by Shauna Allen
My eyes flew to his. “Anything that can help us find her friend?”
“Not yet, but he’s still looking. It’s only been a couple hours, bro.” He clapped a hand to my shoulder and stood. “I’m beat. I’m gonna go get some sleep. I suggest you do the same. Let me know if Miss Trevino gives you any more information we can use.”
I nodded once. “Roger that.”
He slipped out, leaving me alone with my tumbling thoughts—all of which centered around the fact that the bathroom window was just behind me and Grace Trevino was currently in the shower. Very naked and very wet. God, what had I done to deserve this torture?
To distract myself and my suddenly tight jeans, I jumped up and headed inside. Might as well investigate what goods Tito bought for us if we were going to be trapped here together for the foreseeable future.
I checked the cabinets, pantry, and fridge. He’d done all right and he’d gotten me plenty of Fritos and Tab, so that was a bonus. I noticed he threw in some fruit and healthy stuff, probably for her. I rolled my eyes. Show off.
I spun around at a foreign sound, my mind automatically cataloguing every single weapon hidden on the premises, every point of entry or exit, and every safe spot I could put Grace for cover if—
I stopped short when I found her, wide-eyed and staring at me from the kitchen threshold, her black hair wet and hanging loosely down her back, her face clean of makeup, dressed only in athletic shorts and a plain pink T-shirt. Simple. Adorable. She was every dream I’d ever had rolled into one perfect package and she had no fucking clue.
She suddenly looked self-conscious. “Guess there wasn’t much to choose from at the store in my size.”
“It’s . . .” I cleared my throat. “It’s fine.”
A small smile tilted her perfectly bare lips as she took me in. “Hungry again?”
“What? Oh.” I stepped away from the fridge. “Not really. Just looking at what all Tito got us. I could use a drink though. You?”
She nodded, her eyes lighting with delight when I pulled out the Tab and two glasses. I filled them with ice and poured with a flourish. I gave her one and waited while she sipped.
“And?” I asked after she swallowed.
“It’s . . .” Dark eyes met mine. She shrugged. “It’s diet soda?”
I laughed. “Yeah.”
She laughed with me and we made our way to the living room.
“Want to watch TV?” I asked.
“Not really.” She sipped again, tucking her feet beneath her as she shifted to face me on the couch. “I thought we could talk.”
Something inside me went on alert, though I kept my body loose. “Okay. About what?”
“Quiero que confíes en mi.”
My brain scrambled to translate her breathy words with my rusty Spanish. I want you to trust me.
“Eso no es fácil.” That is not easy.
Her eyes flared at my use of her native language. “I understand, but can you try? Have I given you a reason to not trust me?”
“Not yet.”
She tilted her head at my candor. “Ask me.”
“What?”
“Whatever it is you want to know. I will tell you, so we can move past this and you can help Brianne.” Her eyes dared me to trust her. Taunted me to hope.
“I want to know what you did for Esteban.” Before she could open her mouth, I shook my head. “What you really did for Esteban. Don’t feed me the real estate line, because I’m not buying it.”
Surprise flitted across her features, followed by what looked like hurt. She set her soda down with carefully contained determination. “Fine.” She faced me again. “But, just for the record, I am a real estate agent, and a damn good one, too, and I would appreciate it if you wouldn’t knock the career that I’ve worked very hard for.”
I lifted a brow. “Duly noted.”
She huffed a breath. “But . . .”
I settled in for the truth.
“But . . . the company is a front for some of the cartel’s other, less savory activities.” Her gaze darted away, then back. “But I don’t have anything to do with that, I swear.”
“What do you do then?”
“It’s what I used to do, really.” Her voice was soft. Emotional. The hint of regret was clear.
“And that was . . .?”
She wilted, apparently resigned to telling me the whole truth. “I told you my father was a part of the organization?” I nodded. “Well, when he was killed, I was put in my uncle’s care. He was one of Enrique Mendez’s most loyal men. I was raised to be a part of this life. I had no choice.” Her eyes begged me to believe her.
