They reached her truck and she grasped for the door handle, but Phantom’s hand caught her, stopping her and turning her to face him. “I’m sorry, Elena. I wasn’t expecting this to happen.”
Elena’s gaze lifted to his, and her heart squeezed in her chest at the look of concern on his face. “You’re the only one that matters, remember?” she whispered.
If only he knew how true that really is.
He gave her a weak smile and captured her face in his hands before dropping his lips to hers. She drew in a deep breath and returned his kiss, her fingers combing through his still-damp hair. “Phantom,” she murmured against his lips.
“Mmm?”
“Thank you for giving me the most incredible weekend of my life.”
Chapter 16
Phantom sighed heavily as he stepped back into the house. The morning had started off with great promise but had quickly gone downhill as soon as his phone rang. Admiral Haslett had finally gathered the intel from his contacts in Mexico, and the SEALs had a mission—an urgent one.
He wanted to explain to Elena why he was making her leave and that he didn’t want to, but he couldn’t. The expression on her face had been devastating. He knew she thought they didn’t want her around, or more specifically, that he didn’t want her around. He would need to find a way to make things up to her.
Grim faces greeted him when he walked into the dining room. The team knew something had happened. He nodded to them all. “It was Haslett. He’s received confirmation from his contact in Mexico that there’s a human trafficking ring operating north of Reynosa. Their facility is practically on the border.”
“That fits with the chatter I uncovered yesterday,” Buzz said, pushing away his half-eaten food. For Buzz to lose his appetite, the information couldn’t be good. “The communication is going between Mexico and the United States and details a large group of people about to be shipped out. At least thirty women, twenty children, and ten men. It’s going to be one of the largest groups of people they’ve taken into the United States—at least for this ring. They’re getting greedy.”
“Or overly confident. No one has stopped them so far. It makes sense for them to grow more aggressive.” Santo sighed heavily and shook his head. “I’ve checked with Judge O’Connor, my friend here, and she hasn’t heard anything that would prove useful to us.”
“It’s obvious their code is identical to the one the drug cartel used. That connection can’t be a coincidence. Someone higher up on the food chain is pulling the strings,” Buzz said.
“We have to be cognizant that we’re working this from two angles. There are the traffickers in Mexico, but there’s also a connection on the U.S. side we’re going to have to identify,” Stryker volunteered.
“Haslett is uploading a file to me, Santo, Buzz, and Stryker. Buzz, you’ll be staying home on this mission and providing us with tech support. Stryker and Santo, we’ll be headed into Reynosa early Tuesday morning. Haslett says they’re moving the victims soon, so our window is small.”
“Drug cartels will sometimes dabble in human trafficking. Could that be what we’re looking at here? Could this be a branch of Benicio’s group that we didn’t know about?” Brusco asked.
Phantom shook his head. “With Benicio dead, the operation would have fallen apart. No, there’s a different leader behind this one, and the deeper we look into this, the more I’m certain we’re going to find that leader is operating from here in the United States.”
“So, you’re going to take down their compound in Mexico?” Snap asked, his eyebrows raised. Phantom mustered a weak smile, and Snap grinned broadly. “You’ll need some explosives then.” The men chuckled lightly at Snap’s enthusiasm for his “arts and crafts” projects.
Phantom nodded, though he suddenly had a burning desire to rewind the clock and spend the day locked in his room with Elena instead. He was dedicated to his job and would serve with honor. But for the first time in more than ten years, he didn’t want to take the assignment. He wanted to stay with Elena, at least a little longer. At least until they grew tired of each other. His gut twisted at the last thought.
“Team, we should have already received the file from Haslett. We don’t have much time, so we need to work fast and get up to speed on what we’re going into.” Phantom rolled his shoulders. His mind drifted to Elena. He had very little time left to see her before they had to leave.
Stryker stood and put a hand on his shoulder, speaking to him so softly only Phantom could hear his words. A corner of Stryker’s lip quirked. “She’s good for you, Phantom. Don’t fuck it up.”
Stryker’s words hit Phantom in the gut. Elena was the best thing that had ever happened to him. If it weren’t for the new mission, he would already be on the road to get her in his arms again. But there was a new mission, and he needed to get his head in the game.
He returned his attention to the team. “This group is supposed to move the hostages in the next five days. That means we hit the ground Tuesday for reconnaissance and then take them down. We do whatever legwork we can from here until we leave Tuesday morning.”
Tuesday. That meant he had one last day with Elena. Then he might not ever see her again.
* * *
Elena’s mouth was dry and her hands were moist. She wiped her palms on her jeans, keeping one hand on the steering wheel as she headed up the dirt road. She hadn’t been nervous before keying in the gate code, but once the large iron gate had swung open, all she could think about was how Phantom would receive her.
Would he be happy to see her? Would he have returned to his old, cold expressions? Worse still, would he try to avoid her altogether? Did he regret their time together?
