by Liliana Hart
He closed the file he’d been staring at blankly and locked it in his desk drawer. Thoughts of Bayleigh had been bombarding him all day—visions of her laid out on the table, drenching his fingers, and so fucking hot he’d almost come in his jeans. She was distracting him, stirring up thoughts he hadn’t had in a long time, and she was making it damned hard to keep his attention on his job. He was here to draw out the remaining cartel members. Period. Not to fuck his neighbor. And certainly not to get attached to her, or let those emotions he’d thought were destroyed after Carmen’s death come to the surface again. But damned if he could help himself.
The station was all but empty except for a few uniform cops coming in early for third shift. He grabbed his leather jacket from the back of his chair and was just slipping it on when his cell phone rang. The number was blocked and he knew this was the contact he’d been waiting for. Someone at the DEA would be monitoring the call and they’d be trying to run a trace, but they wouldn’t find the source that easily.
“MacKenzie,” he answered.
“Long time no see, cabron.” The voice was lightly accented and familiar. That of a petulant child who’d grown up with a monster for a father and every creature comfort at his fingertips. It had always amazed him the Carlos and Carmen were related.
“I heard you’ve decided to be a city cop,” Carlos said, the sneer evident. Local cops had been easy to buy off in Miami. It was part of the reason the DEA had had such a difficult time pinning down the cartel members. “Tell me it ain’t so. It seems like such a waste of talent.”
“I didn’t realize you cared, Carlos. I would have forwarded you my address had I known you were looking for me.”
Cade made his way to the bank of windows that overlooked the street and opened the blinds a quarter turn. Headlights cut into the darkness and a few pedestrians walked along the sidewalks, headed into the restaurant across the street. But it was sparsely populated. There was no sign of Carlos that he could see.
“Don’t think for a second that I haven’t always known where you were, asshole. You think I would just forget about what you did to Carmen?”
Cade’s gut clenched and he closed his eyes as memories assaulted him, but he forced his voice to stay light and uncaring. “You’ve got a faulty memory, Carlos. You see, I remember your father putting that bullet through her brain. So how is that my fault again?”
The breathing on the other end of the line grew heavy with rage and Cade smiled. Carlos had never had the control his father did, which was why they’d have a much better shot at taking down the cartel with Carlos behind the wheel. Cade closed the blinds and slipped down the back stairs, jogging down the three flights to the gated parking lot behind the precinct.
“Listen closely, MacKenzie,” Carlos said. “Because your days are numbered. Did you know the only reason you’re alive is because my father gave the order that you’re not to be touched?”
Cade raised his eyebrows in surprise at that bit of information. “What can I say? Miguel always did like me best.”
“And look what it got him. Serves him right, if you ask me.”
Cade shook his head. He didn’t understand families like the del Fuego’s—flesh and blood who would murder you instead of stand beside you, betray you for a bigger piece of the pie. His family might be a little overwhelming and wouldn’t hesitate to butt into your business without asking, but they’d stand beside you when times were tough, and they’d fight like hell to protect you if you were in trouble.
Carlos’ voice was laced with pain and bitterness. “Father said he needed you alive because it would drive you crazy not being able to kill him. That not knowing when and how the cartel would strike would possess you until you became careless. You think you destroyed my legacy by having your American soldiers and agents come down on my family? Homeland Security thought they could capture my father and use his knowledge to their benefit, but he outsmarted them. He’s been running the cartel right under their noses.”
Cade opened the door leading to the parking lot, and pressed the button on his key chain to start his truck. The engine caught immediately, and he breathed a sigh of relief. The last thing he needed was to find himself splattered in a million different pieces across the pavement. The cartel was fond of using explosives to do their dirty work when up close and personal couldn’t be accomplished.
“This is all very fascinating, Carlos. But you forget, I was there when Miguel was arrested and taken in. The cartel is in pieces and your father is in lockdown. And you’re starting to bore me. The last I heard, you didn’t have the balls to go against dear old dad. So why are you here?”
