“Julia, are you hurt?” Russ called out to her, without taking his attention off her attacker. Part of him was still hoping her attacker would make one wrong move so this would end right here.
“I’m okay,” she said.
But she wasn’t. Russ could hear the fear in her voice. “Stay put for just a second,” he instructed, and he motioned for the guy to follow him, as he backed out and into the bedroom.
“Facedown on the floor,” Russ ordered. “Put your hands on the back of your head.” The moment the goon complied, Russ took the guy’s weapon and did a quick pat down to make sure there wasn’t a backup gun.
Then Russ glanced over his shoulder at Julia. He was scared of what he might see.
She was ghostly pale, as he’d expected, and her chest was pumping as if starved for air. Thankfully, he didn’t see any injuries. But mentally, the injuries were there. She had no doubt just relived the attack that had nearly killed her all those years ago.
Julia caught onto the bathtub to steady herself. She got up from the floor, but not easily. Her legs were obviously wobbly, but she finally managed to stand. Russ motioned for her to wait in the bathroom doorway while he called for backup.
Because the guy on the bedroom floor might be wired so that someone, like Milo, could be listening in, Russ didn’t identify himself as an agent. He made the call to headquarters and asked for help. Russ had no idea how long it would take someone to respond, especially since the local police were likely tied up with the bogus shooter. He didn’t want the locals anyway. This was almost certainly connected to the Richardson baby, and Russ wanted to keep it in-house, if possible.
He thought of Toby and considered having Julia check on the agent, but it was too big a risk. Having the door unlocked was a risk, too. The shooter who had created the diversion could double back to help his comrade.
“Follow me, Julia,” Russ told her.
He kept her at his side, with his gun aimed at the attacker on the floor. Once he was in the doorway of the bedroom, he could see Toby. Thankfully, the man was starting to move.
“Lock the door,” he told Julia. And Russ kept an eye on her until that was done. She went to Toby to help him. That freed up Russ to get started with the goon he still wanted to kill.
“Who are you?” Russ asked.
When he didn’t answer, Russ gave the guy another whack on the head with his gun. “Who are you?” Russ repeated.
“I’ll answer questions when the cops get here,” he snarled.
“There won’t be any cops,” Russ informed him.
“Feds, then. Like you.”
Russ almost cursed, but he hadn’t missed the tinge of doubt in the man’s tone.
“What makes you think I’m a fed?”
He made a sound to indicate the answer was obvious. “You were at the police station. I know all the local cops, including the guys they have undercover, and you’re not one of them. That means you’re probably a fed.”
“I’m not a fed. And there won’t be anybody coming to arrest you.” He jammed his gun against the man’s head. “This is between you and me.”
Because he was watching him so closely, he saw the sweat pop out on the man’s forehead. “You’re lying,” the guy said.
Since that seemed an open invitation to prove him wrong, Russ whacked the guy upside the head again, and he made sure it was harder than the others. “I’m not lying. And I’m not lying either when I say I’ll kill you. After all, you just tried to hurt my woman. I’m not very happy about that, and if you’re not willing to give me answers, then I might was well finish you off right now and get to work disposing of your body.”
The man angled his eyes at Russ. “You wouldn’t.”
Russ focused in on the image of Julia fighting for her life against this moron. “Oh yeah, I would.”
More sweat popped out on the guy’s face, and the seconds crawled by. “All right,” he finally mumbled. “I work for Milo.”
Of course he did. That also meant Milo must have someone watching the police station after all. That’s what had likely prompted this attack. “Tell me something I don’t know. Why did Milo send you?”
When the man started to shake his head, Russ rammed the gun even harder against his temple. He winced in pain.
“Milo wanted your woman,” the man said, still grimacing.
Russ didn’t ease up on the pressure he was delivering to the guy’s head. “Why?”
“I don’t know. That’s the truth,” he quickly added, when Russ dug the gun in even deeper. “If you want to know why, then you need to ask Milo.” Good advice.
