“Please be careful, Chase.” She turned around to look at him and he saw the fear in her eyes. It made him want to wrap his arms around her again.
“Don’t worry, Andi. I won’t take any stupid chances.”
She gave him a tiny smile. “I should probably ask you to define stupid, but I don’t think I want to know.”
He reached into his backpack and pulled out the cell phone the agency had given him. “Keep this so I can call you if I need to.” He reached in again and pulled out a laptop computer. “They gave me this, too. I thought we could take a look at that disk and see what’s on it.”
“That’s going to be method number three to twist Olasik’s arm, I assume?”
“We can hope. We have no idea what’s on the disk, but maybe we can use it. We’ll take a look later.”
Andi glanced down at the phone and the computer, both sleek pieces of technology that looked completely out of place in the shabby hotel room. “I don’t want to sound like a broken record, but El Diablo has already claimed too many victims. Please be careful, Chase.”
“That’s my middle name.”
“I thought your middle name was ‘take a chance,”’ she said somberly.
“Not tonight.” They had too much unfinished business between them. The thought came from nowhere, and he tried to push it away, but it wouldn’t leave.
He and Andi had to finish this job. That was all he meant, he told himself. Their personal relationship would be over when the job was over. That was what he wanted.
Wasn’t it?
The answer eluded him, and he didn’t like the uncertainty. So he pulled Andi close and kissed her, then moved away before he could kiss her again. All he really wanted to do was lie down in the bed with her and stay there for a couple of years.
But he had a job to do. “Lock the door behind me,” he said and left.
Andi watched him go, her arms aching to hold him again, her heart breaking. Please, God, she prayed, send him back to us.
She and Paolo needed him. She looked at the bed, where the baby was still sleeping. She had a feeling Chase needed them, too.
It was almost dawn when the sound of footsteps in the hallway outside the room jerked her attention away from the computer. Andi looked up from the screen, her fingers poised over the keyboard, and felt her heart leap.
As soon as she heard the key in the lock she jumped off the bed and hurried to the door. Chase stepped in and she threw her arms around his neck. “Are you all right?”
He leaned his forehead against hers. “Other than being exhausted and stinking of cigarettes and whiskey, yes.” He tightened his arms around her. “But I guess the hardships were worth it. I like being greeted this way.”
“I missed you.” Andi pressed a kiss to his mouth, then stepped back. “Did you get any information?”
He brushed a lock of hair out of her face and nodded. She could see the lines of weariness on his face. “I talked to three guys. The meeting is still on, but the location has been moved. Some other abandoned airstrip.” His mouth settled into a grim line. “Apparently El Diablo discovered our little charade with the broken canoe and the clothes strewn on the rocks. I was surprised he hadn’t canceled the meeting altogether, but apparently he hasn’t.”
“He can’t,” she said, nodding at the computer on the bed. “I’ll show you in a minute. Did you find out where the meeting’s going to be?”
“Yeah, but it cost me the rest of my money. The guy was scared to give me the information. He wanted to leave Monterez and go far far away. El Diablo has a long reach in this country.”
“That doesn’t matter. We can get more money,” she said impatiently. “My salary for the past three months is sitting in the bank.”
He watched her with a peculiar light in his eyes. “So money isn’t what drew you to this job.”
“Not at all.” Her answer was prompt.
Before she could ask him another question, he said, “Sometime we’re going to have to talk about what does motivate you to do this job.”
“Now isn’t the time to get into life stories,” she said, too quickly. “Did you call Olasik at the agency office with this information?”
He hesitated, then shook his head. “I’m going to call Mac. I’d rather have him coordinate this operation.” He took a deep breath, as if he was jumping into water over his head, then said, “Something about Olasik bothered me last night, Andi. He’s probably just a lazy bureaucrat, but he raised the hairs on the back of my neck. I’m not going to tell him about the location being changed. And I’m going to suggest that Mac not tell him, either.”
Chase had just trusted her with an instinct, with a feeling that was almost too vague to be qualified. He trusted her enough to tell her exactly what he was doing. She gave him a smile around the huge lump in the back of her throat. “I always follow my gut instincts,” she said. “Sometimes that’s all you have.”
Relief filled his face. “I was hoping you’d agree with me.”
“Absolutely.” She remembered the computer. “Come see what I found.”
For the first time he glanced at the bed, where she’d sat with the computer. “Did you take a look at the disk?”
“Yes, I did.” She gave him a satisfied grin. “And I know why El Diablo couldn’t afford to postpone this meeting.”
“Show me.”
He sat down beside her on the bed, staring at the computer screen. “It took a long time to decode the information,” she began. “When I first opened the disk, it was a meaningless jumble of numbers and letters. But when I broke his code, I hit the jackpot.”
She leaned forward and began pushing buttons. A long list of names and addresses scrolled down the screen. “I think these are his contacts in the States,” she said. “All the distributors who sell his drugs for him.”
“How did you come to that conclusion?” Chase asked, still staring at the screen.
“See these letters next to the names? I think those are his code for what drugs he sells each person. Once I got the disk decoded, it was simple—c for cocaine, h for heroin, m for marijuana. Now look at this next list.”
