Against the Law (17 page)

“For now.”

“I guess you'll be going to Mexico.”

“If that's where Chrissy is, that's where I'm going.”

“I'll make some calls, get things rolling.”

Dev caught his arm. “You have responsibilities, Clive. This is going to be dangerous business. You need to stay out of it.”

Clive just grinned. “You need me, partner. And just because I'm married doesn't mean I can't hold my own.”

“That isn't the problem and you know it.”

Clive slapped him on the shoulder. “Time's a-wastin', Daredevil. We'd better get to it.”

Dev released a breath. He should have known Clive wouldn't back off, not with so much at stake.

“Hambone's in,” Dev said. “I'll call Ghost, see if he wants to come out and play.”

“We're going to need a few things. I'll get us some throwaways and bring 'em to the powwow. What time and where?”

“We'll be staying at the Omni. Lots of exits, good visibility from the rooms.” His mouth edged up. “We'll be registered as Mr. and Mrs. Dare.” Clive chuckled.

“Be there at fifteen hundred. That'll give me time to get organized, make some calls.“

“You got it.”

3:00 p.m.
He had a lot of calls to make, a lot of planning to do. It would also give Johnnie a little extra time.

Walking beside him, Lark paused in the lobby. “What do we do about that?” She pointed to the group of reporters she could see through the windows, still milling around outside. Dev figured they had heard the 911 call over the police scanner and recognized Lark's address.

“Take her and go,” Clive said. “I'll hold them off till you get her out of here.”

Dev nodded, urged Lark off toward an exit farther down the hall while Clive stepped outside, directly in front of the camera lights that suddenly flashed on. He was a big man and tall and he instantly captured their attention.

Smiling and holding up his hands, he repeated the same information the police had already given them, keeping the focus on himself while Dev and Lark slipped quietly out of the building and hurried to the parking lot from a different direction.

Once they reached the rental car, they were off before anyone figured out they were gone.

“He's pretty amazing,” Lark said.

“Clive's a good man to have on your side.”

“Yes, he is.” She reached over and touched his arm, just a light brush of her fingers, yet a memory arose of how those slender fingers felt against his skin. He forced himself to concentrate on the road.

“Dev, I'm going with you.”

He opened his mouth, but Lark cut him off.

“I won't be a liability—not anymore. I learned how to shoot so I could defend myself and Chrissy. I killed a
man tonight. If that's what it takes to get her back, I'm not…not afraid to do it again.”

A muscle tightened in his jaw. Christ, he hadn't convinced Madman not to get involved. How the hell was he going to convince Lark?

“It's too dangerous. Besides, the police have your weapon.”

She cast him a
don't-be-ridiculous
glance. “I imagine you could find me another.”

“You aren't going.”

“Yes,” Lark said flatly. “I am.”

T
hey checked into a one-bedroom suite at the Omni. Dev told her he wouldn't be sleeping all that much and he wanted her close enough that he could protect her.

“I'm not taking you with me,” he said as they sat in a living room done in shades of brown and beige. “Alvarez is a real loose cannon. From what I've read, he's impulsive and vindictive. You killed one of his men. There's no way to know what he'll do.”

“If that's so and he comes after me, I'm in more danger being somewhere Alvarez can get to me than I am being with you.”

“I'll take you to a safe house. Somewhere he can't find you.”

“What if he does? I'm your client, remember? You're responsible for what happens to me.”

He raked a hand through his hair. She could tell he was wavering. And deep down he had to know that she was going with him—one way or another.

“I need to be there for Chrissy, Dev. Can you imagine the way she must be feeling?” A lump began to form in her throat. “Her parents are dead. Her nanny. Now she's stolen away from the one person who has promised to take care of her.”

“I know, I know.”

It was true and her eyes began to tear. Every time she thought of Chrissy she started to cry. But she had cried enough already and tears wouldn't bring her little girl home.

Instead, she slid off the sofa and knelt in front of him, reached out and took hold of his hand. “I have to go, Dev. You know it as well as I do.”

He stared off over her head, worked a muscle in his jaw. A long, slow breath whispered out. “All right, dammit. But this isn't going to be any picnic. You've got to do exactly what I tell you. No pausing, no thinking it over, no arguing. You don't question me. You don't ask me why. I say do it and you just do it.”

It made sense. All of the men in the group were ex-soldiers. They were proceeding as if this were a military operation. “I can do that.”

His features hardened. “If you can, maybe we can all get out of this alive.”

Lark's stomach knotted. She had seen what had happened to the Wellers. She knew the kind of man Antonio Alvarez was. Rising to her feet, she left Dev in the living room and went into the bedroom. She desperately wanted a shower. She needed to get rid of the faint odor of blood that seemed to permeate her skin, the feeling
that she was soiled somehow by killing one of Alvarez's men.

She wasn't sure why she didn't feel more regret. She always thought she would. When she watched those shows on TV, people who took a life were always overwhelmed with guilt. All Lark felt was a deep, abiding rage that even by shooting someone, she hadn't been able to save the little girl she loved.