“I’m here for you,” Carlos said with a sneer. “I guess your friends at DHS didn’t pass on the news. Miguel is in a coma. Seems like someone snuck in some bad shit and gave him a taste of his own medicine.”
Fuck, Cade thought. Someone should have told him. If Miguel wasn’t in charge of the struggling cartel then someone else would be. It was always better the devil you know.
“Speechless, MacKenzie? Things aren’t looking good for the old man. Lucky for me. Not so lucky for you. The cartel is now completely under my control. And I don’t care how much Miguel wants you alive. The orders are mine to give now. And we’ve been watching you these last weeks, planning for your arrival.”
“So come get me,” Cade taunted. “You think I haven’t felt your eyes on me? I’ve been waiting on you, Carlos. What’s taken so long?”
Harsh laughter assaulted his ears and he checked his rearview mirror as he pulled out into traffic. He immediately saw the black sedan pull in behind him, not even bothering to be subtle about following. Cade recognized the guy driving the car. He’d been a lower level soldier in the cartel when Cade had been there, but it looked as if he’d worked his way up in the world.
“You always were a cocky bastard, MacKenzie.”
“But it was me your father was going to hand the cartel to instead of his own son. Why do you think that was, Carlos?”
Cade felt the waves of anger pulsing through the phone and kept his eye on the car tailing him, testing how serious the situation was by taking a couple of side streets and cutting off a couple of cars to take a quick exit. The guy stayed on his ass like white on rice.
“Because my father was weak, and he couldn’t see a liar when he was standing right in front of his face. I never liked you,” Carlos spat out. “And I knew you weren’t what you seemed. Now you’ll pay for Carmen’s death and for destroying what should have rightfully been mine. The cartel isn’t what it once was, but I still have product and I still have loyal men. Don’t underestimate me.”
“I’d never dream of it,” Cade said. “What do you want, Carlos? If you think I’m going to make this easy on you, you’ve got another thing coming.”
“Oh, no. It’s you who have had it much too easy. What good would it do to kill you if you didn’t suffer first? When was the last time you talked to your sister?” he asked. “I spoke to her myself just last week. She seems to be doing quite well. Finishing up her Master’s Degree and living in that big house all by herself while her brothers are out saving the world and her parents are doing a little traveling in their retirement years. You should take better care of what’s yours.”
A cold chill slid down Cade’s spine and terror gripped his heart. They’d taught Darcy how to protect herself, but she was no match against Carlos or one of his men. She was also head-strong and impulsive, which had gotten her into trouble more times than it had gotten her out of it.
“Where is she?” Cade bit out, terrified he’d be too late.
“Oh, she’s safe and sound, tucked into bed, my friend. At least for now. But she’s turned into a beautiful young woman. All that silky black hair and those violet eyes. Should I fuck her first before I kill her like you did my sister?”
“Stay away from her,” Cade bit out. “I will hunt you down for this, Carlos. You have no idea what I’m capable of.”
“I thi
nk I do. But I believe in an eye for an eye, and I don’t see why you should have your sister when you’ve deprived me of my own. It hardly seems fair.”
The urge to hang up and call home was prevalent in his mind, but he held on, knowing that’s exactly what Carlos would expect him to do.
“You know, MacKenzie, I’ve never understood your appeal to the opposite sex. You hadn’t been in the compound three days before Carmen spread her legs for you. Fucking puta. She’d been a good girl before you came along.”
Cade still remembered his surprise as he’d broken through the barrier of Carmen’s virginity. She’d responded to his touch unlike any virgin he’d ever known, not that he’d had a lot of experience with virgins, but it had caused him to stop and reevaluate the woman he thought he’d understood. She’d been everything good and innocent in the world—everything the rest of her family could never hope to be—and he’d taken a part of that innocence from her because it had been part of the plan. He hadn’t loved her until much later, and that guilt still ate at him.
