They did, giving him all of it.
“You should know,” Byron said, “there’s been an increase in communications between the cartels and the U.S., especially the Gulf cartels, to all their suspected regional centers, not just Texas. We don’t know yet what it means.”
Whatever it was couldn’t be good.
“Niki,” Byron asked. “Do you think Garcia will stop now that we know he’s there?”
“No,” Niki said. “That’s what today was all about, he wants us to know he’s here and who the target is. He wanted me to see him, to try to stop him. It’s personal now because his pride is involved. He wants to beat us, and he wants to make his mark in the U.S.”
She was suddenly ravenous and reached for one of the boxes, beef and broccoli, eating it with the fingers of one hand, licking the sauce off her fingers as she drew her laptop across the table toward her with the other.
It was strangely erotic to watch. Ty had to admire her resilience, her incredible ability to bounce back. Half an hour before, she’d lost her lunch…although that explained why she might be starving now.
“Do you have a guess yet how he’ll do it?”
“It’ll be public and soon,” she said, pulling up the Attorney General’s schedule so everyone could see. She let out a breath as she scanned it. “And now I’ve got a good idea when and where.”
She pointed at the display.
It was oddly ironic. There was a strange synchronicity to it. She’d even tossed it out as a suggestion in their first meeting with Graham. She met each of their eyes, Ty’s, Buck’s, Jake, and the rest of the team.
“They’re giving out awards for the statewide DARE program, Byron,” Ty said grimly, “in three days.”
“It couldn’t be better,” Niki said. “Point and counterpoint. An anti-drug crusade, and the A.G. killed by a cartel hit man. It couldn’t be more pointed.”
“A bomb?” Buck asked. It was clear that just the thought of a bomb going off in a room full of kids and cops disturbed him. He shuddered. “I don’t even want to consider that.”
Niki shook her head. “No, not his M.O. and too many indirect casualties, he’ll want everyone to know who the target was.”
“At least we know what he looks like now,” Brad said.
Niki laughed dryly. “I thought so, too. He still stabbed me three times and left me standing there in a public square, dying, while he walked away.”
The words were shocking and intended to be. Everyone went quiet.
“Don’t make the mistake of underestimating him,” Ty said, giving Brad a cautioning look.
Brad sobered.
“Not to mention he could come disguised as almost anyone,” Niki added.
“So,” Byron said. “What’s the plan now?”
Ty said, “Niki thinks she’s found a possible site of one of the distribution centers. We’re going to make contact with the local sheriff and check it out. If it is, he’s a target like the others. In the meantime, we’ll scope out the convention center for sight lines. We’ll also check out other likely venues as well.”
“All right, keep me informed, Ty.”
“Will do, Byron,” Ty said.
Byron hung up.
With a sigh, Ty looked at the schedule on Niki’s laptop.
“Buck, Jake,” he said, “I want you with us while we visit the sheriff. Mitch, take the team and scout out these other locations. Civilian clothing. With luck, Garcia doesn’t know you, but keep your heads up.”
“You’ve got it, Ty,” Mitch said as the others nodded.
“Okay then,” Ty said. “Let’s call it a night.”
Most of the guys wanted to watch last innings of the game, but Niki was too restless, too edgy to settle. Wrapped up in the game, they didn’t notice when she slipped away in the middle of an intense play.
At least most of them didn’t.
Ty was just there. She glanced back toward the main room and found him following her.
“Ty,” she said, softly.
The look in her eyes was all the invitation Ty needed.
“Good night,” he called over his shoulder to the others, but his eyes were on her.
If Niki dreamed about what had happened that day in Prague tonight he intended to make certain she wouldn’t dream much. And she wouldn’t wake up alone, either.
Neither would he.
The door of her room whispered shut behind them as Ty carefully drew the glasses from her face and tossed them away. Darkness surrounded them as he drew her gently into his arms, brushed the hair back from her face with his hands. The only illumination was the thin light that filtered beneath the door. It was enough to see what he needed.