She scrolled down. “I think these are his people who are also dealing with his two rivals in South America. There are an awful lot of names on this list.” She sat back and gave a triumphant smile. “My suspicion is that these two in South America joined together to try and muscle El Diablo out of business. He either fights back or merges with them. No one has ever said that El Diablo is stupid. I’m sure he saw the benefits of merging over fighting. And with the three of them combined, all of them will be a lot more powerful.”
“So you think he’s in a rush to get this merger going so he isn’t forced out of the market?”
She nodded. “Yes. I could be way off base, but the data seems to support that. And it would certainly explain why he would take such a risk and meet with the other two drug lords. He hardly ever comes out of his compound anymore.”
“You could be right,” Chase said slowly. He scrolled down the list of names again, studying it carefully. “And even if you’re wrong, this computer disk is worth its weight in gold. Do you know how much damage we’ll be able to do to his network with this information?”
“We should be able to shut him down. But it won’t count unless El Diablo himself is behind bars.”
She heard the passionate rise in her voice and wished that she’d been more careful. Chase glanced over at her, speculation in his eyes, but he didn’t say a thing. After a few more minutes he turned off the computer and set it on the table by the bed.
“I’m beat,” he said, stripping off his clothes. “We can continue this discussion a little later in the morning, but right now, I have to sleep.”
She wondered what discussion that would be, but didn’t want to ask. Instead, she nodded. Checking on Paolo, who was sleeping soundly in his dresser drawer on the floor, she climbed into bed beside Chase. Suddenly she, too, was overwhelmed by the need for sleep.
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He pulled her close and nuzzled his face into her neck. He kissed her once, then was asleep. She heard his steady even breathing.
She was where she belonged, she thought drowsily. Relaxing her body into his, she fell into a deep dreamless sleep.
Andi awoke groggy and disoriented. She thought she’d heard Paolo crying, but when she looked over, she saw he was still asleep in the drawer. Then she heard the noise again, and she realized that another baby was crying. A baby somewhere outside the hotel.
She sat up. Chase was asleep, sprawled beside her in the bed. His dark-blond chest hairs glinted in the sunlight that filtered through the shutters, and his face looked relaxed. Once again she noticed the laugh lines around his eyes and wondered if she would ever see him laughing on a regular basis.
It was better not to think about that, she told herself. Chase had made it plain he wasn’t interested in a long-term relationship, and she wasn’t, either. Or at least she hadn’t been before this trip.
As she sat staring at Chase, regretting what couldn’t be, he stirred. Without opening his eyes he reached for her. When he curled his arm around her, she lay back down.
“I forgot something last night before I fell asleep,” he said, his voice low and gravelly.
“What was that?” She forced herself to concentrate on the case, on El Diablo, while her body responded to Chase’s touch.
“This.” He raised himself on one elbow and covered her mouth with his, and her bones turned to water. Everything but Chase vanished from her mind.
They joined together as if they’d been lovers for years, each knowing what the other needed. Chase kissed her mouth, her neck, her breasts, every touch driving her higher and higher. When she pulled him closer, luxuriating in the hardness of his muscles and the heat of his skin, he groaned into her neck. And when they clasped hands and flew off the peak together, she cried out his name.
They were both breathing heavily as they lay on the bed, their arms and legs tangled together. Finally Chase sighed and rolled over, carrying her with him so that she was staring down at him.
“Good morning, Andi,” he said, his mouth curling into an intimate smile.
“That was certainly a good way to start the morning,” she answered, snuggling closer to him.
He trailed his hand down her back, lingering on her hip. “Mmm,” he agreed.
She wanted to curl into him and stay forever, drinking in his musky male smell. Then Paolo let out a yell, and she bolted upright.
“Back to reality,” he said, easing her away from him.
Chapter 13
Chase watched Andi scramble off the bed and take Paolo out of his makeshift bed. He stopped screaming immediately and smiled as Andi murmured to him.
She picked up a bottle off the dresser, then climbed back into bed. Leaning back against the wall, she offered the bottle to Paolo, then smiled down at him as he ate.
Andi was tousled and flushed from their lovemaking, and Paolo was waving his chubby arms and legs in the air as he sucked the nipple. Chase leaned back against the wall and watched them, unable to tear his gaze away.
Andi looked up and gave him an intimate smile, and he reached out and touched her face. She seemed to glow for a moment, then looked back down at Pa olo. Chase watched them for a few seconds longer, basking in the sight, before realizing what he was doing. He’d been imagining that he and Andi and Paolo were a family, and that this cozy little domestic scene would be repeated every day.
With a spurt of fear he launched himself off the bed and muttered, “I’ll get a shower while you finish with him.”
“All right.”
He heard the question in her voice, but he couldn’t look at her. He was afraid she’d see the fear in his face.
When he emerged from the tiny bathroom fifteen minutes later, Paolo was lying on a blanket on the floor and Andi had thrown on some of the clothes she’d washed the day before. She gave him a bright smile.
“What do we do first this morning?”
