by Marie Harte
A long moment of silence. Another pull on the cigarillo. Another stream of smoke.
Rigo waited impatiently.
“Here’s the situation, little brother.” Mateo uncrossed and recrossed his legs. “Our buyer wants a delivery tomorrow night. No wiggle room. He has distributors waiting. If he doesn’t get it from us, he’ll go elsewhere. We cannot afford that.”
“But—”
Mateo held up his hand. “I have worked my fucking ass off to build this organization. It may be small, but it commands respect, and it commands authority. I get a seat at the Sinaloa table.”
And that, Mateo thought, was the heart of the matter.
“I understand,” he said slowly.
“Good.” Mateo snapped the word out. “Then you know that tomorrow night happens without question. You have a group waiting, right? Then make your arrangements.”
Rigo said nothing, just stared at his brother.
“I will send people with you.” Mateo flicked his ash into a glass dish. “Two armed guards.”
“So we can kill more people?” Rigo shook his head in exasperation. “That’s not the solution.”
“Take care of it. If you make a mess, I’ll clean it up, but you will make the delivery.”
“Exactly how will you clean it up?” A finger of unease tickled Rigo’s back.
“You don’t need to know. Do your job like always. We’ll use two vans tomorrow night. I will have two men meet you where you pick up the group. They’ll have the merchandise with them, ready for transport. That’s all.”
Rigo knew when he’d been dismissed. As he left his brother’s house, he pulled out his cell phone to call the man who assisted him with the crossings.
“We’re on for tomorrow night. No,” he replied, “I could not talk him out of it. You know Mateo when he digs in. He wants the glory at the Sinaloa table.” He listened for a moment. “I know, I know. But we have no choice. So, gather the next ten and meet me at the warehouse.” He started to hang up then remembered Mateo’s final words. “We will have armed escorts. Not my choice. And they’ll have another van. Let us pray no more lives need to be taken.”
He shoved the phone back in his pocket and wondered if there was any place he could disappear that Mateo and the cartel could not find him.
*
AS THE CHOPPER lifted smoothly into the air, Mason again admired the efficiency and cool poise with which Kris controlled the bird. She was all business, focused on managing the flight and handling the sleek machine. He loved to watch the smooth play of muscles in her arms as she worked the controls and the deftness of her touch.
Her face was impossible to read, shielded as it was by her aviator shades and the bill of her ball cap. But nothing in the movements of her body or her posture betrayed the slightest degree of tension. It seemed, once she sat in the pilot’s seat, she blocked everything else from her mind. A skill he was sure she’d learned before being accepted as a Nightstalker.
Below him, he could see Ray and Ted cantering across one of the fenced pasture sections. He was pleased to note that a wrangler had directed them around the areas with cattle to those acres that were empty. Soon, they were beyond the arable land and into the wild of the landscape, where they slowed their horses to a careful walk.
A crackle in his headset startled him and, in a moment, he heard Ted’s voice.
“Ray and I want to ride the entirety of the unused acres today. We’ll check the sensors first and then branch out. Any objections?”
“You’re good to go.” Kris’s voice was clear and authoritative. “Report on the condition of the sensors, first.”
“Will do.”
Mason pressed the button that allowed him to switch to a channel only he and Kris could hear. He touched her arm to indicate what he was doing, and she nodded. Tapped the switch on the flight stick.
“What are they trying to find?” he wanted to know.
“Signs that there has been traffic in other spots down there.”
Mason frowned. “I thought they checked it yesterday.”
“They did, but after studying all the shots we took, I’m assuming they want to eyeball it close up. Something they saw must have triggered it.”
“You think they’d cross my land in more than one place? What about that dirt road we saw out to the highway?”
She shrugged, a graceful lift of her shoulders. “That’s the most likely scenario, but we never leave anything to chance. It can get you killed.” She banked the helo into a turn. “Okay, I’m going to fly a zigzag pattern, from your neighbor on one side to the one on the other, covering every bit of the empty land down there.”
“For what purpose?”
“Possible alternate routes. Avenues they might choose if they decide for some reason yours is too risky. Although you certainly have the ideal spot for them.”
“Yeah, lucky me.”
But after more than an hour, she finally called it quits.
“Heading back,” she radioed to the men below. “See you when you get in with a full report.”
“Roger that,” Ray answered.
“So nothing?” Mason asked.
“The ranches on either side of you use every bit of their land, right down to the river. I’m guessing that if the coyotes tried to bring people through, they’d have trouble with the cattle and create a disturbance.”
“You got that right.”
“Plus, I didn’t see any other egress to the highway without going past either ranch house. So, your ranch is definitely the prime target.” She pointed at the ground. “What’s that? That cabin at the edge of one section.”
“It used to be an old line shack. A few years ago, I refurbished it, added water and electricity. Bought some new furniture.”
“Any special reason?”
Yes. I planned to bring my fiancée there for a romantic getaway on the ranch. Until she decided there was room in her bed for men besides me.
“One that no longer exists.” He hadn’t meant to spit the words out with such bitterness.
Kris gave a quick turn of her head to catch his expression before staring out the windshield again. “Okay. Sounds like it might be a nice place, though.”