The shower felt good. Cleansing. Renewing. Later they would make plans, decide the best way to go after Chrissy. Dev believed he knew where they had taken her. There was no way to know for sure, but she trusted him in a way she had never trusted another man.

She towel-dried her hair and pulled one of the fluffy white cotton hotel robes around her. Dev wanted her to get some sleep, but the sun was up, and as tired as she was, she knew she was way beyond sleeping.

Instead she came out of the bathroom and found him working at the desk, his laptop open in front of him. He was making some kind of list and talking on the hotel phone.

He hung up as she approached.

“That was Ghost—Trace Rawlins. He'll do whatever needs doing. I also talked to John Riggs. He's got a few last-minute errands but he'll be here by three.” He tipped his head toward the bedroom. “Why don't you try to get some sleep?”

She shook her head. “Not sleepy.”

He came to his feet. “About the guy you killed… A lot of people freak out after something like that. Even cops.”

“Not me. He was in my house. He was there to take my child. He would have killed me if I hadn't shot him first.”

“Yes, he would have.” He frowned. “You said in your statement, you didn't think the man would have targeted you if you hadn't tried to stop him.”

“I got the impression they just wanted Chrissy. Once I got in the way, everything changed.”

He gently caught her shoulders. “Are you sure you can handle this, Lark?”

She could handle it. She didn't have any other choice. “I'll do whatever's necessary to bring her home.”

His mouth edged up. “You know, you're pretty amazing yourself.”

She managed to smile.

“Now, be a good girl, do what I say and get some rest.”

“What about you?”

“I was sleeping when you called me, and besides I'm used to going without.”

She looked up at him, read the worry in his handsome face. She didn't know what the future held, didn't know if she would ever see the little girl she thought of as her daughter again. She tried not to think what awful things they might be doing to her but the dark thoughts crept in.

“Those men…you don't think they'll…they'll hurt her?”

His eyes bored into hers. “Stop that right now. Don't even think it. Alvarez went to a lot of trouble to have Chrissy abducted. Those men do exactly what he tells
them and nothing more. He wanted to punish you. And he has. But not for long.”

She swallowed and glanced away.

Soon it would begin. The search, the fighting, perhaps even the dying. She reached up and cupped his cheek, felt the roughness of his morning beard. She had missed him so much. And she needed him. Now more than ever.

“I'm too worried to sleep,” she said. “Maybe you could help me find a way.”

His eyes darkened to a deep crystal blue. There was so much hunger, so much heat, her stomach contracted. He took her hand where it rested against his cheek and drew her into his arms.

“Lark… God, I've missed you.” And then he was kissing her, devouring her. He ravished her mouth, drove his tongue inside, kissed her as if he wanted to eat her up, as if he couldn't get enough. The bathrobe fell away and he was lifting her, carrying her over to the bed.

He laved her breasts, nipped the peaks, suckled, tasted, took the fullness into his mouth and drew until she whimpered. He kissed the side of her neck, nibbled her earlobes, kissed her deeply again.

She wanted more, wanted all of him. One night hadn't been nearly enough, and tomorrow…tomorrow would change everything. Tomorrow there would be only Chrissy and finding a way to bring her home.

She reached for the hem of his shirt and tugged upward and Dev pulled it over his head. His chest was hard and ridged with muscle. His belly six-pack taut. He hurriedly worked the zipper on his dark blue jeans, pulled a condom out of his pocket, kicked off his loafers
and started kissing her again. In seconds, he was naked and on top of her, nestled between her legs.

She loved the feel of him, his heavy weight pressing her down, the bands of muscle that flexed and tightened whenever he moved. He kissed her long and deep, his tongue tangling with hers, hers sliding wildly over his. Hot, wet kisses trailed over her breasts, her belly, her thighs.

She cried out as he settled his mouth at the apex of her sex. Her fingers knotted in the crisp white sheets as he licked and laved, used his hands and his mouth with a skill she couldn't have imagined. In seconds, she was coming. Coming so hard.

The muscles in her belly clenched and goose bumps rushed over her skin. Pleasure consumed her, deep and endless, taking her to a place she had never been. She was so far over the edge she barely noticed when he paused, stopped long enough to sheath himself, then rose up and plunged inside her.

For an instant, he paused, his muscles straining with the effort at control. Bending his head, he kissed her fiercely and drove himself more deeply inside. Long, hard strokes followed, lifting her, carrying her upward. Deep, penetrating thrusts pushed her toward another thrilling climax. She was there, poised on the brink.

“Come for me, baby,” he said in that sexy way of his, and she did. Spiraling wildly out of control, reaching the pinnacle, tasting the sweetness. Pleasure washed through her in thick, saturating waves that pulled her under and wouldn't let go. She felt Dev's muscles tighten
as he followed her to release, felt the moist slick heat of his skin.

For long moments, they remained entwined. Then he leaned down and kissed her very softly on the lips. He traced a finger along her cheek.

