by Tina Donahue
“Lea.”
Forcing her eyes to open, she saw Toby’s face tight with lust, his orgasm only a lick away. Between her legs, Jake continued to enjoy her.
Lea’s body tensed at her approaching orgasm, relief edging close. She swirled her tongue around Toby’s cock. He trembled.
To the side, someone repeated, “Lea.”
She glanced at the faceless men in the chairs. One of them held a knife in his hand, its cruel blade glinting in the room’s muted light. At his feet lay something red and shiny.
Without warning, Toby’s words rumbled in Lea’s mind.
“He sliced off the face of one of his victims. A young woman. The daughter of his competitor. He cut out her brother’s heart. Cubrero won’t stop until you’re dead.”
No.
With a start, Lea awakened, her eyes unfocused, her dream evaporating, leaving behind overwhelming dread, along with a sense of longing and warmth. Bewildered, she looked from the windows to Toby, who was regarding her in the rearview mirror.
Jake’s attention was also on her.
An image rose in Lea’s mind of him spreading her legs, his tongue licking her slit. Joining it was a picture of Toby straddling her, the tip of his cock brushing her lips.
Heat born of pleasure curled through Lea, giving her a sense of well-being she’d rarely known. Working her tongue around her mouth, she inhaled deeply, then asked, “What?”
“I didn’t mean to frighten you,” Jake said, his expression intense as he studied her.
“He was just trying to wake you up,” Toby offered. “You were really out of it, sleeping through the accident.”
She frowned. “What accident?”
“Happened a few minutes ago,” Jake said, his thumb stroking her biceps.
Lea’s skin tingled. Looking down, she saw that Toby’s jacket had fallen to her lap.
Making no move to lift it, Jake continued, “One of the fools who’d been speeding clipped a vehicle as he tried to pass. It didn’t look bad. Toby called 9-1-1.”
Lea nodded even as something nagged at the corner of her mind, snatches from her dream. A car honking. Tires screeching. Men sounding as if they were arguing. Had Jake wanted to stop and render assistance? Had Toby warned against it because of her?
Cubrero won’t stop until you’re dead.
Jake squeezed her arm. “Hey, you all right?”
No, she wasn’t. Not even close. Impossible need gripped Lea. She wanted to move into his and Toby’s embrace, her body melting against theirs. At least until they left her, and they would. No more than strangers, they were simply doing their jobs and would protect her for only a few more days. Frustrated and saddened, she asked, “Why did you want to wake me?” Did he have more bad news to tell?
He regarded her for a moment before answering. “We’re at the safe location.”
Not expecting that, Lea noticed that Toby had slowed the SUV considerably as it moved up a narrow road that looked to be private. Glancing at the front window, then out both sides, she saw heavy vegetation illuminated by the headlights.
A sense of foreboding shrouded Lea. She had no more than a few days here with them and then she’d be going somewhere distant and unknown.
As though Jake sensed her concern, he squeezed her arm again. She looked down at his hand, then up as they reached the top of the drive. The vehicle rolled to a stop in front of an extravagant wrought iron gate attached to a fence built of stone.
Beyond it towered a two-story structure, the vehicle’s lights showing it to be of Southwestern design with rounded posts decorating the top of its façade. The massive front doors were of colored glass in bright greens, reds, yellows, depicting a geometric design seen in Native American cultures.
Lifting his hand to the sun visor, Toby pressed a small rectangular device. With a faint creaking sound, the metal gates swung open. Simultaneously, lights flicked on inside the building, blazing from the numerous windows.
Lea stared.
Without comment, Jake removed his hand from her arm, while Toby directed the SUV toward the brilliantly colored front doors.
Chapter Four
Impatience ate at him, as did anger, but Cubrero refused to yield to either emotion. Now was the time to think, not react. To learn all that he could about his prey.
