Protecting Arizona (Special Forces: Operation Alpha)

by Holt, Desiree

  Vasquez fought back his anger. He didn’t need any problems right now, not even small ones.

  “What is it?”

  “First of all, she has company. Some guy who decidedly looks ex-military and rides a big-ass Ducati bike.”

  “Did you get pictures?” Vasquez demanded.

  “Of course. I have Jorge running him through his facial recognition software, but so far no hits.”

  Fuck.

  “What else?”

  “They drove by your place twice before we lost them.”

  “Lost them?” Vasquez demanded. “What the fuck do you mean, lost them?”

  “Your DEA agent is smarter than you want to give her credit for,” Octavio said. “I don’t know if she spotted the tail or the guy with her did, but she managed to shake us.”

  “Mierda!” Vasquez ground his teeth. Everything was turning to shit in a hurry. “So you have no idea where she is? At all?”

  “All the teams are searching for her as we speak. We will make it good, rest assured.”

  “I’m not resting very well right now. Tell those idiots if they don’t find her they are all dead.” He spit the words out through gritted teeth. “Do it now and dispose of her. We can’t wait for whatever trouble she’s bent on stirring up. If you can’t make it look like an accident, make her disappear altogether.”

  “You don’t think that would set her DEA bosses on the hunt?”

  “Figure it out. You know how to do this. Octavio, we have worked a long time to build the unique business we have. One person distributing for several cartels is almost unheard of. If we can’t clean up this mess, not only will we be out of business, but we might very well be dead. The cartels don’t like problems.”

  There was another long moment of silence before Octavio spoke again. “I will take care of it. Go home. I will get back to you with an update.”

  “And rattle our source at the DEA. I want to know if their plans are still going forward, even with Florida’s death.”

  “Si.”

  Vasquez disconnected the call. How was it possible that his carefully constructed world was suddenly falling apart like this? Perhaps he should have had his men simply bring Florida back to the house until the DEA raid was over and he knew which direction his life was taking. Then he could have made both her and her sister disappear and told everyone they had left together. He was good at creating plausible stories.

  But he’d done everything today in haste, and that was always a sure path to disaster. Well, not always. He had confidence he’d manage this. He’d handled worse. But now finding and eliminating Arizona Hunt was a priority. He had idea what Florida might have known and told her, and he had to do this before the detectives found her and questioned her.

  Yes, he should have found out all of this before allowing Octavio to eliminate his wife. That was what happened when you let your anger and emotions take over. But he was also good at cleaning up messes. Finding Arizona was a first step.

  * * *

  Arizona and Razor made two more passes with the boat before returning it to Charles Winters’ dock.

  “We know Ruby is at the house,” Razor reminded her. “That was our first goal today. We don’t want to risk calling attention to ourselves before we are ready to move. We managed to get to the boat without them on our tail, but I don’t want anyone to pay too much attention to this. Besides, we need to make some plans.”

  “Damn right,” she agreed. “Now that you’ve seen his house, does that sharp SEAL brain of yours have any idea how just two people can grab one child out of that fortress?”

  “You know as well as I do that’s a complicated situation. I don’t think they’ll move her tonight. You can be sure that by now the cops have paid Vasquez a visit at his office to do the death notification. They’ll have him identify the body and then expect him to go home and somehow break the news to his daughter. Inform the household staff. Things a normal person would do. He’s a smart man and won’t want to do anything to cause more attention than he’s already incurred.”

  “I hear a but in there.”

  Razor nodded. “But everyone makes mistakes. He may be so arrogant he thinks he’s untouchable. Pay attention to one thing, though. Actually, two things.”

  She frowned. “What?”

  “I’m assuming the DEA raid is still on although they may make an adjustment because of the funeral. you could call your boss and ask him. And two? Now that Vasquez knows about you, he probably thinks you’re to blame for Florida doing whatever she did and finally leaving him. And who knows what happened that led up to it. I’d say it was pretty bad for him to order her killing.”

  Arizona shuddered. “I hate to even think of what stupid thing she did to call attention to herself.”

  “That being said,” Razor continued, “getting rid of you is now a number-one priority for him. Those cars following us weren’t just nosing into your business. They’re looking for an opportunity to erase you.”

  “Even with you here?”

  “My guess is they’ve been told to get rid of me, too. I’m the unknown, and they have no way to identify me. They don’t know where I came from, and there’s no way for them to find out. That’s an advantage for us.”

  Arizona stared at him. “Do you think they know that was us on the water? That we were out there checking out the house from there?”

  “Hard to say. I didn’t notice a boat pulling away from their dock and heading for us, and you managed to blend us in with the other traffic when we left Charles Winters’ place. But we have to be prepared for anything.”

  “Is there anyone behind us now?” she asked.

  “Let me check. We just passed the intersection where we lost them before. I know. I didn’t think they’d bother following you right now because they know where you live. If you aren’t at Vasquez’s house scoping it out, they can wait for you to get home or pick you up at the spot where we lost them before.”

  “Hoping you’d come by here again. My bad. We should have taken a different route.

  Her stomach knotted. “So what should I do?”

