Want You Back

by Karen Whiddon

  “No.” Jake shook his head even before Drew had finished speaking. “I know what you’re thinking, and you’re wrong. Jenny is not part of this, in any way, shape, or form.”

  Drew nodded. The other man looked startled. “No doubts, huh?”

  “None whatsoever.” Jake kept his tone firm, his voice level. Inside he fought waves of panic, panic such as he had never before felt in all his years of undercover work. But then he’d never allowed himself to care for anyone the way he cared for his Jenny. Feeling no emotion was easy when you didn’t really care if you lived or died.

  Things had changed. Jenny was in danger, Jenny was in trouble. And somehow he had to figure out a way to save her.

  “Standard operation,” Drew said, glancing at his partner. The other man gave a slow, chilling smile. Jake recognized himself in his steely-eyed gaze. This man was probably one of the agency’s best undercover operatives Jake would be willing to bet he had no family, few friends; in short, little to make him cautious about placing his life in danger.

  “Wait a minute,” Jake protested as Drew’s words registered. “Standard op is fine, but I want to know how we’re going to get Jenny out”

  Drew opened the car door with a creak and motioned to Jake to get in. “We’ve got some ground to cover,” he said, starting the engine with a rumble.

  “You haven’t got a plan.” Furious, Jake watched as the two men in the front exchanged another unreadable glance. “Have you?”

  “Oh, we’ve got a plan all right.” Drew drawled. Jake knew from past experience he wasn’t much going to like what the other man had to say.

  But when Drew outlined the plan quietly, Jake found he liked it just fine. Except for one part. He pointed at Drew’s new partner.

  “No way is he going to act as a decoy for me. Those people know me—hell, I was even on television all during the trial. I can’t have Jenny’s life risked on the chance that we tick them off.”

  “But—”

  “No.” Jake’s tone left no room for argument. “I’m going in myself. No one else. Understand?”

  Drew laughed, a humorless bark of sound. “I told you he wasn’t going to like it.”

  The other man shot Jake and edgy glance. “Can’t say I blame him. If it were me, I wouldn’t like it either.” He held out his hand. “Trent Doggerty.” After a moment’s hesitation, Jake shook it “Glad to put a name with a face.”

  Trent nodded, looking grim. “It’ll be more than that. I’m gonna be your partner on this mission.”

  Somehow, shortly after the New Mexico state line, Jenny fell asleep. When she woke, rumpled and tired and in sore need of a restroom, she caught herself grinning. Jake wouldn’t be surprised that she’d been able to sleep in the middle of being kidnapped by some vicious drug dealers. Riding in the car—any car—always made her eyes droop and yawns take over. She’d fought it a long time, but finally she’d given in. It was better to be rested when facing a battle anyway.

  Her smile faded as she remembered the seriousness of her situation.

  The terrain—rugged mountains and rolling hills— looked unfamiliar.

  “Where are we?”

  The driver only grunted, telling Jenny nothing.

  “I’ve never been to Taos.” Making conversation would probably annoy him, but Jenny couldn’t stand the silence any longer.

  “Me neither.”

  Okay, as conversational gambits went it wasn’t much, but it was a start.

  “Do you have a map?”

  His grunt sounded affirmative.

  “Mind if I look at it?” At least it would give her something to do besides stare out the window or watch him as he watched the road.

  He appeared to consider her request, finally glancing at her as if to ascertain any ulterior motive she might have. With another grunt he reached into the door pocket and pulled out a brand new, neatly folded map of New Mexico.

  Trying not to appear too eager, Jenny opened it

  and began studying the area around Taos. Judging from the map, the area was between two mountain ranges. Nothing she saw gave her any ideas on planning a possible escape.

  Chewing on her bottom lip, Jenny forced herself to remain calm. She had to figure out something. And soon.

  The Blackhawk helicopter—the same type that had once plucked him out of Mexico—set down in the vacant parking lot of a deserted grocery store. Jake climbed inside, followed by Trent. Drew, who was to remain behind and monitor things by computer, shot them a thumbs-up sign as they slowly lifted off. A second helicopter would meet them.