Russ grabbed the guy’s cell phone that was partially sticking out of his pocket. “Call Milo for me,” Russ ordered. “Now.”
Chapter Thirteen
Julia caught onto Toby’s arm and helped him to his feet. He was shaky, just as she still was, but he didn’t seem injured. He took out his gun and made his way to the bedroom. Julia followed him and spotted Russ crouched down next to the man who’d attacked her. Russ had his gun jammed against the man’s head, and Toby took aim at the man as well.
She had an instant of panic when she saw her attacker’s face. Hardly more than a flash, before she felt the rage. How dare this monster try to hurt them.
Russ looked back at her, and a dozen unspoken things passed between them. He was worried about her. She was worried about him, too. But he was staying in character, being Jimmy Marquez, the black-market baby broker.
“I’m sorry,” Toby told her. And then Russ. “He came at me with a stun gun, and I didn’t have time to stop him before he popped me with it.”
“Don’t worry,” Julia assured him. “It wasn’t your fault.”
Russ nodded, as if to say ditto, but he kept his attention on her attacker. “Bozo here says that Milo sent him,” Russ explained to Toby and Julia.
That didn’t surprise her, but it did surprise her that the man was frantically pressing in numbers on his cell phone. He then handed the cell to Russ.
“Milo,” Russ greeted. “I’d like to know why you sent one of your dogs after Julia.”
She wanted to know the same thing, and inched closer. However, Toby nudged her back, probably because he didn’t want her too close to the man on the floor.
“Really?” Russ said, with thick sarcasm dripping from his voice. “And you thought the best way to make sure I cooperated with you was to piss me off?” The intense anger merged with his sarcasm.
As upset as Julia was about the attack, she prayed it wouldn’t affect the Richardson baby’s rescue. In fact, she was even more convinced that Russ and she had to do whatever was necessary to save the child, because Milo was a dangerous man.
“You thought the reason Julia and I were at the police station was because I’m a fed?” Russ questioned.
Julia hoped Russ could convince Milo that it wasn’t true.
“Well, you were wrong again. I’m not a fed, and we weren’t talking to the police,” Russ continued. “We were there because that’s where Sylvia asked us to meet her.” He paused, obviously listening to what Milo had to say. “Why don’t you ask her why she wanted to meet us? Are you losing control of your people, Milo? You might want to keep your assistant on a shorter leash.”
It was risky, telling Milo about Sylvia, and could ultimately put the woman in danger. On the other hand, this might rid Milo of some suspicions about Russ and Julia; and after all, Sylvia worked for Milo, so she obviously knew what kind of man he was.
“Julia won’t be at the meeting,” Russ insisted. “No. That’s not negotiable.” Another pause. “Fine, then go ahead and get another buyer who’ll cough up two million dollars.”
Her heart nearly stopped. But Russ just stayed silently on the line.
“I thought you’d see the light,” Russ said, a faint smile of celebration shaping his mouth. “Having Julia there would only complicate things.”
So she wouldn’t be at the meeting. That was good. Well, it was, as long as th
e deal closed as planned and the Richardson baby was returned.
“No. You’re not getting your gunman back,” Russ added, a moment later.
The guy on the floor cursed and probably thought he was about to die.
“I’ll release him when and if this deal is closed,” Russ said. “The meeting happens tomorrow morning, at nine o’clock. Without Julia. Just me, you and the baby. I’ll call you with a location. In the meantime, make sure all your hired guns stay far away from me and what’s mine.”
Russ slapped the phone shut and put it in his pocket— perhaps so he could send it to the FBI for analysis; or maybe he just didn’t want her attacker to be able to use it.
Toby went to the man and used the guy’s own leather belt to create a hand restraint. He caught onto the back of his shirt and hauled him to his feet. “I’ll take care of him. You’ll be okay?”
