by Mayer, Dale
Right.
As if she hadn’t heard that before.
Still the hot kiss he’d planted on her before leaving should hold her for a little while.
How long would they be gone? Long enough for her to have a shower and not be interrupted? The place was clean and serviceable but was of the no frills variety – so no room service. In fact, she stared out the window, they were just far enough out of town she doubted there was food available to order in either.
Her stomach growled, reminding her she hadn’t eaten all day.
She threw herself on the bed and groaned.
So what if she was hungry – she was safe here. She was no longer at that horrific hacienda. That’s all that mattered as if they’d never been there in the first place. There were no longer bodies all over the floors or the ghostly fact that someone moved them. How horrible was that? And Isabella? Didn’t she deserve a proper burial? She’d done so much for the horses that no matter what else she might have been a part of she’d had a caring, compassionate side.
The line of bodies laid out in the stall was hard enough to forget, but the thought of these poor people…
She just wanted to go home.
Her stomach growled again. She rubbed her face and considered her options. They’d come back. She knew they would. But when was up for consideration. She needed a shower and she needed food. So first one then she’d have to consider dealing with resolving the other. Maybe there was a vending machine close by.
Dragging herself into the bathroom, she locked the door and stepped under the hot water. Too bad Swede wasn’t in here with her. She hated to wash off his scent, but being clean was a gift…
Oh Lord that felt good. She scrubbed her hair twice then took the washcloth to the rest of her body. Her skin was so sensitive after Swede. After being out in the brush, the dust seemed caked onto her skin.
She kept at it until her skin glowed pink and the water at her feet was clear. Shutting it off, she dried off then wrapped the towel around her sideways. She opened the door to the bedroom a crack and looked out. “Hello?”
No answer.
More confident, she pushed it open and walked back to her bed. The room was empty and there was no sign that someone had come in while she’d been gone. She winced at the thought, and after giving her jeans and top a hard shake in the bathtub, she got redressed.
Her hair was not going to cooperate without a brush. She stroked her fingers through the locks then ruthlessly twisted it into a knot at the back of her neck and clipped it back up.
With her skin glowing after the shower but her eyelids drooping, no sign of food available, no room service button on the phone and Swede’s orders to stay inside, she lay down, closed her eyes and slept.
She woke several hours later, darkness showing outside the window, disoriented. Where was she?
Rolling over, she found her phone. It was after two in the morning. Shit. She hated being awake in the middle of the night.
Outside she heard the sound of vehicles arriving and raised voices. She scrambled to the window and peered behind the curtains.
Soldiers.
Or maybe rebel soldiers were a better term. These didn’t have a disciplined military look to them. They were arguing, but one man threw his arms out wide, pointing to her motel.
Her heart pounded. Were they looking for her? Or were they just looking for a room? Maybe they didn’t know anything about her. Why should they? She grabbed up her phone and texted Hawk and Swede. Soldiers in parking lot.
She watched as two army rigs drove up. A meeting took place in the middle of the lot then the last two vehicles left. Good. As they drove away, the driver looked up and directly to the fourth floor – at her.
Shit. She bolted backwards, terrified he’d seen her. No, not possible. He couldn’t have seen her. But what if he had? Should she leave?
Gathering up her courage, she shifted to the other window and peered out. Only the original two vehicles remained and the men who had arrived with them.
The parking lot was empty of people. So where had they gone?
Just then the manager came out of the office waving his arms. He motioned to the floors of the motel and his voice was indignant, but she couldn’t understand what he was saying to the men who walked out behind him. Questioning the manager? Booking rooms? The soldier reached out and grabbed the keys from the manager’s hand and headed toward the floors below hers. Damn it. If she was ever going to leave, now was a good time. But where could she go? She was hardly inconspicuous. She had no scarf or makeup to tone down the whiteness of her skin. She couldn’t speak Spanish and she was all alone.
Not suspicious at all. She snagged up her wallet, straightened the bedding then did a cursory check of the bathroom. Taking a moment to wash the dirt from cleaning her clothing, she stuffed the towels into the laundry bin and snagged up the keys. The hotel room was hers. If this blew over, she could come back. If it didn’t, then she wanted to make sure she’d left it as if she’d never been here.
Just like at the hacienda.
She checked her cell phone for the tenth time, wondering why the men weren’t getting back to her with instructions.
Then she realized they probably couldn’t. They were on a mission. It was hardly normal to leave cell phones on during a raid.
She’d have to handle this on her own.
And her instincts were telling her to get the hell out – now.
*
Swede cussed loudly. He’d ducked to the left and his movement should have been fast enough, but the gun tracking him compensated for his shift and a bullet nicked across his ribs.
Burnt like a son of a bitch.
“Quit fussing. It’s minor.”
Mason grinned as Swede bit off a few more choice words. “Girls will love the scars.”
That didn’t deserve a reply. Besides, there was only one woman in his life now and she wouldn’t be happy that he’d been injured.
