“Your sister, huh?” There was something very obviously twitchy about the bouncer’s manner now. Every bell and whistle in Romero’s head was going off, and beside him he could practically feel Cassidy’s radar going haywire as well. The bouncer threw his cigarette to the ground and squashed it underfoot. “You know how many girls go ‘missing’”—the guy actually used air quotes—“from this club every night? It’s always because they forgot to tell their friends who they went home with or where they’re shacking up. It’s voluntary, man.”
“Awesome.” Romero shrugged. “You still haven’t answered my question as to whether or not there’s a manager or something that I can talk to about that night.”
“No. You can talk to me.” The guy rolled his neck, making his joints pop and obviously believing this made him seem more intimidating.
Too bad for the bouncer that Romero could have taken him apart with one hand tied behind his back had he wanted to. The guy was muscular, but the way he moved suggested he did too much weight lifting and no cardio. He would have been winded after one swing of those meaty fists.
“So you’re the manager?” Romero knew very well that this meathead was not management material.
“I’m the—uh—shift manager.” Meathead was not very convincing.
“Good.” Romero moved a little closer, pushing into the man’s space and not caring if he made him uncomfortable. “So you can tell me more about these women that you say have been going missing.”
“What?” The guy’s eyebrows shot up. “I didn’t say that!”
“Yes. You said women go missing all the time.” Romero felt the urge to crack a smile. Beside him, he could actually feel Cassidy’s frustration with this whole process. She wasn’t going to last much longer. He needed info, and fast.
“No. I said women go home with guys and don’t tell their friends.” Meathead looked smug. “It’s not the same thing.”
“Sure it is.” Romero shrugged. “You’re just assuming that these women go home and are eventually found. What if they aren’t? What if they’re like my sister and they never show up at home? What if they’re lost for good and nobody knows where?”
“Huh?” The guy looked bewildered. “Why would that happen?”
It was becoming obvious that this bottom feeder knew something was up with the girls, but not that there was a bigger, longer game going on beneath the little he knew. Great. Romero had discovered cannon fodder.
“What about the containers?” Cassidy said in a clipped tone of voice. “Where are they?”
“How the hell am I supposed to know where they go?” The guy actually threw up his hands. The gesture made it seem like he was perilously close to the edge. “They show up on Fridays and leave on Sundays. That’s all I know.”
Okay, Romero had to give the woman credit. She knew how to slide one in there at the perfect time and get an answer. It was immediately obvious that Meathead knew very well that he’d just told them something he wasn’t supposed to.
The guy’s expression turned ugly. “Go on!” He waved them away. “You guys need to get out of here. I don’t know a damn thing. Nothing!”
Romero saw it coming. Perhaps he could have moved completely out of the way if he hadn’t been trying to protect Cassidy. She had crowded her way up onto the landing at the top of the stairs. When Meathead took a swing, Romero raised his forearm and deflected the blow instead of just ducking out of the way.
Cassidy squeaked in surprise. Romero saw her in his peripheral vision and was glad she had the sense to retreat. That would certainly make the rest of this ridiculous situation more manageable.
Meathead took exception to this rebuttal of the physical punishment he was attempting to dole out. He jabbed this time. Romero pivoted sideways. Meathead’s fist harmlessly stretched out parallel to Romero’s chest. He raised his own hand and chopped down. He caught Meathead’s elbow at just the perfect angle. The big man crumbled, actually going down on one knee. Romero cradled the back of Meathead’s fat head in his hands and bonked the guy’s nose against his knee.
That was all it took. The man went down like a ton of bricks and did not get up again. Romero used the toe of one boot to nudge Meathead and see if he was going to wake up and become an even bigger problem. Fortunately, nothing happened.
“Hey!” Another, larger version of Meathead was headed their way.
“Shit,” Romero muttered. This was apparently going to get a lot messier before they actually obtained any truly useful information about Rachel.
