by Karen Anders
Cradling her head against him, he ran his hand up her naked back, then tucked his head and kissed her brow. “You know I’m on your side, Emma. I want to recover Matty as much as you do.”
“I know that.” She sighed and her hand slipped into his hair. She toyed with a lock for a few minutes. “I need to trust my instincts.” Emma lay still in his arms for a split second, then she went up on one elbow and looked down at him, her hair brushing his jaw as she rose. She stared at him, the light from outside washing across her face and revealing the determination in her expression. A glimmer of urgency appeared in her eyes. “I usually don’t question them and they’ve never steered me wrong. There are just some things women are better at than men. Dealing with a grieving mother falls into that category. Reyes and Velasco are not only men, but they can’t see how to question her and get answers.”
He stared up at her a moment, then shifted his focus. Avoiding her gaze, he painstakingly hooked his thumb under a thick swath of hair and drew it back, tucking it carefully behind her ear. “How about my manliness?” he asked quietly.
She took a quick breath, closing her eyes. “Potent, but you’re an American male and an investigator. I’ve got the feeling you’d know how to get blood from a stone.” She lightly ran her fingertips along his jaw. Her gaze direct, she stroked along the hair there, and Derrick waited, sensing her urgency. “Trust me, Derrick. If we wait too long, it might be too late.”
Derrick grasped her face and stared into her eyes. “You’re absolutely sure about this?”
She stared right back at him, her eyes hardening. “Completely.” She gazed at him and swallowed hard, looking away, her hand caressing his shoulder, running up and down over the swell of his biceps.
He rose up on his elbow and stared at her, knowing that he was falling for her and not being able to help himself, wondering if, once again, his judgment was skewed. He couldn’t afford to make any mistakes here. Was he giving in to her because he was reacting to his own emotions or was her argument sound?
He decided that it was both. He also had good instincts. For some reason, Derrick felt as if he’d just been released out of a tight, dark prison, and he closed his eyes and hugged her hard, feeling as if he could take his first deep breath in his life. He pressed a kiss against her brow, then hugged her again. He trusted her, really trusted her. His chest expanding, he said, “Get dressed. I know where the keys are to the second sedan.”
Her eyes lit up and softened. “But we don’t know where she lives.”
“Leave that to me.”
Derrick reached for his pants and his cell. He texted Austin. Then he got dressed.
Naval Medical Center
San Diego, California
Austin was heading over to the hospital to supervise the additional guards on Lily St. John. It was important for him to make sure Emma’s sister was safe. He knew he was being paranoid, but he couldn’t seem to help it. He needed to be proactive when dealing with a cartel, especially one as brutal as Los Equis. When he got Derrick’s text, he was pulling up to a parking spot. He opened his tablet and accessed the information he’d already compiled on the Montoyas. It wasn’t much; neither the son nor the family had much of an electronic footprint. Luis certainly didn’t show up in any database for any kind of crime, including international. He texted all that information back to Derrick as he exited his vehicle.
He entered the hospital and went up to the ICU. When he got there, he saw that four MPs were there. One at the end of the hall, one inside her room, and two outside.
He entered the room and walked to the bed. She seemed like she was resting peacefully. She was a pretty little thing with soft blond hair, delicate features, her small figure looking so vulnerable in the bed. It made him angry to think that Luis Montoya had planned on killing her instead of shoving her down the stairs. The bruises on her face were fading. Hopefully, they would be gone by the time she woke up.
His cell buzzed and a passing nurse frowned at him and shook her head. As soon as she was safely past, he answered. “Beck.”
“Austin, I want you back here as soon as possible. Is everything secure there?” Kai’s weary voice came through loud and clear.
Austin rubbed his eyes. He’d caught a twenty-minute cat nap about an hour ago. All of them were running on fumes. “Yes, four guards, and Lily is resting well. I can head back now.”
“All right.”
He left the room and walked down the hall. Pushing the button for the elevator, he spied an orderly coming down the hall with a gurney. The guy had the kind of stare that moved people out of the way without words, a sense of presence that made the hair on the back of Austin’s neck rise and prickle. The guy passed him without a glance and turned down the hall that led to ICU and Lily St. John’s room.
He had to adjust the gurney to avoid a wheelchair in the hall, and Austin saw ink on his arm. His heart started to pound when he realized it was a sewn mouth, just like the tattoo on Luis’s arm. Austin reached for his gun and shouted, “You there with the gurney! Stop! NCIS!”
The guy exploded into movement and from beneath the gurney sheets pulled out an automatic weapon. Austin dropped as the man opened fire, the sound of the bullets hitting the elevator doors with metallic thuds.
He turned and took out the hall guard, rushing around the corner of the hallway. Austin scrambled to his feet and rushed down the hall as more automatic fire ripped through the quiet hospital. As he rounded the corner, he saw the gunman and the downed guards. The weapon was pointed directly at Lily St. John, lying prone and totally helpless in her hospital bed.
