“You assume correctly.”
“Well? Are you going to fill me in?”
“I’m here investigating your sister’s involvement in narcotics trafficking.”
Audrey’s jaw dropped at the blunt admission. “Drug trafficking? I don’t believe it.” She shook her head. “I know my sister was troubled, but she wasn’t stupid.”
“She wasn’t? Funny. Did you know she was mixed up with Miguel Trujillo?”
“I don’t know who that is.”
“He’s a major distributor on this side of the border. And he’s dangerous.”
The way Marshal Santiago said Trujillo’s name sent a chill through Audrey. Drugs? Not Penny. Audrey knew her sister experimented with the stuff years ago, but Penny told her she had quit. “Impossible. My sister knew better than to get involved with drug dealers. Last time I spoke to her, she swore she was clean.”
“Then she ignored her instincts, because I have proof they were in a relationship. How deep it went is what I’m investigating.” He uncrossed his arms and walked past her to a table full of paperwork. He started sifting through the pile.
“Hey, wait a minute!” She grabbed an arm and turned him around. His green eyes shadowed with anger. They were mere inches apart and she wasn’t prepared for the jolt of electricity that passed between them. She stumbled back, but his arm around her waist set her upright — and fully aligned with his body.
“Ah…” Audrey could have smacked herself for the audible sound of — what exactly? — when the warmth of his touch set her trembling against him. So this is what dozens of girls — last count from high school — felt when pressed up against a Santiago. An instantaneous current of high voltage had her sweltering and immediately aware of feminine desires. She forced her eyes to the papers in his other hand. “Those are my sister’s,” she protested weakly.
“Don’t you want her killer to be brought to justice? I need anything I can get on Trujillo.” Dropping his arm from her waist, he continued his search into the pile until he spotted a sheet of paper and picking it up, he began reading softly.
Audrey stood there, coolly stunned by the weight of his words. He had to be mistaken. Officers usually show up at a person’s door to report a family member’s death. Her mind flashed to the solemn faces of the female officer and her male partner on the day her parents died. Penny was in her room, chatting on the phone with a friend from school while Audrey fixed dinner, thinking her mother was running late from her church job. Now her sister was dead? Someone named Miguel Trujillo had killed her? “She…” Audrey swallowed, trying to find her voice. God, please help me! “She was murdered?”
The marshal turned his gaze on her, the sheet floating from his hand and landing on the table. Hands on hips, his brows furrowed. He let out a frustrated breath, followed by a word in a language she didn’t understand. “No one told you,” he stated softly.
Audrey shook her head. “I… I got a letter from her. She said something about being dead once I read it, but she’s always been a little dramatic.” Audrey shrugged. “I just thought she was in some trouble she couldn’t tell me about so I came here first, hoping she’d be here. I… I didn’t know she was…” Her voice broke. She put both hands to her eyes, the sudden onslaught of hot tears streaming down her cheeks. A sob escaped her lips, and her body began to tremble. Her sister was dead. Murdered. How did she die? Was she alone? Did she suffer?
She sniffed and dragged her hands, wet with tears, through her hair. She opened her eyes and sucked in a breath. Santiago stood before her, his eyes full of sympathy. He cautiously put his hands on her upper arms, giving them a gentle squeeze.
“I’m sorry. I thought you knew.” His rough voice was heavy, even though he whispered.
He stood too close, his spicy scent threatening to drag her thoughts away from her sister. Her dead sister. Why didn’t he say something sooner? Why hadn’t she been contacted by the police? His eyes, the color of forest fern, caused her heart to warm. His large hands, quite gentle in his touch — oddly — continued to knead her arms, summoning a dull heat to her skin. Why didn’t he back up? Sudden anger swelled at the dichotomy of her thoughts. “No, I didn’t,” she snapped.
Hands dropping, he backed away to a safe distance where she could only barely breathe in his scent. “Again, sorry.”
Audrey nodded, wiping away a lagging tear. “I didn’t mean to bite your head off. I… You surprised me. I didn’t expect…”
“No worries.”