Chapter Four
Cassidy forced herself to get over the shock of watching Romero take out the giant-sized bouncer with apparent ease. They might have been dealing with a toddler for all the effort it took Romero. Of course, she had to remind herself that Romero was a SEAL. He knew how to handle himself. Not that it meant he needed to box with a bunch of bouncers from the club.
Just as Romero was squaring up to pound the next guy into oblivion, something moved in Cassidy’s peripheral vision. She tilted her head up and tried to better see whatever it was. To her surprise she saw a man hanging his head out of one of the second story windows.
She took a step back, craning her neck to get a better view. The man peeped one more time, as though his curiosity were getting the better of him. Cassidy gasped. It was the same guy who had led Rachel into the VIP area!
“Come on!” She grabbed Romero’s hand and started dragging him toward the alley. “We have to go!”
He turned, looking only momentarily confused. Something in her expression must have tipped him off, though, because he didn’t argue. Instead, he grabbed her hand and bolted toward the mouth of the alley to the left of the building, where the containers were conspicuously missing.
Behind them, the sound of lumbering footsteps pounding on the concrete was loud against the typical late afternoon drone of traffic. Romero took the lead once they reached the alley. He tugged her along in his wake, and she could hardly believe a man his size could run so damn fast. It was like being dragged behind a truck.
Though it appeared that they were running past a dumpster, at the last second Romero pivoted and took shelter behind it. He hung onto Cassidy. She swung out, and he levered her around as though she were nothing but a pendulum. She had so much momentum going that she would have smacked right into the back of the dumpster had he not caught her against his chest.
“Shh,” he hissed.
He wasn’t even breathing hard! She was panting as though she were going to die. He pressed her face against his chest to silence the ragged noise of her trying to catch her breath. Cassidy pressed both hands over her mouth and tried to be silent.
The footsteps slapped into the alley and then stopped well short of the dumpster. It was almost as if the guy didn’t want to be bothered with the physical exertion of figuring out where they went. What was up with that? Surely these men kept in good physical shape.
Romero seemed to wait forever to let her up. He kept his arms snug around her body as they crouched behind the stinky dumpster. The situation should not have been conducive to any sort of romantic interlude, and yet here she was thinking about how rock hard his abs were and how good he smelled. And how could she smell the clean scent of his skin over dumpster stench anyway?
“All right, I think we’re good,” he murmured.
Cassidy started to take a breath, but he rubbed the pad of his thumb across her lower lip and she completely forgot what she was going to say. It felt shockingly good. His thumb was calloused, but the roughness was a delightful contrast to her lip. She lifted her hand to touch her mouth. She could hardly even remember why they were in this alley to begin with.
“Would you care to tell me why we had to run away like that?” Romero whispered.
His breath brushed across the sensitive shell of her ear, and she felt her arms and legs break out in goose bumps. “Um, oh, yeah.” Where was her brain? “I saw the guy who led Rachel into the VIP room.”
“Where?” R
omero’s harsh whisper made it sound like a demand, but Cassidy had the feeling he wasn’t trying to be arrogant here. Time was an issue in this situation.
“He was peeking out of a second story window,” she admitted. “I looked up, and there he was.”
“Then we need to get inside.” He was staring at the steps sinking down into the concrete. “And we need to go up and not down.”
“What about the loading dock in back?” she suggested. “Or we could climb a fire escape?”
“That’s a good one,” he mused. “Do you do a lot of B & E in your spare time, Cassidy Cross?”
Why was she feeling the urge to preen? How silly. Instead she just cleared her throat and attempted to look normal. “No B & E, but I can pick a lock when I need to.”
“Really?” He raised an eyebrow. “That’s certainly a useful skill for a young lady to have.”
“I think my mother would disagree,” she said ruefully.
“I don’t think I ever asked,” he muttered. “What do you actually do for a living, Cassidy?”
“Oh, I’m a middle school teacher.”
“How did you ever meet Rachel?” His frown of consternation made her want to laugh.
