An Ill Wind

by Monette Michaels

  She stayed put, because she was exactly where she wanted to be at that moment. But his cock remained hard and prodding and difficult to ignore.

  But you can ignore your health? Tell him. Tell Anton.

  “Trey…” She started to confess that her condition was more serious than a common cold when he patted her butt. Damn, his touch felt good … right … almost sweet. She wallowed in the sensation for a second, then tried again. “Trey…”

  “Shh, baby. I’ll survive,” he murmured against her ear as he soothed away the tension between her shoulder blades with what seemed to be magical fingers. “Relax. When we get back to the States, we’ll talk about how our relationship will progress. We are starting a relationship, right?”

  The uncertainty in his voice destroyed her and drove every other thought out of her head. The tension in every muscle of his body awed her. He was vulnerable when it came to her. She held power over him—and hadn’t done a damn thing to earn his care and affection.

  Love is a gift. There’s no tit for tat. Give the man what he needs to hear right now, then let him know you’re sick, stupid.

  Fee pressed a kiss to the underside of his jaw. “We are. Trey…”

  His arm tightened convulsively around her. “Thank you for your trust in me. I swear on all I hold dear, we’ll take this at your pace. I might grumble, but I’ll never do anything to make you afraid of me.”

  “I’m not afraid of you.” She stroked his chest, soothing him. “Trey…”

  “Stop worrying about what ifs…”

  She wasn’t worrying about “what ifs” whatever they were, she was trying to tell him she thought her lungs were congested and she most likely had strep throat.

  “…we’ll take it slow. I haven’t waited for you this long to rush my fences and scare you away now.”

  Before Fee could get a word in edgewise, Trey shifted her so he could tilt her head back against his shoulder. He kissed her then, a teasing nibbling and licking at the seam of her mouth until she opened for him. He groaned and took it deeper, claiming her with his tongue in a slow journey that touched every square inch of her mouth.

  Hell, he was a good kisser. She let all her thoughts and worries go, melted into his hold, and let him make love to her with his lips and tongue.

  *

  “Hey, you two.”

  Price’s voice intruded into the best kiss Trey had ever experienced. Ren had been right when he told Trey that kissing the woman you loved was far better than kissing any other woman. He might just have to kill Price for ruining his first real kiss with Fee. The ones they’d shared previously had paled in comparison.

  “Bad weather. Crap location. Bad guys. Escape. Any of that sound familiar?” Price said.

  Trey broke off the kiss and glared at Fee’s brother who stood over them, his hands on his hips and a smirk on his face. “Timing could’ve been better, assclown.”

  “Um, same could be said for you playing tonsil hockey with my baby sis, jerkwad.” There was no anger in Price’s voice, just amusement.

  “It was kissing, not tonsil hockey, big brother.” Fee nuzzled the base of Trey’s throat. “And it was wonderful, but…”

  Trey shuddered. Just the smallest touch or look from Fee and his cock got hard enough to set pitons into granite mountain walls. They had chemistry, always had from the first time they met. But Fee hadn’t acknowledged it fully—yet. Their sex life would be off the charts hot, but he wouldn’t move any faster than his little doc could handle.

  “But what, baby?” Trey rubbed his beard-roughened cheek over the top of her head.

  Fee snuggled against his chest. “We need to get the heck out of here. Chavez will eventually realize Ernesto didn’t take me and Pia with him. He’ll realize Anton and Lucia are missing. He’ll add it up and start looking for us, bad weather or not—oh, and I’m sick.”

  “Isn’t that what I said?” Price asked, looking around for confirmation from the others.

  “Yours was more sarcastic,” Levi said. “Fee’s statement was more conclusive. So, what do we do? The canyon’s stream is still in full spate. The currents, as we found last night, are twisty and treacherous. Plus, even if the current was manageable, the inflatable boat is gone, torn away during the storms last night. But—”

  “You’re sick?” roared Trey, cutting Levi off.

  Trey lifted Fee off him just as he might lift a bar bell and lay her gently on the blanket next to him. He knelt beside her and cupped her hot face between his hands. “Sick … why didn’t you say something before now?”