Niki needed the feel of him beneath her hands, the life of him, the warm, smooth feel of his skin, the scent of him, with an intensity that was nearly shattering.
There were no words. None were needed.
She laid her cheek against his chest, listening to his heartbeat with her arms around his waist, sliding her hands up his back.
Tipping her head back, she looked up into his eyes, shadowed in the darkness.
“I need to touch you,” she said, tugging gently at his shirt until it came free of his jeans. “I need to feel your skin.”
It was so warm, so smooth beneath her hands and she needed that contact desperately.
Ty looked down into her eyes. His body tightened at the look in them as her hands slipped beneath his shirt, skimmed over his skin. Her eyes closed and her lips parted on a soft sigh. Heat rushed through him at her touch.
Cupping her cheek, he said, “We’re not in a rush, there’s no hurry. We have all night.”
Her eyes fluttered open and she looked up at him, her mouth soft.
“Is this a good idea?” she said and glanced toward the door.
More heat rushed through him as he lowered his mouth to hers to take it.
“Do you think any of them will mind?”
Buck certainly wouldn’t, he knew. It was a fair guess Mitch wouldn’t either.
Niki shook her head.
“Please?” she said, reaching for the buttons of his shirt.
In answer, Ty settled his hands on her waist and let her do it. He watched as she unbuttoned each button slowly. A small smile of pleasure curved her lips as she spread his shirt open as if she opened a present to herself. Wrapping his arms around her waist, he unbuttoned the cuffs. She gave him another of those sideways looks from beneath her lashes and he kissed her cheek beside one lovely eye. In the thin light, he couldn’t see the color and briefly wished he could.
It didn’t matter. He brushed her hair back from her face; let her take her pleasure of him. Her hands brushed over his skin lightly. He loved the feel of them on him.
Niki closed her eyes at the feel of his lips on her cheek and wrapped her arms around his lean waist. No one had ever kissed her with as much tenderness as he did. It broke her heart, destroyed her. Whatever happened tomorrow, she didn’t want this moment to end.
“May I?” Ty asked.
A small smile curved her mouth and she let out a long shuddering sigh as he reached to unbutton her dress in return.
It took only one button to give Ty a hint of what lay beneath, a glimpse of coffee-colored lace cupping the smooth ivory curves of her breasts. He unfastened the sundress slowly, opening his own present as she watched and the delicious tension built.
As the last button gave way he brushed his hands over her shoulders to let the pretty dress float to the floor while his hands continued down over the ripe fullness of her within the delicate lace. His slacks were suddenly tight. For a moment, he could only shake his head in wonder as he brushed his thumbs across the stiff peaks of her nipples beneath the lace.
“So beautiful,” he said, looking at her.
He reached behind her to unhook her bra.
As it fell away, he caught one full breast, cupped it for a moment as his thumb brushed across the taut tip.
“Ty,” she b
reathed. Her eyes lifted to his, searched for something in them.
He let her look even as he skimmed his hands down over her ribs to her slender waist, drew her closer, more tightly against him as he dipped his mouth down to kiss her once again. He nudged her to lie back on the bed, pressed a kiss to her firm belly, his hands on her hips as she stroked his hair.
Every touch was gentle, each caress, each brush of his mouth set Niki aglow. Warmth spread beneath her skin. She felt like the sun, burning from within.
Gently, he pressed a kiss inside the curve of each hip. She gasped and shivered at the burst of heat that went through her, her hips lifting. He slipped his thumbs beneath the lace, drew it down over her legs, following it with his lips. His mouth brushed across the soft curls between her thighs. She quivered as a moan whispered past her lips.
Hunger moved through her, a raging need, burning, to feel him tighten, to feel his muscles quiver, to hear him groan.
Niki rose to return the favor, pushing him up as her hands slid around his waist so she could press her mouth against his abs.
