Hard Target: Elite Ops - Book One (23 page)

Leland had a fair idea of the obscenities Rivera was referring to. The man’s propensity for gruesome violence had long ago sealed his place as the most vicious of cartel leaders.

A guard appeared in the living room doorway. “Antonio will take you both back to your room,” continued Rivera.

“No!” Anna shouted, at last showing some emotion. “I need to see Zach first. I’ll do what you want, but let me see him before . . . before we do this,” she stammered. “I must talk to him.”

“Of course,” interrupted Rivera. “It will be a few hours before the doctor has everything finalized and ready for the procedure tonight. I’ll send for you when the boy wakes up.”

“Please” Anna pleaded. “I have to see Zach now. I’ll do whatever you want, but I insist on seeing my boy now.” Her voice broke on the last word.

She was talking like she was going to be telling Zach goodbye. As if she’d already made her choice and this was going to happen.

“Rivera, there has to be another way,” Leland argued.

“Trust me. I’ve been looking for another way for over a year. Don’t make this any harder for Mrs. Mercado than it has to be.”

Right, like Leland was making this difficult. He ground his teeth in frustration, stamping out the horror to focus on the problem.

“Mrs. Mercado, your son is sleeping at present. Truly. I am not lying to you.”

He picked up a tablet computer from the hearth beside him and turned the screen to face her. Somewhere a camera was pointed toward a hospital bed. The whole room was decorated like an upscale hotel room.

Zach was in the bed, a heart monitor beside him. His eyes were closed but his hands were open, palms facing upward on either side of his pale face.

Anna made a keening sound as she drank in the sight of him. Leland’s gut clenched at her agony.

Seemingly oblivious to her pain, Rivera continued. “I assure you, you will see the boy as soon as he wakes. I understand you’d like to spend as much time as possible together before the procedure.”

Rivera spoke as if this was a tonsillectomy, and she’d be serving Zach ice cream when it was over.

Leland bit his lip to remain silent beside her. Anna stared at the screen, her eyes filled to overflowing before she took an audible breath and blinked away the tears.

“Alright. I’ll trust you because I have no other option. But you will give me the respect you would to anyone doing what I’m about to for your wife. You allow me to spend my last hours with my child.”

It wasn’t a threat and it wasn’t a request. It was a declaration. A reminder to Rivera that honor should be accorded in this most unique situation.

She’d have had better luck if they were dealing with the Vegas. Ernesto Vega was rabid about honor. From what Leland knew of Rivera, the man was not as attached to the concept.

Rivera raised an eyebrow at her tone but didn’t argue. “I will make sure you see him as soon as he wakes up. It should be in the next hour or so. I’ll have Antonio escort you back now. You can shower and change. Someone will bring you breakfast.”

“I’ll see him when he wakes up.” She sighed the words as if to convince herself. Her face was pale but her voice was quiet, resigned.

Belatedly, it occurred to Leland that she’d probably considered this possibility of giving herself up for Zach before. Before she’d ever come to Mexico. Before she’d ever met Leland. Months ago, before they’d even scheduled Zach for the LVAD. A mother like Anna would do that.

“It will be okay,” She leaned into him and whispered. “I need you with me to make it through this. Please don’t give him a reason to take you away.”

He studied her chalk white face, noting the tension in her jaw as she voiced his thoughts almost word for word. She was holding it together by the slimmest of threads.

“Listen to her, Agent Hollis. She’s the only one of you thinking clearly.”

Leland started to speak again, but Anna wove her fingers through his once more and squeezed gently. His lashing out would only punish her, so he tamped down the frustration rolling off him in waves.

“Please,” she said. “Let’s go.”

Leland didn’t reply. He simply stood, pulling her to her feet beside him.

He concentrated on not crushing her hand in his as they followed Antonio up the spiral staircase, climbing to a hallway lined with mirrors and several doors. Halfway down the passage Antonio stopped in front of an ornate door that opened into an opulent suite.