  “I tried.” She looked up at him. Her eyes were glassy. Tears leaked down her pale face, pale but for the red flushing her cheeks. “But you kept distracting me.”

  Trey frowned and gently swiped away the tears with his thumb. “Where do you hurt, sweetheart?”

  “My throat. My chest. My ears. Every muscle and joint in my body.” She smiled wryly. “You kissed me, so I’m thinking you’re gonna get sick, too.”

  He could care less about what might happen to him. Fee was sick now, in the middle of cartel lands in fucking Mexico.

  “Anton?” Trey looked at Vasilov who stood over them, his black backpack in hand. “She’s burning up.”

  Damn, he could kick his own horny ass. He’d played opossum while she’d awakened and wiggled on top of him. He’d enjoyed every single wiggle while she kept trying to tell him she was sick. He’d assumed she was nervous about his hard-on poking her stomach and wanted to tell him she wasn’t ready for that part of their relationship yet.

  Assumption is the mother of all fuck ups and misunderstandings, bozo.

  Vasilov frowned at Fee. “You had a real low-grade temp yesterday, not the higher one I made up for Chavez’s sake.” He turned to look at Trey. “At the time, I wasn’t all that concerned since Fee was tired, stressed, and dehydrated.” He turned his focus back on Fee. “So, let’s see where we’re at, yes?”

  “Yes,” Fee croaked out.

  His little doc looked so frail. So wan. Exhaustion dimmed the light in her blue-green eyes.

  Trey needed to hold her, to soothe her. Hell, who was he kidding? He just needed her. “Come on, sweetheart. Let’s get you off the floor. You can sit on my lap while the doctor examines you.”

  “Yes, please.”

  Trey opened his arms. Fee crawled onto his lap and then rested her head on his shoulder as Vasilov took her temperature.

  The thermometer beeped. The doctor’s forehead creased with concern. “102.” Vasilov rummaged in his backpack. He pulled out a tongue depressor and a penlight, then knelt next to them. “Let’s see this sore throat. Say ‘ahh’.”

  Fee turned her head and opened her mouth. “Ahhhhh.”

  After a few seconds, Vasilov sat back on his heels. “Her throat is definitely inflamed. It appears to be strep throat.” He felt her neck and then looked into her ears with another device he pulled from the bag. “Hmm. Fluid behind the ear drums. Her glands are swollen.”

  “Great,” she muttered and turned her face into Trey’s neck. “We don’t need a lab test. I know it’s strep throat, dammit.”

  “Yep. She got that a lot as a kid,” Price put in, worry on his face. “She’d miss a week or so of school every year.”

  Vasilov patted her arm. “I can’t test a throat swab to be sure, but treating for strep would be my choice even if I did have lab facilities. I have several kinds of antibiotics in my pack. I’ll give her a shot with a loading dose and then she can take tablets.” He looked at her. “Fee, you allergic to any medicines?”

  Fee’s muttered “no” was barely audible. She’d buried her face against him once again. Her hair caught in his heavy morning beard scruff as she snuggled in as close as she could. He hugged her and kissed her hot forehead. Her body stiffened when Vasilov gave her a shot in her upper arm.

  Trey looked at the others. “Between the continued nasty weather and Fee’s illness, there’s no way any of us are going to walk out of here.”


  “Well, I agree even though you didn’t let me finish my report earlier which confirms your conclusion,” Levi said. “Fee’s illness took precedence.”

  Hell yes, it did.

  “Report?” Trey asked. “What do you have to report?”

  “I went down the ladder an hour or so before dawn,” Levi said. “Yes, it was—and is—raining. The creek remains out of its banks and the current’s strong, but not as much as it was last night. I hiked, or waded was more like it, to the meadow which is still underwater. It’s doable, even for the height-challenged among us.”

  Pia punched him in the arm. Levi snorted with what sounded like amusement before continuing. “Once you’re past the creek bed and its banks, the current isn’t as bad. We all could make it to the meadow for extraction. It’s far enough from the compound that with the proper distraction to keep the cartel clowns chasing their tails, the chopper could swoop in from the northeast and hover long enough to load everyone.”