“What’s the status,” he asked Mason. “How many did we catch?”
“Looks decent. We got fourteen rounded up, four are dead and six more are injured. We’ve got one boss and he’s singing prettily, but according to him, his boss is close by too.”
He surged to his feet.
Mason held out a warning hand. “Hawk and Shadow are on it.” He wasn’t going to get far.
“And Dane, where is he?”
“Keeping an eye on the prisoners.”
“Not smart to leave him alone,” Swede growled.
Mason laughed. “They are right outside. I had to make sure you were okay first.”
Swede was insulted. He strode outside to where Dane stood and gave his friend a reassuring nod. “I’m fine. Just too big to miss I guess.”
Dane laughed. “It’s a chore but what are you going to do…”
Swede looked at the captured prisoners. Mason was moving between the injured. The dead were off to one side. He studied faces, looking for anyone he might have seen at Isabella’s. The last one…maybe…
He strode over and stood in front of the older man. In rapid fire Spanish he asked him, “Were you at Isabella’s”
The man nodded. “I was taken from there to work here.”
“How long ago?”
“Months. After training I was placed back at the ranch.” He shrugged. “It’s no life. But we have no choice.”
He sounded sincere… But was he? Then he didn’t exactly look like the rest of the young punks.
Swede could hear vehicles in the distance. Hopefully it was the Mexican task force.
He’d like to kick the ass of some of the prisoners. They had a cocky punk look like they knew something he didn’t, and he was going to get his ass kicked for it. That was fine, he was ready to dish out some ass kicking himself.
“How’s your chica,” one punk said in bad English from behind his back.
Swede spun on his heels and reached out and grabbed the kid’s jacket and lifted him off his feet.
The men on either side of the punk shifted uneasily. Swede studied their reaction. Was it due to what he’d done or to the punk’s words?
He gave the kid a shake then dropped him. The kid sprawled to the floor then bounced to his feet spitting like a viper.
Swede kept his gaze on him then deliberately turned his back. An insult he knew the kid wouldn’t be able to let slide.
Sure enough, he heard the movement and waiting the half second he then pivoted, his own fist out and already in motion.
His fist connected with the kid’s ribs and without a sound he dropped to the ground, unconscious.
“They don’t learn, do they, Swede?” Mason called out.
“No.” Swede shook his head. “I wonder if they are all as stupid.”
He took another look at the men standing and picked out one who looked terrified. He lifted him up like he did the first kid and asked, “What do you know about the chica?”
The words flew out the kid’s mouth. “They know where she is.”
“So what?” He held his own panic back. These guys had info they needed and the energy was going to change once the Mexican’s arrived to handle them. He needed to know what the men knew now. He shook the kid.
“They’ve gone after her,” he said trying to get the words out fast. “No one is to know about the camp. No witnesses. They kill everyone.”
“Everyone?” Mason asked. “How many have been killed?”
The older ranch hand spoke up, “There were two at the ranch who wouldn’t agree to the terms, so they were shot and buried as an example.”
“And others?” Swede turned to face the kid he still held. The kid wasn’t even shaving yet, he couldn’t be more than fifteen at the most. And scrawny as if he hadn’t seen enough food in a long time.
“If you don’t want to fight, they kill you,” said the man standing beside him. “If you fail in a job, they kill you.” He shrugged. “If you don’t want to be here…then your life is hell. If you are one of the best and like war then this is the place for you.”
Swede dropped the kid and studied the man. “And you like it?”
“I like being alive. I watched too many die.”
“And Isabella?”
He shrugged. “Our orders were to make sure no one survived.”
“And yet, Lena wasn’t shot?” At least he didn’t think so.
“She’s family to the commander. She runs interference and spied on Isabella.” He shrugged. “She’s got it made.”
Nice. Not.
“So she’s the one who got Isabella in trouble?”
The older ranch hand spoke up. “She’s been in trouble for a long time. It was going to end badly anyway.”
Swede could see that. “Well, do you realize that shooting her was a kindness? That she was dying anyway. And soon?”
The older man gave a slight smile. “She’d like to go out that way. Knowing she’d held out as long as she could. She wanted nothing to do with them, but they killed one of her sons and forced the other into the army.”
So her son’s life for her cooperation. He liked her better already. Not much a mother wouldn’t do to keep her family safe.
“Is he alive?” Mason asked, reminding Swede that many young men had just died here today.
The older man shook his head. “I don’t know. He was here…”
So he escaped. “How many others are missing,” Mason asked, his voice hardening. “We’ll need to find them.”
“Let them go,” the older ranch hand said. “If they managed to escape they won’t be sticking around. They’ll be heading home much wiser than when they left.”
“Were many recruited willingly?”
The man nodded. “They were young and innocent when they came. Not so much now.”
“Shut up, old man,” snapped a hard edged leaner and mean version of the kid lying unconscious. “Some of us were happy to be part of something we could believe in.” His voice held the same disillusionment that so many young people had at the world they lived in today.