Audrey snagged a couple of fingers in her long hair, and continued to wrap a tendril around them as the marshal awkwardly glanced around the room. “Um, how did she die?” As soon as the question left her lips, she wished she hadn’t asked. What if Penny had lingered in pain? Audrey didn’t think she could handle any more upsetting news.
The marshal’s tone was clipped and professional. “Gunshot to the head. Death was instantaneous.”
Audrey’s lower lip trembled. Her arms instinctively wrapped around her body, eyes blinking away fresh tears. The marshal watched her with veiled interest, stepping towards her but halting when she backed into the mantel. “Why? Why did he kill her?”
Santiago shook his head. “I don’t know. That’s a question I’ll get answered, I promise you.”
His eyes burned with truth, and she believed him. “Are you sure this Miguel killed her?”
Santiago smoothed the hair on top of his head, his eyes straying to the piles of paper and books surrounding them. “Yes, I’m sure.” He sounded dejected. What didn’t he want her to know?
“Look,” she took a few steps toward him, “I can understand if this is an active investigation and you can’t talk about it, but Penny was my sister.” She swallowed a lump of emotion threatening to choke the words in her throat. “I think I deserve to know what’s going on.” If she were firm, perhaps she could persuade the marshal to give her more details, but her voice shook and it annoyed her.
Santiago held her gaze. Audrey lifted her chin, knowing he weighed the forcefulness of her demand and possibly the strength of her constitution.
The sound of something sharp zinged through the air. Audrey turned her head toward the front window. Her eyes narrowed on the swaying blinds, revealing a small hole behind them. Then several more pops came, forming similar holes in the window. Audrey opened her mouth to scream, but the breath died in her lungs as something hard and heavy rammed into her chest, knocking her off balance. She landed on the floor with a thud. Large hands gripped the sides of her head. Spice and musk filled her nose and mouth from the nearness of Santiago’s neck. He covered her, yelling for her to stay down. She didn’t fight him, squeezing her eyes shut as explosive sounds of gunfire, glass crashing, and papers tearing surrounded them.
Then as quickly as it began, it ended. Eyelids fluttering open, her foggy gaze focused on pieces of paper floating slowly to the floor, her ears picking up the last sounds of glass cracking. No light shone from the living room lamp.
“Are you hurt?” Warm breath brushed the skin near her ear, and then moved to her cheek.
“What?” Audrey blinked, her head dizzy with disorientation.
Alejandro’s face came into view, so near to her own. “Are you okay?”
Hands threaded her hair, and the urgency in his voice forced her to focus on the worry in his eyes. “Yes… yes,” she forced out, her breathing slightly inhibited by the weight of his torso.
Warm lips covered her mouth — his kiss full of hunger and relief. Half shocked, half impassioned, a soft moan escaped her lips. He answered with one of his own before abruptly pulling back. She opened her eyes to see him propped above her, his face contorted in either pain or displeasure, she wasn’t sure. Embarrassment surged to her cheeks, the heat even more stifling than his body weight. “Please, get off me.” She put her hands to his chest and pushed. He rolled off to one side and she turned away.
“Careful.” His hand on her back supported her efforts to stand.
“I’m
all right.” Her attempt to brush his hand off failed as the other one grasped her waist and pulled her up. “Please, I don’t need your help. I can stand on my own.”
He ignored her protests, his arm still locked around her body, holding her close. “There’s glass everywhere. The lamp got shot out so watch your step.” Only then did he release her. “Wait here.” He pulled his weapon out from its hiding place and moved quietly through the room, despite the floor being littered with shards of glass from the front window and living room table. He reached the side of the broken window and shifted the blinds, peering out toward the street.
Audrey’s lower lip trembled, and her teeth chattered as if cold. You’re fine, alive… don’t go into shock. “Anything?”
“Nothing. The street is quiet.” He sheathed the weapon in his back holster. His gaze narrowed on her, and in two strides, he had her arms in a tight grip. Audrey winced at the force. “Does anyone know you’re here?”