Austin opened fire and his bullets hit the man in the shoulder and the leg. The gun jerked and the bullets went wild. The guy turned to fire at Austin again, but Austin threw himself out of the line of fire. Without hesitation, he was up again, but the man was gone. With his heart in his throat he raced toward Lily’s room, breathing a sigh of relief when one of the guards was already up, bleeding from his shoulder.
“She’s alive. Go.”
Austin gave chase, catching sight of the gunman as he fled through the exit door and into the stairwell. As he hit the door, MPs were racing up the stairs. He heard footsteps above him, then the guy leaned over the railing and a burst of gunfire rained into the stairwell. Everyone took cover.
Austin took the stairs two at a time, his heart pounding. He was determined this man wouldn’t get away. When he reached the top, his breathing ragged, he took a few breaths and carefully peered out the door. When he saw nothing, he cautiously stepped onto the roof, several MPs following him. He indicated he was going right, his gun held in front of him in a two-handed grip. He searched the roof until he had to quickly take cover when automatic gunfire erupted just ahead of him. The guy ran and Austin chased him.
But the gunman was trapped between a long fall and four determined men with guns.
“Drop the weapon, get flat on your stomach and interlock your hands.”
“We’ll get to her. There’s nothing you can do to stop us.”
Austin shouted. “Drop the weapon!”
But the guy brought it up and Austin pulled the trigger three times.
The enemy dropped, the gun falling out of his lax fingers.
Austin approached him and kicked the weapon away. He looked down at him and said, “That’s where you’re wrong. You have no idea what we’re capable of, mister.”
His lips thinned and he put in a call to Kai.
Chapter 13
Caliche, Mexico
It was simple for them to grab the car keys, fire up the sedan and leave the compound with no problem. Emma had never experienced anything like what she had with Derrick. She was used to being independent, and no man had supported her like he had so far. Trusting her. She’d proven herself over and over again with clients, her other stints in Mexico, but nothi
ng had ever felt like this. It was an understatement to say Derrick was special. Unique.
Yet there was still something wild about him. Not in the reckless sense of the word, but something nagging at her, making the fear inside her come into play. He was such a loner, had been all his life. There was more of his story he hadn’t shared, a sadness about him when he spoke about Matty, a sense of intent purpose to get the boy back for her and Lily. She was keen on discovering why, but now was not the time to ask him personal questions. They had to be vigilant.
The warmth and lushness of this area of Mexico showed her there were still places on earth that were definitely off the beaten track. Yet this is where people lived, drug lords flourished and murder happened often. There was no concrete for miles. She breathed a sigh as the warm breeze slipped through the sedan’s window, tugging at her hair. Emma actually felt relieved that Reyes and Velasco were not present. She felt their judgment constantly. Whether that had to do with her being a woman, she wasn’t sure. But she couldn’t quite shake the fact that she and Derrick were being corralled. Boxed in and fed the information someone wanted them to swallow and say it was delicious.
She wondered if Derrick had the same feeling. He had to downshift to navigate an especially steep decline. Off in the distance Lake Caliche glittered in the moonlight. The rest of the forest was like a blanket of rolling green, the air thin and the trees so dense she could barely see a few feet beyond the road.
“What do you think about our two official escorts?” Emma said.
He glanced at her. “In terms of?”
“I get the feeling we’re being led around by our noses. One or both could be in the cartel’s pocket for all we know. They could be working for the Ortegas.” They passed a small village, the lights the only indication there was life out here.
“The ambush? The fact they didn’t want you talking to Luis’s mother?”
“Yeah, it was a good argument, but my nephew’s abduction should matter. He’s alive and Luis is dead. I’m sympathetic to his mother’s grief. I truly am, but Matty’s welfare should count for a disruption in ritual. I’ve got a bad feeling about this, Derrick.”
His expression was set, his eyes calm, his hands lightly gripping the wheel, his attention now tightly focused on her. “It’s been a nagging thought for me, as well. But if it’s one or both on the take, we’re going to have to discover which one.”
Something shifted inside her as she continued to watch him. It was that focus, that intensity, that she couldn’t help but respond to. There was no doubt she was physically attracted to Derrick. The man was gorgeous, but as she shivered, she knew the depth of the connection she was forming with him was head and shoulders above anything in her life, except maybe her sister. “I know this environment,” Emma said. “Velasco is young, more susceptible to money or even addictions the cartel can play on. Hell, they could even be threatening his family.” She hoped not for his sake, but expected it was mostly greed. “As for Reyes, he’s been a good guy from the first day I met him. But still, Los Equis is ruthless, and Gilberto has run the organization like a well-oiled machine. He wouldn’t leave anything to chance when it comes to Matty. If he’s Arturo’s son, that means he’s Gilberto’s grandson.” She paused and she could feel Derrick’s interest in the short distance that separated them. He was alert, always, to every nuance, every word, every sound, breath, scent and texture of the world around him. No wonder he scared the living hell out of her. It was intimidating to be on the receiving end of such focused attention.
But she also identified with it. She was much the same, only she’d felt hers was a more intuitive connection. Maybe that was why everything with Derrick seemed so gut-deep intensive, because so much of her was tied up in him.
