by Desiree Holt
“She won’t write about anything if she’s dead,” he pointed out.
“I know, I know. I haven’t heard from her for a couple of days. Maybe I’ll call her and see what she’s doing right now. Try to talk her out of the most dangerous things.” Then she laughed. “Except I know that would be a fool’s errand.”
At that moment her cell phone rang with an unfamiliar ringtone. She pulled it from her purse, but when she looked at the screen, she didn’t recognize the number, so she let it go to voicemail. Almost immediately she got a notification of a text. Reluctantly she looked at it, then blinked.
It’s me, Dana. Answer the phone when I call back.
“Well, that’s weird.”
“What is?” Trey asked.
“A text from Dana to answer when she calls again. Why is she calling from a strange number?”
“Maybe she had to change her phone because of the whole cartel story,” he suggested.
“Damn. I know you’re right in what you said. I wish she’d get off that kick. What if next time they don’t screw around and just decide to kill her?”
“That’s a very real possibility.” Trey’s voice had a harsh edge. “Someone should talk some sense into her. They didn’t do much damage to her this last time, but it wasn’t a good situation.”
Before Kenzi could respond, her phone rang.
“Is there some reason you’re using a different phone number?” she asked at once.
“Hello, Dana. I’m so excited to hear from you. Thank you for calling.”
Kenzi huffed a sigh, “Okay. Hello, Dana. I’m so excited to hear from you. Thank you for calling. Now tell me why you have a different number.”
There was a pause, and Kenzi could visualize her sister trying to come up with the right explanation.
“My editor thought it would be best,” she said in a slow voice. “You know, in case anyone had my phone number from before.”
“You mean anyone in Mexico. Right?”
Pause. “Or perhaps here in the States.”
“In the States?” Kenzi fisted her hand in her lap. “Dana, what the hell is going on? What are you getting yourself into here?”
“He’s still having fits over the kidnapping, but he hasn’t pulled me off the story. This is still the same project, the Lopez Garcia cartel, but I’ve got some new angles. A new lead. And my editor wanted me as invisible as possible while I chase them down.” She gave a nervous little laugh. “He’s even hired a couple of bodyguards for me.”
“Bodyguards?” Kenzi exploded. “Dana Roberts, what the hell are you up to now? Are you out of your everlovin’ mind?”
“I assure you, my mind is working just fine. I didn’t tell you about the bodyguards before because I was afraid you’d come to New York and lock me away. My boss hired them as soon as the military delivered me back to New York. They’ve been shadowing me day and night since then.”
“You still should have told me,” Kenzi protested. “And by the way, you should get out of any line of work where you have to have two men with guns taking care of you.”
Trey nudged her shoulder. When she glanced at him he mouthed, “Ask her the name of the agency.”
“I’m going to see this story through to the end.” Dana’s voice was laced with steel. “This is the biggest thing I’ve ever written, and no one is going to scare me out of it.”
“Do you know the name of the agency your boss used to hire these bodyguards?”
“Agency? I have a card here. Wait a sec.” Pause. “Here it is. “Gillette. They’re based in New York. Why?”
“Just making sure they got someone top notch.”
“Oh, no worries there. But, Kenzi, listen.” Now there was a touch of excitement in her voice. “I’m following up on a new lead that might break this story wide open. And guess where it’s taking me?”
“I hope to god not to Mexico again.”
“You won’t believe this. To San Antonio!”
Kenzi sat up straight. “Here? You’re coming here?”
“Yes. And I’m flying in on a private plane the security company owns. You know. Just in case. They think going commercial leaves me too exposed.”
Kenzi didn’t want to ask just in case what. “So what prompted this trip?”
“I am only telling you this because I know everything stays with you.” Pause. “A contact managed to make a connection for me with a cartel member in San Antonio who wants out. Is ready to dish for me in exchange for protection. Maybe a new life.”
Kenzi snorted. “Which he’ll need if the cartel finds out he’s spilling secrets. So I’m guessing this would be one of the distributors?”
“You know I can’t say,” Dana admonished.
“Okay, then tell me this. Where are you staying?” She was torn between wanting her sister safe and not have anything interrupting the few days she had left with Trey.
“Don’t worry, sister dear. I won’t be busting in on you and your hunk. I’m staying in a condo owned by a friend of the man who owns the security agency. And the bodyguards will be with me at all times.”
“Honey, I am really worried sick about you and the chances you’re taking.”
“We’re all being smart about this, I promise you. And I will make time to see you, but in a secure location. For sure while Trey is still here so he can see for himself you aren’t in any danger.”
“I’m sure he’ll appreciate that.” She tried to keep the sarcasm out of her voice. “When do you get here?”
“Tomorrow morning. Wheels up at eight o’clock, which gets us there about nine-thirty your time. We’re landing at a small private airport. Tonight, I’m locked up tight with my bodyguards.”
“Do they stay in your apartment with you?”
Dana laughed. “You mean in my overpriced one-bedroom apartment? I don’t think so. But they check every inch of it every night before they spend the night watching the building, and I have a special phone to signal them with if there’s trouble. Then, in the morning, the new shift comes on.”