“What about your mother? Where was she?”
“She died when I was very young of a blood infection.”
Shock and sympathy ran through me. She was just a child, left with a bunch of ruthless criminals who wouldn’t have cared about the needs of a little girl.
“You must understand, I was alone and these men, they will use you,” she continued. “They don’t care who you are, how old you are . . .” She looked down to her lap and something dark and ugly crawled up my throat.
“Grace?” My voice was thick and scratchy. “What did they use you for?” I needed her to answer me, because all kinds of sick and twisted things were going through my mind and I was about two seconds away from snapping like a twig.
She seemed to sense this in me. “Nothing like that,” she assured me. “I had . . . other talents.”
I frowned, puzzled. “Talents?”
“I was small. I was quiet. I was fast. I could fit into small spaces without being seen. I had a knack for remembering numbers. I was the cartel’s best recovery asset for many years.”
My mind fumbled over her words for a moment before I caught up. “You . . . you were a thief?”
“Semantics.”
“Once I got too big to be as good at that, I turned out to be good at computers. Me and Brianne used to tinker quite a bit on her fancy laptop at her house. I’ve done some work for them on the web.”
My gut began to churn. “What kind of work?”
“Weapons sales and hiding the money in offshore accounts.”
My heart rate slowed a tad. “That’s it?”
Her eyes clouded as she studied me and bit her lip. “That’s it. I exhausted my knowledge at that. They have others who do much more for them.”
I yanked out my phone, my finger hovering over Tex’s number on speed dial. “And can you find the proof of these sales and accounts if you had access to your computer files?”
I watched as fear warred with determination on her face. She finally took a breath and nodded. “Yes. I think so.”
Thank fuck.
~ ~
The next morning, I took Grace to breakfast at Maverick’s Café at the urging of the guys. Honestly, I knew it would do me good to get out of the house because being alone with her and her scent was driving me insane. And, there was also the matter of her being able to meet with Tex in person and go over what she could on the computer. She was safe at the café surrounded by Marines, and we’d had no indication that the cartel even knew she was MIA yet.
She seemed thrilled to be getting out of the house as well, so I couldn’t help but wonder if being alone with me was grating on her libido in the same way. Probably not. She just wanted to save her friend and get on with her life and I’d do good to remember that.
We pulled up to the café just as Bubba did, a very pregnant Scarlett sliding out of his truck to wave at me. Through the glass of the café, I could already see Rebekah and Danielle eyeballing me as I helped Grace from the passenger seat.
Inside, I was surprised to find Tex with his wife, Melody, at a back table, along with the rest of my team. “Hey.”
Melody stood and offered her hand to Grace. “Hello. I’m Melody Keegan. I’m Tex’s wife. I thought you could maybe use a little female moral support with all these guys.”
Grace’s face melted in appreciatio
n. “Nice to meet you. That is so nice of you, but I have to admit they have been very kind.”
“I’m glad to hear that. If they hadn’t, I would’ve kicked someone’s ass on your behalf.” She sat next to her husband and picked up her coffee. “Maybe when you’re done, we can go shopping for some proper clothes for you? I heard Tito might’ve failed on that one?”
Grace flushed, and Tito just lifted his palms in surrender. “Did the best I could under the circumstances.”
Tex kept clacking away on his keyboard, his eyes not leaving the screen. “You women can do what you want, but you’re not going alone.”
Melody rolled her eyes. “Wouldn’t dream of it, big man. You wanna go shopping with us?”
“Not for all the sexual favors you could cough up, baby.” Still, he didn’t look up.
It was Melody’s turn to blush. She flipped her gaze to me. “Lucky? You want to go?”
“Why me?”
“Because you’re Grace’s bodyguard,” she supplied helpfully.
“Is that what I am?”
Tito just shrugged.
I slid into a chair and picked up the menu, even though I knew what I wanted. I always ate the same thing—blueberry pancakes, side of bacon, large OJ.
