Heated Pursuit

by April Hunt

  The stranger did his business and walked out without giving them so much as a cursory glance. Once again alone in the small bathroom, the temperature escalated a good thirty degrees.

  “Rafe,” she huffed out breathlessly. “Please.”

  Too bad she didn’t know what she was asking for. To stop? To rip off her clothes right there, hygienics be damned, or the reason she came out to Tres Brujas?

  Rafe must have interpreted it as a hard stop because, dragging his hands over her thighs, he returned her to her feet and stepped back. Slightly. Every inch of her hummed, and the rapid rise and fall of his chest told her that he wasn’t as unaffected as his expressionless face would have her believe.

  Clearing her throat, she smoothed his rumpled shirt and prayed he didn’t catch the slight tremble to her hands. “So…Freedom. Fuentes. Where do we go from here?”

  “Nothing we can do here. I don’t know why you couldn’t get through to the guys, but I’ll check it out, make sure they haven’t stumbled into any problems. Give me a few minutes and we’ll head back to the house. In the meantime, do you think you could keep your nose out of trouble?”

  She braced a hand on her hip. “I had nothing to do with that guy not being able to take a hint. I didn’t invite him over.”

  His eyes twinkled with a wicked gleam. “Sweetheart, the second you shimmied your sweet self into that getup, you invited any man with a pair of eyeballs to attempt to enjoy the wonderland that’s your body. If I hadn’t come along when I did, you’d have been up to your pretty little chin in some serious shit.”

  “I think I held my own pretty well.”

  “No doubt, but what would you have done when half a dozen admirers surrounded you? You only have two hands, Red. You can’t grab them all by the balls.”

  Penny opened her mouth, ready to fire off a flaming retort despite the fact he had a point. But before she could retaliate, he turned her around and ushered her to the front of the bar with little more than a palm against the small of her back. He tucked her on a stool directly in front of Maria’s knowing grin and disappeared from view.

  “Very, very brave, sweetheart,” Maria repeated her earlier sentiments, chuckling.

  “Is he always so…growly?” Penny asked.

  “Rafael?” Maria tapped her chin in thought, then smirked wider. “No. Perhaps it is you that brings out the animal in him, yes?”

  Penny would’ve fallen off her stool in laughter if she hadn’t been leaning against the bar. She couldn’t imagine being responsible for bringing out the animal in anyone much less a man like Rafe. She dated, sure. Maybe not very much in recent months. And most definitely not men who growled and palmed her ass and called her sweetheart.

  Still, she hadn’t imagined the lustful look in Rafe’s eyes. She let herself bask in the fact she’d been the one to put it there until he reappeared on the edge of the dance floor with an attractive brunette butted up against his groin.

  Evidently he hadn’t felt her news or their bathroom make-out session dire enough to skip a dance—if what he and the brunette were doing could be considered dancing. It was skewed heavily in the direction of foreplay with clothes on, and the woman attached to the front of his jeans looked more than willing to remedy the clothes situation.

  Jaw clenched until it ached, Penny breathed through the sudden rush of unexpected anger and turned to Maria. “When the Walking Pheromone’s done, tell him I headed back.”

  Maria snuck a glance toward Rafe, her frown lining her forehead. “I don’t think it’s a good idea you leave, sweetheart. You should wait.”

  Yeah, she should. And as much as she didn’t relish the idea of heading back onto the streets herself in this part of the neighborhood, there was no way in hell she was going to watch Rafe get a vertical lap dance either. She waved off the older woman’s concern. “I’m good. It was nice meeting you, Maria.”

  At the exit, she tossed a second glance over her shoulder. All she could see was Rafe’s wide hands bracketing the attractive woman’s hips, his head tucked into the curve of her neck.

  Nope. Not staying another second.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Extracting himself from Rosa’s talons hadn’t been easy. The woman was all hands and no ears. By the time Rafe had finally managed to extricate himself from her grasp, Maria had clapped him upside the head so hard he saw fucking rainbows. Knowing Penny witnessed the exchange and got the wrong idea bothered him. And the fact that it bothered him, bothered him.

