Tijuana Nights (The Nights Series Book 1)

by Leigh K. Hunt

  "Tell me, what line of work is your brother in?"

  I had to think of the answer for a second. "Mergers and acquisitions, mainly. He’s working with some companies here while they expand. That's why we were at the ball the other night. I think Davin and Lucero are trying to get some political influencers on-board with them."

  Alvarez chuckled. "Aren't we all," he said, taking a sip of wine, amusement dancing in his eyes.

  "So, now that you know all about me - what about you?" I asked. "What sort of work do you do?"

  "I have a security company," he said simply.

  "Yeah?"

  He nodded. "I provide security to all sorts of people. Dignitaries, politicians, and so on. Anyone who wants to pay me."

  "Do you do it all by yourself?"

  He laughed. "No, no, Ciara. I have a large team that work for me. Surely you have noticed how dangerous Mexico is while you have been here?"

  I nodded. "Sort of. I haven't been exposed too much since I've been here, but I hear and read things through the news."

  "And yet you chose to come here," he said good naturedly.

  The more I looked at Alvarez, with his laughing eyes, the harder time I had believing he was a member of the El Diablo Cartel. He just seemed so genuine and real. He wasn't pretentious at all like Javier was. He didn't seem power hungry or money driven. And he lived in modest but nice surroundings. He just didn't fit the profile.

  "Do you mind if I have a cigarette?" I asked, pointing out to the garden.

  He shook his head. "Not at all. Come." He walked over to the French doors. "Enjoy my little piece of paradise."

  As I lit a cigarette, I peered out towards the garden and lowered my sunglasses over my eyes. I didn't want Alvarez following my line of sight as I looked in the branches of the trees, wondering where Chase was.

  I couldn't see him. Alvarez was still talking to me about the garden, and how his mother planted most of it. He liked to keep the garden in the same condition she always left it in, with the plants she loved.

  "I'm not exactly... how do you say it? Green handed?"

  "Fingered. Green-fingered," I clarified with a giggle.

  He laughed. "That too."

  "Guess you really love your mother then, huh?"

  He nodded. "Of course. Everyone loves their mother. But mine passed on some years ago. Now I celebrate her life with a garden she loved."

  See, now after a statement like that, I was actually questioning whether or not this guy had enough badness in his heart to even consider joining a cartel. Maybe he was just on Regina's security detail, or maybe he was at the ball protecting someone. Maybe… just maybe... we had the wrong Intel on this guy. He was too genuine and kind hearted.

  "Well it's a beautiful celebration," I admired.

  Alvarez turned to me, smiling. "Are you able to stay for dinner, Ciara?"

  I swallowed, and looked shyly up at him. "Yes?" I found a place to stub my cigarette out without making too much of a mess since he was so proud of his garden and all. "I guess so. I'm not exactly expected home any time soon. Both Lucero and Davin are meeting with people."

  Alvarez clapped his hands together. "Wonderful."

  I followed him inside to his kitchen, where I put my half-empty wine glass on the counter. I perched on a barstool, while he used an intercom. He was speaking in fast Spanish, but I heard my name mentioned.

  When he finished, he walked across and leaned on the counter. "Are you hungry now?"

  I shrugged. "Yes, I guess so. It's been a long day." Damn right it had. Starting with a ridiculously early wakeup call from Chase wanting to go for a swim. I rubbed the back of my neck, only just realising how tired I actually was.

  Alvarez looked at me with sympathy in his eyes. “Tell you what,” he said as he walked around the counter. “Why don’t you go and relax in the lounge—” He picked up my glass of wine— “and dinner will be here shortly. We can dance later.”

  I paused. “Here shortly?”

  He laughed. “I don’t cook much. I don’t have the time, so I have someone here who cooks for me.”

  “Here in the house?”

  He shook his head. “No – there is a cottage out the back where they live. It’s just you and me here.”

  And Chase… somewhere out in the trees apparently. I sighed as I considered Alvarez’ offer. Relaxing actually sounded pretty good. I gave him my hand, and got off the barstool. “Relaxing and dinner sounds lovely.”