Every muscle in Ty’s abdomen locked as her tongue flicked against his skin and her hands slid over his hips. The last of his clothing dropping to the floor as she pushed them down and drew him closer until he was pressed against her and her hot mouth branded his skin. He was as hard as iron between her firm breasts.
Her warm moist mouth closed around him, took him in. Pleasure shot through him as his hands locked involuntarily in her hair. It felt glorious, incredible, as she tasted him, as her tongue swirled over and around him.
He groaned, breathing her name. Looking down he could see that her eyes were closed. Mahogany curls brushed tantalizingly against his thighs.
With an effort he made himself draw her head back, looked down into her lovely pale eyes as he gently eased her back on the bed.
He took her mouth once more, holding himself above her with an effort, feeling his hardness brush against her core, against the moist heat of her.
He wanted her, ached for her, and he would have her… just not yet.
The feel of her mouth beneath his was nearly maddening, but the feel of her limber body arching against him truly was. And incredible, intoxicating.
Ty wanted to taste and feel all of her, to hear her cry out her pleasure.
He slid a hand down her slender body to pull her hips more tightly against his as he tasted the curve of her jaw and then the slender ivory column of her throat. Her pulse beat steadily beneath his lips. He settled his mouth into the curve of her throat and shoulder, savored her there while she shivered and gasped.
Trailing his mouth across her skin, Ty found the scar just beneath her collarbone and kissed it gently as she cried out softly. Here she’d nearly died, and if she had he would never have known her.
Inch by inch he ran his mouth over her soft skin, over the firm swell of her breast to the crest, to sip at it.
She arched to feel his mouth on her, offering more, as he drew the tender tip of her breast into his mouth, and suckled.
Ty listened to the soft sounds of pleasure she made as her body moved beneath his deliciously, her hips pumping against his.
As he suckled and nibbled at her, feeling her quiver, he wondered if she wouldn’t come from this alone.
He didn’t take any chances. Sliding his hand over her rounded hip, he combed his fingers through the tight curls between her thighs, to dip between them. She moaned as he touched her, and he groaned to feel the moist heat of her core. She was so ready for him. Her hips lifted and he slipped a finger inside her.
A long low moan, nearly a sob, escaped her.
“Oh, God, Ty,” she cried, breathlessly.
He needed to taste her, to drive her insane, to hear the sounds she would make to feel his mouth on her.
Sliding down her body, he dipped his tongue inside her navel as she wriggled.
Carefully, he shifted down her luscious body. Finding a comfortable position, he slid his hands between and beneath her thighs to cup her tight bottom, tilted her hips a little.
Niki’s breath caught as his mouth closed over the delicate folds between her thighs. Gasping, she flung her hands out to grasp the covers in a desperate attempt at preserving some measure of control.
“Dear God, Ty,” she gasped.
Ty tasted her lightly. She was sweet and clean. He savored her as her hips bucked. She cried out, her lovely body jolting with each flick and sweep of his tongue. The muscles in her thighs and belly quivered, trembled, as he suckled on her. Muffled cries escaped from her as her head tossed.
Looking up the lovely length of her body, he could see her face. She was lost. Her eyelids fluttered over pleasure-blinded eyes. Her breath came fast and hard, and her body writhed uncontrollably within his grasp. He feasted on her, thrust another finger inside her as she cried out.
Niki knew she was lost the moment she surrendered to him. She was gone, awash in the sensations he roused in her, an impossible swelling of pleasure like a bubble that waited to burst, growing, swelling with each touch and sweep of his tongue on her…
A cry built in her throat.
Lifting her hips, Ty devoured her. A cry of ecstasy ripped out of her as she arched, pleasure erupted inside her.
Ty surged up her body, speared into her hot, tight, wet depths. She buried the next cry against his chest as she bucked. Her legs locked around his as her hips angled to take him deeper. He pounded into her, battered the depths of her, his own need exploding through him as the muscles within her stroked him, enclosed him within her silken dampness. He emptied into her as she arched beneath him.