With his hands protected by latex gloves, he moved unhurriedly through the modest apartment, glancing at personal items…a bouquet of dried flowers that smelled of dust, clipped grocery coupons, a gaudy trophy that blocked several pictures on the unstable metal bookcase. Putting the award on the floor, he regarded the photographs, pausing on one of Lea Baptista. In the shot, she’d narrowed her eyes against the potent sun, her arm slung around the shoulder of her friend…the woman who’d danced as SiNN tonight.
What was her name? She’d given it to him at the club.
Gaze turned inward, Cubrero struggled to remember. Was it Deborah? No. Diana? His frown deepened. It began with the letter D, of that he was certain. Other names flashed in his mind, with one jumping out.
Danielle. That was it. Hearing her say it in his mind, he glanced over.
At the end of the brief hall, Danielle’s calves were visible, the soles of her feet showing that she was lying face down on the carpet near her mussed bed. Once inside the room, one would see her opened eyes staring into eternity.
It had been such an easy matter to break her neck. She’d died instantly, without a sound, making no fuss, not alerting or alarming the neighbors. An easy kill that no one would ever attribute to him. No one saw them leave the club together, he’d made certain of it. When they’d arrived here so she could change into something appropriate for dinner, the parking lot was empty of people, the lights of the other apartments off.
Yes, an easy kill, and far less trouble than having to appear interested as Danielle had talked about herself when he’d wanted her to tell him about Lea. When her name finally came up, he’d asked, “Is this Lea a friend of yours?”
Danielle’s lovely face glowed with affection. “Since we met in foster care. I’d do anything for her. I took her last performance of the night.”
He pretended surprise. “You weren’t supposed to dance as SiNN?”
“No, I’m LuST.” She smiled broadly, showing her dimples. “Pretty much the same thing, you know?”
His chuckle told her he did, encouraging her to relax even further.
Moving into him, Danielle trailed her fingers over his neck. He responded with a deep breath, sensing she’d like that.
She murmured, “Are you sorry I took her place?” Her leg moved between his, the top of her thigh nudging his groin, gauging his response to her.
His erection was immediate and impressive at the pictures playing in his mind—her beneath him, moaning in delight before gasping in shock and pain. Turning his face into her hand, he licked the side of her thumb, then answered her question. “I would have been disappointed if you hadn’t. Lucky for us she had a hot date.”
Danielle rested her free hand on the knot of his tie, her fingers stroking it. “Only with her textbooks.”
He slipped his arm around her waist, pulling her into his stiffened cock. “She left early for schoolwork, not a man?”
“She’s dedicated to what she wants. So am I.” She brushed her lips over his throat, her breath warming his skin.
Feeling nothing, he moaned as though she aroused him, then murmured, “I’m grateful you’re not her, since she doesn’t like men.”
“I didn’t say that.” She licked his neck and nibbled his earlobe, sighing deeply at his rough groan. “She did mention two guys at her last show tonight. She was definitely interested in them.”
“Lucky men,” Cubrero said as his thoughts raced, recalling when Lea had caught him watching her.
She hadn’t looked interested. She’d seemed surprised at his unexpected scrutiny. So who were these men? Had she lied about schoolwork and left with them instead? “I’m certain she won’t be studying all
night.”
“Good for her if she doesn’t.”
“I agree.” Lifting his hands to Danielle’s head, sinking his fingers into her thick mane, he brushed his mouth over hers.
On a whimpering sigh, Danielle parted her lips to his. Filling her with his tongue, Cubrero kissed her deeply, with passion generated by revenge rather than lust. Not understanding the difference, she yielded without pause, forgetting about dinner, inviting him to her bed.
As she undressed, he did not, trying to get more out of her about the men Lea had found interesting. Offering nothing of value, she finally frowned, as though suspicious of his questions. He responded with a smile. It brought quick alarm to her eyes. Before she could do anything about it, she was dead.
Replacing the picture on the metal stand, he went to the desk in the corner of the room and rifled through its drawers. Within minutes, he had Lea’s address, but little else. He checked Danielle’s cellphone to see if Lea had called or texted.
She had not.
