Heated Pursuit

by April Hunt

  Though she was covered, she couldn’t have been more exposed if she stood in front of him naked. His eyes scanned her from the toes of her peekaboo stilettos to the curves of her breasts. By the time he reached her eyes, every inch of her body hummed.

  “And here I thought it couldn’t get better than the dress from the club. You love proving me wrong, don’t you?” Rafe’s low voice gave her goose bumps.

  Her lips stretched into a tremulous smile. “When this is over, I’m going back to jeans, cotton T-shirts, and tennis shoes. I may even go the crazy extra mile and toss on a hoodie…but there will be no dresses and sure as hell no heels. Or thongs.”

  Not that she was wearing one now.

  When this Fuentes nightmare ended, she also needed to deliberate a plan on what she’d do with her attraction to the man in front of her. If Alpha really had set up shop right in her backyard, it wasn’t like she could enjoy now and never see him again. Frederick was a small town, and despite the fact their paths hadn’t crossed yet, Rafe wasn’t on assignments year-round. The chances of bumping into him at the one and only gas station or the grocery mart were more than likely. It was a given. Eventually.

  She was working on her acting skills for the bail enforcement job, but she wasn’t about to win any awards. And when it came to Rafe—forget about it. His many layers made her head spin and feel like the newest recipient of a Razzie Award.

  He was bravery, loyalty, and a kick-ass attitude wrapped up in a six-and-a-half-foot mass of hard muscle. For years he put his life on the line for his country, and even though the ink had long dried on his discharge papers, he was doing it still. Alpha wasn’t a job to him. It was a way of life, as much a part of him as the heart beating in his chest.

  Her father had been like that. Trey was like that, too. But what neither had done that Rafe did in the little time they’d known each other was take a chance on her. It both humbled her and fired her up. And it also rumbled the walls of her carefully constructed boundaries.

  She pasted a smile to her face as Rafe stepped forward, careful to keep his wide back blocking the camera. He was close, so close that the front of his shirt brushed against her breasts.

  “What are you thinking about that’s got your brow furrowed like that?” He gently rubbed a finger over the wrinkle that had formed on her forehead.

  Her eyes closed automatically as she savored the gentle touch. “Oh, you know…my to-do list. Groceries. Errands. The fact that the longer it takes us to crack Fuentes, the longer Rachel’s subjected to Freedom and God only knows what other nasty drug the man’s invented.”

  The moment he cupped her cheek, Penny didn’t hesitate to move into Rafe’s warmth. Solid and unwavering, his arms surrounded her like a protective shield. With a heavy sigh, she braced her forehead against his chest.

  This open, wilted person she became in his embrace unnerved her. She hadn’t invited her, and she sure as hell wasn’t comfortable with her. But that didn’t seem to matter when Rafe’s hand slipped into her hair and gently kneaded the tight muscles at the base of her neck.

  Her voice shook as the admission slipped too easily from her lips. “I know we need to keep our guard up, to not rush this, but I keep picturing Rachel in a dark, dank dungeon, scared out of her mind, and the harder I try to change my focus, the worse the images get. How can I not let them affect me?”

  “I’m not going to pretend to know what you’re feeling.” Rafe’s breath brushed intimately against her ear, his words weighted with sincerity. “And I can’t say your concerns aren’t warranted, because Fuentes is one sick fuck. But one thing that helped me back in Delta and with Alpha now is focusing on the end result. Rachel’s already in this situation. It’s done. We can’t change that. But we’re going to do our damned best to get her out of it. In other words, focus on the things you can change, not the things you can’t. Rachel’s lucky to have you in her corner.”

  “She’s been in mine long enough. It was never a question of if I’d try to find her, but whether I could actually do it. Thanks to you and the others, we’re close. I never would’ve gotten this far without all of you.”

  “The same could be said about you. We’ve been after this bastard for close to a year—three months in San Pedro Sula alone. Before you, we only had suspicions and hearsay about where Fuentes was getting his guinea pigs. And if you hadn’t overheard that conversation between those two drug peddlers, we wouldn’t have known that Fuentes kicked up his timeline, much less known where to score a face to face.”