It was incredible, the pleasure seemed as if it would never end as he spilled into her. He shuddered as ecstasy raced through him.
Niki had only enough thought left to look up and see Ty braced above her, every muscle locked and rigid as he buried himself deeply inside her, every muscle in his body taut, magnificent.
Another rush of ecstasy raced through her and she smiled as his pleasure filled her.
Looking down at her Ty saw her smile, her pleasure in him evident and radiant in the thin light. She was absolutely beautiful.
Collapsing on top of her, he curled his arms around her and drew her against him, cradling her head on his shoulder.
He’d thought this was beyond him, this kind of passion, this kind of joy…
This kind of love.
Looking into her eyes, into what was in her eyes when she touched him, he cradled her close.
When the dreams came, he held her gently as she cried out and curled into him.
Dazed, shaking, Niki breathed in the scent of him, felt his arms around him, and pressed her cheek to his scarred chest. Ty. That was all she needed to know.
It was a moment of peace. It wouldn’t last Ty knew, and she did, too. It was at least part of the reason for this. He drew her closer and felt her hand tighten around his waist.
Soon.
Chapter Twenty Five
The helicopter, courtesy of the DPS, flew them west and slightly north, following the course of the Rio Grande to their left. Niki sat next to Ty on one side, Buck on the other, with Jake Aragon in the jump seat across from them. The air was incredibly hot, like sitting inside an oven, the sun bright and the sky the color of old denim.
The previous day had seen them all up in the pale pre-dawn light, checking the various possible venues, following up with Mitch and the team and returning well after dark. There had been only time enough to fall into bed, waking in time to meet the chopper.
It hadn’t taken long to conclude that the upcoming DARE event was still the best possibility for an assassination. There were just too many entrances and exits. Too many people would be attending; it would be impossible to vet them all.
It was a DARE meeting, organized chaos.
They’d also set up the transportation for this little meeting with Sheriff Manuel Ramirez.
Manuel Ramirez was waiting as arranged as the helicopter cam
e in for a landing near Big Bend.
“Agent Tallent?” he said.
Ty let Niki take point, especially with that greeting. Watching her as she went to greet Sheriff Ramirez he had to smile. Her demeanor was professional but warm. She was always a surprise.
She grinned, held out her hand. “Niki to my friends. Manuel, this is Special Agent Ty Connor, my boss, and Agent Buck Parker. I don’t know if you’ve ever met Jake Aragon. He’s one of yours, a Texas Ranger.”
With a small shrug, Manuel said, “Might have seen him at one of those law enforcement things.” He shook hands with each of them. “Agent Connor, good to meet you. I was thinking I should tell someone about this, but damned if I knew who to tell or why, beside what my gut told me. Then Agent Tallent called.”
“Why don’t you tell us about it on the way?” Ty suggested.
Manuel gestured them toward his Jeep.
“The property in question had been for sale for ages,” Manuel said as they bumped along the rutted back road near where the helicopter had landed. “No one wanted it. It’s not even much good for cattle. With the property market being what it was we figured it would stay vacant for a time, but to our surprise the next thing we know a few months back someone bought it. It made me curious, to tell the truth. More so when I find out they had to transfer the funds through an American bank. Money laundering was the first thing I thought of, or a property flip, but they didn’t sell it again right away. That made no sense.”
Popping out onto the main road, Manuel shot them down the two-lane highway, bucketing along at just a little above the speed limit.
“So we see construction trucks going in there. I hear stories about other trucks going in late at night, filled with people, probably illegals. Nobody sees them come out, but I can’t go in, can’t trespass. I’ve got no probable cause, just guesses. All I see is these long low buildings when I investigate.”
A short time later they were all staying low as they crept along behind a ridge to peer down onto the property beneath them.
It was a lot of nothing, as far as Ty could tell, except for two long, low Quonset-hut style buildings, open mostly at one end, but they couldn’t see much from this angle.
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