I tried to shake it off. Remember who I was, what I was. Still. I was frustrated. I’d been demoted from highly trained Marine to . . . bodyguard.
Six
Grace
I could tell Lucky was not happy. Still, it was nice to be out and about in the sunshine and with people who were friendly and didn’t confuse my body on every level. His friends and their girlfriends and wives were all very nice and accepting of me, given the situation. I had no idea if the women had a clear understanding of who I was and why I was there, but I figured if they didn’t ask, I wouldn’t tell.
“Thank you.” I smiled at our sweet, young waitress, Carissa, as she served me my breakfast.
“You’re welcome. Do you need anything else?” Her smiling, brown eyes and bright-red curls shimmered in the morning light, and I couldn’t help but think she was so beautiful and so very different than me. I glanced over to see if Lucky noticed her rare beauty, but he was focused on his food.
It was also very obvious as she continued to serve the food that she only had eyes for Lucky’s friend, Kid. Young and quiet, he barely made eye contact with her, his replies to her curt and to the point, but I also caught him watching her from the corner of his eye as she walked away. I knew more than most that still waters ran deep, and I’d bet my last dollar that there was much more to Kid than met the eye, and pretty little Carissa knew it, too.
After we ate, I excused myself to the restroom and I took my time because I could sense that the guys needed a few minutes to talk without me around before I discussed what I knew with Tex. I knew they wanted to talk about me and Lucky wanted to share my revelations from last night, but that was fine. I had to earn their trust, and quickly, so they would help me save Brianne. I’d also come to the sad realization last night that I would have to talk to the American government about seeking asylum. After everything I’d done, there was no way I could return to Mexico. Even if Esteban was killed at the end of this, there would be no way that Juan or anyone else in the family would let me live. I was sure there would be a hefty price on my head as a traitor if there wasn’t already.
I studied myself in the mirror, seeing a haunted woman staring back through black eyes. It would all be worth it if Brianne were safe and even a piece of the cartel’s dirty business was brought down with my help.
Behind me, the door swung open. Chatter from the two women stopped when they spotted me. I recognized one as the owner of this café, Rebekah, and the other was the pregnant lady I’d seen when we drove up. “Hello,” I said, turning to face them.
“Hi.” The pregnant one spoke first. “You’re with Lucky?”
My brows drew down. “With . . .? No.”
She frowned, obviously confused, and exchanged glances with her friend.
“It’s complicated,” I offered. “They’re helping me with some . . . business.”
“Oh,” they said in unison as this seemed to clear something up for them.
“I’m Scarlett,” the pregnant one said, stepping forward to offer her hand. “I’m married to Johnny Ray . . . well, they call him Bubba.”
“And I’m Rebekah. My boyfriend is Tanner, also known as Maverick. Tex is also my cousin, not to confuse you.”
“Nice to meet you both. I’m Grace Trevino.”
We chatted a few minutes, and I found myself wondering what it might be like to be a part of a normal group of friends like this. Even for a moment. As we moved back out into the main part of the café, I watched their eyes automatically seek out their men, and I felt a tiny pinch of jealousy that I’d never had that—that need to connect with someone the moment you came into the room. The knowledge that they needed you just as much as you needed them. The feeling of being wanted just for being me and not what I could do or give or be.
My eyes slid across the well-lit room and caught on Lucky’s searing hazel gaze as he seemed to take inventory of me from head to toe. For a split second, I imagined that I knew what those women felt as we stared at each other. Then, just as quickly, the moment was gone.
Without breaking eye contact, I murmured to the women at my side. “What’s Lucky’s name?”
“Sorry?” Rebekah said, leaning in toward me.
I glanced over to her now, severing contact with him. “You talked about your men having names and nicknames. I only know him as Lucky. I was just wondering what is his real name?”
A surprised, half-smile tilted up her mouth. “I . . . well . . .” She exchanged another look with Scarlett. “I think it might be more fun if you asked him yourself.”