Swede nodded. “Ideology and all that aside, what was the plan here? Training for what?”
The fighter shrugged. “I don’t know. I wasn’t in with the commander. Isabella’s son Paolo is.”
“So maybe he escaped with the commander,” Mason snapped. “That doesn’t make him innocent and wanting to go home to his family.”
The older man sighed. “No, but you don’t understand. Paolo is just as likely to try and kill the commander for gunning down his kid brother and his mother. They were close.”
That would be tough on everyone. But for the kid, yeah, if that had been Swede, he’d do his best to get revenge as well.
“And the women that were here?”
The fighter laughed. “Women have one use and one use only.”
“And yet someone tried to kill the two female volunteers working with the horses when they went home again.”
“Not us. Although we wanted to keep the women if we could.” The fighter snickered.
Until his teeth flew out as Swede’s fist replaced them.
He collapsed unconscious to the ground.
“They’re dropping like flies,” Mason said. “Who’s next?”
The men shuffled uneasily. The young kid cried, “We don’t know anything. The commander didn’t tell us the plans. We know that any woman captured was to be brought to the camp, but more importantly, no one was to know they were here at all.”
“That’s too many people to silence,” Mason said.
The kid’s head bobbed. “Too many. That’s why they were so upset with Isabella. She brought all the strangers in and when she was sworn to secrecy. The commander said they were suspicious of your presence after Lena said you had a military bearing.” He shrugged. “They didn’t want to take any chances and attacked last night.”
Right. That made sense.
Suddenly trucks came into view. Men hopped out and raced over, guns drawn. Mason walked over to the talk to the leader. Swede sent out the word to the others. They were finished here.
He went to send Eva a message only to see a text from her. He read it quickly.
The kid leaned forward. “You have to save her. They know you took her to town.”
Shit.
He raced to the closest truck, calling to his friends.
Chapter 26
Eva raced to the exit at the far end of the hallway. She’d gone up in a panic, then realized she’d be cornered up there and had slowly, checking out the windows at every floor, made her way down. Now she was on the main floor, but the closest exit had people milling in front. She didn’t want to attract any attention, but she wanted to get the hell outside.
The door beside her opened, she jumped backwards but had no place to go. Thankfully the couple didn’t appear to notice her. The man closed the door behind them, and they walked with their arms and lips moving on each other so passionately she had to wonder why they were leaving the room. Unless they were going to her room. So what room had they left? She eyed the door. This was a ground floor room on the back. Did they have a patio? An outside door? She crossed the hallway and opened the door in question. It wasn’t a suite. More like a lounge.
“We’re closed for the night,” someone called out.
A private lounge. Kind of a sleazy location, but whatever. Then she caught sight of the poker tables. Oh, okay. She also caught sight of the exit. “No problem, I left something over by the glass doors.”
She dashed across the room and unlocked the doors. She pushed one open, smiled at the man standing with cleaning rags in his hand wondering what she was doing and walked out.
Perfect.
The moon was up and shone bright on the back lawn behind the hotel. It was going to be a beautiful day. Later. At the moment, she needed to hide where the men she’d seen earlier couldn’t find her and where she could watch out for her SEALs.
She had to believe Hawk and Swede ha
d gotten her message and would be here as soon as they could be. She slipped over to the hedge and peered through the leaves toward the front yard. There were several new vehicles in the parking lot. What was wrong with people? It was the middle of the night. They should be asleep. Then so should she.
She stood for a long moment wondering if she was worrying for nothing. Had she been foolish to leave her room? Would someone have really kicked the door down to get to her? Surely not.
But she couldn’t be sure. And damn it she wanted to be sure. Sure about something. Being wrong came with a horrific price tag.
She wanted to sit down and rest, have all this shit disappear. She looked around where she was standing and considered doing just that. In the shadows, hidden by the tall hedge, she could see through the bare lower branches. Maybe she was safe here. It was certainly not going to be the first place anyone would look for her, right? She glanced behind her, but she’d moved far enough away from the room she’d escaped through that even if someone did say something they’d be hard pressed to find her. Accidentally she appeared to have landed at a place that just might be ideal.
She crouched down and considered it. The sun wouldn’t be up for a few hours. She could spend those hours here. If nothing untoward happened and there were no signs of anyone searching for her, then she could always try to return to her motel room. If it was the same as she’d left it then she was golden. She could nap until the guys returned. She didn’t want to pay for a second night but might have to if they didn’t get back before check out. She couldn’t leave without letting them know.
They’d go nuts trying to find her.
No, that meant staying until they showed up.
She curled in a ball and leaned against the motel wall.
And closed her eyes.
*
“Just because she saw a soldier doesn’t mean they are after her,” Mason said. They were all in the truck and heading back to the motel. Tired and frustrated but with Swede and Hawk setting the pace, they’d been away from the ranch in no time.
Since leaving there’d been no sign of anyone else. The vast miles of countryside looked to be just as deserted as the first time they’d driven this road.