by Ellie Danes
We really did work better together and I was counting on that to get us out of the cartel’s clutches.
Chapter Seventy-Eight
Bree
On the sixth review of our plan, I knew Nathan was just trying to keep me calm. The idea that he was handling me worked much better to galvanize me. I stood up and hopped from one foot to another as my brain kicked into high gear.
“We need a better distraction,” I said.
Nathan was startled and gave me a guilty glance. “What distraction?” he asked.
I rubbed my arms, warming up as if I’d been on ice for the last few hours. “We need a better way to distract the guards and drivers when they transfer us.”
“Pitting one against another over their favorite football teams could be enough,” Nathan said but there wasn’t much conviction in his voice.
“No,” I said. “Your first thought was to manipulate them into firing on each other. How do we make that happen?”
Nathan crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the cold, concrete wall. “We cause the van to swerve as it approaches the hand-off site. Maybe we can make the other car think we’ve taken over.”
I snorted. “So if we can make it look like that then why don’t we just take over the van?”
Nathan shook his head. “An armored car would come in handy seeing as they will all open fire on us once we try to drive away.”
I clung desperately to some hope that our plan would fall into place. It was the one distraction that didn’t lead me into a pit of fear and despair.
“If the van swerved and then no one got out for a while, the other men might get suspicious. They’d come over with guns drawn, right?” I asked.
Nathan nodded. “We could fake an injury or I could start a fight. That would draw our drivers into the back.”
“Hostages,” I said. “They could get us to the armored car without being shot.”
Nathan held up his hand to silence me. Outside there was another shift change. I knew he had calculated how long a shift was and through that he had a better idea how long we’d been captive. For once, it was information I was glad he kept to himself.
I ran to the door and pressed my ear to it. The guards were having a boring chat about how a flash flood had washed away one of the roads. I listened for a while and heard nothing but complaints about damaged suspensions and the painfully slow workings of their municipal government.
Finally, Nathan had to peel me off the door. “Bree, honey, it’s okay. All we have to do now is wait,” he said.
That was exactly what I was afraid of. I didn’t want to wait anymore. Who knew for sure how many hours we had waited already? I had completely lost track of whether it was night or day. I fought down a rising fear that I would never see the sun again.
“We need to sleep. It’ll pass the time and make sure we can handle whatever happens when that door opens,” Nathan said.
I struggled against the panic and felt a surge of adrenaline. There was no way I was going to be able to sleep. Nathan was right, we needed a way to pass the time.
I sailed across the small room and jumped into Nathan’s arms. He caught me with a surprised grunt, but didn’t stumble back even an inch. His solid strength was the comfort I needed. I wrapped my arms around his neck and threw everything I had into a long kiss.
“Bree, it’s all right. We’re going to make it out of this alive. I promise you. Did you hear me?” Nathan asked.
I locked my arms around the back of his neck and flattened myself against his hard chest. “I can’t talk anymore. I can’t think anymore.”
Nathan looked worried but his hands roamed down my back and over the curve of my behind. Then he shook his head and drew his hands back up to my shoulders. I clung to his neck and refused to be set back.
“Bree, this is just your fear talking. There’s no need to panic. We’re worth more to them alive than dead.”
Nathan told me as many encouraging things as he could think of but the real comfort came from his hands gliding up and down my curves. I kissed him between every positive thing he tried to say until soon he wasn’t speaking at all.
The second Nathan gave in my whole body blazed with lust. Every doubt and fear and regret that had weighed on me over the last hours was burned away. Desire took over and Nathan answered me stroke for stroke.
His hands were everywhere: in my hair, down my sides with his thumbs trailing along my breasts, loosening my waistband. I peeled off his shirt and tasted the firm muscles of his chest with my tongue and teeth. His hands convulsed with surprise when the tip of my tongue grazed his nipple.
The power I felt after his response chased away the rest of my fears. I explored farther, my lips trailing down the hard ridges of his abdomen. Nathan sucked in a sharp breath when I knelt down in front of him and kissed a slow line along his waistband.
When I reached for his button, Nathan grabbed my arms and lifted me back to my feet.
“Please, Nathan,” I said.
He pressed me back against the cold concrete wall and seared my lips with a kiss. Nathan wanted to stop, he tried to pull away but it felt too good. The wild, electric desire I felt chased away all the fatigue and nerves.
In the wake of all that released tension, a molten need flooded us both. Nathan rocked his body against mine, seeking the perfect fit. I slipped my jeans off so I could wrap my leg up and around his waist.
Nathan groaned and lifted me higher against the wall, his hand acting as a cushion between me and the concrete. Our bodies pressed and met but it wasn’t enough.
I tangled my hands in Nathan’s hair and raised my other leg to lock around his waist. With a guttural moan, Nathan lifted me up with one hand, his fingers slipping aside my panties. Then he was nudging inside me.
“Don’t go slow.” My voice was shaking as I whispered in his ear. “Just let it out.”
“Oh, god,” Nathan murmured.