  Her gaze flickered down to his mouth, mere inches away. “So you’re saying the moment I kicked you between the legs is the moment your luck changed?”

  “The moment I met you, a lot of things started to change.” A charged silence thickened between them until he stepped back, trailing his fingers down her bare arm until their fingers entwined.

  Penny was still looking down at their linked hands when he started leading the way out of their room. Hand holding was a simple, innocent gesture, but that nagging little jump in her stomach told her that there was nothing innocent about the intimate contact.

  And there was nothing simple about the way it made her feel.

  * * *

  Dinner tasted like ash in Penny’s mouth, and on a few occasions, she battled back her gag reflex. The woman from the club, Carlotta—Diego finally introduced her—had joined them, but she didn’t so much as look in their direction, her big brown eyes as sightless as they’d been the other night at the club.

  It didn’t take long to realize the poor woman was nothing more than a puppet. She stood when Diego told her to fetch drinks, sat when she finished the task. Never once did she make eye contact or smile. She reminded Penny of the other women who had been in El Sótano with the exception that Carlotta appeared better fed.

  But that little tidbit didn’t stop Penny from imagining lunging across the table and gouging fuertes’s eyes out with a dinner fork—for Carlotta. For Rachel. For everyone his cruelty threatened or harmed.

  Men like Fuentes had a reserved seat in hell.

  She’d mentally vowed to take Carlotta out of this nightmare when the weight of Rafe’s hand settled on her thigh.

  A quick glance around the table had her realizing that she’d become the focus of both men’s attentions. She slid a forced smile onto her face. “I’m sorry, sweetheart. You must have caught me in a daydream.”

  “Which shows my hunch is correct.” Rafe’s eyes narrowed in concern as he gave her leg another gentle squeeze. “Let Carlotta escort you back to the room, Roja. It’s been a long day and I know you must be tired. I’ll be along in a bit.”

  “I don’t mind waiting for you.”

  If looks could’ve pushed her out the door, Rafe’s would’ve tossed her on her ass. “Señor Fuentes and I have some business to discuss,” he said calmly. “Go. Get comfortable, and maybe you can take a soak in that Jacuzzi tub you were eyeing earlier.”

  “Or perhaps you’d like to take a stroll around the grounds,” Diego surprised them both by suggesting. “I take much pride in my gardens. You will find plants and flowers that are unable to be viewed even in the most renowned horticultural centers. Even in the moonlight, their beauty is awe-inspiring. I often take midnight strolls myself.”

  Penny’s gaze flickered to Rafe, hoping for some kind of sign as to what to do, but his face was a mask. “I wouldn’t want to get lost. My mother always said that I could get lost trying to get out of a paper bag.”

  “You must stay on the path and within the perimeter of the compound, but if you were to get turned around, you’d only need to call out for assistance. My security team will always be nearby to assist you.”

  Calling Diego’s group of thick-necked mercenaries security guards was like referring to the bubonic plague as a bad case of the sniffles. Penny opened her mouth to decline, but Diego stood, his arm outstretched in her direction.

  “Come, Señorita Hanlan,” Diego beckoned. “Carlotta will see you to your roo
m so that you may change into something more suitable to enjoying an evening walk.”

  The brunette waited by the doorway for Penny to follow orders. And they were orders. Diego Fuentes was obviously not a man who heard the word no often. She kissed Rafe good-bye, feeling his gaze on her until she left the room. It was one thing to be apart, but an entirely different feeling being separated at the suggestion of Fuentes.

  “I wouldn’t suppose you’d like to go with me for a walk?” Penny asked Carlotta when they reached the bedroom door. After a five-second blank stare, the other woman turned on her high heels and click-clacked in the direction from which they came. “Guess not,” Penny muttered to herself as she entered the room.

  Nothing looked amiss, but remembering what Rafe said about the likelihood of Fuentes reinstalling the mics, she made certain not to do anything that could be considered suspicious. She nearly forgot about the walk altogether, but then common sense and cabin fever took over.