He wanted to recapture the intimacy they’d shared just minutes ago, but he knew that wouldn’t be smart. So he picked up the phone. “I’m going to call Mac.”
“Fine. I’ll take a shower while you’re doing that.”
He watched the door close behind her, thinking it was typical of Andi. She was considerate enough to give him space to make the call privately. She knew it was going to be difficult for him. Another woman would have stayed in the room, eager to hear all the details. But Andi just gave him a smile and disappeared behind the bathroom door.
He wanted to go to her and thank her, but instead he began to dial. He might as well get this over with.
Ten minutes later Andi emerged from the bathroom. He didn’t want to examine the way his heart bloomed in his chest when he saw her, so he busied himself closing the computer.
“Mac is making the arrangements right now. He assured me that we’d have a team at the meeting site tonight, ready to intercept El Diablo and the other two dealers. He said he wouldn’t tell Olasik anything about it.”
“Thank goodness,” she said quietly. “How did the conversation go otherwise?”
Three days ago he would have given her a flip answer and moved on to a different subject. Now he said, “It went well. We didn’t talk about what happened before or Richard’s death. Mac asked me how my business was doing and apologized for tricking me into coming down here.” He flashed her a grin. “I told him I’d accept his apology because it worked out okay and because he was going to be paying me a big chunk of money when it was over.”
“I know how hard it must have been for you to call,” she said.
He shrugged. “It was time. There are things you have to let go or they’ll eat away at you forever.”
She cocked her head to the side. “What other things do you have to let go of, Chase?”
He slid off the bed. “This computer, for one. We need to get going if we’re going to make that appointment at the orphanage.” He wasn’t ready to tell her about his childhood.
She stared at him for a moment, then nodded. “I’ll just need a moment to dress. Are you sure it’s safe to go outside?”
“I think so. I’m going to take a look around while you dress and get Paolo ready. But there are enough people on the street that I think we’ll be able to blend in.”
In twenty minutes they were standing on the street in front of the hotel. Chase felt Andi’s hesitation and glanced at her. She was looking at the crowds swirling around her, apprehension on her face.
“It’s a lot of people after living in Chipultipe for so long, isn’t it?” he murmured. He put his hand at her waist. “Let’s start walking. The orphanage isn’t far.”
It took them only fifteen minutes. The orphanage was an old building that appeared lovingly cared for. When they rang the doorbell, a smiling nun opened the door to them.
“Señor Remington? We’ve been expecting you.”
Chase turned to Andi. “This is Andi McGinnis, Sister. And Paolo.”
“Come in. Let me show you around.”
The nun reached out and touched Paolo’s face. “Is this the poor youngster who lost his mother recently?”
Andi nodded. Chase saw her hands whiten as she clutched Paolo to her chest.
As the nun gave them a tour of the orphanage, Chase kept glancing at Andi’s face. All the children were clean and looked healthy. The older children played in groups in several small rooms, and Andi smiled at them. But as they walked through large rooms with rows and rows of cribs, each with a baby in it, he saw that she held Paolo more closely.
When they had returned to the foyer, Andi gave the nun a tight smile. “Thank you for showing us around, Sister. We appreciate it.”
“We’d take good care of Paolo,” the nun said gently.
“The children do seem happy,” Andi finally answered.
“Some of them are adopted. For the rest, we try to make them feel like this is their home.” The nun looked at a gro
up of children walking by. “This is the only life they know, and they are content.”
Andi nodded jerkily, her eyes bleak. “Thank you again, Sister. We’ll let you know.”
Chase guided her outside. When the door closed behind them, Andi took a deep shuddering breath and said fiercely, “I won’t leave him there.”
Chase put his arm around her shoulders and turned her toward their hotel. “Let’s wait until we’re back in the room to discuss it,” he said. “We need to keep our eyes open and our attention on what’s going on out here.”
She nodded blindly and didn’t say anything more as they made their way through the streets of Monterez. He tried to watch what was going on around them, but he was too worried about Andi to pay more than cursory attention.
When they were finally back in the hotel room, Chase locked the door, then turned to her. “What’s wrong, Andi?”
“I’m not leaving Paolo in that place.”
She still held the baby tightly. “Why don’t you put him down?” he suggested mildly. “I’m not sure he can breathe.”
Andi looked down at the baby, who was squashed against her chest. Her hands loosened, and she set him on the blanket on the floor. “Did you see all those babies in cribs?” she asked, shuddering. “Just lying there, staring at the ceiling?”
“Those babies are probably better off in those cribs by themselves than they were before,” he said, turning to watch Paolo on the floor. “You don’t know their circumstances. At least with the nuns they’re getting regular meals and some attention. They might be on the street otherwise. Or worse.”
“I couldn’t do that to Paolo. Or to Paloma. I promised her I would take care of him.”
“Then what are you going to do, Andi?” He turned back to look at her, shoving his hands into his pockets. He didn’t want to go to her, to touch her. He was feeling too vulnerable right now.
“I’ll adopt him myself,” she said slowly, her face lighting up and the tension falling away as she looked at Paolo. “He doesn’t have anyone else, so I’ll be his family.”
Family on the Run Page 15