She certainly didn’t regret it. If she could, she would go back in time and relive the entire weekend. A part of her wondered if she should be embarrassed by the way she had responded to him so passionately. Should she be ashamed of how she had behaved, the way she had cherished their sweet lovemaking Saturday night? Just thinking about the way he’d talked to her when they were in the throes of passion made her nipples tighten into aching buds, and a warmth blossomed between her legs.
Even with her body craving him, she wanted a sweet kiss from his lips more than anything. If it became intense, even better. But she wanted to breathe in his breath, smell his heady scent, and feel the warmth and strength of his mouth on hers.
She pulled up to the long row of trucks and parked in her usual spot. She stepped out, her eyes drawn to the ground. A deep impression of a pair of boots lingered in the dirt, and her heart kicked up a beat. It was where Phantom had stood Saturday night, as he had caressed her and kissed her and driven her to a frenzy. Her lips twitched with a smile. It had been incredible.
She looked up at the house and her smile faded. She would never forget the odd reception she had received from his fellow ranchers Sunday morning. Something had changed in the way they viewed her, and the only thing she could think of was the fact that she and Phantom had slept together. She couldn’t understand why that would be an issue at first, but the more she thought about it, the clearer it became. They didn’t approve of her for their friend. They probably thought she would want more than a casual fling with him, and they were right.
She longed for something substantial with Phantom. She wanted to be able to laugh with him, share things with him, experience life with him. She wanted a repeat of that wonderful drive home from Dripping Springs when they had enjoyed each other’s company, even when they weren’t talking…just holding hands.
Phantom had passionate blood and certainly knew what he wanted and needed when it came to relations with a woman. No doubt he went through women quickly. She had already considered these things before sleeping with him, and it had done little to calm her desire for him. She had known before they had been together at the B and B that her feelings for him had grown beyond anything she had expected.
His friends had probably picked up on her wish for something more. If they felt she would inhibit his lifestyle, they certainly wouldn’t approve of her. They would be ready to protect their friend from someone they saw as a problem.
If they knew she was already aware that her time with Phantom could be limited, they would think differently about her. She would enjoy whatever she could have with him, however long it lasted. Even if the past weekend would be her only magical experience with him, she would accept that and move on.
If it continued, she’d treasure every moment. She knew, though, that Phantom probably didn’t feel anywhere near as strongly about her as she did for him. When the end came, life would continue as always. She held no grand delusions of a fairy tale come true between them. She would be able to handle it. She would have her moment of tears, she had no doubt. But it would pass, and she would be the same self-sufficient woman she had always been.
The day moved at a snail’s pace, or at least it seemed that way to Elena. She cleaned the stalls, set the horses on the lunge lines, and even cleaned and polished all the tack they had used at the show. Every minute felt like an hour, and she kept anticipating she would see Phantom walking into the barn at any moment, the easy, handsome smile on his face that set her heart into overdrive.
By midafternoon she began to take the horses one by one into the arena to work on smoothing out areas that she had noticed at the show needed corrections. The hot sun beat down on her, and the horses were drenched in sweat within minutes. Even though exhaustion tugged at her, she took out two of the horses that hadn’t made it to the show to train and prepare for another show a couple of months away.
By the time she finished training and bathing the horses, and getting them back into the stalls with their hay and oats, the clock had inched toward four. Phantom hadn’t appeared all day. Her worst fear had been realized. He regretted what had happened and didn’t know how to face her.
Halfway through mucking out the stalls, she heard someone walking into the barn, and her heart skipped a beat. Almost as soon as her hopes had been raised, they were dashed. Phantom walked silently—she would never have heard him coming. Whoever walked into the barn seemed hesitant, and his steps seemed too deliberate. She wondered if he wanted her to hear him walking.
She stepped out of the stall, wiping the sweat off her brow with the back of her hand. She arched an eyebrow at the man walking toward her. “Hi, Lobo. Why aren’t you with Anya?” As far as she knew, he was supposed to be with her best friend every workday.
“Hi, Elena. How are you?”
He was smiling at her. It appeared to be genuine. Such a drastic difference from the reception she had received from the other ranchers the previous morning made her suspicious. Had someone sent him out to talk to her? Could it be Phantom wanted him to run interference until he could decide how to move forward with her?
She squinted at him. “I’m confused, if you must know the truth.”
“Anya is out at one of the ranches today. The rancher is having trouble with his herd coming down ill. She says I just get in the way when I go on calls with her.”
“Ah.” Elena turned and secured the stall door. “That’s not what I’m confused about, though.”
When she turned back to him his face had gone passive, reminding her of the emotionless expression she had seen on Phantom’s face so many times. Lobo didn’t say anything, just watched her. It appeared he didn’t plan to ask her what she might be confused about. He probably didn’t even care.
She couldn’t take the silence any longer. “I’m just curious. Do your friends suffer from some type of amnesia or something?”
His surprised expression nearly made her laugh. “Not that I know of. Why? Did they forget something important?”
Elena leaned on the rake and assessed him silently for several moments. “You weren’t here yesterday morning to witness everything, so I suppose I’ll have to explain. But let me back up so you can understand why I’m so confused. The other night—the first night when I met you—did you get the feeling we all meshed well together? I mean, your friends seemed to like me, didn’t they?”
