“I didn’t. It’ll be close to eight when we get there.”
“Well, uh, it’s not necessary that we do this the whole way, is it? I mean…for us to maintain our cover—”
“Only when warranted. Think you can manage it?”
She didn’t answer as the policeman turned to walk back down the corridor. She tensed in Jake’s arms, anticipating his next move, only to have him pull her to her feet.
“Let’s get to our gate.”
* * *
One more hour to go.
Jake shifted in his seat and glanced at Clare asleep next to him, her face half buried in a pillow jammed between her seat and the window.
A good thing she was getting some rest, as much for her welfare as for his peace of mind. Every time she looked at him with those big green eyes, so full of trust and raw hope, he wondered what the hell he’d been thinking to drag her with him to Mexico. Thankfully it didn’t take longer than the next split second to know exactly why he’d done it.
Frustration and long simmering rage worked wonders for drowning out any guilt that he intended to use her again as bait. If things turned out as he planned, they’d both get what they wanted—so what the hell?
Jake swirled the bourbon in the plastic tumbler and looked away. He rarely drank, alcohol dulled the mind and he needed to stay sharp, but he’d downed three of those little bottles so far and was contemplating a fourth.
All they had to do when they arrived in Tampico was to hire a cab to their hotel on Playa Miramar and get a night’s rest. The real fun would start in the morning when he began contacting some former associates in Monterrey. That is, if they were still alive or hadn’t been relocated to other cities.
The war against the Mexican drug trade had moved on without him. No telling what had happened to the people he used to work with throughout the country. Kidnappings and murder were rampant in Mexico. People were killed every week along the border where drug cartels fought to control lucrative routes into the U.S. Until he started making some calls, he had no idea who might who might still be around to help him.
“No…please, Tyler…no.”
“Shit.” Jake swallowed the last of his bourbon and tried to ignore Clare’s mutterings.
She clearly thought of her son waking and dreaming, and he didn’t blame her. She’d been through a lot, and God knows it could get a lot worse before it got better…if it did get better. He didn’t want to think about that potential either, but there was always the chance things wouldn’t go as he hoped once they got to Monterrey. Yet in the end, what did either of them have to lose?
He wanted answers. Clare wanted her son.
Simple. If that meant using her, so be it. He hadn’t asked her to crash into his life and through her own desperate willingness to go after her son, present him with the means to finally stop the nightmares.
Jake jabbed at the button for the flight attendant and decided that fourth bottle of bourbon couldn’t come fast enough.
Only constant work had saved him since he’d returned to San Antonio, the run-down ranch he’d built into a horseback riding center for disabled kids as much to fulfill a promise as a way to hold onto his sanity. He wasn’t used to sitting still for so long, and he sure as hell didn’t want to sleep. He only slept when he was so physically exhausted he couldn’t stand up anymore…so exhausted he couldn’t think, or dream.
“Guess I’ll get it myself.” Jake unhooked his seatbelt and started to get up, but a hand on his arm stopped him.
“Are we there?”
He stared into Clare’s drowsy eyes and shook his head, unsuccessful in tamping down the guilt that grabbed at his gut. “Another hour yet. Go back to sleep.”
She’d already nodded off, the long day clearly having caught up with her, her head lolling to one side. His gaze fell to her lips.
He’d be a liar if he said he hadn’t enjoyed kissing her. He had a sense she’d enjoyed it too, but he doubted she’d admit it. He’d been with very few women since he’d returned to Texas. It hadn’t felt right and he hadn’t wanted to, not since Isabella—
“Sir, please fasten your seat belt,” insisted a young female flight attendant who stopped next to his seat. “The captain’s just informed us there might be turbulence and turned on the seat belt sign.”
“Bring me a bourbon straight up and you’ve got a deal.” Jake drew the two ends of the seat belt across his lap as the pretty Latina nodded and retreated, her rich dark hair reminding him all too painfully of silky strands he used to love to run his fingers through. He supposed everywhere he looked once they arrived in Mexico he’d be tormented by the past but that’s why he’d made the snap decision to return.