It took Julia a moment to realize Toby was talking to her. She settled for a nod. No, she wouldn’t be okay anytime soon, but she wasn’t about to fall apart, either.
Toby led the man out of the suite, and Russ caught onto her arm to lead her out as well. When he pulled the keycard from his pocket, that’s when she knew they were going back to the suite where they’d met with the Richardsons.
“We’ll be safe there?” she asked.
“As safe as I can make it. Once Toby’s taken care of that piece of slime, I’ll have him set up a decoy. I want Milo or anyone else watching to think we’ve left.”
“And what about the thermal equipment?”
“The police confiscated it when they picked up Milo’s man. They haven’t released the equipment, and they won’t—not until the FBI clears them to do that.”
That didn’t mean Milo couldn’t use new equipment, but no need to borrow trouble. “Did Silas really fire those shots?”
Russ shook his head. “I don’t think so. I believe Milo hired a gunman who looks like Silas to set up a diversion.”
She heard the doubt in his explanation. She saw it, too, in his eyes. So Silas might still turn out to be a problem for them.
Russ got her into the suite, shut the door and double-locked it. He spun around and faced her. “If you want to hit me, go ahead.”
Surprised, Julia just stared at him. “Hit you for what?”
“For nearly getting you killed.”
Okay. So, that’s where this conversation was going. Russ was about to take a guilt trip, and this particular journey wouldn’t help either of them.
“Milo did this. Not you,” she reminded him. “I’m not hurt, and you got to me in time, before that man could kidnap me.”
He shook his head. “It wasn’t enough. I’ve added another nightmare to your dreams.”
Hardly. If anything, he’d taken some of those nightmares away. And that’s when she realized what she had to do. It wasn’t even a tough decision. In fact, it would be a relief on many levels.
Julia went to Russ, pulled him into her arms and kissed him.
RUSS WASN’T EXACTLY SURPRISED by the kiss. If Julia hadn’t come to him at that exact moment, he would have been heading in her direction. She just saved them a few steps and moments.
And suddenly every moment seemed to count.
The kiss started hot and hard, and it only got more intense. Russ knew it would, but first he had to give Julia an out. He had to be sure this was what she really wanted, even if it was going to hurt if she put an end to this with just some kisses.
He tore his mouth from hers and looked her straight in the eyes. “This could be about panic. You could be—”
She stopped him with a kiss, and it was a doozie. Julia thrust her body against his, pushing him back against the door. She didn’t stop there. She curved her arm around his neck and tightened the embrace.
The need shot through him, consuming him, and Russ figured he only had one more try before both Julia and he were beyond stopping.
He pulled back and held her in place, so that she couldn’t go back for round three. “You don’t know me that well—”
“I know you.” And she brushed against him and nearly caused his eyes to cross.
Best just to cut to the chase. “Think this through. This is sex, Julia.”
She gave a crisp nod. “Good.”
Russ groaned. “Sex that you’ve never had before. And I don’t have a condom.”
That stopped her all right. She stared at him and blinked. “I’m on the pill to regulate my periods. But I’m pretty sure that covers sex.”
“Physically, maybe. But how about emotionally?”
“You want to talk about feelings?” she asked, but she didn’t wait for his answer. “Well, here’s what I feel. I want you. I’ve never wanted a man as much as I want you. Now, is that enough for you?”
Hell. It had to be enough, even if he had doubts. There was no way he could turn away from her. Still, sex against the door probably wasn’t the way to go here. So he kissed her until she was gasping for breath, scooped her up and headed for the bedroom.
She lit some more fires along the way by kissing his neck and touching his chest. By the time he eased her onto the mattress, he was primed and ready. But Russ forced himself to slow down.
He grabbed both of her wrists in one hand and pinned them to the bed so she couldn’t do any more of those maddening caresses. He kissed her again, letting the slow heat slide right through them. It was enough for a moment, but she soon began lifting her hips to meet his.