“People always ask us that,” she explained. “All I can say is that Rachel went through the classes to become a substitute teacher. She never actually made it to the classroom, but she came and observed a few times. We hit it off, and the rest is pretty much history.”
There was an actual smile playing at the corners of his mouth.
“My goodness, Romero, you might actually break into a grin.” Without thinking, she brushed her index finger across his lips. The instant electrical surge made her gasp out loud.
Something red hot flared in Romero’s eyes. Cassidy’s belly tightened, everything below her waist catching fire as her arousal began to spiral into an inferno. How quickly he could make her forget herself!
ROMERO KNEW THIS was not the time for a romantic entanglement. Still, his body was having a tough time caring. That was real desire he saw in Cassidy’s eyes. He could see it for what it was. He didn’t pretend to understand what was happening between the two of them. All he knew was that when he touched her it was as though he were grabbing a live wire. But instead of the voltage stopping his heart, it made him feel more alive than he’d ever felt in his life.
Here they were, crouching behind a dumpster in an alley while searching for a missing girl, and the calm, cool SEAL was having fantasies about taking Cassidy home and stripping her naked. Great. Trapp was just going to love that. He’d laugh his ass off right before he handed Romero his.
“Fire escape it is,” Romero murmured. He had to get this mission back on track. There was no time to let his hormones start calling the shots.
“You lead, I’ll follow,” she suggested. “Wasn’t that the rule?”
Was she being sassy with him? Strange, but he liked it. Romero didn’t usually like sassy women. Maybe Cassidy was different because she didn’t seem disrespectful. She was just being sassy.
He took her hand, telling himself that it was just to keep her close and know where she was. For the sake of the mission. That was a straight up fib he was telling himself, but for the moment, it didn’t matter.
She nodded and gripped his hand even tighter. He zeroed in on the sounds and scents of the alley. It felt clear. With the dumpster at his back, he headed toward the far corner of the building near the opposite end of the alley. He could already see that the fire escape was hanging low here. It looked as if someone had already used this as an exit in just the last few days or so.
“I’m going to boost you up,” he told her. “Just keep climbing until you get to the top. Don’t worry about me, and don’t look down.”
“Yes, sir.” She gave him a snappy mock salute that was all wrong. He found himself smiling anyway. Mostly because it was cute and funny, and because he was apparently turning into a complete wuss.
She reached up for the lowest rung of the metal ladder. Romero grasped her around the waist and lifted. She weighed next to nothing, but he couldn’t help but admire the toned muscles in her midriff. Her hips fit perfectly in his hands. She grabbed onto the ladder, and he had to force himself to let go.
CASSIDY WONDERED WHAT happened when a woman was in a constant state of arousal for, say—hours. Or basically since Romero had walked onto the scene and announced he was going to help her find Rachel.
She pulled herself up onto the ladder, scrambling to get a foothold and keep her hands from slipping off the old bars. With her luck she’d wind up getting Tetanus or something. She was also trying not to be so disappointed that Romero had let go of her to let her climb. He obviously couldn’t just hang on while she moseyed up to the second floor of the building, but she’d loved the feel of his hands on her waist anyway.
Below her, she watched in fascinated admiration as Romero leaped from the ground to the lowest bar with apparent ease. His arms bulged beneath the sleeves of his T-shirt as he muscled his way up the first five rungs without even using his legs. The guy was hanging his entire bodyweight on his freaking bicep.
She had to forcefully resist the urge to wave her hand in front of her face. First, it would be silly. Second, she’d fall off the damn ladder. Ugh! She was being ridiculous!
Cassidy turned her attention back toward the climb. The building was old, and she could have sworn the fire escape was original equipment. It creaked and groaned beneath their weight. She felt a few of the rungs actually giving way and panicked a bit. She hurried, her feet slipping as she tried to get up to the landing as quick as possible.
“Cassidy,” Romero murmured. “Slow and easy. Just breathe.”