For Isabella’s sake. To find out who had raped and tortured his wife to death.
CHAPTER TWELVE
“I want to see my daughter, Eduardo. Why won’t you let me see her?”
Eduardo spread his hands and shook his head, although he gritted his teeth. An unexpected visit from Magdalena Salinas Castillo was the last thing he needed right now. He’d been on his way out the door when Sofia the housekeeper had alerted him that his mother-in-law had called to say her limousine was a mile away from Rancho Sabinas. He’d awaited her on the front steps, and he was determined she go no farther.
“I told you, Magda, she doesn’t want to see anyone. Not you. Not even me. She’s been adamant about being left alone since I brought her here and you know how stubborn she can be.“
“Of course she’s stubborn, like mother like daughter. Eduardo, I tell you I will see her.”
Petite and meticulously dressed and coifed, Magdalena stood no higher than Eduardo’s chin but she stared up at him defiantly and even tried to sidestep him. He blocked her path but somehow they’d moved closer to the front door, which he knew was exactly what his mother-in-law wanted.
“Magdalena, please, we must be patient with her. If Maria wants to grieve by herself for a short while—”
“She will grieve herself into an early grave. It makes no sense. I visited her daily since you brought poor Daniel’s body home and now this strange request to leave her beautiful house in the city and bring her out to this desolate place and not to see anyone, not even her mother. It cannot be good. I am worried about her, and Manuel spoke of it, too, on the phone a short while ago. A busy man, so many responsibilities as you know, yet he wonders about his sister and asked me to call him at once when I saw her. Shall I call him now to tell him his brother-in-law refuses to allow me—”
“Fuck.”
“Excuse me?”
“Nothing, Magda, nothing.” Eduardo had muttered the expletive but he would have liked to scream it at the top of his lungs. This wasn’t going at all as he’d planned. It was too soon for his mother-in-law to see Daniel, too soon for anyone to see him. The boy had been sleeping much of the time thanks to a mild sedative to keep him calm, but constantly drugging him wasn’t the answer. Daniel would need weeks to adjust to his new life, maybe months.
“Very well, I will call Manuel.”
“Not necessary, Magda, I agree with you. A woman in Maria’s condition needs her mother, no matter what she might say. It was a thoughtful thing for you to drive out here to see her.” Eduardo pushed open the steel-studded front door and stepped inside, but gestured toward the vast living room as Magdalena entered the foyer. “Wait here so I might approach her gently…let her know about your visit and how much you want to see her. I'll send Sofia to fetch you when Maria’s ready.”
“But Eduardo, there’s no need to be so formal. I’ll walk with you to her room.”
“Magda, please, I’m trying to respect her wishes and yours, too. A few moments, no more.”
Eduardo held his breath as his mother-in-law appeared to weigh his words, and then she shrugged without another word and walked into the living room. He didn’t wait an instant longer but headed to the sweeping mesquite staircase and took the steps three at a time. His heart pounded when he reached the top.
As they quickly obliged him, Eduardo wasn’t surprised that Maria hadn’t cast him a single glance from her chair placed at the head of the hospital bed. She’d hardly moved since he’d last seen her with the boy. She ignored him altogether and continued to stroke Daniel’s forehead and hum softly.
“Maria, your mother is here and wants to see you.”
“Ssshhh, Eduardo, he’s sleeping. The doctor says he needs lots of rest to get better and grow strong—”
“Enough! If you want Daniel to stay here with you, get back to your room and say absolutely nothing to your mother about him. Do you understand?”
The humming stopped. Maria’s hand on the boy’s forehead fell still, but she still had not looked at Eduardo.
