His warm breath caressed her cheek and he kissed her eyelids. “I’m not going to waste this night worrying. I can finally relax knowing you’re with my sister and her husband and away from this threat.”
She opened one eye. “My involvement has complicated everything, hasn’t it?”
“Only in a good way.” Standing up, he extended his hand toward her. “Let’s turn in, together. One last night with you, and I’ll be highly motivated to wrap up this job.”
Giggling, she placed her hand in his. She could forget her troubles for a while—as long as they made love. As long as he held her in his arms.
Her phone played its ringtone from her purse, and she squeezed Riley’s hand. “Hold that thought. I hope this isn’t Sarah. I’ll have to tell her I abandoned her house.”
She groped for the cell phone inside her purse and studied the unfamiliar number on the display. Her heart skipped a beat, and she caught her breath.
“Who is it?”
“Don’t know. Could be the EMT school, but probably not at this time of night.”
She punched the button to answer. “Hello?”
“Mi amor. I’ve missed you.”
The blood rushed to Amy’s head, and she flung out a hand to grab the arm of the chair. “Who is this?”
“It’s Carlos. I’m coming for you.”
Chapter Fourteen
Her face drained of its usual bronze glow, Amy dropped the phone and collapsed onto the chair. A man’s voice squawked from the phone and Riley pinched it between his fingers and mouthed to Amy. “Who is it?”
She opened her mouth and emitted a croak. Then she cleared her throat and tried again. “Carlos.”
Riley nearly dropped the phone a second time. Her dead ex-boyfriend? His mind raced. Who said he was dead? The so-called body vanished, and Amy had never given him a chance to check the man’s pulse. They hadn’t seen any blood, and Riley had seen no visible wounds.
He put his finger to his lips and pressed the speaker button on Amy’s phone. Cradling the phone in his palm, he held out his hand to her.
A golden opportunity just dropped into their laps. Could she do this? Did he have a right to ask her?
Slowly she nodded and took the phone from him. She scooped in a shaky breath. “C-Carlos?”
He laughed. “That’s right, mi amor. Did you think I was dead?”
“I saw you on my kitchen floor, Carlos. What happened?”
“I took a pill, a drug. Something that slowed my heart rate, paralyzed me. Unless a doctor examined me, I appeared as good as dead.”
Covert-ops guys carried those kinds of drugs in their arsenal. Carlos had been prepared for anything. The shock of discovering her ex-boyfriend alive and well and on the telephone hadn’t worn off for Amy yet.
Riley tapped her shoulder and mouthed, Why?
She blinked her eyes. “Why, Carlos? Why would you take something like that?”
“It has its dangers, Amy, but nothing compared to the threats of terrorist scum. When I knew they had followed me to your house, I swallowed a little yellow pill and faked my death. I didn’t know if they’d figure it out and kill me anyway, but I had to take the chance.”
Riley twirled his finger in the air. She had to get as much out of Carlos as possible while he was still alive.
“I thought they’d come to my house and removed your body.”
“No. I came to and walked out of your house. I knew you’d been there because I saw a wet suit on the floor, unless that belonged to the clients or Velazquez’s men. I’m pretty sure both were after me when I didn’t deliver the money.”
Amy closed her eyes, the color gradually returning to her cheeks. “Why’d you do it, Carlos? Why did you double-cross them all?”
“Surely you know, mi amor.”
“I don’t know, and please don’t...”
She trailed off as Riley drew his finger across his throat. No sense in angering Carlos at this point. They needed him.
“Please don’t tell me I know. I haven’t seen you in a few months. Do you even have a wife?”
Carlos chuckled. “Of course not. How could there be anyone for me but you? When you accused me of being married, I figured it was a good way to draw back until I pulled off this deal.”
“Why, Carlos?”
“I wanted the money for us, Amy. We can go away now, be together.”
Amy’s eyes widened and she swallowed. “B-be together?”