  “I can’t believe you lost her,” Trey grumbled from the surveillance van down the street.

  Despite the fact their positions spanned the four-block length between Tres Brujas and the safe house, communication earwigs linked Rafe with each of the team. He didn’t need to see his friend’s face to know that a scowl was probably firmly etched in place.

  “It isn’t my fault she’s allergic to listening. I planted her ass on the stool and told her to stay the hell put,” Rafe said, halfheartedly defending himself.

  “Allergic is one way to describe it. In case you don’t already know, telling Penn to do something only guarantees she’s going to do the exact opposite. Basic Penny 101, brother. If we’re going to be letting her stick around, you best learn that pretty fucking quick.”

  “Quick. You hear that, Callahan?” Rafe goaded Logan. “That would be the exact opposite length of time it’s taking you to get a bead on Red. Pick up the pace or I’m making a motion to replace you with another loud-mouthed Marine with bad fashion sense.”

  “Hey now.” Logan’s keyboard clacked in the background. “Don’t be hating on my T-shirts, man. And as for finding our little lady…pinpointing her in a sea of white fuzz isn’t exactly child’s play. San Pedro Sula is in serious fucking need of upgrades. You all are sure you don’t see a thing? Maybe the surveillance equipment at HQ is on the fritz and she’s already lounging back with a sangria.”

  “Or maybe she’s fucking with us because Ortega was getting too friendly with the locals,” Trey jived.

  How the hell could this woman disappear? On his watch?

  Rafe’s bird’s-eye view from a rickety fire escape let him overlook the alley across the street. To his left, a stray dog barreled after paper garbage that skidded across the wet ground, and just inside the mouth of the alley, a young couple battled it out with a lot of pissed-off body language.

  Rafe half wished the dipshit boyfriend would do something stupid so he could pound out a few aggravations, because while on an op, there was no other pleasurable way to relieve stress. It’s not like they could run down the street and hit the weight machine at the local gym, and sex was fucking out of the running. Mixing business with pleasure ensured a mission went straight to hell. Fast.

  A three-month station. Five men. And a shit ton of testosterone. Rafe and the team probably had enough morning driftwood on any given morning to build themselves a fucking yacht.

  About to suggest resetting shop closer to the safe house, Rafe saw the lowlife across the street give his girlfriend a hard shove. The echoing crack of her head hitting brick made him wince. Getting involved in San Pedro Sula’s daily grind wasn’t the reason Alpha Security was there, but sometimes interventions couldn’t be helped—like dealing with run-of-the-mill assholes.

  Rafe shifted to make his move when the familiar click-clack of heels echoed on the deserted street. His body stiffened as Penny, still dressed head to toe in the painted-on leather number, rounded the corner. Her gait slowed as she observed the quarreling couple.

  “Keep it moving, sweetheart,” Rafe murmured under his breath, wishing he could keep her walking by will alone. Prepped to move in case his will wasn’t enough, he announced into the mic, “I got her, but she’s about to poke her nose where it doesn’t belong. Corner of Del Sol and Ramones.”

  Penny changed directions, headed straight toward the abusive bastard.

  “Fuck! She’s on the move. We gotta get down there. Now.”

  Rafe half skidded, half flew d
own the fire escape. “I’m going to have to go in hot. ETAs?”

  “Logan and I are nowhere close.” A slam of a car door announced Trey had left the surveillance van. “Stone? Chase?”

  “I’m on the move, but there’s no way I’m making it first,” Stone announced.

  “Me neither.” Chase could be heard cursing out a taxi that decided to play chicken with him as he crossed the street. “Rafe?”

  “Almost there.” Rafe’s feet barely touched the ground with his mad dash. His eyes locked on the petite form more than twenty-five yards away, and he narrowed both his vision and his thoughts to one thing.

  Getting to Penny.

  * * *

  The second Penny turned the corner, the hair on her arms stood on end. She saw the man first. He was pressed and primped, an aura of self-importance radiating off his immaculately trimmed hair and high-end shoes. His clothes hugged a tall, rangy build too perfectly for them to be anything but tailor-made, and on his wrist, a gold watch glittered beneath the barely working lamppost.