  He led me through to his living room, where an enormous sixty-odd inch TV was mounted on the wall. Leather sofas with chaises sat in front of it, and the large bar was surrounded by an extensive DVD collection on the back wall. This was most definitely a man-pad. I walked over to the DVD collection, and brushed my fingers along the spines as he stood back and watched me. A load of them were in Spanish, but there were a few blockbusters in English.

  "You like films?"

  I nodded. "Yeah. I love them. Stories I can experience in a couple of hours."

  He turned on the TV to show a range of video camera shots of the house and surrounding areas. I pushed down my panic, thinking of Chase. "Gosh," I choked out. "That's a lot of cameras."

  Alvarez smiled over at me. "Yes, Well, I am in the security business, and my home is my testing place." He changed the channel, and an old black and white movie came on. He patted the leather upholstery. "Come sit down." I did as I was told, and he handed me the remote. "Just make yourself at home. I'll be back shortly - just going to check on dinner."

  He left me in front of the TV. Something told me that if he had cameras everywhere outside, he probably had them inside as well. I didn't want to look around though, just in case I spotted one. It was better that I acted completely normal. I didn't even want to check my phone, just in case there was a message on there. I knew how effective Gabe's cameras were, and how he could zoom in on the minutest detail.

  I unexpectedly remembered the brooch I was wearing and gently fingered it; but again, I knew that it would probably look weird to someone if I suddenly started talking to it. Instead I left it alone, and examined the remote. I pressed down a channel, and a movie was playing that I recognised: The Sound of Music. I took a sip of my wine, and settled back into the sofa, listening to Maria sing her heart out on a hilltop with a bunch of children.

  I suddenly woke up, fumbling around for my phone. Someone had covered me in a blanket. The room was dark, and it took a few moments for me to orientate myself. I was still in Alvarez's living room.

  "Holy shit," I muttered. I found my phone tucked into my bra where I had last left it, and looked at the time. "Fuck," I swore. I had been asleep for hours. I suddenly wondered why Chase hadn't come and got me out already. One of my shoes had fallen to the floor during my slumber, and I fumbled as I put it on.

  I could hear voices and I froze. I looked over to the double sliding doors, and could see light shining under from the kitchen. My heart raced. I had no idea who was there. I didn't know what to do. I questioned whether I should sneak out or not, but then changed my mind. It would be too suspicious if I did.

  I put my head in my hands, and thanked my lucky stars that I always pinned my wigs nice and securely to my head. I brushed the hair a bit through my fingers, and tried to make myself look at least a little bit presentable. My dress was slightly skewed when I stood up, and I straightened that out before I crept across the plush carpets towards the double sliding doors.

  Two male voices were behind the door, one I recognised. Unfortunately, they weren't speaking in English, so I could hardly understand a thing they were saying.

  I really didn't want to open the doors and be exposed to god knew what. So I crossed back to the other side of the room, and hissed into the brooch. "Get me out of here." I just had to hope and pray that they would be listening at the other end of it. "It's now or never," I murmured to myself in the dark.

  I crossed the room noisily, and when I had almost reached the doors, I heard the conversation stop on t
he other side. I slid the doors open, blinking in the bright light.

  "Ciara," Alvarez said warmly.

  I took in the sight of him, half undressed, with only a plush white towel wrapped around his waist. The first thing I noticed was that the man was incredibly well built. The second thing was that there were extensive tattoos covered one side of his body, all the way from below his navel up to his left pec. His hair was damp, so I made an educated guess that either he had been for a shower or a swim. Another man was sitting at the counter with his back turned to me. Two beers were open between them.

  Alvarez gestured me into the room. "Come in, come in," he smiled. "This is my friend Jose." He gestured.

  I smiled, and held out my hand. As the man looked up at me standing there, I suddenly recognised him. I had just come face to face with Alicio Mendoza.

  13

  Alicio looked at me and took my hand. I tried to settle my raging thoughts into a sea of calmness, but it was hard to do that when I was holding the hand of a killer who disposed of bodies in vats of acid.