“I’m doing everything in my power so no one will take him from you, but it’s time you do your part. See your mother, assure her you’re feeling better, go to the kitchen and eat something if it will please her—anything to make her go away. It’s too soon for anyone to see the boy. You know we need more time.“
“Will you sit with him while I’m gone, Eduardo?” Maria had already risen from her chair and hurried toward him, her pink satin robe fluttering around her legs, her eyes panicked. “I never leave him alone—just in case he wakes—”
“I’ll stay.” As she nodded and rushed past him, he caught her arm, making her gasp, and drew her up hard to face him. “Maria, it rests on your shoulders now. If you say a word to your mother about Daniel…” He didn’t have to finish to know she fully understood him. She took a deep breath and glanced back at the bed, then met his eyes with more than a hint of coldness.
“Let go of my arm, Eduardo. I’ll be fine.”
He released her and she flung open the door and was gone. Eduardo stepped out into the corridor and gestured for the small medical staff standing awkwardly off to one side to come back into the room.
“Remember what I told you. If anyone should stop you in the house and ask you questions, you’re here to treat my wife, understand? Say nothing about the boy.”
The cardiologist, an older man of around sixty, had fear in his eyes as he nodded at Eduardo. The two nurses, the man stick thin and the other a plain-looking young woman, couldn’t move past Eduardo fast enough to return to their posts.
He felt pleased by their reactions. Fear was good. Fear and cold hard cash ensured silence and absolute cooperation. Eduardo followed them into the room and sat down in Maria’s chair to stare at the sleeping boy, but the stirring connection he’d felt toward him that morning strangely wasn’t there.
Must be too much on his mind. He had a meeting yet that evening with Manuel, and the situation in Texas still hadn’t been resolved.
The Carson woman had disappeared as if into thin air, and none of his people in San Antonio or any of the Facilitator’s contacts had been able to discover anything more than what they already knew. Bitch! Where the hell was she?
* * *
Tampico, Tamaulipas, Mexico
“Think this will do?” Jake asked.
As he threw their bags onto the king-size bed, Clare gave a small nod and glanced out the sliding glass doors at the dimly lit beach below.
She really didn’t care how nice their twelfth floor hotel room was or how wonderful the view. All she cared about was that they were in Mexico and getting closer to Tyler.
But not close enough. She wished she could blink her eyes and find herself in Monterrey, but Jake had said something about wanting to get their ducks in a row first. If he had a plan—
“You hungry?”
Clare turned back into the room and met Jake’s gaze. “No.”
“I am. You’ll find your appetite once you smell some real food. Let’s shower first, then we’ll get something to eat.”
Clare’s face grew warm as Jake pulled off his T-shirt and tossed it onto the bed. She glanced back out the window.
“If you want to go ahead of me, Clare…”
“No thanks, maybe later. I mean the shower, not the food—”
“I know what you meant.” His fingers working at the top button of his jeans, he disappeared into the bathroom. “Didn’t mean to embarrass you.”
“I’m not embarrassed.” Water started running and she sank down onto the bed. Yes, she was embarrassed, but she really wasn’t sure why. Because he’d started to undress in front of her, or because of how it had made her feel to see his bare chest? Rubbing her forehead, she told herself that none of it mattered.
Not Jake kissing her again at the hotel front desk and holding her hand and nuzzling her neck in the elevator while other guests pretended to look the other way.
Not Jake immediately dropping the pretense of acting the newly married husband as soon as they got into their room and closed the door behind them.
Not the real possibility that she was strongly attracted to him, something she hadn’t felt about any man in a very long time. None of it mattered to her but getting Tyler home again.
Despair overwhelmed Clare, but she didn’t want to admit to herself that it all seemed so impossible at that moment.
Her fragile confidence had been shattered the moment they landed at the airport. She’d never been outside of the States before and everything looked so different to her—the people, the landscape, even the smell of the place was different.
It was insane for them to be here, unspeakably dangerous, surreal, the list was endless, and the sooner they were able to leave Mexico, the better. Jake had mentioned a shower and food, but nothing yet about how he planned to reunite her with Tyler, not one word.