Tempering his irritation, he located Lea’s number, punched the correct key and waited through five rings. At last they broke off, replaced by a bit of static.
“Danielle?” a female asked. Lea.
Delight brought a quick smile to Cubrero’s face. He said nothing, listening instead to what sounded like someone slamming a car door, then a deep male voice asking, “What are you doing?”
“Talking to my— Hey!” Lea cried.
There was a series of clicks as the call cut off.
Cubrero’s mind raced, returning to what Danielle had told him about Lea’s attraction to two men in the audience.
Clearly, she’d left with them. They weren’t ordinary admirers who wanted to sleep with her, but men who had enough power to ask what she was doing and take her phone, disconnecting the call.
Police would do that. Or the feds.
Cubrero’s body shook with savage rage. He squeezed the phone so tightly, the plastic snapped. Resisting the urge to hurl it across the room and make any undue noise, he placed the device on Danielle’s desk, then stepped back to consider this unexpected turn of events.
Lea was no longer alone. She might be in police custody…or with U.S. Marshals. Already they’d taken her mother from his grasp. No doubt the woman had told them about Lea.
Fuck.
With his hands gripping the back of a chair, he forced himself to breathe as deeply as he could, refusing to give up. Manuel Morales’ testimony had taken his father from him when he was only a boy, giving Cubrero no choice except to bide his time, to wait too many years to learn the traitor’s location. Weeks ago, he finally had. Days before, he’d tortured Morales, making him pay for his treachery with his life. For his sins, his wife would also pay. The same as his daughter.
Cubrero would find them both, proving to his subordinates that he was without remorse or mercy, never forgetting a betrayal. And that dealing with the devil would be easier and far kinder than having to face him.
Lea glared at Jake.
He stood outside the building’s front doors, the panes of glass bleeding brighter colors onto his coppery complexion and black clothing. Coolish wind lifted his hair, sending it in all directions, making him seem as untamed as their surroundings. The noise of boisterous insects and rushing water sounded from within the vegetation around them, so dense and dark it appeared the stuff of nightmares.
Neither it nor Jake cowed Lea. Her shoulders tightened. “Give it back to me,” she ordered, extending her hand for her cellphone. She needed to speak to Danielle, to tell her friend where she was, what had happened and that, no matter what, they’d be together again.
Ignoring her, Jake slipped the instrument into his jeans’ front pocket.
Lea couldn’t believe it. What in the hell did he think he was doing? She wasn’t a prisoner. Had he somehow forgotten she was the freaking victim?
From behind, Toby approached, his shoes slapping the stone walkway.
Jake didn’t bother to look at his partner. Nor did Lea. A gust of wind blew her ponytail into her neck. She clawed it away. “I want my damn phone.”
“Did you listen to nothing we’ve said?” Jake shot right back.
“Apparently not,” Toby said. “Didn’t I say she needed to know what we were up against? Didn’t I try to tell you that?”
Jake looked like he wanted to slug him. “I get it, all right?”
“As long as you do.”
Lea spoke through her teeth to them. “Danielle’s my best friend. She dances at The Second Circle. She took my last act tonight. I was just going to—”
“No calls,” Jake ordered.
Lea’s body bristled. She advanced until the tips of her running shoes nearly touched his boots. He didn’t budge. Given his size, he wasn’t intimidated or moved to do what she wanted.
Breathing hard, Lea tried to reason, “I have to let her know I’m all right. She’s my best friend.”
“Former friend,” Toby said, his words cutting through the night’s noise.
“You can’t contact her ever again,” Jake explained. “You can’t contact anyone you used to know, Lea. They could lead Cubrero to you. That’s the way this works.”
Lightheaded, Lea thought of Danielle, the sole constant in her life, the only genuine love she’d had all these years.
“We’re never gonna stop being friends,” Danielle had said when they were only nine.
She’d made Lea promise that if the system ever separated them, they’d find each other and would run away, hiding out until they were adults and could do whatever they wanted. A childish plan that had kept Lea going until they’d reached eighteen. After that, she didn’t think she had anything to worry about. She and Danielle would never be apart.