“Not close enough for whoever is crossing my land to make use of,” he pointed out. “Too far away from the unused acres.”
“Yeah, I figured. Just eyeballing it, I could see that. But I was curious, anyway.”
“How long do you think we’ll have to wait before they try another crossing?”
“Hard to say. Under normal circumstances, I’d say not for another week or so.”
“Shit.” He spat the word. “So, we, what, sit around waiting?”
“Part of the job,” she reminded him. “We do a lot of waiting. But I said, under normal circumstances. I have an itch between my shoulder blades that tells me they might be pushing that date up.”
“What makes you think that?”
“Experience. Instincts. Whatever.” She turned the chopper toward the ranch. “I’m going to call Seth when I get back and see if he’d got any data for me that relates to this situation. That’s in addition to whoever we have on the streets. We have people in the office who monitor texts and conversations and anything else that goes out in cyberspace. He’s had people checking out the chatter in the drug pipelines, and he may have picked something up for us.”
“Let’s hope.”
As soon as Kris set the chopper down and shut completed her shutdown procedure, she fished out her cell phone and speed dialed a number.
“Seth? Yeah, we’re still checking. Got anything for me from the gossip line? Yeah? Okay, I’ll put you on speaker so the client can hear, too.”
“You there, Mason?” Seth’s gravelly voice came through with a surprising minimum of static.
“I am.”
“Okay. Glad Kris put us on speaker. Saves her having to repeat it.”
“So, what have you got?” Mason asked.
“I’ll
spare you all the who said whats. We’ve been doing a lot of digging here and monitoring what we call the smuggling gossip line.”
Mason couldn’t help grinning. “Do I even want to know how you do that?”
“Not at all. Be aware that there’s chatter the group using your spread is a small group that broke off from the Sinaloa cartel.”
“Drugs.” Mason’s stomach clenched. “Kris said you suspected that.”
“We did,” Seth agreed. “If it was simply a coyote hauling a group of illegals, they wouldn’t have bothered to shoot your men. The coyote would have beat feet and left the poor saps to whatever authorities you called.”
“What else?” Kris asked. “If Sinaloa’s involved in this, we might need to expand the team.”
“Like I said,” Seth answered. “This group is a small offshoot. A baby cartel on its own, you might say. But their leader has a seat at the Sinaloa table, and he’s not going to want to lose face.”
“I thought they might stop after they killed my men,” Mason told him.
“This guy has buyers waiting. He’s probably using the illegals as mules, and he’ll want to make the deliveries on time. Your sheriff isn’t equipped to deal with them, and the Border Patrol is way undermanned. The dealers know this and take full advantage.”
“Damn arrogant of them.”
Seth’s short laugh held no humor. “No shit. I’m sure Kris told you their schedule is erratic, deliberately so, and they don’t make the treks too close together. But, because they had to kill two of your men, they’d wait to see what you were going to do. They might not make a trip across your property for a week or maybe two. But we’ve picked up conversations about a deal going down either tonight or tomorrow night. Seems the buyer is putting pressure on, and the boss wants a victory before a big cartel leader meet next week.”
“We’ll be ready,” Kris assured him.
“I can add my men to the mix,” Mason put in.
“Not necessary,” Seth told him. “This team is trained for this. And we don’t want any more of your hands getting in the way of a drug dealer’s bullet.”
Mason had to agree. “Fine. But we’re here for anything the team needs.”
“And thanks for that.” The man laughed. “Understand you’ve been feeding them real well. Setting up some stiff competition for other assignments.”
“We aim to please.”
“Okay, boss. We’ll be ready. Thanks for the update.” She disconnected the call and stuck the cell phone back in her jeans pocket. “I’m going to call Ted and Ray back in. They’ll need to get some sleep this afternoon if we’re going to pull an all-nighter. Same for me.”
“You’ll be out there with them?”
Kris shook her head. “No, I’ll be in the bunkhouse with Lane, monitoring the sensors. The others will be out there, concealed and armed. But I have to be ready to move the minute they need me.” She opened the door on her side of the cockpit. “Let me get my men in and then, if Martina can throw a quick lunch together, I’ll get them back to the bunkhouse.”
“We’ll take care of it.”
She turned in her seat, her hand on the door, and pulled down her sunglasses to the bridge of her nose. As much as she might think she was hiding it, there was no mistaking either the heat or the hunger in her eyes. She opened her mouth as if she was about to say something. Mason tried to wait patiently, but she just shook her head, pushed the door wide open, and jumped down to the ground.
Okay, so timing was working against them. But he’d have her again before this was over. She wanted it, too, no matter how much she might try to hide it. He’d have to figure out a way to make it happen.
*
KRIS WAS READY to scream. It seemed, every time she turned around, Mason was right there. Next to her. Near her. Asking her if she needed anything. She half expected him to sit and watch her while she slept in the bunkhouse, but he’d had enough sense not to do that.
Still, since yesterday, while they’d planned and rested and waited, he had been a constant presence. She wondered if her team would start asking questions. No, he was the client. And former military. They’d expect him to be involved. And be everywhere they were.