  Levi paused and stared at Trey, then Price. “You did say DJ was Army-trained and had flown in battle in Afghanistan.”

  Price answered, “I’ve ridden with her. She’s damn good.”

  “So, she should be used to swooping in, hovering, and picking up troops under fire,” Levi concluded.

  “Hell, yeah,” Trey said. “And Tweeter’s just as good as DJ. So we’re covered on the extraction end. Just what kind of distraction do you have in mind?”

  A grin of unholy glee crossed Levi’s face. “A couple of us could head down to the compound. Blow some shit up. Cause some fear and chaos. Then high-tail it to the meadow and meet the rest of the group for extraction.”

  “There are explosives in the building where we picked up the boat,” Anton said.

  Levi’s grin was almost evil. “Yeah, I saw them. More than enough to do some serious damage.”

  “I wanted to avoid a small war.” Trey cuddled Fee’s suddenly stiff body closer to him. “But we really don’t have a lot of other options.”

  “They peddle heroin. They’re cooking meth,” Levi stated. “Those drugs are destined for the States. A lot of that shit is coming through my county. I have no problem blowing up their drug operations. Plus, they have no fucking clue who we are. We could be from one of their rivals.”

  Trey couldn’t disagree with Levi’s feelings and reasoning. Hell, Ren and Keely were already working on justifying their incursion to rescue U.S. citizens, how much more harm were a few explosions in a drug cartel compound? Especially as Levi pointed out, El Hacha’s men would have no clue who’d done the damage.

  “Sounds good to me.” Price put on his headset. “Explosive distraction it is. I’ll touch base with Tweeter and see what’s going on at the compound. He pulled in the drone last night to recharge it, but had planned to send it back this morning. I’ll also ask if he’s managed to fuck up anymore of their defense systems.”

  “Yeah, we want that radar and their SAMs installations dead as the dodos.” Trey blew out a breath, “I’ll contact Ren and let him know that he and Keely need to lay the groundwork for an upset Mexican government, just in case.”

  Trey looked at Vasilov. “You and Price will stay with the women.”

  The fact Price didn’t argue said his buddy knew he was needed to get the women safely to the meadow. He was the strongest swimmer and was even more lethal in water than on land.

  “You should take Price with you,” Vasilov suggested. “You will need him. I can take care of the women by myself. I would just need a weapon and the boat, if it can be found.”

  “I have an idea where the boat went,” Levi said. “I’ll go hunt for it while we still have cloud cover.”

  Trey nodded. “Thanks, Levi. Anton, we’ll fix you up with one of our extra rifles.”

  The doctor nodded, then moved to his fiancee who stirred something over the fire.

  Trey looked down at Fee. “How you doing, sweetheart?”

  “I hate being sick,” Fee mumbled into his neck.

  “Me, too.” Trey caressed the back of her head. The curls felt like silk against his rough skin. As he sought to soothe her, he reviewed the plan. It should work. Then he thought about all that could go wrong. If FUBAR happened, then, fuck, they still might have to hike and climb out of here.

  “You stiffened up just then.” Fee angled her head to look at him. “What’s wrong?”

  “If shit happens and DJ can’t get the helicopter in to airlift you out…” He trailed off. He figured she was smart enough to fill in the blanks.

  “Then I’ll do what needs to be done to get to a place where it’s safe for her and Tweeter to pick us up.” Fee stroked his neck with her fingers. “I don’t want anyone taking extraordinary chances because of me.”

  “I want you safe.” He squeezed her more tightly against him as if he could absorb her and protect her from what might be coming.

  “I know.” She coughed, the sound echoing harshly off the rock walls. “I’ll be fine.”

  Hell yeah, she’d be fine. He’d carry her out on his back, if necessary.

  CHAPTER 13

  Later in the morning

  “Let’s go.” Anton stood in the open doorway of the cliff dwelling. He tapped the headset Trey had given him. “Trey just signaled they made it to the compound without incident and are setting the explosives. We need to get to the meadow. The helicopter is on its way.”