  “We’ve already received a call,” the pilot yelled once they were airborne. “They want to ransom her.” “Ransom her?” Jake couldn’t believe it “How much?”

  The pilot grinned, his dark glasses hiding his eyes. “Not how much, but with what. In exchange for her, they want one thing. You.”

  Jake nodded. It was no more than he’d figured. Drew nudged him with an elbow. “Okay, so you’re in. Now we’ve got to come up with a plan to get her out.”

  Jenny woke when the car came to a halt Groggy, she forced her eyes open and sat up. Resisting the urge to rub her aching back, she looked around.

  They’d pulled up in the center of some courtyard. Behind them, a massive, electronically-controlled iron gate swung closed. A three-story house—was it a house or a hotel?—rose on all sides A huge marble fountain, water spilling from it, rose’ in the center of the courtyard, surrounded by blooming flowers of every variety and color. Heat rose in waves off the floor, despite the ceiling fans that whirled away under the covered patio area.

  It looked like a luxurious, private resort. Any other time she would have found it delightful—a tropical paradise in the middle of the desert. But Jenny knew the place had been bought with tainted money— drug money—and that the people who lived here would be extremely dangerous.

  A man in a dark suit hurried across the tiled floor towards them. After a few quiet words with her driver, the second man came over and opened her door.

  “Welcome.” His unsmiling greeting was cold.

  Jenny nodded, stepping from the car and wishing she could stretch the kinks out of her legs.

  Though it felt hot, the air seemed pure, cleaner somehow. No humidity, she remembered. It was much easier to take high temperatures without the choking humidity.

  “Follow me.”

  Again she nodded, noticing that her driver fell into place behind her. Both men wore guns under their jackets, though the second man made a much bigger show of it than the man who had abducted her.

  Abducted her. Now that was a joke. She’d walked into their trap like a lamb to the slaughter. She hadn’t put up any fight, not even a token one.

  Maybe this could work to her advantage. If she could make them believe she was overly timid and not very bright, they might not watch her closely.

  As a plan it wasn’t much, but it was the best she had to go on for now.

  At a set of double doors, they paused. The first man placed his thumb against some sort of device. It took a moment, then the doors silently slid apart Great. More security to make it more difficult to escape.

  Still Jenny watched everything, cataloging it in her memory for future reference.

  Once inside, the heat gave way to the pristine coolness of central air conditioning. The tile became plush carpet, and her eyes gradually adjusted to the dimmer light.

  All around her she saw artwork; even to her untrained eye, it appeared priceless if it was genuine. She had no doubt it was.

  They encountered no one else as they trekked through the huge house. Finally they came to an elevator, whereupon her guard again placed his thumb on the mini-screen on the wall. Again the doors slid open.

  Jenny’s heart sank. How many more security measures did this place contain? No doubt there were motion sensors and vicious guard dogs that roamed the grounds at night

  Still, she held on to her determination to escape. It was all she had. That and the hop
e of seeing Jake —alive—again.

  Finally they came to a set of ornately carved, mahogany double doors. Jenny took a deep breath, then another, and willed herself to stay calm. She had no doubt that the man responsible for her kidnapping was behind these doors.

  Another sensor, another thumb. The doors slid silently open. Stepping aside, the guard in front motioned her inside.

  Dread clenching her stomach, Jenny straightened her spine and walked inside. Though her pulse pounded jaggedly, she held her head high. Somehow she instinctively understood that they would respect her more if she didn’t show fear.

  The dimly lit room was furnished even more luxuriously. Though no doubt the decor had been expensive, it had the look of a nineteenth-century brothel. The heavy, wine-colored draperies helped to reinforce that impression.

  On the other side of the room was a massive desk. Behind the desk sat—-Jenny blinked—a diminutive woman.

  “Come in.” The husky voice contained the barest trace of a Hispanic accent. “Have a seat. I am Rosa.”

  Trying not to show her shock, Jenny sank into one of the plush velvet chairs in front of the desk. This woman was her own age, maybe a little older, though not much. Gleaming sable hair had been elaborately styled on top of her small head, and her tawny skin bore a glow that spoke of wealth and pampering. Her long-lashed brown eyes had a slight almond shape to them.