  While Rafe was busy making nice, the very least she could do was scope out their surroundings. She slipped into the bathroom and changed into a tank and shorts. Then after sliding into her sneakers and grabbing a mini flashlight, she headed out the room’s patio doors.

  There was dark, and then there was black-abyss, fall-to-your-death dark. The surrounding jungle most definitely fell into the second category, but between the dim lanterns illuminating the stone path and the occasional streak of moonlight breaking through the trees, her chances of falling flat on her face were relatively low.

  The cold slither of watching eyes followed her as she turned each corner. She ignored it, her forward movement fueled by the mental images of Rachel’s frightened face. She’d meant it when she told Rafe she’d do anything to get Rachel back.

  Being only three years younger, Rachel had felt more like a sister than Penny’s late older sibling had. They were each other’s best friends, accomplices, and therapists. Everyone from the crotchety old bartender at Hot Shots to the doe-eyed children at the after-school program adored her.

  The more Penny thought about Rachel, the tighter her hand reflexively gripped the flashlight. Before she realized it, she’d nearly circled the entire compound.

  It wasn’t like she didn’t know she wasn’t alone. With every inch of her walk, she’d felt the eyes of Fuentes’s men. But the shadow standing by the pool was smaller and about a foot shorter than the six-foot he-men she’d seen earlier. Penny squinted into the darkness until Carlotta’s narrow frame came into view.

  She was talking to herself, incoherent rambling that didn’t make sense. At least not until Penny heard the words prisoners and bunker muttered in the same unintelligible sentence.

  In English…and with the hint of a Midwestern American accent.

  Penny’s sneakers hit a patch of loose pebbles, making Carlotta jump. Eyes wide, she spun around.

  “It’s okay.” Penny lifted her hands. “It’s just Nell. You remember me, right? From dinner? And the club?”

  Carlotta’s gaze flickered back and forth between her and the jungle.

  “I was just taking a walk,” Penny said in an attempt to sound casual. “It’s beautiful out here. So open and yet tucked away. I bet it must get a little lonely sometimes though. Do you get many visitors? Family who comes to visit you? Or any other people who come around?”

  The mention of people set Carlotta off again. This time her words flowed too fast to catch more than a word or two for every twenty syllables. Carlotta paced frantically, edging to where the stone walk met rough jungle only to turn around and do it again and again. Her gaze kept slipping away from the mansion and into the thick foliage to the east.

  “Are there people out there, Carlotta?” Penny murmured, keeping her voice low as she took another step toward the woman.

  “No. No.” She shook her head frantically as she spoke to an unseen entity. “No. I can’t. I can’t do it. I-I have to st-stop, or I can’t help them.”

  “Help who, Carlotta? Is someone in danger? Where are they?”

  “No!” Carlotta’s shout startled the birds in the trees, sending them into flight. “I can’t! Leave me alone!”

  Carlotta’s scream created an eruption of chaos. Loud shouts came from the mansion, and seconds later, the running pound of footsteps echoed up the trail. The closer Fuentes’s men got, the more agitated the young woman became. Three guards barreled around the corner, lethal-looking guns pointed in Penny’s direction, while a fourth physically dragged away a now hysterical Carlotta.

  “Leave her alone!” Penny shouted. She stepped forward to intervene and got the muzzle of a gun jammed into her side. “You’re going to hurt her!”

  After another jab between the ribs, the guard nearest Penny started spewing an elaborate list of orders, none of which she intended to follow. His fingers bit into her arm hard enough that she didn’t have to fake a wince.

  “Ow! Hey! Get your mitts off me! Please, no hablo…your language,” she said, pretending not to understand. “I didn’t do anything wrong. She looked really upset. I just wanted to make sure she was okay. Do you understand me?”

  Either they didn’t, or they didn’t care. Gun still aimed in her direction, one of the other guards lifted a radio from his hip. “Get Fuentes. We have a problem…with one of our guests.”