“That’s a hell of a way to talk about your own sister, Carlos. Maybe you should get therapy to release all that hostility. It can’t be good for you.”
Carlos ignored his taunt, his anger already fueling the fire. “History has a way of repeating itself, Si? I enjoyed the little scene you and the whore next door put on for me and my men this morning. They were horny as hell after you left, leaving her there all alone while you went to look at the message I’d left you. You can see right through those flimsy lace curtains she has up. And she makes sure to raise the blinds back up after you leave every night. What’s with that, Cade? You don’t want us to see you screwing your new whore? When did you become shy?”
“Fuck you, Carlos. Stay away from Bayleigh.”
“It’s too late for that. You marked her as yours. I hope that brings her comfort when I rub the drug across her silky skin and let my men have her.”
The sigh on the other end of the line had Cade’s anger escalating to the point that he could feel his control disappearing. He knew what men saw when they looked at Bayleigh.
“Her body is something else, my man. Fine tits and ass, and a mouth that’s going to suck me dry before she takes her last breath. Just the thought is enough to get me off.”
Cade growled low in his throat and he was barely able to choke the words out. “I’m coming for you, Carlos.”
Carlos laughed. “You’ve got to find me first.”
Cade disconnected the phone and pushed the pedal all the way to the floor, and he noticed the car tailing him stayed close long enough to wave at him and take the next exit. Which meant they had men set up to watch him at the house. Shit.
He used the Bluetooth system in his truck to call in a favor. He couldn’t be in two places at one time, and he needed someone to watch over Darcy. To make sure she was safe. There was only one man he could call—one man he trusted with his life—to make sure she didn’t get into trouble.
The only problem was that the man in question was Bayleigh’s oldest brother. There was no way he could tell Brant about his involvement with Bayleigh or that Bayleigh was in danger—though there was a chance the DHS agent already knew. Cade needed Brant to protect Darcy and not ask questions.
Fortunately, Brant owed him a hell of a favor since Cade had taken a bullet for his friend a couple of years ago. The angle of the shot would have meant Brant’s death, and Cade knew he could survive if he intercepted it. The short of it was: Brant Scott owed him a hell of a favor, and he was about to collect.
“What?” Brant said on the other end of the line.
“I need help, and I don’t need questions,” Cade said quickly. “I’m running out of time.”
There was a slight pause before Brant said, “Done.”
“Protect Darcy. Carlos del Fuego has put out a hit on her. It might already be too late.”
“I’ve got her covered,” Brant said. “I got the word this morning about the change of power in the cartel. It seems some asshole at DHS was hoping the news of Miguel’s coma wouldn’t become public knowledge, so they’ve been sitting on it for three weeks. Heads will roll by the time I’m through with them.”
Cade believed it. Brant was a Special Agent in Charge for DHS, and he wasn’t without power. In fact, he always wondered if Brant was higher up on the food chain than even he knew.
“As long as Darcy is safe,” Cade said.
“I’ve got my sights on your house as we speak. I knew they’d be after her. I let your cousin, Cooper, know about the danger. I figured he’d be pissed if he didn’t know something could go down since he’s the sheriff.”
“That’s an understatement.” Cooper would have agents for breakfast and spit them out if he found out something was going on in his town and no one had informed him.
Brant grunted in agreement. “Coop’s going to keep an eye on Grant and his wife so I don’t have to split my attention. I figured the threat to Darcy was the biggest since she’s by herself and basically unprotected.”
Cade let out a slow breath, grateful his friend had a sixth sense about these kinds of things. No one was more important than his family, and their safety was first priority. Knowing his brother and sister were being watched after was a hell of a relief. And knowing Shane was out of the country on his own mission meant that he wouldn’t step into the middle of things for at least another few weeks. By then, he was hoping it would all be over. The only wild card was Declan. It was impossible to outguess him.
“I want you inside the house,” Cade said. “I don’t care how big of a fit she throws. I want you to be her shadow until the threat is gone. Tell her I’ve given you permission to jerk her into a safe house if she doesn’t cooperate.”