  “Let’s see if we can lose our tail again, although like I said earlier, they can always wait for us at your house. They might be stupid enough to do just that.”

  “No kidding.”

  “I have an idea. Head downtown.”

  “No problem. Here we go.”

  Arizona plunged into the downtown traffic, whizzing through yellow lights and turning corners at the last minute.

  “Okay, we’ve lost them for now, but we just need a few minutes. There’s a parking spot. Pull into the curb. Quick.”

  She did as he told her to without asking any questions.

  “Get in the back and lie down on the floor as best you can,” he ordered. “Make it fast.”

  She did what he asked quickly and without question. Seconds later, they pulled out into the street again.

  “Now what?” she asked.

  “I’d say right now those guys are trying to figure out where we disappeared to and how we lost them. They won’t call Vasquez yet because they don’t want an ass chewing. Best guess is they’ll assume you were heading home and go there to wait for you.”

  “Are we still going there?”

  “Oh, yeah. I rode my motorcycle there using my GPS, so I know where I’m going. Hang tight back there.”

  Ten minutes passed before he spoke again.

  “Okay, the gray sedan is parked about five doors down from you. I’m coming up behind him so when I pass he can see that I’m driving. Give me the code to punch in for the garage door opener.”

  She did, and seconds later they were inside. As soon as she heard the garage door slide closed behind them and the engine turn off, she sat up and crawled out of the car.

  “Now what?” she asked.

  “Now we put our heads together and make some plans.”

  Chapter 8

  The moment they were inside Arizona closed all the shutters,
then at last let out a long breath.

  “The first thing I have to do is call my boss,” she told Razor. “He needs to know what’s happened since this morning. Anything and everything can affect the raid that’s planned.”

  He nodded. “Go to it.”

  She worried that she’d just get Joaquin’s cryptic voice mail—“Busy. Leave a message.”—but he picked up on the second ring.

  “Let’s have it, Arizona.”

  “We know for sure Ruby is at the house on Davis Islands. I—”

  “You didn’t make yourself obvious when you checked it out.” A statement, not a question.

  “Of course not. Did you think I suddenly developed a case of stupid?”

  DeLoach barked a short laugh. “You know I always have to check. So fill me in.”

  Arizona gave him chapter and verse on their afternoon and the cars tailing them. Then a long pause.

  “Right now they’re plenty confused,” she told her boss. “We managed to ditch them downtown long enough for me to hide in the back seat. When we got to my street they were waiting for us but all they saw was Razor in the car. By this time they’re probably wetting their pants trying to explain this to Vasquez.” Pause. “Uh huh.

  “If he managed to find that out,” DeLoach told her, “he probably also knows you’re with the DEA.”

  “But—”

  “Let me finish. But, as I was about to say, if he ordered the hit on his wife and now he’s following you, I don’t think it has anything to do with us. I don’t know if he’s worried you’ll come after your niece but I’ll bet he’s damn sure worried about what you’d say to the cops. Whatever you might know about his relationship with his wife and why she decided to leave. He’s probably pissing his pants since his guys told him you’ve disappeared practically right under their noses. Finding you will occupy his attention, but it puts you in danger as evidenced by your shadows.”

  “Yeah, what about them, the guys sitting outside my house?” she asked.

  “Ignore them for right now. They have no idea you’re inside, so let’s keep it that way. Maybe Vasquez will send them off on a wild goose chase. He might want you dead, but not in a way that would bring even more attention to him. He’s not going after the man his goons have told him is inside your house. He has no idea who he is, and the last thing he wants is another disaster to deal with. A shooting at the home of his sister-in-law would not play well with the police or the media.”

  “So just pretend they aren’t there?”

  “For the moment, yes. They have no idea where you’ve disappeared to, and we need to keep it that way.

  “More than. Arizona, I know you are a top-notch agent and eminently qualified for your job but do me a favor, just in this one instance.”

  She tightened her hand on the phone. “I’m not hiding in the house, no matter what you say. Not while Ruby is with that disgusting man.”

  “Who happens to be her father,” DeLoach pointed out, “and has legal custody of her. Let’s not forget that.”

  “Even worse. Florida would not want her to grow up in the environment. I’m sure that’s one of the reasons she left. Joaquin, I’ve got to get her away from him. That’s not a safe environment for her.”

  “I agree, but you have to be smart about this. Listen. I know you won’t take yourself out of the action, and I don’t expect you to, but your emotions are all rolled up into this one. We all agree life would be easier for Vasquez if you were dead, and I can guess that’s up near the top of his to-do list. It’s a dicey situation. If you want to stay alive, let DaCosta take the lead on this. Please. I you’ll probably bitch about doing that, but I am as concerned for Ruby’s safety as I am for yours, So, let him roll with this.”

  She’d already figured out that was the smartest thing for her to do, but it would make DeLoach happy if she let him think she was following his so-called suggestion.

  “Okay. But only because I don’t want to end up dead and leave Ruby without a safe family arrangement.”

  “Whatever. Just do it. I’m going to contact t the detectives handling Florida’s case and see what I can find out. And check in with me regularly. I’ll let you know when we go silent.”