The fantastic incongruity continued as the armed guarded showed them into the room like a bellhop at The Savoy. A king size iron bed with a canopied top and luxurious tapestried duvet dominated the space. A leather loveseat and overstuffed chair were arranged in front of a completely outfitted mahogany entertainment center. The bathroom was larger than his Dallas apartment with a separate jetted tub large enough for multiple bathers, and a glass shower with more spray nozzles than a car wash.

The tour wasn’t finished until the guard showed them the closet off the bathroom. The massive walk-in space held two fluffy robes and a dress with a tag still attached. He’d bet a month’s salary it was Anna’s size. A pair of jeans and a collared linen shirt for him hung beside the dress. Shoes for each of them were still in the boxes on the floor.

After informing them that breakfast would be brought up in about an hour, the bellhop guard left and closed the door firmly behind him. An audible click from the outside indicated they were now locked inside a luxury prison.

O
NCE THE GUARD
left, Leland let go of her hand. Anna immediately missed the warmth of his palm against hers. She was so cold now that she felt numb.

Icy fingers of fear seemed to have reached inside her body, causing her temperature to drop from the inside out. Tears that had threatened all night now burned the corners of her eyes. She turned away so Leland wouldn’t see her weep.

“I’m going to get cleaned up. The faster I do this, the faster I can see Zach.” Her voice broke again on his name.

Would they really let her see him before the procedure? How was she ever going to tell him goodbye? Who was going to take care of him when this was all over and she was gone?

Struggling to keep the tears at bay, she sniffed once and headed for the bathroom.

Leland followed her. “Anna, you can’t do this. There has to be another way.”

“This could be Zach’s only chance. I can’t say no. And I can’t fight you.”

There were no other options, and arguing was pointless. The only thing she could do now was pretend it wasn’t happening.

“I’ll be quick so you can shower, too.” She felt him standing behind her, his body heat like a small furnace, but she couldn’t turn around.

She’d break if she looked at him. God, if she started crying now, she’d never stop. Instead, she reached inside the shower and turned the massive chrome tap all the way up to hot. The multi-nozzled shower gushed like a geyser as she walked to the sink.

Again, Leland was right behind her.

To avoid meeting his eyes in the mirror, she opened the top narrow drawer under the countertop.

The contents were rather startling. Rivera had stocked this suite with everything a guest could possibly need. Two toothbrushes still wrapped in plastic, toothpaste, a razor, a small collection of luxurious makeup, hairbrushes, combs, condoms, and tampons. She stared at the drawer’s offerings, working to get a grip on her emotions and desperate to focus on something besides the despair welling up inside.

How was she going to get through the next few hours?

How was she going to say goodbye to her son?

How was Zach ever going to deal with the inevitable guilt and anger toward her when the transplant was over?

“Anna,” Leland touched her shoulder, but she held up her hand without turning.

“Please don’t be nice to me,” she begged. “I’ll come completely unglued.”

He didn’t argue or pull away. Instead he reached out and wrapped her in his arms, her back to his front. Rather than just feeling that warmth behind her, his body heat surrounded her.

“It’s okay.” His breath was warm against her ear. “Now would be a good time to do that.”

It was the tenderness in his voice that undid her. She sobbed aloud and turned in his arms, grabbing hold of him like the lifeline he’d become in the past thirty-six hours. He held her tight, rubbing her back in tiny circles and breathing comforting words as she cried.

Steam from the shower surrounded them as she wept. Under normal circumstances Anna would be embarrassed at her outburst of emotion, but the situation was as far from normal as could be. She was grateful for the comfort of Leland kissing the top of her head and pulling her closer.

Everything else was a jumble of chaotic noise in her head. Still, the sound of water hitting the shower glass doors and tiled floor was unexpectedly soothing.

I can’t think about what I’m going to do. I have to go through with it. It’s the only way.
She repeated the mantra in her mind.

She didn’t know how long they stood there. Leland’s heart beat steadily under her cheek and she slid her arms around his neck, burying her nose in his chest. He smelled like man and rain and heat.

She no longer felt the bone-deep chill that had overwhelmed her since the open-air Jeep ride last night. She tilted her head to look up and Leland’s forest-colored gaze caught her. Despair changed to something earthier as she stood locked in his arms.