Why was she waiting for him to come up with all the answers anyway? Tyler was her son. She was more than willing to do her part. There had to be something she might be able to do…
Clare rose from the bed and headed for the bathroom, her heart beginning to race. “Jake?”
No answer. He must not have heard her behind the blue shower curtain, steam filling the small room and fogging the mirror. She stepped closer to the bathtub and tried again, louder this time. “Jake, I don’t know what you’re planning once we get to Monterrey but there must be some way I can help you—with Eduardo Ruiz, I mean—oh!”
Jake had grabbed her so suddenly from behind the shower curtain, a wet hand clasped over her mouth, that Clare’s heart jumped into her throat.
“Are you crazy?” he hissed in her ear, his voice low and angry. “How thick do you think the walls are between these rooms?”
She could only shake her head, horrified that she’d practically shouted at him, her apology muffled against his palm. In the next instant he released her and turned off the shower. Clare backed up and bumped into the sink as he threw aside the curtain and grabbed a white towel from the rack.
Oh, God. He was so physically beautiful. Tanned, well muscled but lean, his stomach flat and toned, dark hair curling across his chest and trailing down his abdomen. Her first instinct was to turn away and run out of the bathroom, but she stood there instead and stared at him, his eyes burning into hers.
“Think next time, Clare. That’s how you can help me.”
She nodded, stung by his criticism but knowing it was well deserved. He began to towel himself dry and now she did turn and head into the bedroom, feeling ridiculous and girlish as she paced the floor and tried to block from her mind a glimpse of strong, muscled thighs and the dark triangle between them—
“I’ll dress in the bathroom if it will make you feel more comfortable.”
She spun around to see Jake standing in the doorway, the damp towel wrapped around his waist. He’d spoken so matter-of-factly, appearing altogether unperturbed that she’d just seen him stark naked while she still struggled to regain her composure. “I don’t care where you dress and I’m not uncomfortable. And I don’t think it’s necessary for you to t
ouch me so much either.”
Clare had raised her voice, but at that moment she didn’t care about anyone overhearing her. She slid open the balcony door and slammed it shut behind her, not really sure why she’d become so angry and more embarrassed than ever that she’d blurted out what she had.
She leaned against the metal railing, grateful for the balmy breeze that rustled through her closely cropped hair and cooled her face. She stared out across the water as the last rays of daylight faded into dusk.
The closest she’d ever come to the ocean was the Texas gulf coast, though Billy had promised a half dozen times over the years to take her on a cruise to the Bahamas. Now he lay cold and gray in a morgue somewhere with a bullet in his brain, shot dead because he was Tyler’s father while she’d barely escaped the same fate.
Had that been only this morning when she’d heard about his death? Everything was happening so fast that time made little sense to her anymore. Nothing was making sense to her except that she so desperately wanted her son back.
Clare stiffened at the sound of the balcony door sliding open. She didn’t turn around but kept staring out at the gulf, even though she sensed Jake was standing right beside her.
“Point taken,” he said quietly. “I apologize if I’ve gone overboard with the role-playing—”
“It doesn’t matter, forget it.” A quick glance told Clare that Jake had thrown his clothes back on and probably was ready to find something to eat, but that was the last thing on her mind. She took a deep breath and turned to face him. “I’m sure you must have a plan but I’ve got one, too. I think you’re going to have to use me as bait somehow to get my son back.”
He didn’t readily answer but stared at her, giving Clare the sense that she’d somehow caught him off guard. “It’s been wrong of me to leave everything up to you—”
“This isn’t the time, Clare. Let’s talk after we eat.”
“No, please, I want you to hear me out.” His expression darkened but Clare rushed on. “I was thinking of something like you did in San Antonio. You knew those hit men were looking for me and the same goes for Eduar—sorry, you know who I mean. You flushed them out and you could do it here, too. Maybe if you offered to hand me over to him for a hundred thousand dollars or something, I don’t know. It wouldn’t be for real, but if it helped to set up some way we could get to Tyler—”
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