  “Okay.” She paused. “And thanks.”

  “Hey. You’re one of my best agents. I need to make sure you’re taken care of. Now put DaCosta on the phone for a moment.”

  She handed Razor the phone and waited impatiently while he finished his conversation with Joaquin.

  “Okay?” she asked her boss when Razor gave her back the phone.

  “DaCosta knows what to do. He’s exactly what you need right now. Listen to him.”

  “Whatever you say.” She hit the button to disconnect and shoved the phone in her pocket.

  “I know how anxious you are to grab hold of Ruby,” Razor told her. “That’s going to be kind of hard to do at the moment, though, with all the variables. A house like a fortress. Armed guards. Vasquez keeping an eagle eye on her.”

  “You make it sound so impossible.” She desperately wanted them to just grab their guns and breach the place, but she knew that was a foolish idea. “What can we do?”

  “I agree that he probably will keep her at home until after the funeral, which is still up in the air. Her presence will enhance his posture as the grieving widower and, he hopes, take some of the pressure off him. Your boss suggested we wait until he gets back to us. He’s getting in touch with the detectives handling your sister’s case. Their timeline and when the funeral will be held directly impact what we’ll be able to do and how.”

  “I know, I know.” She raked her fingers through her hair.

  Razor closed his fingers gently around her wrists. “Look at me, hot stuff.”

  She choked on a giggle. “Hot stuff?”

  “Yeah, you are. And we’ll get to that later. But pay attention to what I’m saying.”

  She chuffed a sigh. “I’m trying to, but I keep seeing Ruby and wondering what’s going on with her.”

  “Your boss will do his best to find out but he also mentioned something else. As of this moment they aren’t planning to adjust the timeline of the raid. He said he told you that. He also asked me to pass along that they still have someone keeping an eye on the dealership in case Vasquez decides to change his schedule, although I can’t think why he would. Especially now. If the focus is on him and the murder of his wife, he’s probably pretty confident the DEA won’t be paying attention to his drug business.”

  “Joaquin said he doesn’t believe the men outside will try to get into the house. What do you think?”

  He nodded his head. “I agree with him. Not while they think I’m here by myself. To what end? Beat me up to ask where you’ve gotten to? Too much of an attention getter, and he can’t afford that at the moment. My guess is right now they’re on the phone to Vasquez or whoever is giving them their orders and asking what to do next.”

  “This was a smart move. Confuses them,” she pointed out. “Maybe sends them on a wild goose chase.”

  “That was the idea. Or Vasquez could tell them to just sit tight and see if I leave to go back and pick you up somewhere. I’m sure the man is in a quandary. He’s obviously made it a priority to get rid of you before the cops can find you and talk to you. Witness the constant surveillance to see what you’re doing and I’d say find the best place to get rid of you with the least amount of fuss. He doesn’t know what you might say to the police, and he doesn’t want to take any chances. But first he has to locate you again. You can bet he’s ready to bite nails right now.”

  “Good. Maybe he’ll make a mistake.”

  Razor shook his head. “I checked your alarm system. It’s state of the art, so we’re not totally exposed. I checked the panel and the diagram on your monitor on the kitchen counter. You even have sensors in the yard out back, so no one will be able to creep up on us.”

  “Unless they figure out how to disable it,” she pointed out.

  “If they do
, we’ll know and be ready for them. Meanwhile, Ruby’s safe for the night. He’ll be very careful what he does about anything with the cops keeping an eye on him.” He studied her face. “So much has happened today in such a short time, we need to absorb it. Let’s take a breath and air our brains out for a bit. The sun is setting. It will be dark out soon. I’d like to scope out Davis Islands again, in the dark, so we need to figure out how to do that. And how to get out of here without our watchdogs seeing us. I have some ideas.”

  “What do we do until then? Just sit here twiddling our thumbs?”

  His very sexy mouth curled up in a smile. “I’m pretty good at twiddling, you know.”

  Through the picture window that looked into her backyard they could see the sun dipping below the horizon and the first shadows of night begin to steal into the sky. Razor was standing so close to her she could count every hair on the little tuft that peaked out at the neckline of his T-shirt. His hands came up to rest on her shoulders.

  “I’ve had a lot of dreams about you since that night.“ The words were delivered in a low, rumbling tone. “Hot dreams, where I visualize every inch of your naked body.”

  “Have you?”

  He nodded, his fingers stroking her shoulders. “All I have to do is remember your naked body and my cock is hard enough to pound nails.”

  Heat flashed through her, and the pulse in her sex set up a steady throbbing.

  She slid her hands up his arms, feeling the texture of his skin. “And have you pounded it anywhere?” she asked

  “I know where I’d like to,” he growled. “Jesus, Arizona. I don’t ever remember someone lighting my body up that way. Come on. We have a couple of hours before we can do anything and you’re tied up tighter than a drum. Let me help you relax or you’ll end up tripping over your own feet.”

  She’d started to say something when his hands cupped her face, he bent his head, and in seconds his mouth was devouring hers. It was just as firm and warm as she remembered, his taste still the same, and the tongue sliding into her mouth just as teasing and taunting.