  Fee’s nagging worry for Trey’s—and the others’—safety eased somewhat at the news. She stifled a moan as she shoved up from the box she sat upon. Her joints were stiff and sore. She’d be better once she got to moving … she hoped.

  She stood and stumbled as the room spun around her. She braced a hand on the rock wall.

  “Fee?” Pia whispered as she placed an arm around Fee’s waist. “You okay?”

  “Been better.” She aimed a wry grin at her friend. “But I’ll make it.” She refused to let the team down. She looked at Anton and Lucia. “So, no boat?”

  “No, Levi had the right direction, though.” Anton grimaced. “He found it, but the rocks had shredded it.”

  “So we walk or wade as the case may be.” Fee moved away from Pia’s hold and headed toward the doorway. “How’s the path down to the creek bed?”

  “It is slick.” Anton moved out of the doorway and let Fee and Pia exit. “You will need to remain close to the rock wall. I will lead. Lucia will walk behind you two.”

  Fee looked at the gray sky. No sun peeked through the thick-cloud cover. The rain was a miserably cold drizzle, but thunder from the north indicated things could get worse at anytime.

  As she waited for Anton to go down the rope ladder so he could anchor it for the rest of them, she muttered, “Damn, couldn’t Mother Nature cut us a break?”

  “Nope. At least Chavez has to deal with this crap, too,” Pia said. “Levi said the lousy conditions would also make it easier for our guys to get in and out of the compound since Chavez’s men are staying inside for the most part.”

  Tweeter’s report on the compound had been a mixture of good news/bad news. The good had been what Pia had already mentioned—the cartel soldiers were mostly inside—plus Ernesto, from what Tweeter could tell from visual and audio feeds, had gotten away. The bad news was Chavez and all of his men had returned to the compound. If discovered, Trey and the others would be out-numbered by a huge amount.

  He’ll be fine.

  Fee sure as hell hoped so. If something happened to Trey because of her, she’d never forgive herself for wasting the last nine months and the possibility of a life with him.

  “Fee,” Anton called. “You can come down now.”

  Pia patted her on the shoulder. “Go. Don’t think about the height. Just stare at the rocks.”

  Fee nodded. She turned and got down on her knees at the edge of the ledge, then felt to place her foot on the first rung of the rope ladder. Pia and Lucia hovered over her as if she were a two-year-old learning to go down the stairs for the first time. God, she only wish
ed she could go down the ladder on her butt.

  No, you don’t, then you’d see where you’re going. Just do it, pansy ass.

  Taking a deep calming breath led to a bout of coughing. She waited until she’d stopped trying to hack up a lung, then scooched until she had both feet on the ladder and had a grip on both sides.

  “I’ve got you, Fee.” Anton’s voice was closer.

  She chanced a look over her shoulder and found he’d come halfway up the ladder. “I’m fine. You can go down.”

  He smiled and shook his head. “I will remain here. The ladder won’t sway as much with my weight on it.”

  But would it hold their combined weight?

  Something on her face must’ve clued him into her thoughts, since he added with a chuckle, “And, yes, it will hold both of us.”

  She nodded, turned her head to stare at the rock wall again, then forced herself to move. Finally she reached the bottom where Anton helped her off and then moved her to the side. “Hold onto this rock—and breathe, Fee.”

  Good suggestion, since the world was lurching from side to side—oh, that was her. She concentrated on her breathing and gripped the jutting stone until she found her balance.

  When Pia and Lucia reached the path, Anton turned, his gaze finding each woman in turn. “Remember, hug the wall. Take small steps. Put your weight on the back of your feet since we’re going down the incline.”

  “How deep is the water once we get down the path?” Pia asked.

  “To my shins, so maybe to your knees,” he replied. “The current is swift in spots, so that is why we’ll be using this rope.” He held up a long length of rope. “To link us to each other.”

  What he didn’t say was—“to link the three midgets to him so he could keep them from being swept downstream and dashed against the rocks like the inflatable boat.”

  Fee helped Anton tie the rope around her waist, then waited as he helped each of the other women with their safety lines.

  “Okay, slow and steady,” Anton said. “Trey just signaled they are wiring the last building and will be on their way to meet us in the meadow soon. So far no one has seen them.”