  For this side of the city, his dress alone rose her internal alert system…and then his body shifted and she caught a glimpse of the young woman.

  One eye nearly swollen shut, the brunette gasped, eyes frantically searching for a means of escape despite the fact the man had one hand curled around her throat.

  To the bar and back—Penny’s plan to return to the safe house was first dodged when she’d had to bypass some kind of drug bust, and then again by a growing group of questionable loiters. Somehow she’d miraculously found herself back on the main road…and now this.

  Penny mentally cursed the fact that there hadn’t been anywhere to stash a weapon in Maria’s outfit.

  “Did you hear what I fucking said?” The tall man backhanded the brunette so hard Penny’s teeth ached in sympathy.

  She couldn’t walk by and do nothing, and there wasn’t time to trace her steps back to the bar. If anything, she could distract the jerk from doing further damage until either one of the guys happened to swagger by or someone with a phone and a direct line to the police crossed her path.

  “Do you know where I can find a taxi?” The Spanish rolled off Penny’s lips effortlessly.

  “Back off, bitch,” the man snarled without looking in her direction.

  She cocked her hip, slightly insulted he’d dismissed her as a nonthreat without a single glance. Still determined, she pulled her bail enforcement skills to the surface and forced a smile into place, becoming the bar-hopping annoyance this man expected.

  She stepped forward as he raised his hand to gift the young woman another punch. “I think I’m lost. Maybe you can help me find my way home.”

  “Leave before I realize two of you means double the fun.”

  The man’s head whipped in her direction. His dark, impenetrable stare drilled through her armor and snaked a sliver of fear up her spine. There was no emotion on his face except wild, raw, and nearly unrestrained rage—and now she had both his attention and the attention of the cowering woman against the wall.

  “Please,” the young woman rasped, begging for Penny’s help. “Help me.”

  With a growl, the man released his hold on the woman and swung in Penny’s direction. She ducked, the momentum of his botched punch sending him into a sideways swagger. It didn’t take long for him to regain his balance and come at her again, this time with a small glint of metal in his right hand.

  “Not so talkative now, are you, bitch?” he jeered, sidestepping toward the left.

  Penny’s heart instinctively shot to her throat, but she pushed it down and focused, never letting his hand leave her line of sight. She hiked up her minuscule skirt, centered her balance on the damn high-rise boots, and waited for him to make the next move.

  He didn’t keep her waiting long. He lunged. A quick spin to the right and he stumbled past. Like the training exercise with Logan, she snapped a roundhouse kick against his wrist. There was a loud crack on impact, and then they both watched as the serious-looking blade skidded beneath the nearby Dumpster.

  Her attacker leapt to attention first. Penny didn’t see his fist until it caught her jaw. Colorful starbursts exploded across her dimming vision.

  One, two, three. He slammed her into the nearby wall, giving her no time to recuperate before driving a fist into her left flank. Her head spun. Her torso ached. But the sound of his victorious laugh cut through her pain like heated steel through butter.

  With a warrior’s yell falling from her lips, she whipped a clenched fist into his face, making impact hard enough to stun him for the knee she drilled into his midsection. The second he doubled over, she followed it up with a second—and final—ram into his face. Bones crunched and the asshole dropped. Hard. And most importantly, unconscious.

  Fits of nausea forced Penny to lean heavily against the wall. She didn’t even attempt turning around when another dark shadow entered the alley. Somehow she knew it was Rafe. He stepped into a beam of light, and the look on his face nearly took her breath away all over again. Muscles tensed, he glanced from the scumbag on the ground to the woman cowering by the Dumpster. When they returned to Penny in a visual scan, his eyes softened.

  “Are you okay?” No yelling, no cursing, no getting in her face and calling her ten shades of stupid. His gaze darted over her face as he took a hesitant step closer.

  “I’m good. No worries.” She waved him off with a forced smile, afraid she’d burst into a puddle of tears if he touched her for even one second.