“So, they stay up all night to watch for trouble? They won’t even be awake to guard you when you leave.”
“A different shift handles the daytime hours. They’ll show up at seven in the morning and we’ll leave for the private airport. It’s all good. I promise to call you as soon as we land so we can set something up. Okay?”
“How about a text when you get ready to leave. Please? Just to ease my mind?”
Dana chuckled. “Yes, Mom. I’ll send you a text. Love you, big sister.”
The line went dead. Kenzi just sat there for a moment, trying to control both her temper and her fear.
“Problem?” Trey asked. “That was your sister, right?”
“Yes.” She sighed. “I never know whether to hug her or smack some sense into her.”
“Still on that story, right?”
There was something in his tone of voice that made her slide a glance at him.
“She is.” She repeated what Dana had told her. “I’m worried, Trey. She’s wading in dangerous waters again.”
“You have no idea.”
She frowned. “Is there something I should know that you’re not telling me?”
“Yes. I was planning to go over it with you anyway. Let’s wait until we’re inside your place. You can take your shower, I’ll fix a drink for you and let you know why Dana won’t be all alone out there in case she gets into more crazy shit.”
He wants me to wait? Is he crazy?
“Why can’t you tell me now?”
“Because we’re already home and we shouldn’t discuss this in the parking lot.”
Kenzi looked out of the windshield and realized that she’d been so preoccupied with her sister’s situation, she hadn’t even been aware they’d arrived at their destination. She tamped down her irritation and unfastened her seat belt.
“Fine. Fine, fine, fine.”
Trey locked the car and came around to where she stood, cupping her chin
to tilt up her face.
“And I meant it about the shower. Get comfortable because I know you’ll have a lot of questions. Okay?”
She huffed anther sigh. “Okay, but I have something to talk to you about, too. I guess this will be the quickest shower in history.”
So much for long and leisurely. Whatever Trey had to tell her, she wanted to hear it now. And she would also use him as a sounding board for her own tangled and probably absurd thoughts.
In less than fifteen minutes she was washed, rinsed and dried, her hair pulled back in a ponytail and her clad in her favorite at-home outfit—yoga pants and an old Houston Texans T-shirt. Trey was waiting for her in the living room, his cell phone pressed to his ear.
“Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Okay, good. Let me know what you find out.” He disconnected and shoved the phone into his pocket.
“What’s going on?”
“I gave Slade the name of the agency that’s providing the bodyguards and asked him to check them out. He’s got a friend who has an agency here in San Antonio that we’d trust with our lives. I don’t leave anything to chance.”
He picked up the drinks from the coffee table where he’d set them. She noticed he’d poured the same for her as he had for himself, Jack Daniel’s, her go-to when she wasn’t drinking wine.
“I figured you might need something a little heftier than your usual favorite shiraz,” he told her, handing her one of the glasses. “Take a sip.”
The aged bourbon had a delightful burn to it as it slid down her throat and she felt her jangled nerves begin to ease at once. Holding the drink, she sat cross-legged on the couch, looked at Trey and said, “Okay, give.”
In a voice she was sure was supposed to project the feeling that everything was handled, he told her about the discussion that morning, as he and the team reviewed the information they had on Dana and what they themselves had. Kenzi stared at him, not sure which amazed her more—that her sister would put herself in the line of danger again or that Trey’s team would choose to get involved in assuring her safety.
“But that’s unbelievable,” she finally managed.
He grinned. “Which part?”
“Mostly about your team getting involved.”
Trey sat next to her on the couch, leaned over and pressed a light kiss to her lips.
“It’s what we do, Kenzi. We take care of what’s ours.”
Her breath hitched a little. “What’s yours? Trey, we hardly know each other—how can Dana or I be yours?”
He took her hand and rubbed his finger over her knuckles.
“I’m not sure I can explain it myself, if you want to know the truth. The word on this came down to us because we were the team that did the rescue mission. It’s coincidence that Dana happens to be pursuing her story in the city we’re in for the moment. The rest of it?” His smile was gentle and something indefinable flashed in his eyes. “Like I said, we take care of our own.”
Kenzi drew in a breath and let it out slowly. She was both frightened and warmed by the sense of possession. Right from the beginning, although they hadn’t had an actual discussion about it, there had been a tacit understanding this was all for fun and hot sex. Kenzi was immersed in her career and Trey was dedicated to Delta Force. But somehow, after the rescue in Mexico, the atmosphere between them had changed, and she wasn’t sure if that was good or bad.
“Kenzi?”
She gave herself a mental shake. “Yes?”
“Before we get into what’s on your mind, do you think you can call your sister back and find out what airport they’ll be landing at?”
“Sure, but why?”
“I think we should be there when they arrive. Something about this whole thing makes my neck itch. I’ll feel a lot better if I can get a look at these bodyguards myself.”
“Okay.” She blew out a breath and picked up her cell. “I’ll try, but she might dig in her heels.”
“Be inventive,” he urged. “Use that brilliant lawyer’s mind of yours.”
“Yeah, well, I’m not so sure it’s all that brilliant right now, but let me make this call first.”
The phone rang twice before Dana answered.