“What?”
“Who knew you were coming?” he whispered harshly.
“I… no one!” She fought against his hold until he released her. She rubbed her forearms. “Well, I told my friend, Genie, but she’s a police officer. And she’s not connected to the cartel,” she spat.
“Look, grab your stuff. We need to get out of here. It isn’t safe.”
Audrey didn’t move from her spot. Shreds of paper accented the broken glass scattered across the living room rug. Puncture holes patterned the once smooth couches. The shade of the lamp lay upturned on the carpet. “I don’t understand. Who was shooting at us?”
“I’ll explain that later. Get moving.” He gave her a little shove and then squatted and shifted through a few of the files on the floor.
“I don’t get it.” Her heavy feet dragged her to the spot where her purse sat. “If Penny is already dead, then why would someone come here? Why would they be shooting at us?” She knelt and grunted. The impact of Marshal Santiago’s tackle would leave a few bruises on her legs and hips.
He didn’t answer. Slinging her purse over her shoulder, she peered through the darkness until she spotted the file labeled “Angel.” She picked it up and stuffed it into her bag. A large hand circled her arm, and she was dragged back toward the kitchen. Seeing the picture of her sister and her son on the windowsill, she protested, yanking herself from his grip to snatch the frame and stuff it in her bag.
When they reached the back door, Santiago stopped. He faced her, so close she saw the green of his eyes even in the dark. They stared at her for immeasurable moments. “Are you going to be a problem for me?”
She barely heard his whisper. Opening her mouth, but not understanding exactly what he meant, she didn’t respond. He shook his head, his smirk forming deep dimples — the Santiago dimples. Audrey’s breath caught in her throat. He took her arm again, opened the door, and pulled her into the night.
Chapter Two
“WERE you blown?”
Ale looked into the worried eyes of his boss, Special Agent in Charge Cord Phillips. “No.”
He leaned over on his desk, his eyes searching for the truth. “Are you sure?”
Ale licked his dry lips. He wasn’t, but his boss didn’t need another heart attack, especially after what happened to Lana. “Not a chance.” He hadn’t been followed to her house, but he couldn’t be sure of anything anymore. Phillips stared back evenly, unwilling to let him off so easily. Thinking of Lana, Ale averted his gaze.
Phillips sighed heavily, but didn’t press the issue. “So this Audrey Hughes… she’s Lana’s sister?”
Ale’s line of sight went through the clear glass walls of his boss’s office to the open investigative area where agents sat at desks, working on their respective fugitive cases. Audrey stood chatting with another marshal, Melody Lewis. “According to her, Lana’s real name is Penny.”
“Penny? What?”
Ale stared at Audrey, ignoring the voice of his boss.
The tension between them on the drive to the headquarters manifested itself in their silence. He needed to ask her about Lana — what she’d told Audrey, why Audrey had decided to come to Texas at this time — but he couldn’t open his mouth. The lips of a woman he’d met only moments before — their warmth and the silky feel of them beneath his own mouth — had paralyzed the breath in his lungs. His throat had been too dry to even speak, let alone question the woman.
“Alejandro!”
“Huh?” Tearing his gaze away from a more alluring muse, Ale reluctantly eyed his boss.
“I know Ms. Hughes is better looking than me, but I’d appreciate a little attention when I’m speaking to you.”
Ale shifted uncomfortably in his chair under Phillips’s irritated glare. “Sorry, sir. What were you saying?”
“What does the woman have to say for herself?”
“I, um…” Ale rubbed his goatee. “I haven’t had a chance to question her.” Phillips flicked his teeth with his tongue before his lips twisted into a scowl. Ale rushed to explain. “Ms. Hughes hadn’t spoken to her sister in a while. It’s possible she doesn’t know anything about Miguel Trujillo or how her sister was involved with him. I brought her here for questioning, of course.”
“Of course,” came a sarcastic reply.