I felt him pull out, trying to hold back, but my hot breath begging in his ear broke his willpower. He plowed forward pushing a cry of ecstasy from me. Nathan had to press his hand over my mouth to stop the guards from hearing.
I panted against his hand, kissing his palm, then moaning louder as he pumped into me. Each deep joining of our bodies filled me to bursting. Then I exploded with a shuddering cry that Nathan caught in his lips. I felt his own ecstatic sigh through our kiss as our orgasms crashed together like giant white-caps far out in the ocean.
“Oh, Bree.” Nathan moved to bury his head in my neck. I felt him shake his head as he could not form any other words.
“Is it okay to sleep?” I asked. A heavy cloud of fatigue overtook me.
Nathan eased me back down to the floor and helped me pull my jeans back on. Then he sat down and pulled me into his lap. I curled up against him and listened the strong gallop of his heart.
“We’ll both get some sleep,” Nathan said. “Don’t worry, I got you.”
I snuggled into his strong arms. “And I’ve got you right back.”
Chapter Seventy-Nine
Nathan
I knew I was dreaming but I didn’t shake it off. I hope somewhere in my shifting subconscious was a memory that would help Bree and I. She still shivered against me even as she slept. I tightened my arms around her and dove deeper into the dream.
A poker table appeared. The flashing lights of Las Vegas were far below us, and from the penthouse suite I watched the fountain at the Bellagio dance. It was high stakes and I felt good.
Across the table from me was a familiar man. He rubbed a hand across his thinning hair and gave a cackling laugh. The laugh echoed in my head. Where had I heard it recently?
The dream threatened to shift, to drift down to the pulsing dance club, the open bar tab, and the dizzying parade of women I had flirted with fresh on leave. I channeled all my strength and all my focus into looking at the man again.
I recognized his thinning hair and the nervous smile that seemed to jump around his
face. He wore an expensive suit with total disregard to the top-grade fabric. The jacket was crumpled over the back of his chair and his shirt sleeves were rolled up.
Javier.
“Javier’s not much for appearances,” a smooth voice echoed in my mind. It was Adrian Juarez.
I had met the Javier before. We’d played poker high in the Paris casino. There was a rushing sound in my ears as rivulets of my memory returned: I had won an outrageous sum at the Golden Nugget days before and slowly worked my way up to higher and higher stakes. It wasn’t until I sat down at the Paris penthouse game that I met Javier.
He sat across from me laughing and sweating, the collar of his tailored dress shirt growing damper with each hand.
“See, the best thing about me,” Javier had joked, “is that I have so many nervous habits you can’t tell which one’s a tell.”
His cackling laugh echoed in my head again.
I remember him rubbing his thinning hair and laughing off every big loss. When his supply of poker chips was gone, he simply snapped his fingers. A private waiter appeared, saw the empty table in front of Javier and rushed off without a word.
“Time to call it a night?” I had asked Javier.
He laughed again. The waiter reappeared and placed a tray full of poker chips next to him. “A few more hands before we really get this party started,” Javier had said.
The rest of my memories swirled together, flushing down the bright, neon chaos of Las Vegas. There had been too many drinks, too many women, and the loud music had pounded through my entire body. I remember thinking it was too much and then the world went dark.
I woke up with a start and had to harness in my panic. The room was dim and the bare bulb above had started to buzz. Soon it would go out and leave Bree and I in total darkness.
I had to get us out of there.
Bree was still curled in my lap, her head nestled onto my shoulder. I listened to her light breathing and checked her pulse. It was still running too fast and had a feathery feel to it. Bree was on the edge of shock and I needed to keep her warm and calm. I stroked her hair and cursed my dream for not being more helpful.
There was the muffled sound of chairs being rearranged outside in the hallway. I strained to hear the guards through the door. Four of them chatted about nothing in particular as they set up a poker game. I wondered if that was the reason my subconscious had returned to Las Vegas.
Then I heard a cackling laugh.
My blood turned to ice and then blazed hot with recognition. It was Javier. He was outside our door conning the guards into a poker game.
I listened and couldn’t help but smile as I heard Javier’s familiar platitudes. He liked to distract his opponents with off-hand jokes and compliments, all followed up with his cackling laugh. The guards must have been new to the cartel because they laughed right along with him and I heard them ante up.
They played for a little over an hour before the guards realized they were getting scammed. Javier didn’t cheat but he used his disheveled appearance and nervous habits to lull people into believing he was scatterbrained. I heard he pulled a few hundred off of each guard.
“The boss told you to stop fleecing the new guys,” another voice said.
“Just a little fun,” Javier said.
The other guards grumbled as they paid up and ended their shift. I held my breath, hoping it was Javier that was on our door for the next few hours.
I heard him try to ply his new companion into a game of Blackjack but the other guard had been fooled by Javier before.
“I’m not playing any cards or laying any bets with you,” the man said.
“I’ll play,” I called through the door.
Bree startled in my arms and I shifted her onto the ragged blanket before standing up. I knocked on the door and repeated my offer.
“No, thanks, Nathan. I’ve been down that road before,” Javier called. “The boss said no more gambling.”