“We both know that shouldn't have happened, but I'm glad it did.” Lifting himself away, he settled beside her, nestled her in the circle of one hard arm.

Lark made no reply. He was right and she knew it. Their brief encounter should have ended that night in Phoenix. Still, she wasn't sorry.

Not yet.

Not until she felt the comfort and strength of his hard body beside her. Not until she began to realize how deeply she had come to care for him.

Not until she realized she was falling in love with him.

 

Since Trace “the Ghost” Rawlins lived in Houston, he would charter a plane to El Paso, then rent a vehicle and drive down and meet them at the rendezvous point in Mexico. Riggs and Monroe arrived at the hotel right on time, and Dev was damned glad to see them.

He needed to get his mind off the hot round of sex he'd had with Lark that morning, thoughts that had him aching to take her again. He needed to focus, keep his mind on just one thing.

Bringing Chrissy home.

Since Lark and Clive were already friends, he introduced Johnnie to Lark.

“It's nice to meet you, Ms. Delaney,” Riggs said.
“Sorry about your little girl but we're gonna get her back.”

She managed to smile. “Thank you. And please, just call me Lark.”

Riggs was six feet of solid muscle, dark hair, a hard jaw and lips that rarely curved. He nodded, seemed pleased. “Sounds good.”

Dev drew them over to the table and chairs in the corner and all of them sat down. This was his mission. He was the man in charge.

“You both know what's happened. Chrissy's been taken and it's our job to bring her home.”

“How do we know for sure the little girl's being taken to Mexico?” Clive asked, leading off the discussion.

“We don't,” Dev said. “But from what Johnnie heard on the street, Chrissy's abduction was clearly personal for Alvarez. Which means we can figure he's going to want to see her, enjoy his revenge. Once he's done that, there's no way to know how long he'll keep her.”

“Alvarez lives near Hermosillo,” Johnnie said. “That's about eight hundred miles from here. With traffic, that's fourteen, fifteen hours on the road if they're pushing. They abducted the girl at around 2:00 a.m. It's after 3:00 p.m. now.”

“It's already been thirteen hours,” Lark said.

“Or maybe they had a plane waiting somewhere,” Clive suggested. “After they made the crossing into Mexico, they flew her the rest of the way down.”

“I'd say that's a good possibility,” Dev said. “Either way, if they aren't there by now, they soon will be.”

“Too bad immigration didn't stop them at the border,” Johnnie grumbled.

“Hard to know where they crossed or who Alvarez might have working on his payroll,” Dev said. “The good news is Jake Cantrell is in Mexico, just finished a job. I've talked to him a couple of times today. Jake's in. He's on his way to Hermosillo to see if he can find out what's happened to the little girl.”

Clive was nodding. “Jake's one of the best.”

Cantrell was ex-Marine Force Recon. He'd been doing mercenary work since he got out of the service six years ago. Mostly he worked in Mexico and South America doing just about anything that wouldn't get him thrown in prison and paid him plenty of money. Dev had hired him a couple of times on high-level security jobs for South American corporate honchos.

“Jake's been working with a guy named Rafael Montez,” Dev said. “Montez was born in the U.S. but raised in his father's village just north of Hermosillo. Cantrell says he knows every inch of the terrain.”

“So we wait till we know for sure the kid is there?” Johnnie asked.

“We don't have that much time. We need to get down there, set up a base camp, get our equipment in order. We have to assume Chrissy's with Alvarez—or soon will be. Or someplace he's stashed her. Jake's got Montez on it. Soon as he gets to Hermosillo, he's going to start sniffing around. See what he can find out. He'll send word if he comes up with anything.”

Dev rolled back his chair, walked over to the desk and
picked up his laptop. He set it on the table and pulled up his email.

“Chaz sent this. Alvarez lives around twenty kilometers northeast of Hermosillo.” He clicked up the attachment, which was a series of aerial photos of an area in the foothills surrounding the town. The photos were up close and crystal clear.

Johnnie whistled. “Chaz didn't get that off Google Maps. Whatever that guy costs you, he's worth every penny.”

“Looks like he hacked into one of the military satellites,” Clive said.

“The guy's got balls,” said Johnnie.

“NASA,” Dev explained. “Those are stored photos of the area from a few months back. My gut tells me Alvarez is having them bring her to his house. I'm hoping Montez can confirm. If not, we'll have to track her once we get there.”

They began to study the photos. Clive leaned down and picked his leather briefcase up off the floor. He opened it and pulled out a stack of maps, picked out the one he wanted and spread it open on the table.

“Sometimes it helps to look at it the old-fashioned way.” He pulled the top off a yellow marker and circled the area where Alvarez lived. “The topo shows there isn't much out there but desert and a few barren hills.”

Dev clicked up a photo showing the rugged desert terrain. “Got some arroyos to work with. Lot of boulders around for cover.” He pulled up another photo that showed the house and grounds. A small private airstrip ran through the desert a little ways from the house.