She stared at his mouth and he stared back. He was going to kiss her. She could tell from the expression in his eyes. She wanted him, too. Badly.

No ulterior motive. No bargaining for help. She just wanted . . . him and the oblivion he could offer.

He bent his head slowly, as if he didn’t want to startle her. His mouth brushed hers—gently at first, almost cautiously.

She closed her eyes when his tongue swept past her lips and pressed her mouth more firmly to his. His hands slid lower on her waist, coaxing her toward him. He deepened the kiss and all the heartfelt anguish of the past twenty-four hours slid away. Not banished forever but buried for a while.

Her fingers were in his hair and she pulled his face closer to hers. The edge of the cool marble counter bumped against the back of her thighs. His hands were on her butt and moved to her hips. When he lifted her up to the countertop, he moved to stand between her knees, pressing himself against her center—hard and insistent.

The bathroom was rapidly filling with steam, and muggy condensation covered every surface. The atmosphere felt so surreal, she stopped kissing him.

Leland stepped back. “Tell me what you want. If you don’t want to do this, we can st—”

She put a finger to his lips. “No, I want this. It’s just—”

She looked around the misty bathroom, at Leland’s face. His hair was curling on the ends in the steam.

She absolutely wanted this. She needed it. If she was going to go along with Rivera’s plan, she was going to take this time. This moment. Now.

She shook her head, unable to explain it in words. If she attempted to, Leland would try to talk her out of giving her heart to Zach, and she couldn’t face arguing with him, not here.

So she did the best thing she could think of to make sure he knew she had no doubts. She tugged the tank top over her head, unhooked her bra, slid it from her shoulders and reached for the belt buckle on his cargo shorts.

Chapter Twenty-Six

L
ELAND WATCHED
A
NNA
take her shirt off—his mind fragmented from the chaos of processing Rivera’s plan, figuring out how they were getting out of here and seeing all that beautiful bare skin. He knew that Nick and Risa had to be closing in on the compound’s location now if the GPS in his boot was working. All they could do was wait, but Anna’s hands at his belt made him want to howl with frustration.

He needed to convince her that this—sex—was a bad idea, even though he didn’t want to stop her. No matter, that issue would be resolved soon enough when he told her about the possibility of the suite being bugged. He wished they were somewhere, anywhere else but here.

He leaned forward and her bare breasts pressed into his shirt. He kissed the shell of her ear. Tilting his lips toward her face, he whispered, “They may be watching us.”

She stiffened in his arms, but didn’t push him away or cover herself as he would have expected. Instead, she pulled him closer.

“Seriously? Why would they bug a bathroom?”

“Even among associates he might entertain as guests, Rivera has too many enemies who want him dead to not have the room wired. There’s probably a camera as well.” He brushed a strand of hair from her face, hating to bring that ugliness here, now.

Falling water from the space-aged showerhead echoed off the marble floor and walls with a thundering din. He forced himself to pull away and turn the tap on in the pool-sized tub as well. “I doubt they can pick up anything over the sound of the water. With the bath filling, we should be safe.”

He watched her take in the foggy bathroom. The mirrors were completely obscured as steam rose from the tub and continued to roll over the top of the shower door.

“What could a camera possibly pick up in here right now?” she asked.

He smiled for the first time in what felt like days. “Good point.”

He slipped his arms around her and moved to stand between her knees again. Telling himself she was in his arms so they could talk despite the cameras, he knew he was avoiding the truth.

This was more than his just wanting to hold her. He needed to hold her. He had to believe she wasn’t going through with the transplant procedure and giving in without any argument or fight. There was no way, no way in hell.

No matter what she said, he couldn’t let her even consider doing it. He wasn’t going to allow her to give up that way. She had to see that there was another solution. Rivera believed the choice he was giving Anna was generous. To Leland it was twisted and monstrous.

Even if she went through with it, there was no guarantee Rivera would follow through with Zach’s operation. The man betrayed even his most loyal followers time and time again. Why would he keep his promise to Anna?