The night had passed without incident. The feedback from a couple of the sensors was, again, caused by some of the abundant wildlife wandering in that sector. The men returned to the ranch, ate breakfast, and rolled into their bunks. Even Mason had headed up to the house to catch a few hours of shut-eye. Tonight, they’d all be at it again.
She finally crawled up into her own bunk and dropped into a dead sleep. The touch of a hand on her shoulder woke her. Reflex took over, and she sat up, gun in hand, pointed at whoever was touching her.
“Hey, hey, hey.” Lane grinned and backed away, hands up. “It’s only me. Don’t shoot.”
“Sorry.” She rubbed her hand over her face. “Old habits never go away.”
“Nor should they. Anyway, we’re going up to the house for lunch, and the client is on the porch, waiting to have a few words with you.”
She frowned. “About what?”
“Not my department, but he’s got a cooler with him. Maybe he wants a private lunch and pow wow.”
“It’s business.” She hated that she sounded so defensive. “Nothing more.”
“Makes no never mind to me. You call the shots. You’re the leader.” He started toward the door then turned back. “And, by the way, a damn fine one.”
Then, he was out the door. Kris took a few minutes to use the bathroom, wash her face, and brush her hair into a better ponytail. Hauling in a deep breath, she went out to meet Mason. And, yes, Lane was right. The man was holding a medium-size cooler.
She glanced from him to the cooler and back again. “Are we taking a trip?”
“A short one. If you’re okay with that.” He waved in the direction of the house. “Your team is eating lunch and then going over the plans, again. I figured you could take a short time out.”
Her breath caught in her throat. She knew damn well what was behind this sudden picnic. “You did, huh?”
He motioned behind him, where a bright red ATV sat. “I figured that would be faster than horses. Come on. I’ll give you an up-close look at that cabin.”
Her gaze met his. They both knew, if she got onto that ATV, exactly what would happen. Okay. They might not have anything beyond this moment in time, nor should they, but damn it, she might as well enjoy it.
Still, she made a last-ditch effort. “I don’t think this is such a good idea.”
He cupped her chin and tilted her face up to his. “You afraid of me, Kris? Afraid to be with me?”
“Hell, no.” She jerked her head away. “It’s only sex, anyway. Right?”
So many seconds ticked by as he studied her face, she wanted to smack him.
“Well?” she prompted. “We don’t even like each other.”
“That remains to be seen. Come on. Let’s give it a shot.”
She took his hand, the heat flaming through her bloodstream.
Big mistake, Krissy girl. Big, big mistake.
*
THEY LAY SIDE by side on the bed in the cabin, clothes tossed aside on the nearby chair, bodies slick with sweat. Lunch had been filled with small talk and casual touches. No wine, no alcohol of any kind because they would need to be at their sharpest for the evening. But that hadn’t affected the intensity of their passion. The sex had been hot, intense, and erotic.
Mason stroked his fingers down her cheek. “I figured this might help get you out of my system, but who am I kidding? I don’t know if that will ever happen. And I’m not sure what to do about it.”
She turned so she lay facing him. “I feel the same way. It’s a bitch, isn’t it? You know this doesn’t change anything between us, right?”
“No kidding.” He rolled her on top of him and threaded his fingers through her hair, holding her head in place. “I have no idea how you see the rest of your life, but I’m a really bad be
t, Kris.”
“Is that so? Tell me exactly how.”
He tore his gaze away from hers. “I’ve been a lone wolf all my life. Never even wanted to settle with someone, share my life with them.”
“You did once,” she reminded him.
His grip on her tightened. “Taught me a lesson, too.”
“Mason, all women aren’t like your former almost-fiancée.”
He shifted his gaze back to her face. “What about you? You’ve carved out a life for yourself. Where would you fit any man into your schedule with Mission Control?”
She hesitated. Emotions he couldn’t identify, or maybe didn’t want to, flashed across her face.
“You’re right,” she said at last. “This is all we should focus on. Maybe sometime—” She bit off her words. “Forget it.”
Before he could ask what she meant, she licked his lips with the tip of her tongue, teasing him until he opened for her. She swept inside, and he moved his own tongue to duel and dance with hers. God, he loved her taste, everywhere on her body. He could get drunk on it, he was sure.
He rubbed his hands up and down the slope of her back and the sweet curve of her ass. His fingers crept into the hot crease there, pressing against the tiny opening.
“Today,” he told her, tearing his mouth away from hers, “I’m going to fuck you in your ass so hard you’ll remember it well after you’re gone. And give you an orgasm that will blow the top of your head off. You’ll dream about this, Kris. Think about this every night.”
That odd look came into her eyes again, a brief flash before it was gone.
“Okay. I want that, too. I’m tired of fighting it. We need to do this and get it out of our systems.”
“Then get ready for a hard ride.”
In seconds, he had shifted her aside, rolled on a condom, and lifted her over him. Very slowly, he lowered her onto his dick, which seemed to be perpetually hard when he was around her, no matter the amount of sex they’d already had.
She slid onto him easily, still so wet and ready for him, it took his breath away. The tight walls of her pussy clamped around him, gripping him like a wet fist.
“Slow and easy,” he ground out between clenched teeth. “I want to make it last.”