  Her humorless laugh was the wrong move. Pain rippled around her side, each wave stronger than the previous until her knees buckled with the effort to remain standing. A tight-lipped hiss was all it took to find herself in Rafe’s arms.

  He became her support. Firm yet gentle, he tucked her against him and didn’t flinch when she gripped the back of his shirt, probably taking off the first layer of skin.

  “Slow and steady,” he ordered gently. He caressed his palm over her battered torso. “No sudden movements, okay? And it’s probably best to save the yoga breathing for when you don’t have a few broken ribs.”

  “I don’t think anything’s broken.” Her voice went tight, and she was afraid to breathe too deeply.

  She sent him a weak smile and got an unidentifiable look in return. It froze on his face, his vivid blue eyes homing in on hers. The power of that one single look made her throat convulse. Years of growing up amidst tough, seasoned military men, and not once had one made her the least bit nervous. Until now. There was something about Rafe that made her unsteady and a little bit unsure of herself. And she wasn’t sure she liked it.

  Behind Rafe, the remaining team staggered into the alley. Their expressions ran the gamut from amusement to concern, maybe a bit of appreciation. Trey’s, however, was all anger.

  Red faced, he stopped no less than two feet away.

  “What the hell were you thinking?” Trey’s voice boomed, breaking the tender silence. “Were you trying to get yourself killed?”

  “No. I was trying to get between a pair of decent-sized fists and her.” Penny tipped her head to where Chase stepped over the man on the ground to get to the young woman. The brunette cringed away from him at first, but he got down to his haunches, speaking to her in a low murmur. “Five more minutes in that jerk’s company and she wouldn’t be able to tell you a thing.”

  “One wrong fucking move and you wouldn’t be able to either.”

  Logan interceded, blocking Penny’s view of Trey’s scowl. “Take a breather, man. Our little lady did fucking incredible. The ass-hat never saw it coming.” He flashed her a wink and earned himself a glare from Rafe when his congratulatory pat on the back made her wince.

  “Shit.” Logan cringed. “Sorry, darlin’. You’re going to be one big-ass bruise in twenty-four hours. You know that, right?”

  Penny groaned, half chuckling. “Aren’t you supposed to be the Southern gentleman of the group? You’re not supposed to remind me that I’m going to l
ook and feel like death warmed over piping-hot coals.”

  “Hell, honey, you’d look rock-star gorgeous even on your worst day.”

  “Thank you for being such a good liar,” Penny teased.

  Sean stepped forward, eyeing the scene around them. “Our contact in the policía is on his way, which means the rest of you better make skid marks.” With a semi-amused shake of his head, the Alpha team leader asked her, “How you holding up? Does Chase have to patch you together with glue and tape?”

  “I think everything’s in its proper place.” Though she couldn’t imagine feeling any more sore if she’d wrestled with a professional linebacker. Purposefully ignoring the gazes of both Trey and Rafe, she asked, “So, did I pass? There can’t be anything more real world than what just happened, right?”

  With a laugh, Sean gave her arm an affectionate squeeze. “I think we’ll keep you around for a bit, but I don’t think we should unleash you on the rest of the world just yet. Go back to the house with the guys; put yourself back together.”

  Her gaze slid to the young woman now sobbing into Chase’s shirt and her heart ached. “What’s going to happen to her?”

  “My contact will get her to where she needs to be.” Sean glanced down to the man on the ground who stirred faintly with a groan. “We’ll get him where he needs to be, too. It’ll be a long time before he thinks about hurting someone like that again.”

  Penny said a prayer of thanks that she was where she needed to be, too. Only a fool wouldn’t admit that she was way out of her element. She needed Alpha Security, their contacts, their brawn, their help. And at that very second, she would admit, she also kind of needed Rafe’s arms.

  Logan shifted into her line of sight, mouth curled down into a frown as he peered into her face. “Hey, are ya feeling okay, Penn? Shit. She doesn’t look so good, Ortega. I think she’s going to pass out on us.”