“We all like you. You’re smart and funny, and you give Buzz a hard time about his Christmas carols, which earns major points in my book.” Lobo grinned at her, but it gradually faded when she continued to pin him with eyes demanding answers. “I’m not sure what you want me to say, Elena. The short answer to your question is yes, we all meshed together great, and I know without a doubt my friends like you.”
“Huh.” Elena chewed on her inner cheek for a moment, shook her head, and grabbed the muck bucket. She turned to the next stall, fully prepared to ignore him and keep working. As she began mucking the stall, he walked up to the door, and she could feel him watching her silently for several seconds. Her muscles were beginning to shake with exhaustion. The heat of the day had taken a toll on her.
When she looked up at him, he spoke. “Look, Elena, I heard yesterday morning might have been a bit rough—”
“Oh, so you do know what happened. Were you planning to just hang around until I broke down and complained? You’d have been out here all day, because that’s not the type of woman I am.”
One eyebrow lifted, quickly followed by his smile. While each man in the house had a unique appearance, they were all very handsome, including Lobo. Elena imagined he had broken plenty of hearts when he had chosen to come to Hebbronville. “I can see why he likes you.”
His comment took her by surprise, and she wondered if she had heard him correctly. “What?”
“Are you always so straightforward??”
“Yes. It gets me in plenty of trouble. Do you always avoid answering questions by asking more?”
He chuckled. “You’re a breath of fresh air. I think that’s why we all like you so much.”
She snorted and turned back to her work. She hesitated, though, and, after drawing a deep breath, pivoted back around to face him. “So if you know what happened yesterday morning, and you remember what things were like when I had dinner with everyone and we played cards, why did everyone treat me as if they’d never met me before? Why were they all so uncomfortable they couldn’t even look me in the eye? That’s the reason I asked if your friends have amnesia.”
Lobo looked down at his boots for a few moments, then returned his gaze to her face. “I don’t know everything that happened, Elena, so certainly it isn’t fair for me to speculate.”
“Did I do something wrong? Did I break some unwritten rule you all have about not keeping a girl over for the night?”
“No.” He shook his head firmly. “It’s nothing like that.”
“Really? Because the only thing different, from what I could tell, is that Phantom and I slept together. I’m the same person I was the night I had dinner with y’all. Are y’all afraid I’m a gold digger or something? I hate to disappoint, but I’ve been propositioned by men at far wealthier ranches and always said no.”
“Why?”
Elena blinked rapidly, startled by his question. “Do I strike you as that type of person?”
“To be honest, I don’t know you well enough to know what motivates you. If you’re looking for a man to take care of you financially for the rest of your life, I don’t see anything wrong with that.”
“Have you been out in the sun too long? I think you may have cooked your brains.”
He laughed, stepping back as she pushed past him to head to the next stall. “I’ve never been one to judge. It’s not my place.”
“Clearly. You won’t say anything about how your friends treated me, and you’re completely comfortable with the idea I may be after Phantom simply for his wealth.”
“Look, Elena…” He sighed heavily and ran a hand through his hair, his fingers leaving his carefully combed style ruffled and disarrayed. “Yesterday turned out to be a bit of a roug
h day for the entire group. I’m sorry for whatever they did to offend you, and I can promise you, they’re sorry too.”
“Who told you to come out here and tell me all this? Phantom? Stryker?”
“No one did. But I’ve heard the guys talking, and I’ve heard them kicking themselves for not treating you right yesterday morning.”
“Lobo, look. I get it if all y’all don’t approve of me. That’s fine. You’re certainly entitled to your opinion.”
His lengthy silence made her look up. His face had gone unreadable again. “What makes you think we don’t approve of you?”
“What other reason would all of them have for giving me the cold shoulder?”
“Is there a reason we shouldn’t approve of you?”
She wiped at her forehead with the back of her hand again and felt a trickle of sweat run between her breasts in the summertime heat. She had been guzzling water all day but felt slightly dizzy. The heat and her increased blood pressure from their discussion weren’t helping. “I don’t know. I don’t know what kind of woman you want to see him with. But I’m not here to change him or make him be anything other than the man he is. I’m not going to try to force him to fit into my life, and I don’t expect him to make room for me in his.”
“So you’re just using him for a good time.”
“No! I mean, are you kidding me? Is that what you think? I’m not using him for anything. I care about him. I enjoy being with him. But more than anything, I want to see him happy. No matter what that might end up looking like. With me or not.”
Lobo’s eyebrow lifted again. “I’ve gotten the distinct impression Phantom is a difficult man to please, but you seem to be hitting all the right notes with him.”
“Yeah. Sure I am,” Elena muttered to herself under her breath, scooping more horse manure into the bucket. “That’s why he hasn’t even bothered to say hello to me today.”
“Phantom is tied up in some critical work today. Otherwise he’d be with you in a heartbeat.”
A SEAL Always Wins Page 17