Riley bunched his fists, but he nodded. Carlos had the money, and Riley needed to get his hands on it.
“You and me, mi amor. You need someone to take care of you.”
Her gaze slid to Riley, and he rubbed her thigh. She has someone to take care of her.
She blew out a long, silent breath. “Why did you come back to my place after the deal went bad?”
“To get the money and to get you.”
“Where’s the money, Carlos?”
Riley held his breath.
“The money is in a self-storage facility. I got the idea from that storage shed on the beach.”
“So why come to my place to get the money?”
“I left the key with you.” He coughed. “I didn’t think it would put you in danger. I couldn’t keep it myself in case I was captured.”
“You didn’t think it would put me in danger?” Amy ran her hands through her hair, clutching it at her scalp. “They figured you were at my house for a reason. They’re after me now.”
“I know that, mi amor. Lo siento. I had no idea they’d put things together so quickly.”
Amy massaged her left temple with her fingertips. “Where did you leave the key?”
Carlos drew in a sharp breath, and Riley held Amy’s dark gaze, still glassy with shock.
“Come to me. Come to me and we’ll get the money together and then sail away.”
Riley rolled his eyes. Was this guy for real? Carlos didn’t know Amy if he thought that kind of amour talk would work with her.
From his crouching position, Riley pushed up and paced toward the window. It had just ended. Carlos wouldn’t tell Amy where he’d hidden the key to the storage container unless he got Amy in the bargain. Of course, Carlos wouldn’t get the money, either.
“Where do you want me to meet you?”
Riley spun around and stalked to Amy’s side. He held up his hands and shook his head.
She ignored him. “I’ll come to you anywhere, Carlos.”
Carlos sighed a noisy, wet sigh, and Riley grunted. Was he crying now?
“I knew it wasn’t the end. I knew you wouldn’t give up on us. Meet me at the marina tomorrow at seven in the evening, slip eight-fifteen.”
The guy wasn’t kidding about sailing away.
“Do I need to bring anything? How will you know I have the key with me?”
“Let me worry about that. I know what to do. Just pack a bag.” Carlos paused. “You’ll come alone, won’t you? This isn’t some kind of trick? You won’t show up with the police?”
Amy finally made eye contact with Riley. “No trick. I’ll be there alone.”
“Until tomorrow, mi amor.”
“Until tomorrow.”
Amy slid her phone shut and Riley snatched it to view the number. “Probably a prepaid phone.” He fired her cell phone at the couch and it hit the cushion and bounced to the floor. “What do you think you’re doing?”
“I’m meeting Carlos tomorrow, and we’re going to get that money.” She stood up and stretched, tousling her hair. “Once you get the money, you can halt the terrorists’ plans and maybe get some information about Jack.”
He surveyed her through narrowed eyes. “How do you plan to get the money from Lover Boy?”
“You just said it. Lover Boy. I’ll get Carlos to do what I want one way or another.”
“You’re crazy. He’s a criminal. He had the nerve to double-cross a terrorist cell and the Velasquez boys. He’s not going to kowtow to you for the sake of love.”
; “You never know.”
“You’re not going alone.”
“If he sees you, he’ll run.”
“He won’t see me.” He pulled her into his arms. “If you’re going through with this insane plan, I’m going to be by your side...mi amor.”
Amy placed her hands on either side of his face and drew him down for a hard kiss on the mouth. “Don’t call me that—ever.”
* * *
THE FOLLOWING DAY after hours of planning, Amy sipped her coffee as Riley outlined plans and escape routes on a legal pad for the hundredth time. “I don’t want you getting into a boat, plane or automobile with Carlos.”
Amy tipped more milk into her cup. “I’m kinda gonna have to if we want to find the money. You’ll be following us anyway, right? And maybe we’ll get lucky, and Carlos and I will use my car.”
He tapped a small metal disk on the counter for the umpteenth time. “I think we should use the bug. Even if Carlos suspects you, he won’t be able to detect this if we tuck it in your waistband.”