~ ~
By the end of the morning, I’d learned several things. I learned who was a couple (besides Rebekah and Maverick, Bubba and Scarlett, and Tex and Melody, there was also Red and Danielle, who were getting married the following weekend. Tito, Lucky, and Kid were single.) I learned that there were actually two teams of military men in play here—Lucky was part of a Marine team. Tex was part of a team of Navy SEALs that worked with them, though I’d yet to totally figure out the details of all that. And, perhaps most importantly, I also learned that Lucky had the most magnificent laugh when he cut loose amongst his friends, which in turn made me feel swarms of things inside that I knew I shouldn’t, yet I couldn’t help.
Melody leaned over to me. “They really are great guys.”
My gaze zipped to hers. “I never said—”
“I know you didn’t,” she interrupted me. “I just wanted to reassure you that you can trust them with your life.” She offered me a soft smile then grabbed her purse and stood. “Shall we go get you some clothes that fit?”
I shot Lucky a look, to find him studying me closely. “I . . . I’m not sure. I think I need to talk to Tex first.”
“Oh.” She seemed disappointed.
“Maybe we can do it later?” I spoke to her, though my gaze never left his.
His eyes flared. Something definitely pulsed between us. I was sure the entire restaurant felt it. I—
“Not so fast, guys.”
We all froze at Tex’s gruff words.
He looked up from his computer screen, his dark eyes serious as they slid to me. “Another time.” He then faced Lucky and the men. “We need to take this back to the safehouse. Now.”
My stomach dropped. Sweat tickled my scalp. My heart stopped—then melted in my chest when Lucky automatically rounded the table to be near me before another word was said, his strong presence a protective barrier at my back. I wanted to lean into him so badly, but I held my own and faced Tex as he explained, his voice low so the other diners wouldn’t hear.
“We got a lead on some cartel chatter, and satellites have picked up some movement. They know you’ve gone rogue.”
“It was only a matter of time, I suppose,�
� I whispered.
Melody grabbed my hand and squeezed. “Don’t worry. These guys will protect you.”
I offered a small smile of thanks. I hoped she was right.
“How bad is it?” This from Tito.
“Bad.” Tex obviously didn’t believe in sugarcoating things. “It doesn’t look like they’re interested in treating this like any other defection. I can only assume since they wanted to marry you off to the second-in-command that they’re considering this a more serious offense and will come gunning for you with all they’ve got.”
I nodded, unable to speak.
Lucky tensed behind me, his energy vibrating so strongly I could feel it pulsating at my back.
“Let ‘em,” Maverick spoke up from across the table. “I’m sick of going hunting for these fuckers. Let them come to us for a change.” He glanced my way. “Sorry if that makes you bait, Grace, but it is what it is at this point.”
I swallowed the iceberg of fear down my throat. “Don’t apologize. I came to you asking for your help, and I appreciate you taking me in.”
“Well,” Tito uncoiled to his full height. “I guess Tex is right. Until we can fully assess the situation, you’ll need to stay at the safehouse. Lucky . . .” He tipped his head in a silent command for us to get moving.
Lucky nudged my lower back. “Come on. We should go,” he murmured.
“The rest of the team will take turns making sweeps of the perimeter,” Tito instructed.
“And once my team is back stateside, I’ll fill them in and see how we can help,” Tex offered.
“Thanks, man,” Tito said.
Rebekah and Melody followed Lucky and me toward the door. Rebekah shoved some to-go bags of food in my hands. “For later.”
I nodded my thanks while Lucky got some last-minute orders from his leader.
Scarlett, Danielle, and our waitress, Carissa, waved from the window. I waved back.
“I’ll call you later and you can tell me your sizes. I’ll pick up some decent clothes for you and anything else you need,” Melody offered sweetly.
“You don’t have to do that.”
“I know. I want to.”
I wasn’t sure what I’d done to deserve such kindness, but I thanked her and hurried to Lucky’s car.