Only now, Jake and Toby were saying she wouldn’t be able to tell Danielle any of this? She was just supposed to disappear without a trace with no one hearing from her again? What in the hell did they think Danielle would do? Lea knew the young woman would be sick with worry over what might have happened. She’d never believe that Lea had simply abandoned her as so many others had.
“She’ll be looking for me,” Lea argued, needing them to understand. “She won’t accept the fact that I’m simply gone. She’ll go to the police.”
“We know,” Jake said. “They’ll give her the cover story we’ve prepared for whoever’s asking about you.”
Lea couldn’t believe it. This insanity had already gone that far without her even knowing about it or being able to stop it? A wave of dizziness swept over her again. She locked her knees to keep standing. “Which is?”
Toby shook his head. “We can’t say.”
Jake spoke softly. “Sorry.”
Was he serious? Did he believe his apology made it all better or would stop Danielle? They clearly didn’t know her. “You obviously don’t get it. She’ll never accept what they say. She’ll never stop looking for me.”
“Lea, she will,” Jake said. “And it’s for the best. You don’t want Danielle putting herself into danger, do you?”
The thought brought bile to her throat. She recalled what Toby had said about Cubrero slicing off the face of one of his victims. A young woman.
Oh God, no. Lea shivered so violently her teeth rattled. “Promise me she’ll be safe.” She fisted her fingers into Jake’s shirt. “You can’t let anything happen to her.”
“It won’t…as long as you do what we say.”
She had no choice. Lea knew that now. On a hard swallow, she lowered her head, more defeated than she’d been in all her years of foster care, her endless nights waiting futilely for her mother. Would she ever see her again?
Unbearably weary, craving comfort, Lea leaned against Jake, resting her cheek on his shoulder.
“Open the door,” he ordered Toby, his chest rumbling with his words. “Let’s get her inside.”
So they could do what? Make more plans for her future that would begin in a few short days? The enormity of what she faced slammed
into Lea, a mixture of dread and sorrow causing her to shudder.
Wrapping his arm around her shoulders, Jake held her tightly to him. “Come on,” he said, “it’s getting cold out here.”
Was it? She’d barely noticed. Unable to help herself, Lea lifted her face and asked, “Where’s out here?”
How far was she from the life she’d made, her only friend, her schoolwork and future? How many miles or states, people and occupations did she still have to go?
A touch of sadness softened Jake’s features. He murmured, “A place where you’ll be safe.”
He wasn’t going to tell her.
Lea sighed. So did he, his breath brushing her forehead, its scent sweet and clean. His warmth and strength soothed, reducing the sting of his words.
“Don’t leave me,” she asked. Not tonight. Not until he and Toby had no other choice.
Understanding sparked in Jake’s expression, along with male need he seemed unable to resist. Tightening his arm around her shoulders, he drew her nearer, keeping her close.
Toby exhaled loudly, his disapproval of Jake holding her all too apparent.
Beneath his censure, Lea caught Toby’s sympathy for her situation, along with renewed longing. She may have been his charge, but she was also a woman he wanted, no different from Jake.
Lea lifted her hand to urge Toby closer, craving both men tonight, wanting their presence and desire to give her a sense of being safe, cherished, no matter how brief it might last. It was all that she had.
Toby didn’t see her invitation. Already he’d turned, opening the door, leading the way inside.
Lea lowered her hand and entered the building with Jake, her body snug against his as though they were on a date, not a mission to flee a madman.
Flooded with light, the front room boasted a wooden ceiling that was probably thirty feet high and smelled faintly of pine. A fireplace constructed of stone stretched the length of the wall. Circling its hearth were burgundy leather sofas and chairs, comfortable and inviting. Chandeliers of what appeared to be antlers hung in various parts of the room. Their lights’ soft amber glow rained down on the rustic tables, iron artwork on the walls and the gleaming hardwood floors.