“Speaking of that,” the other guard said. “How about you hand over some of those earnings. Split them with me and the boss won’t hear about your little game.”
“Tell you what,” Javier said, always ready to strike a deal. “I’ll split my winnings with you if you go and get us a couple of beers. I know there are cold cans in the office ‘fridge.”
The other guard grumbled but finally agreed. I heard him stride off down the hallway and knew I didn’t have much time. I had to remember more about Javier, enough for him to tell me something, anything useful.
“So, I got you in trouble, huh?” I asked through the door.
Javier’s cackling laugh came through loud and clear. “It’d be nice to blame you but there was a little more to it than our Vegas bender.”
“Must have been something big. You’ve been banned from gambling,” I said. “That sounds like a fate worse than death for men like us.”
“Men like us,” Javier snorted. “You don’t seem to be listening. What makes you think I am?”
I laughed. “From what I heard you might have had an ace up your sleeve. Still cheating?”
“When I can. I figure if they aren’t paying attention then it’s my job to teach what can happen,” Javier said.
“So you’re rich now?” I asked.
Javier snorted again. “Nah, man. I’m worse off than ever. You, of all people, know how that goes.”
“That little game was to help you scrape together some money to pay off a debt?” I asked. “Wait, if you’re so desperate why did you agree to split the winnings with the other guard?”
“That guy? What an ass. He never gambles, never even places a sporting bet. What a dull life. I had to steal his wallet a few days ago just to shake him up a bit.”
I laughed again and Javier seemed to realize he’d said too much. His answers to my friendly inquiries grew shorter and shorter.
“Hey, don’t worry about me,” I said. “I’ll keep your secrets.”
“What’s the price of that?” Javier asked.
“Just tell me what time it is. Feels like we’ve been in this room for years,” I said.
Javier cackled. “You think I get the easy shifts? This is graveyard, man. Closing in on 4am.”
“So they’re going to transfer us first thing in the morning?” I asked.
There was a long pause. Down the hallway I could hear the muffled footsteps of the other guard returning.
Javier moved closer to the door to not be overheard. “You know I can’t tell you that. You’re a dead man, Nathan. Because of that, I’ll tell you a secret.”
“What?” I asked, hoping for anything useful.
“I’ve still got that ace up my sleeve,” Javier said.
His cackled echoed off the hallway walls and I heard the other guard’s sharp remonstration. After that it was silence outside.
I scooped Bree back into my arms and waited for dawn.
Chapter Eighty
Bree
I woke up in Nathan’s arms but he was wide awake. I knew he hadn’t held me the entire time, but there was no reason to ask him what he had been doing. There was nothing to do.
I blinked my eyes against the flickering bulb and yawned. “What time do you think it is?”
“Close to dawn,” Nathan said.
I scowled. “How could you possibly know that?”
He shrugged. “I overheard the guards.”
As if the guards had been listening, the door rattled open. I stifled a scream as Nathan shielded me behind his body. A yellow box flew into the room and dropped at our feet. Before I could look up, the door was closed again.
“Looks like breakfast,” Nathan said.
I glanced down at the dented box and my stomach flipped. “No thanks. Waiting to die is just killing my appetite.”
Nathan shot me an irritated look. “We’re not waiting to die. The transfer’s going to happen soon and we’ve got a plan.”
My head was spinning. I knew it was probably hunger but the nearly-impossible p
lan we’d dreamt up didn’t help. I leaned against the wall and shut my eyes again. The room was still real when I opened them.
“We’re going to make it through this, Bree,” Nathan said.
An hour or so later, according to Nathan, the guards heaved open the door again. I wanted Nathan to fight them; I wanted to scratch at them and scream instead of accepting that black bag over my head again.
Except Nathan didn’t fight. He was ready to go. And I had no choice but to follow. He was my only lifeline and he needed me to pull off the plan.
The guards zip-tied our hands in front of us and immediately after they were done, Nathan caught my hands in his. We walked side-by-side to the door and into the hallway. Feeling his warmth and bulk next to me made the blackness inside the hood almost tolerable. We moved willingly in the direction the guards prodded us.
Then the guard next to me made a mistake. He reached across and ripped our hands apart. The guard was in the midst of transferring me to the other side of his body when Nathan became enraged.
It didn’t matter that his wrists were bound together, I heard him swing his fists like a club. The guard next to me grunted and slumped back against the wall.
I reached out and flailed my arms through the air until I bumped into Nathan. He caught my hands and calmed down.
“Let’s just get them to the van,” the other guard muttered.
His partner swore and unbent painfully. He grabbed my arm and hauled us down the hallway and into the warehouse.
I knew the second we hit the larger room. The air was cooler and I could feel the space reaching out far around us. Then the guards muttered at each other again and I heard the echoes bouncing back from a long distance.
The guards prodded us in front of them and continued their muttered conversation.
“I’ll distract them,” I told Nathan.
“What? Why?” He gripped my hands tighter.
My heart was drumming so loud I could hardly hear him. The swell of adrenaline was taking over. I was done being trapped, blindfolded, and tied. I wanted out.