His voice soothed her, but it didn’t do a thing for the ladder. She reached for the next rung, and it snapped off in her hand. She struggled for a second to right herself using her left hand on the outside bar, but it was just too late. She windmilled her arm for a moment, desperately seeking a handhold.
She was going to fall. She’d flip over and land on her head. She would die. It was all over, and she didn’t even know what it was like to kiss Romero. But just as she started to fall, she felt a warm chest right behind her.
“I’ve got you,” he whispered in her ear. “Take hold of the next rung. There are only three more to go. You’ve got this.”
Courage bled into her veins, and she dragged herself up to the next bar. She could do this. It was going to be fine. Behind her, Romero was holding solely to the outside of the ladder, his arms bulging as he methodically kept the bulk of his weight off the rungs.
She reached the top at last, crawling onto the narrow landing and feeling as though she might cry now that she was safe. Lying on her back, she stared up at the sky and wondered why she was doing this.
Romero launched himself up onto the landing and squatted beside her. He took her hand and lifted her fingers to his lips. “You did great, Cassidy. That part is over.”
“Thank God,” she muttered. “Rachel had better damn well appreciate this.”
“If she doesn’t, I promise I’ll make it worth your while.”
Chapter Five
Had he completely lost his mind? What had that promise been about? Romero wanted to kick his own ass. This was not the time for some romantic interlude. They needed to get inside that building and find this mystery man. If he even existed.
Romero stood up, trying to refocus on the mission. Find Rachel. Then he held his hand out to Cassidy. That was a mistake. He pulled her to her feet, but he couldn’t make himself let go. It felt too good to hold her hand. Her fingers fit perfectly inside his. It was as if she had been made just for him.
She gained her feet, but he didn’t let go. He told himself that he was only hanging onto her because she looked a little shaky. In fact, she wobbled a little on her feet, throwing out her hands to keep her balance. Her palms landed flat against his chest, and her fingers curled against him.
Romero glanced down. Cassidy was looking
up. Her lashes were crazy long, her blue eyes brilliant in her pretty face. He watched her inhale. The tips of her breasts barely brushed against his shirt. It didn’t matter. Even with the fabric between them he could feel the heat of her. He’d never wanted another woman this badly before in his life.
“Thank you,” she whispered.
Her lips were incredible. They were full and looked very soft. He wanted to know if they were—soft, that is. And before he could talk some sense into his brain, he had lowered his mouth and taken hers in a long, slow kiss.
Romero groaned at the contact. Every pleasurable sensation he’d been experiencing since he had first met Cassidy Cross culminated in this one kiss. Her mouth molded to his, her lips pliable and sweet. She gave a little sigh. When her lips parted, he couldn’t resist. Romero gently slid his tongue inside her mouth and rubbed it lightly against hers, just a tease of what would come later. Unless his good sense took over and he stopped his foolishness before things got out of hand.
That thought was like a bucket of water thrown in his face. He drew back quickly. “I’m sorry. So sorry.”
“It’s okay,” she murmured. “I—well—I liked it.”
Her words did something to his insides, and he couldn’t have explained what it was. He felt buoyant. Or maybe it was like a feeling of invincibility. Whatever it was, Romero figured it was downright dangerous. The first thing a SEAL learned was how to test his limits and learn what they were.
“Let’s go,” Romero said gruffly. “We need to find your mystery man before he wanders off.”
CASSIDY WOULD HAVE responded to Romero’s request, but her brain was completely befuddled by his kiss. Nothing had ever felt so good or so right. Yet it seemed like Romero wasn’t really pleased by this. Was he disappointed in her?
She nodded at Romero, trying to get her mind back on the task at hand. This was about Rachel. Not about Cassidy’s deplorable track record with men. “I think I see a window right there.” She gestured to the far end of the fire escape landing.
“Let’s see if it’s locked.” He strode the short distance to the window and tried to lift it. The thing didn’t budge.
SEAL INVESTIGATIONS: A 5-Books SEAL Romance Series Page 3