  "Nice to meet you," I said. I could hear the tremor in my voice, but he didn't show any signs of hearing it.

  "You too," he said in thick English.

  Just then, my phone rang, and I fished it out of my bra, much to Alvarez's amusement.

  "Hello?"

  "Ciara," River's voice came down the phone. Relief swept through me.

  "Hi." I said tightly.

  "Where are you?" I could tell he was asking me this just in case they could hear my conversation.

  "I'm still at Alvarez's place." I chewed on my lip. "I'll head home soon."

  Alvarez was watching me, but Alicio was ignoring me, and slugging back his beer.

  "Make sure you are," River answered. "We have an early start in the morning."

  "See you soon." I hung up the phone, and smiled with a shrug at Alvarez. "I guess we have to postpone our dancing lesson to another day, then?"

  He shrugged, and looked down at his beer. "Yes, we'll do that." He looked forlorn, and I felt sorry for him until I remembered that Alicio Mendoza was sitting across from him.

  Alvarez picked up my purse from the counter and handed it to me. As he lifted his arm, I saw something I recognised inked on him. It was another panther, almost identical to the one on Nicandro's body. I paused, and Alvarez saw me looking at him.

  "Sorry," I muttered, embarrassed.

  Alvarez laughed. "No, no, look all you like."

  "It's just..." I semi-stuttered, whilst trying to compose myself. "The work you’ve had done... it's very tasteful." I wasn't lying when I said it. I'm not a big fan of tattoos, but a lot of his looked like they were from the Aztec culture. That appealed to my historian side. I was curious.

  He shrugged, still amused by me. "One day I'll tell you what it all means."

  I grinned. "Deal." I opened up my purse and dropped my phone inside. "I'll call you?"

  "Please." He smiled.

  If it weren't for the fact that he had a cold-blooded killer sitting in his kitchen, I would have thought he was one of the nicest men I'd ever met.

  He touched my elbow. "I'll walk you out." But he wasn't looking at me when he said it - he was looking at Mendoza. I saw a sort of fierceness in his eyes that I had never seen before. It was almost as if he were protective if me.

  "Thanks." I turned to Alicio. "Nice to meet you, Jose."

  His eyes met mine, and he gave me a slow smile that crept down my body with appreciation. Before he could say anything, Alvarez was shuffling me out the door.

  "Sorry about my friend..." Alvarez said quietly when we stepped into the night air and out of earshot. "He doesn't get out much."

  I smiled up at Alvarez. "And I'm sorry for falling asleep on you," I said changing the subject. "It can't have been much fun."

  He shrugged. "No bother. You obviously needed it." He moved closer to me, leant over and kissed me gently on the cheek.

  I froze. "I did," I whispered. I was faced with his pecs.

  And then he lifted my chin so that I looked him straight in the eyes, and kissed me again, his lips crushing mine. There was absolutely no doubt in my mind what he wanted. I pulled away from him and shook my head. "I'm sorry. I better go."

  I started walking towards the gate.

  "Ciara," he called out.

  I turned to look at him standing there, bathed in moonlight. "Yeah?"

  "Please take care of yourself."

  I nodded. "Of course." I laughed lightly, and gave him a little wave. "I'll call you."

  I pressed the gate release button, and closed it behind me. I walked down the road to the parked Dodge Charger, unlocked it with the set of keys Chase had given me, and climbed behind the driver's wheel. I knew that Alvarez would probably have his cameras trained on the car, so I started the engine with a press of the button, did a U-turn, and started driving down the road. Five hundred yards down the road, a shadow leapt down from a wall, and ran out across the road in front of me.

  I recognised Chase, and slowed the car down while unlocking the doors. He hopped into the passenger seat beside me.

  “Alicio Mendoza,” I said as soon as he closed the door. “He was there. In Alvarez’s house.”

  “Yeah, I know. I saw him. That was why I couldn’t take Alvarez out. There were a heck of a lot more people from the cartel on that property as well. Seems that Alvarez has a few people living there with him.”

  I shook my head. “But I didn’t see anyone else. Are you sure?”