To hell with slow. It was a lost cause anyway.
Russ unbuttoned her dress and went after her breasts. He already knew how that particular part of her tasted, but he had seconds. And thirds. He kissed every inch of her and then took her right nipple into his mouth.
Julia didn’t say anything coherent, and she ground herself against him to let him know what she wanted. Him. She wiggled one of her hands out of his grip and pulled up her dress until it was at her waist. She tried to lower his zipper, too, but he was huge and hard, and that didn’t make her task easy. Plus, all that groping against his erection wasn’t doing much for his willpower.
“Can you cut the foreplay?” she asked, hooking her fingers onto her panties and pulling them off. “I’ve waited long enough.”
Russ couldn’t argue with that. Hell, his body would have laughed at him if he’d tried. So he just took what Julia was offering him. Later, he’d deal with the emotional aftermath, and he was pretty sure there’d be one.
He didn’t take off his pants, because every second suddenly seemed to matter. Everything was racing. His heart. Julia’s caresses. The needy kisses and urgent whispers. He got his jeans unzipped—how he managed that, he didn’t know—but it was Julia who took his sex from his shorts.
She guided him to her and lifted her hips. Russ tried to hold back, but she would have no part of gentleness. She wrapped her legs around him and thrust him forward, so that he slid right into her.
There was a flash of pain on her face. Russ cursed and tried to pull out. But she wouldn’t have any part of that, either.
“Finish,” she insisted.
As if he could have done anything else.
Russ moved inside her, keeping the strokes easy and slow. At first, anyway. Julia soon picked up the pace, and Russ put his hand between their sweat-slick bodies, so he could touch the sensitive flesh at the top of her sex.
He got the reaction he wanted. Julia tossed back her head and dug her fingernails into his back. Russ kept moving. Kept touching. And he watched her face.
Her eyes widened, and her expression said it all. Ahhh. So that’s what all the fuss is about.
She came in a flash, her body pulling him deeper into hers. The sound of his name repeated on her lips.
She wound her arms and legs tighter around him, and for a moment, Russ got so caught up in watching her that he almost forgot that he was on the receiving end of this, too. Julia’s climax was what pulled him back. That, and that look on her face. That look was something he would remember for t
he rest of his life.
Russ buried his face against her neck and let Julia do the rest.
Chapter Fourteen
Russ was naked right in front of her. He probably didn’t know that this, too, was a first for her. She was only an arm’s length away from a hot man with no clothes.
How much her life had changed in such a short time. Here, she’d come to this small Texas town to find Emily’s father and had also found the man of her dreams. Well, almost.
Russ was rough around the edges, and perhaps a little dangerous, but he had a way of making her remember that she alive. Like now, for instance.
She idly thumbed one of the iridescent bubbles in her bath. The water was warm and perfect. It soothed what little soreness she had from making love with Russ. And his naked body made her all hot again.
After they’d napped and had eaten the food an agent delivered, Russ had undressed to join her in the large tub, but then he’d gotten a call, an update about the investigation. It was because of that call she’d gotten the nice view of seeing him pace across the bathroom.
He certainly had some interesting parts.
“Yeah, I got that,” he said to the caller. He sandwiched the phone between his ear and shoulder while he wrote down something on a piece of paper. He folded the paper and placed it on top of his gun, which was on the vanity.
“Good news,” Russ said to her, when he ended the call. “Toby did the decoy departure, so it’ll look as if we’ve left the hotel. I have the number for the account, and the money is in place. We should have the Richardson boy back in…” he checked his watch, “…about twelve hours.”
That meant it was around 9:00 p.m. She should be exhausted, what with the adrenaline-spiked day she’d had, and the little sleep the night before, but her body was humming.
“What about the man Toby took away?” she asked.
“He’s at the FBI’s regional office. Don’t worry, he won’t be leaving. He’ll be charged with a long list of crimes.”
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