  Penny’s throat went dry. Hell, dry would’ve been preferable. Rafe was definitely going to do his fair share of growling now, and this time, she would deserve it.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  Your Señorita Hanlan…she is a wild spirit, is she not?” Diego offered Rafe a freshly cut cigar and then took a seat, the leather creaking as he leaned back. “I sense a fire in her that one doesn’t often see.”

  “She’s headstrong,” Rafe stated simply. “But then again, I’m a man who likes to be kept on my toes.”

  “Carlotta also used to be very…willful, but there are times when such traits can become a detriment to businessmen such as ourselves. It can be distracting, cause an undesirable shift in focus. I say this only out of a desire to see our partnership flourish.”

  “So far, we haven’t spoken much about a partnership.” Rafe didn’t bother hiding the bite behind his words as he pictured dragging Fuentes across his desk and in direct line of his fist. His simmering violence had little to do with business and everything to do with concern for Penny’s safety. Ever since she’d left the room, Fuentes had spoken of little else.

  “I’m wealthy in my own right, Diego,” Rafe reminded him. “I can leave your home and return to any of my own. As I said before, I won’t risk my comfort, my company, or my name for a product that isn’t worth it. Likewise if I’m being sent in as a cleanup crew for misguided procedures.”

  “I assure you that Freedom is worth it. It is cheaper to manufacture than cocaine and more addictive than heroin and meth combined.” Diego’s dark eyes narrowed in thought as he took the first long puff on his Cuban. “I don’t pretend to understand all of the chemical components and the bindings of molecules. I’m the visionary, not the scientist. But my doctors have proven that the effects of Freedom are plentiful and, most importantly, long lasting. The second it hits the bloodstream, a person’s body needs it to function. I have seen even the most willful individuals become obedient simply so they are gifted another taste.”

  Rafe’s internal warning bell started to chime as Diego’s oil-slicked smile slid onto his face. “Obedient to whom?”

  “To whoever is in control of distributing the drug. In our case, we sell to men and women looking to put their stamp on the world for whichever reason they choose. If they wish to lure a government official into their power, so be it. If they choose a more personal avenue to keep that ex-lover by their side, well wishes go with them. The opportunities for which Freedom can be used are quite endless…if they have the monetary funds, of course.”

  Rafe swallowed his own bile. Only the sickest of bastards would name a drug the exact opposite of its intended side effect. “That’s a pretty big clai
m, my friend. I’m assuming that you have the testing to back up all of your ideas.”

  Diego’s eyes widened with insult. “Of course. Any laboratory tests that are performed by the much American-loved FDA are performed by my scientists. We follow the same testing measures—with a bit more flexibility and expedition, of course. We have recently completed trials on our male volunteers with great success and have been undergoing a second round of female trials for the last two months. Everything looks very, very promising.”

  “I can’t believe you have people volunteering to become drug addicted.”

  “The Honduran countryside can be very unforgiving. With starvation and disease running rampant, many villagers would do anything if it meant a better life for their family—or one less mouth to feed.”

  “You use locals.” And anyone else who’s threatened to throw a chink in his plans.

  “To a varying degree, yes. And as for production and distribution, a few well-placed connections grant me relative free rein to do with Freedom as I please. And now with your involvement, Freedom could span across the four ends of the globe as soon as spring.”

  Rafe snorted. “While I’m flattered that you think so highly of me, you’d have to have a significant degree more than well-placed connections. You’d have to have inside men or women in every continent and from every government agency out there.”

  “I am a man of many talents, Rafael. And I also happen to be very persuasive. Even the once-feared American DEA has been relegated to nothing more than a nuisance to my general plan.”

  Despite having been the agency to have contracted them to track Diego’s movements, the DEA being compromised wasn’t without possibility. It would explain how Fuentes kept his operation from authorities for so long.

  “You have someone on the inside helping you.” Rafe chuckled, feigning an impressed look. At Diego’s slow smile, Rafe’s stomach curdled. “From what I heard, the DEA was your biggest obstacle, so why do you need me if you already have someone paving your way?”