  She was one of the most beautiful women Jenny had ever seen, bar none. Not even the competition in the Miss Texas pageant the year Pamela Pennington won could touch her. Heck, Pamela herself couldn’t hold a candle to Rosa.

  With one major difference. Jenny had a feeling that Rosa could be deadly.

  Would be deadly, if she were behind Jenny’s abduction. Her next words confirmed Jenny’s suspicions.

  “So you are the one Jake has chosen.”

  Confused, Jenny gave a slow nod.

  “Did you plan to marry?” Rosa watched her intently, the gleam in her eyes reminding Jenny of a hungry cat watching a trapped mouse.

  “Two years ago.” Jenny clenched her hands together to keep from twisting them nervously in her lap. She wasn’t sure where this was going, but knew immediately that it didn’t bode well for her.

  “Two years ago?” Practically purring, Rosa sipped from a tall crystal glass. “Before he came to me?” With a sense of disbelief, Jenny leaned forward. A spurned lover? All of this because Jake had—what, left this woman behind when he returned to Ater? Still, she would have to be careful. “He came to you?” “Ah, yes.” Rosa’s laughter sounded slightly bitter, reminding Jenny of how she herself had felt before Jake broke down her barriers. “Many times, amiga, many times.”

  Jenny’s stomach churned. Though she hadn’t really thought Jake had been celibate in their time apart, she hadn’t really needed to know that his former lover had been so beautiful. “I—”

  Rosa interrupted, her expression darkening. “We were to be married. I made all the plans. Then, the night before our wedding, Jake disappeared. I had the dress, the church, the flowers, the gifts, but no bridegroom.”

  Shaken, Jenny could only stare—and try to breathe. “This is too much.” She felt as if she’d been punched in the stomach. “That's exactly what he did to me two years ago.”

  When Rosa smiled, Jenny felt a shiver of premonition.

  “So he did, my friend. And now?”

  Now. Despite the numbing anguish that seemed to be spreading through her, Jenny knew she’d have to be careful. She had not the slightest doubt that if she said the wrong thing, Rosa would have her killed without the slightest remorse. Especially if she knew that Jake had told Jenny he loved her.

  Did he? Or was it all an act? Had he told Rosa he loved her too? He’d promised to marry her, hadn’t he? Just as he’d once promised Jenny.

  Feeling sick, Jenny sagged in her chair. She shook her head, not trusting herself to speak, not with the tears that pricked her eyes and clogged the back of her throat.

  “Poor thing.” Rosa sounded sympathetic. “You thought he loved you, didn’t you?”

  Bowing her head, Jenny knew her silence was answer enough.

  “Cheer up, chica.” Rosa stood and came around the desk, pacing like a caged lioness in front of the window. Sheathed in a close-fitting white dress, her body matched her face, Jenny thought dispassionately, lush and perfect. No wonder Jake had become her lover.

  “I have a plan.” Stopping in front of Jenny, hands on her hips, Rosa threw back her head and laughed. “I will avenge my honor, and my name. Yours too, if you would like.”

  Startled, Jenny raised her head and swallowed. Madness gleamed in Rosa’s beautiful eyes.

  Jenny didn’t know what to think. She needed some time alone, to go over the facts. But there was one thing she needed to clear up. “I’m confused,” she said slowly. “So this has nothing to do with the drug cartel?”

  Rosa’s eyes flashed. “Nothing to do with it? Hah.” She ran a scarlet-tipped hand over her hair, smoothing it “My father and my brothers are in jail. Because of me!” She spat the words. “They accepted Jake because of me.”

  Oh-oh. Bad question. Still, Jenny had to know the truth. “So you met Jake before your family did?” Rosa blinked, then lowered her gaze. “No.” Her voice, though soft, seemed full of pain. Jenny could definitely relate to that. She’d felt much the same way when Jake had left her standing at the altar.

  “Jake had worked for my family awhile before I met him.” Smiling a misty smile, Rosa shook her head. “One look, and I knew I had to have him. Have you ever felt like that?”