The sigh on the other end of the line would have made him laugh at any other time, because Darcy was a handful and everybody who’d ever spent five minutes in her company knew it. But the panic entrenched inside him was too deep, too clawing, and the need to get to Bayleigh pressed in on him until his chest felt like it was being crushed by cinder blocks. He sped in and out of traffic, hoping like hell he wasn’t too late to save her. The thought of anything happening to her was terrifying, and it brought back thoughts and feelings he’d buried a long time ago.
“I’ll owe you,” Cade said.
“We’re even, my friend. Keep Bayleigh safe,” he said. “And don’t do anything that will make me have to kill you later.”
Brant disconnected and Cade shook his head. Bayleigh would be pissed if she found out her brother was having her watched. It was the only way he would have known that Cade had inserted himself neatly into her life on such short notice.
He checked the rearview mirror again and didn’t see another tail, so he turned the truck onto a well-trafficked side street and left it parked there. He sent a quick text to Declan and put his phone in his back pocket. There was enough moon out to see once his eyes adjusted to the darkness, but not enough that he couldn’t hide himself in the shadows.
It was a half-mile hike through the treed area behind his house, and he was grateful there hadn’t been much rain lately so the creek was running low. His .9mm rested comfortably in his hand, and he blended in with the darkness as he came up on the back of his house. The lamps he’d left on in his living room glowed softly through the shades he’d pulled down before he left, but it wasn’t his house that had the hairs at the back of his neck standing on end.
Bayleigh’s house was cast in complete darkness. In the two weeks he’d been there, she consistently left her back porch light on and a couple of lamps switched on throughout the house. She also left the light over her kitchen sink on all the time. The house was never in complete darkness.
He edged out of the trees and into the open expanse of her backyard, his footsteps silent as he approached the open deck and arbor area. The tiniest sound to his left had him stopping, his ears pricked for the familiar sounds of the enemy. Unless they were trained as he had been, it was hard for a
person to stay completely still for long periods of time.
Carlos was playing a game, stringing him along until he was ready to move in for the kill. And he’d made Bayleigh a player, just because Cade had been too hot for her to keep his hands to himself. If Bayleigh was in the game, then he had no choice but to keep her close to him. For her own protection.
The sound came again and he had his gun pointed with his finger on the trigger before the target had the chance to duck for cover.
“Don’t move one fucking muscle,” he growled.
Chapter Eight
Bayleigh gasped as the dull sheen of the gun glinted in the moonlight, and she sunk to her chin in the hot tub, feeling a little too exposed in the tiny black bikini she wore. All she’d wanted was to soak away the day in peace and quiet, and neither of those words were ones she’d use in conjunction with Cade MacKenzie. She’d thought turning out all the lights and pretending like she wasn’t home would discourage him from seeking her out. She just needed time. But clearly her plan had failed.
After he’d left her earlier that morning, she’d done nothing but think about his touch all day, as if she were an addict waiting for her next fix. She’d never climaxed like that before—never even thought it possible to lose such complete control of mind and body. It was disturbing and arousing at the same time.
Cade had managed to strip away the layers she’d built over the last several years in a matter of minutes. If she was being honest with herself, he’d gotten to her in the first five minutes after they’d met.
That was her problem. Her pattern. She believed in the possibility of soulmates, in the happily-ever-after. And because of her childhood and the instability she’d had by not having a permanent home, she was constantly looking for the one person who could give her that happily-ever-after and the stability she craved.
Those thoughts had been swirling around her mind like the water cocooning her body when she’d felt another presence close by. She couldn’t hear or see anyone, but she definitely felt them. Her brothers had always told her to trust her first instinct because it was usually right. She hadn’t thought she’d made any noise, but screaming for help or running for cover was out of the question by the time she saw the weapon pointed in her direction. He’d been that silent. That quick. And obviously that deadly.