“Are you trying to convince me or yourself? I already told you—I’m game.”
“If Carlos discovers it...”
“He’s not going to discover it. How else am I supposed to let you know where we’re going? If you’re going to be watching us from some concealed location or from far away, what am I supposed to do, send up smoke signals?”
“I can always follow you at a discreet distance. He won’t detect me, and we’ll have the GPS on your car just in case.” He cupped his hand and bounced the little listening device up and down in his palm.
Riley had more jitters than a Thoroughbred at the starting gates of the Kentucky Derby. She laid her hand flat against his, trapping the disc. “If he won’t discover you following us, he’s not going to find this little microphone on my body or in my clothes. Hook that baby up.”
The deep lines between his eyebrows didn’t budge, but he nodded. “I may be out of sight, but I’ll be close. You say the word, and I’ll be at your side.”
“I know.” Just like he’d been at her side all night long. They’d made love again, but slowly this time, drinking each other in, filling each other up. Neither of them wanted to admit it, but they’d made love as if they might never make love again.
An hour later, Riley wheeled her suitcase from his bedroom and parked it by the front door. Once again they’d sifted through all her items, this time looking for a key to a padlock. Carlos had seemed confident that Amy would have the key when she went to meet him, but how could he be so sure?
Amy jerked her chin toward her bag. “Do you think we should check one more time? He told me to pack a bag, so I’m assuming he hid it somewhere in my suitcase.”
“We don’t even know that for sure. What if he plans to take a crowbar to the lock or melt it off with a blowtorch? Maybe he ditched the key a long time ago or isn’t worried that you’ll bring it with you. He wants you, not the key.”
“You’re probably right.” Amy passed her hands across her face. “Even if we found the key, there are plenty of self-storage places in San Diego with hundreds of containers. How would we ever find the right one?”
“We won’t. That’s why we need Carlos to lead us to the money. Once we get it and turn it over to the CIA, the cell will have no reason to go after you, and they’ll have to go back to the drawing board for funding whatever it was they were planning to fund with that money.”
“But that won’t get you any closer to finding Jack.”
“Maybe, maybe not. But I have a gut feeling Jack will be safer if we disrupt the terrorists’ plans.”
“We all will.”
After Riley loaded her suitcase into the trunk of her car, he attached a GPS device behind her back wheel. He straightened up and brushed his hands together. “I don’t think Carlos will agree to take your car, but just in case.”
“You’re good, Riley Hammond. You should come out of retirement.”
“I’m good at taking tourists out on my dive boat, too, and it’s a lot safer.”
She snorted. “You don’t seem like a man interested in safe.”
“Will that be a problem?” He cocked his head. “Maybe you’re not interested in safe.”
The heat raced to her cheeks and she dipped her head. She’d had the same thought a hundred times, but maybe she’d finally met a man who understood the pull. She brushed her hair out of her face and smiled. “After this adventure, I’m longing for it.”
“Then let’s get this adventure over with.” He held out his hand and she grabbed it.
He understood.
Amy jumped into her car alone, but that didn’t fully describe her situation. She had the tracking device on her car and the listening device on her person. With Riley on her side, she’d never be alone.
She drove a few miles and shouted, “Can you hear me?”
Her cell phone played its ringtone immediately and she answered Riley’s call.
“You don’t have to shout. It’s sensitive. Put the phone down and speak in a normal tone of voice, not like you’re directing an ocean rescue.”
Amy tossed the phone onto the seat next to her. “Is this better?”
She picked up the phone again and put it to her ear.
Riley said, “That’s perfect. Now whisper sweet nothings so I can test the sound level.”
Amy put the phone away from her again and whispered what she wanted to do to him once they were safely at home.
“I’d better not be hearing any of that while you’re talking to Carlos.”
“Hopefully, all you’ll hear from me is the location of this self-storage place.”