“I’m not so sure the bodyguards will be all that happy with you guys coming to meet us,” she said when Kenzi explained what was happening.
“Tell them it’s your sister and a member of Delta Force. How much safer could that be?”
There was silence for a long moment. “All right. But be sure no one follows you.”
“Jesus, Dana. Trey is the icon of stealth, okay? Now, give.” She repeated the information to Trey. “Text me when you leave New York so we can judge your arrival. See you then, baby sister.” She paused a moment. “Stay safe.” Then she disconnected.
“Do you know where this is?” Trey asked.
Kenzi nodded. “We have a couple of clients who fly into there on their own planes. I’ve picked them up there before.”
Trey chuckled. “I keep forgetting what high society your clients are in.”
“Not just high society. It’s their financial situation. Some of them could buy and sell San Antonio. I often wonder where they got all that wealth to begin with. Some of it goes back generations.” She held out her glass. “Which brings me to my own subject. Another drink, please, so I can tell you what’s dinging my brains and you can explain to me how I’m seeing shadows where there are none.”
When Trey handed her the glass with fresh liquid in it, she too a healthy swallow and let the familiar taste and feel soothe her. Sort of.
“You know I’m working with one of the senior partners on this big project for a long-time client of the firm, right?”
Trey nodded. “Yeah, the one you’re putting in all the extra hours on.”
“That’s it. He’s the man I pointed out to you at the restaurant the other day.”
“The one you took the picture of? Did you get anything when you ran a computer search?”
“Just the usual business and society stuff. I had hoped to catch shots of him with some possibly shady characters, but either he doesn’t associate with them or he’s very good at keeping his skirts clean. But I haven’t given up.”
“Tell me about him. I will say he looked respectable when I got a look at him the other day, but we both know appearances can be deceiving.”
“And I may just be letting my imagination run away with me, because there hasn’t been anything overt to trigger this.” She paused, figuring out how to phrase this. She didn’t want Trey to think she was seeing bogeymen where there weren’t any, or that her sister’s situation was coloring her thinking. “He owns a huge ranch in the Hill Country just outside the city. Besides the capital, he’s leased out the mineral rights to almost a quarter of the property.”
“Sounds like a smart thing to do. Even a grunt like me knows there’s a ton of money in that.”
“He has some other small businesses, too, that he runs with his brother, who still manages the family ranch in Mexico. In Chihuahua.”
Trey lifted an eyebrow. “I admit I don’t know all that much about it, just from what I’ve gathered listening to Slade about the area, but that doesn’t seem to me to be uncommon enough to raise flags.”
“I know, I know.” She took a sip of her drink. “And he is one of the pillars of Texas society and the business community. Still, he’s expanding into all these overseas investments, opening new businesses, buying into others.” She shrugged. “Maybe I just watch too much television.”
“So, you’re what, thinking this is all a coverup for some deep, dark criminal operation?”
Kenzi gave a breathy little giggle. “Sounds stupid, right? I told myself the same thing. My imagination is probably working overtime because of Dana and her story. Criminals don’t use our law firm. They can’t take the chance they’d reveal something by accident.”
“Was there anything particular that kicked your brain in this direction?” Trey asked.
She shrugged. “Probably j
ust the fact that with Dana’s kidnapping and her boss hiring bodyguards, and all the current publicity on the growth and strength of cartels, it’s all at the forefront of my mind. And my concern factor ratcheted up several notches after I spoke with Dana.”
“I can understand that.”
“And now with Dana coming to San Antonio and having some secret meeting…” Kenzi treated herself to a healthy swallow of her drink. “Crazy, right?”
Trey set his glass on the coffee table. “In my line of work, I’ve learned never to write anything off as crazy.”
“So, you think it might not be so farfetched? That I’m not making up some nutty scenario and should just forget it?”
“Sure as hell if you do, it will come back to bite you in the ass.” He grinned. “By the way, biting your ass is something I very much look forward to.”
He reached out for her and tugged her so she was sitting in his lap. In spite of the fact that her mind was in a turmoil, the contact sent shivers of heat racing over her skin.
“Is that what you have in mind?” she teased, trying to erase the worry that had just popped up out of nowhere.
“I think it might help you think of something else besides what’s got your brain in a turmoil.” He pulled her against his hard body and took a gentle nip at her earlobe.
“At least you don’t think I’ve lost all my marbles.” She leaned into him, feeling the hard thickness of his cock beneath her ass. “I think I might just do a little more research on Señor Alex Reyes.” She wiggled her butt. “Just not right now.”
“Good.” He put his mouth close to her ear and slid a hand up to cradle one breast, lightly pinching a nipple. “Because I plan to work up a real appetite for dinner.”
“Me, too,” she whispered, the pulse in her sex coming to life as he eased her top over her head.
Chapter Nine
Hector Lopez Garcia sat back in his armchair, feet up on the ottoman, and pulled on his cigar. A snifter of brandy sat on the little table next to him. Through the big picture window, he watched the sun setting, casting its warm glow over the manicured lawn and the carefully trimmed shrubs. He loved this time of day, when he could relax and enjoy his brandy and cigar, with a pastoral setting stretching away from the house.