“Maybe Lily wanted nothing to do with them, which is understandable,” he said as they bumped over some ruts in the road, the suspension bouncing back as the tires hit smooth road again. “Maybe she cut off all ties and that angered both of them?” He shook his head and glanced at her, his eyes hard. “They feel they had a right to see Matty. Being the ruthless thugs they are, they decided that kidnapping him was their only course of action. Murdering your sister would take her out of the equation. What I don’t understand is why they didn’t come after you, as well.”
“Maybe that was something they planned on doing later on in the game. Especially if I caused a stink. Contacting the State Department about Matty, since I am his aunt, was a good move. There’s a legal precedence here called The Hague Convention that states no child under sixteen may be removed from their habitual residence or wrongfully removed or retained. Mexico is part of that treaty and my grandmother already got that legal ball rolling.”
Derrick nodded. “Too bad it turned out to be a dead end—even my buddy said so. Making the choice to go after him, the director and SECNAV made the stand that no US Military child would be subjected to abduction. It was a coordinated effort.”
“One I’m grateful for, but you’re probably right. As it stands right now, Lily is incapacitated. I don’t believe she has made any stipulation for Matty in that case. Even my grandmother, who is working with the State Department, could kick up a lot of dust. Maybe Gilberto just expects to disappear with Matty. Change his name, hide him God knows where and time will make the difference.”
Derrick frowned, his voice clipped. “He thinks he’s above the law and he has the right because Matty is of his blood. It doesn’t make it right.”
She looked over to find Derrick giving her quick glances. “But does Arturo have rights where Matty is concerned?”
Derrick reached over and squeezed her hand as if to soften his words. “Yes, he does, but if he wanted to exercise those rights, he’s gone about it the wrong way.”
She looked over at him, but his attention was back on the road. She worked at shoving aside the panic fluttering in her stomach. It had all been compartmentalized until now, when they might be close to finding out where Matty was. Jumbled-up nervousness and how much she wanted, needed, Matty back spiked over and over. “I’m horrified that Matty is connected to these people by blood and family, Derrick.” She looked out the window at the dark night. “I know the right course of action. Matty needs to be protected from them, for both his physical and psychological safety. Gilberto has to know that no judge in the US will ever give him visitation rights. He really didn’t have a legal recourse.”
“No, he didn’t.”
“It makes him extremely dangerous. He’s already killed two people and tried to murder my sister. It boggles my mind that my sister, my sweet, head-in-the-clouds sister, stood up to a drug lord’s son.” Her voice was full of the pride she felt.
“Why is that surprising? You said she changed her life.”
“Yes, she did, but now that I think about it, I realize that Matty was the fulcrum that brought her around. It was that tiny, happy, precious boy that had pushed her forward. She wanted to be the kind of mother Matty would be proud of—and that had nothing to do with career or a profession, although I believe the navy played a role in her transformation. It had to do with Lily’s self-esteem and inner strength. The navy gave her self-respect, but Matty gave her what she’d always been searching for—unconditional love. Motherhood was what really changed her.”
“Didn’t she have unconditional love with you?”
Emma looked at him, his profile so handsome even in the dim light of the car. “No. I was judgmental and always pushed her to be more responsible. I was more worried about protecting her than seeing her grow, even with our argument about her going to Japan.” Remorse thick in her voice, she murmured. “I was stubborn and ugly. I said some things I wish I could take back. She was so...strong, so sure of what she wanted. I couldn’t see that because I was too busy remembering Lily as she was in the past and not recognizing how much she’d changed. If I hadn’t been so...difficult, so judgmental, maybe s
he would have come to me with this problem instead of trying to handle it on her own. She was so sweet, she probably truly expected Arturo to just back off and bend to her wishes.” Her voice filled with affection. “She was naive when it came to harsher parts of life. Something I always tried to shield her from. It breaks my heart, Derrick. I truly regret treating her like a child and dismissing her ideas and plans.”
He clasped her hand and squeezed. “You understand now. It was out of love that you acted the way that you did. Give yourself some credit and cut yourself some slack. You’re not an ogre.”
“I feel like one and I so hope I don’t lose my sister. I hope I get the chance to tell her how much she means to me and how sorry I am.”
“You will.”
“Look at you, Mister Glass Half Full.”
He chuckled.
“We’re almost there. I’m going to give you lead on this one. I think you’re right. Woman to woman. Mother to aunt is the way to handle Mrs. Montoya. I’ll hang back.”
“Thank you, Derrick, for trusting me on this.”
They came around a bend and she said, “Turn here.”
He made the left, which put them in a very small village. One house was lit up. Candles and people everywhere—it had to be the Montoya residence.
Derrick pulled the car over far enough from the house, he didn’t garner any interest. He shut off the engine.
“The Mexican people share a depth of obligation toward family members that extends beyond death to burial. Funeral homes are pretty much nonexistent, so the body is returned to the family.” She reached for the door handle just as Derrick’s cell chimed. He looked at the display and his mouth tightened.