They ended the call and with it the banter, and then the enormity of her mission sucked the air from her lungs. She gripped the steering wheel, her knuckles turning white.
She’d reach the harbor soon and face Carlos, a man she once cared about. She’d have to convince him she still cared, at least long enough for Riley to track them down at the self-storage lockers and whisk her away—along with the money.
Always the money. Two sources drove Riley’s motivation to steal this money out from under the terrorists’ noses—to end her involvement and to disrupt any plans involving Jack. Which had the stronger pull for him?
Did it really matter? A little, persistent voice in her head argued that it did, but she ignored it. Now wasn’t the time to be questioning Riley’s motives.
She took the off-ramp toward the harbor and buzzed down her window to drink in the salty air. Wheeling into the parking lot, she leaned forward to study the slip numbers looking for number 815. She drove past the tourist boats, empty on this September evening in the middle of the week.
She spoke quietly as if to herself. “I’m at the harbor now. Eight-fifteen must be toward the end of the slips on the right of the parking lot entrance.”
She wanted to hear Riley’s confident voice in response, but she didn’t dare pick up her cell phone now. Carlos could be watching her. Giving herself a brisk shake, she swung into a parking slot opposite the slips.
Would Carlos be waiting for her out in the open? She slid from the car and swung open a gate leading to the docks, the boats outlined against the sinking sun. She trudged up the ramp, spotting slip 815 with a midsize sailboat bobbing in the water.
“Carlos?” She drew back her shoulders and strode toward the boat.
A dark head popped up from the deck of the boat. His face broke out in a smile. “Mi amor. You made it.”
“Of course.”
He rose to his feet, his head jerking back and forth. “You’re alone?”
“Who would I bring with me?” She spread her arms wide. “I was so happy when you called. When I thought you were dead—” She broke off and covered her face with her hands.
“Lo siento. There was no other way. Velasquez or the terrorists would’ve killed me or worse.” He stretched his arms out to her. “I hoped I would regain consciousness before you came home, but when I woke up you were gon
e—along with my car. You know there’s no wife, don’t you?”
“Yes, I do. I know you pretended to be married to keep me safe until you could come for me.” Amy reached the boat and grabbed his cool hand. “Those men came after me, Carlos. I had to get away quickly and I remembered you always parked your car in the back.”
He kissed her hand. “The car is nothing. We can have everything and more.”
“Where is the money?”
Carlos narrowed his almost-black eyes, and Amy’s pulse ticked faster. She’d have to show a little more interest in Carlos and a little less interest in his cash.
“You’ve come here for me and not the money, haven’t you?”
Amy brushed a dark curl from his forehead. “The money is a nice surprise, but it wouldn’t mean anything without you.”
He nodded, his gaze shifting past her shoulder at the water. A muscle ticked in his jaw, and Amy’s heart hammered. Had he seen something?
Glancing her way, he smiled, but furrows remained across his brow. “I knew I could trust you, Amy. I knew a little subterfuge wouldn’t scare you off. Your brother told me a lot about you. I don’t think he ever imagined I’d fall in love with you, though. For him you were a means to an end—storing the drugs on the beach—but for me you became much more.”
She moved her lips beneath his kiss, fighting her revulsion. Running her hand through his hair, she pulled away. “Were you planning to take the money from the deal before you met me?”
“Yes.”
His eyes darted toward the water again, but Amy kept her gaze pinned to his face. She didn’t want to turn around. She didn’t want to give away Riley with any deed or word.
He shook his head and kissed her again. “I decided to keep that money as soon as Ethan laid out the deal to me, but once I met you my resolve deepened. I could get into my storage facility without the key, but the money would be worthless without sharing it with someone. I always wanted you and the money, Amy.”
It seems as if the money and I are a package deal for everyone.
“I’m glad.” She pasted a smile on her face. Her jaw ached with the effort.
Trap, Secure: Navy SEAL Security Page 34