  Aching, Jenny nodded. Though she couldn’t say so, she’d felt like that with only one man. Jake. The sad thing about it was that she knew now he was the only man she would ever love. If what Rosa said was true, then the scope of his betrayal—his second betrayal—defied her comprehension.

  She needed to think. She fought the urge to cover her ears when Rosa continued speaking. “I imagine you have. Jake has that effect on most women. I should know.”

  Jenny felt queasy. She swayed on her feet, wondering if the other woman would understand. Or whether she would care.

  “Please.” Licking her dry lips, she peered at Rosa. “May I go to my room? I don’t feel well.”

  “Your room?” This time Rosa didn’t even smile. Her expression bitter, she pushed a button on her phone to summon an escort. “I am sorry, amiga. This must all come as a shock to you. Go. Rest and relax. I will expect your decision at the evening meal.”

  It took every ounce of strength Jenny could muster to keep from sagging with relief. At least she would have a few hours to figure out what was truth and what was lies.

  Jake couldn’t believe it when Trent told him who had Jenny and wanted his head on a platter. Rosa! At first he’d been angry, then shocked, then lastly- remembering her obsession with him—worried.

  Rosa had pursued him with single-minded intent for nearly eighteen of the twenty-four months he’d spent undercover. He’d wanted nothing to do with her; after all, he was still in love with Jenny. But one night he’d had one tequila too many. When he’d woken to find her warm and willing in his bed, he’d been unable to keep from taking advantage of what she’d so blatantly offered.

  He’d realized instantly it had been a big mistake. Perhaps the biggest mistake of his career. She’d nearly blown his cover, telling her father that they were in love and steaming ahead with wedding plans though he’d never once mentioned the word.

  Hell, he’d hardly ever talked to the woman. After that one foolish mistake, after he’d been told he would have to marry her, he’d sought her out. Trying to explain he didn’t love her, apologizing, none of it had done any good. Even when he told her about Jenny, carefully leaving out her name and where she lived, Rosa hadn’t wanted to hear him. She’d threatened to have him killed if he didn’t do what she wanted. Jake had believed her.

  He’d reported to his superiors that they had to wrap things up before the date of his planne
d marriage. He’d do a lot of things for his country, but marrying Rosa wasn’t one of them. There was only one woman he wanted to marry.

  Now Rosa had Jenny. His blood ran cold. He had no doubt that Rosa intended to carry out her threats, though what she would do to Jenny he had only an idea.

  And it wasn’t a pleasant one.

  “We have to get her out,” Jake told Trent “Right away. Rosa’s crazier than all of her family put together. She’s out for my blood.”

  Trent grinned sympathetically. “What did you do, love her and leave her?”

  “No.” Jake glanced at his watch, trying to calculate their arrival time. “Only in her mind. She even had a wedding planned.”

  “So Rosa is the one you had to leave at the altar?” Though Trent’s question contained only mild curiosity, it hit Jake right in the gut.

  “No, that was Jenny.” He closed his eyes in remembrance, then opened them as another thought occurred to him. “Good God,” he groaned. “No doubt the two of them are comparing war stories right now.”

  “War stories?”

  “Rosa thinks I left her the night before the wedding, like I had to with Jenny. I told her I didn’t want to marry her, but she didn’t care. I told her I didn’t love her and ditto.” He sat forward as another thought occurred to him.

  “Hell. I even told her that I loved someone else. That’s why she abducted Jenny. She wants double revenge.”

  Trent cocked his head. “What do you mean?” “She has no intention of letting Jenny go, whether she has me or not” His voice was a monotone, echoing the dread and despair he felt inside. “I imagine

  she thinks it’s perfect. She can avenge her family and hurt me, all with one blow.”

  “How’s that?”

  “All she has to do is kill Jenny. If she does that, she is guessing that I’d wish I were dead too.”

  Trent shot him a look of such doubt that Jake knew the other man didn’t believe him. “Would you? Would you wish to be dead if Jenny were gone?” This time Jake laughed, a harsh, bitter sound that the wind whipped away. “Oh yeah. But I can promise you one thing. If Rosa so much as harms a hair on my Jenny’s head, before I die I will make her wish she were dead.”