  “Positive, Mack. I was up a tree. You fell asleep. People came and went while you were out to it. Alicio came from the other house on the property. Obviously, this is where he has been hiding out since he got here, which explains why we couldn’t find him.”

  “He scared me… there was just… I dunno. Something about him. He’s not like Alvarez who is charming. He’s dark.” My voice was quiet. I looked over at him, and groaned. Chase looked exhausted. "Oh god, Chase, I'm sorry. You must have been stuck up that tree for ages."

  "It doesn't matter." He brushed my comment off. "You're fine, I'm fine, everyone's fine."

  "Yeah," I agreed. "Everyone's fine." I leant over, rifling around for my purse. All I succeeded in doing though was grabbing at Chase's leg.

  "Settle down, Tiger." He laughed. "If you want me that bad, you should have started a little higher up."

  I blushed in the darkness of the car. "I was trying to find my purse," I responded through gritted teeth. "Stop being so bloody presumptuous."

  "No harm in trying." He chuckled as he handed me a cigarette and the lighter from my purse.

  I lit it, and wound the window down. "Don't you mind me smoking in your car?"

  He shrugged. "There are times when I have to smoke while on the job. So, no, not really."

  "And here I was thinking it was because you liked me," I joked.

  Silence met me from the passenger seat, and I looked over at him. His expression was unreadable.

  "Pull over," he said quietly.

  I pulled the car over, thinking that he wanted to drive or something. I undid my seatbelt, but he grabbed my arm.

  "Mack." He switched the light on overhead, and turned my chin so that I was facing him. His eyes searched mine. "I do like you." His voice was a whisper. "Very much."

  I pulled back from him, and took a puff from the cigarette in my hand. I blew the smoke out slowly, but my heart raced.

  "Shit," he muttered. Then he reached for my brooch, and fiddled with the back of it for a second. "There," he muttered. "It's off. Jesus." He sighed, shaking his head. "There's never any bloody privacy in this line of work."

  I pointed at the brooch, and then looked at Chase. "They were listening?"

  He shrugged. "Who knows. Possibly." He licked his lips, and turned back towards me. "So… have you got anything to say?"

  I shook my head slowly. "Not really." I was too sober for this conversation. I was better having chats like this once I’d had a few glasses of wi
ne. "No..."

  "Well, let me tell you something then. I haven't had a relationship... not a real one anyway," he corrected, "not for six years. But when you came along I started to see a different sort of future."

  I looked at him in surprise. "What?"

  He sighed, running his hands through his hair. "I told you, Mack, I saw something unique in you. You may not see it, but you are genuine, kind-hearted, determined, bold, and yet you've just been fucked over by your Ex so your confidence is shot to hell."

  I pursed my lips, refused to look at him, and stared dead ahead. He was right. My confidence was shot to hell. I didn’t know if it had ever really been there. It all seemed like a façade while I was with Luke.

  He linked his fingers through those of my free hand.

  "But you were such an arse when we first met... and then when we got out here, you were an even bigger arsehole. What the hell was that about?" I asked.

  He sighed. "I'm always like that. I'm sorry… I treat people…” He paused. “I don’t know. I guess I throw up barriers with people until I get to know them."

  I shook my head, and threw my cigarette out the window. Then I turned to him. Something inside me flip-flopped when his gaze met mine. "You were so cold and arrogant… it was such a change when you finally started talking to me normally.” I shrugged. “I just don't know what to make of you, Chase."

  "Why?"

  I shrugged and let go of his hand. "I think we have a connection, but I don't know if that's enough. Besides, I could be dead in a week. We just don't know."

  He shook his head. "No you won't. You know how I know?"

  I just looked at him.

  "Because," he continued, "You have one of the best assassination teams in the world behind you, and we won't let you get hurt."

  I shook my head. "You can't guarantee that."

  He took a deep breath and paused. "I don't have a problem tracking her down and killing her now if you like. But River thinks you should do it yourself." He reached for my hand again, and I let him take it. "And you know what? I think he's right. You’ll never have inner peace unless you do it yourself."