Ale sighed. He might have kissed her, but that wasn’t proof of some partiality he had toward the woman. “Look, for all we know, Lana could have told Miguel she had a sister.”
“Did Lana ever mention that fact?”
“No, but we can’t assume Miguel doesn’t have a clue about her past life.”
“We can’t?” Phillips came around the desk and leaned against it, crossing his arms over his chest. Ale sat up straighter. “Ale, we didn’t even know the girl’s real name. It’s likely she didn’t reveal it or her past to Miguel.”
“True, but sir, we were shot at.”
“Because they came by and saw the lights on in the place!” Phillips threw up his hands. “They probably also saw your shadows—”
“But shoot first and ask questions later? Lana was hiding something from Trujillo. Last I checked, he didn’t know what that was. If someone knew Lana, Trujillo would want to question him.”
“Unless he already knows.”
Ale slumped, jabbing the crooks of his hands under the opposite armpits. His pride had already dismissed that as a possibility. He was Lana’s handler and should have known everything about her. If she lied about her name, what else did she keep from him? Secrets like these got people killed — and Lana was dead. Did she talk before Miguel blew her away? The shooters didn’t enter the house, so they weren’t conducting a search for information. It was a hit.
“You said it yourself, Ale, a drive-by.”
“Yeah, I know,” he mumbled, wishing he could be proved wrong just this once.
“If Trujillo knows, then how come you don’t?”
Phillips’s accusatory tone left Ale unable to answer. Did Miguel find a reason to distrust him? His cover couldn’t be jeopardized — not now. Not when Trujillo was their only lead to Martin Alba. I’ve gotta play my cards right. His gaze found Audrey’s at the same time she locked eyes with him.
Sometimes the dealer dealt a hard hand.
****
The urge to look at him was strong, but she didn’t dare. In fact, Audrey glanced everywhere in the conference room except at him, and he sat right across from her. Alejandro’s eyes were on her from the moment he stepped in the room, and they hadn’t left her. His intense look made her blush from her neck to the roots in her hair and the heat hadn’t let up. Mel gave him a few updates about some safe house, and although he acknowledged Mel with a word or two, Audrey knew his eyes were on her.
“I’ll go see what’s keeping the boss,” Mel suggested, leaving the two of them alone.
Audrey swallowed thickly before letting out a quick breath. Alejandro remained silent. She couldn’t stand it any longer. She cut her eyes to him. Dark green, framed with long lashes — and frustratingly u
nreadable — they continued to stare at her. What was he thinking? About their kiss? The more the memory of his firm but gentle lips plagued her, the heavier the weight her guilt settled on her conscience. Didn’t Penny deserve more from her at this moment than for this marshal’s kiss to suck any more of her focus and energy? Audrey cringed, remembering how his touch had dictated her response. It was enough she moaned like a desperate, needy woman.
And she wasn’t.
Desperate.
His eyes continued their assessment. Audrey hugged her purse to her stomach — tightly — as though it could hide her from his appraisal.
Phillips burst through the door with Mel on his heels. “Okay, sorry, folks.” He walked to the head of the long table, dropped a thick, rusty-colored case folder on it, and took a seat. He cleared his throat. “Now, I know it’s late, so I thank you for your patience, Ms. Hughes.” He gestured toward her and she nodded. “I understand Santiago has already told you about your sister.”
“Um, yes, he has.” She meant to steal only a quick glance at Santiago, but her gaze lingered when she saw a shadow of sympathy cross his features.
“You have our condolences. Well, we—”
“I’m sorry, Agent Phillips,” Audrey interrupted. His sharp eyes bore into hers while waiting for her to continue. She swallowed. Penny’s green eyes, her flowing blonde hair, and her bright smile manifested before her. To imagine her sister pale, the life out of her eyes… “Can I see her?”
“Ah, er,” Agent Phillips stumbled, glancing at Alejandro, who briefly met his gaze and then looked away. Audrey turned to Mel, who also kept her gaze averted. “That probably isn’t a good idea.”
Alejandro (The Santiago Brothers Book Two) Page 2