouth. “One day not so long from now, I’m going to make you my woman, Kara, even if I have to tie you up again until you agree.”
A slow smile slid onto her lips and warmed his heart. “I love this soft, romantic side of you,” she teased.
He laughed and set her away from him when he really just wanted to hold her for the rest of his life. “There’s plenty more where that came from, I promise.” He motioned to the door and they fell into step together, their laughter fading, tension crackling in the air as they headed into what could be a trap.
A few minutes later, they exited the elevator into the lobby of Mendez’s offices. Kara greeted the receptionist with a wave and they headed straight past her desk and down the hall towards Mendez’s office. “Wait!” the woman said. “I’m supposed to buzz Mr. Mendez when you arrive.”
Blake curled his fingers on Kara’s elbow. “Just keep walking.”
“I planned on it,” she assured him.
Once they cleared the hall and found Kara’s desk, there was yet another roadblock. A twenty-something brunette was sitting behind Kara’s desk, her spine stiff, her expression puckered and high and mighty. “Hello, Kara,” she said, a snide bite to her voice.
“Hello, Evelyn,” Kara replied. “I guess they pulled you from payroll to cover my desk?”
“Something like that,” she said, and the inference was that she’d replaced Kara. “I’ll let Mr. Mendez know you’re here.” She picked up the phone and dialed.
Blake didn’t like the feel of this, and a shared look with Kara told him she didn’t either.
“You can go in,” Evelyn said, waving a hand at the door.
Blake motioned Kara forward, reaching around her to open the door, intentionally wrapping her body in his, silently telling her they were in this together, before he pulled it open. Kara walked into the office and Blake followed, shutting the door behind him again.
Mendez sat at his desk, elbows on top, fingers steepled. He gave Kara an up-and-down, lingering on her cleavage in a way that made Blake want to rip his eyeballs out. “I see Mr. Wright’s sense of style has rubbed off on you, Kara,” Mendez commented. “Apparently his skill with a gun has as well.” He motioned to the chairs in front of his desk. “Both of you. Sit down.”
“My father taught me to shoot when I was a young girl,” Kara explained as they moved forward and she settled into a chair. “He believed a woman is supposed to look like a lady but be capable of biting like a shark. He was a fisherman.”
“I read that in your file,” Mendez commented, glancing up at Blake, clearly noticing he hadn’t sat down.
Mendez arched a brow. “Problem, Mr. Wright?”
Hiking his hip on Mendez’s desk, Blake crossed his arms in front of his chest. “Yeah. I tend to get testy when people send me out to the sharks to get eaten. If the same people you suspect of stealing drugs from you are running your trafficking operation, you don’t think that it’s important to tell me?”
“I hired you to find out who is skimming drugs from me. Have you?”
“Funny thing about that,” Blake commented dryly. “The same people I suspect of stealing your drugs almost got you put behind bars last night for trafficking. They’re greedy with your drugs and careless with your business. This shit is way deeper than the pig hole I thought I was wading in. I need facts to continue forward, and I need more money.”
“You do have a profound way with words, Mr. Wright,” Mendez observed, disdain in his voice.
“So I’ve been told,” Blake commented and the only disdain he had was for this man and his cronies. “More money and more information, or I’m out.”
“What did you do with the women?” Mendez asked, shifting the conversation.
“I sent them far away and told them that everyone they ever knew or might know in the future would be slaughtered if they ever said a word about what happened to them.”
“And why not kill them?” he queried.
“I don’t do bloodbaths. Dead bodies come with complications I don’t need.”
Mendez pursed his lips. “I want them dead.”
“Find them and kill them. And good luck. I’m damn good at hiding what I don’t want to be found. Almost as good as I am at finding what others don’t want discovered.”
His eyes bored into Blake’s for several seconds before his attention
turned sharply to Kara. “You aren’t offended by the females being sold off by our organization?”
“It’s not my job to judge,” Kara replied coolly. “It’s my job to protect the organization.”
“And why would you be that loyal?” he questioned.
Impressively, Kara didn’t so much as blink. “Because I’m tired of being poor and struggling. I want more.”
Mendez leaned back in his chair, his expression unreadable. Seconds ticked by, which Blake used to envision slamming the man’s head against the desk. He couldn’t help it. He believed dreams could come true if you visualized them often enough.
Finally Mendez spoke. “You’ve caught the attention of my boss, Mr. Wright. He’d like you to meet with him this evening, and since Kara has proven so effective by your side, she’s to attend as well. You’re to be at the docks at nine o’clock. A boat will be there to pick you up. The location, as you can imagine, will be undisclosed. Please dress appropriately. My boss is a very powerful man. He deserves to be treated as such.”
By the time Mendez shut his big yap, Blake had enough adrenaline pumping through him to fuel a jet liner. He was a hair from Alvarez, so close he could taste him, but he had to play this cool. “My time is money,” Blake said. “Why would I attend this meeting? What’s in it for me?”
“More money and more opportunity than you ever dreamed possible, Mr. Wright.” His phone buzzed and Evelyn said, “Your lunch appointment is here.”
“Send her in,” Mendez replied, pushing to his feet, and addressing Blake and Kara again. “Nine o’clock. Be there.” The door opened. “And now, if you’ll please be on your way. I have another meeting.”
Blake pushed off the desk. “Maybe your boss will shoot straight with me.”
Mendez’s lips twitched. “He definitely shoots straight, Mr. Wright.”
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