Killer Secrets (51 page)

That flash of emotion that he saw in her gaze proved it,
and he prepared himself to defend against

whatever might come from it.

She was a DHS contract operative, she had come there with
DHS backing, and he knew it. She

wouldn't have come without orders. Orders that she hadn't
told him about, and he hadn't pushed to find

out.

Pushing meant possibly not liking the truth, and though Ian
was the type of man who believed in facing

reality at all times, he didn't want to face reality with
Kira until he had no other choice.

"We have two SEAL teams off the coast, waiting,"
Reno reported as Ian held his hand out to Kira.

"They'll move in when we give the word."

"Move Miss Talamosi to the Fuentes villa after
dark," he told them as Kira took his hand and he pulled

her to his side. "Diego knows you're here. I don't
want to take the chance that anyone else does, and

she'll be better protected if we don't have to split our
forces."

"How did he find out?" Kira bit at her bottom lip
as he stared down at her, her expression concerned.

"With Diego, only God knows." Ian shook his head.
"He didn't say how he knew, but he knows. We'll

pull together tonight and get things in place. Keep Durango
team hidden at all costs until the meet; we

don't want Sorrell warned ahead of the game."

He outlined the layout for the negotiations, watching as
Macey frowned and made notes on a legal pad

at his side and Reno nodded thoughtfully. Through it all,
Tehya sat stoically on the bed, her head

lowered, her hands clenched tightly together.

"He'll have men move into place after he
arrives," Tehya said softly, once Ian had finished. "A large

contingent of men, highly trained and heavily armed. Once
he leaves, all hell will be laid on the villa."

"He won't be leaving alive," Ian reminded her.

Tehya inhaled roughly. "And all hell will be visited
the moment they believe there are any problems.

Sorrell times everything. He's fanatical about it. It's
nearly as important as whatever ideal he fights for. If

he doesn't call the attack off, then it will commence at a
certain deadline, no matter where he is in the

game. You must be prepared for that."

Ian nodded toward Macey. "I recorded our
conversation," he said to Tehya. "You can go over it with

the team, give him what details you may remember. At ten
we'll meet at the villa and prepare for the

meeting."

"I want that weapon, Mr. Richards," she told him
again, her voice low but throbbing with determination.

"I can't be taken alive by him."

Ian glanced at Reno. The other man's gaze was
compassionate, and concerned.

"There's always the chance you could be rescued,
Tehya. If something like that happened, we wouldn't

stop searching for you."

Her lips twisted at his promise. "Perhaps you could,
but not before he allows my half brother to breed

me. You see, it's not love that drives Sorrell to find me.
He chose the woman to breed his child with,

hoping it would be a daughter. He chose her specifically
for her bloodlines, her character, and her

strength. He wanted a daughter, a half sister for the son
he bred for the same qualities. I won't be raped

by my brother, not even for a chance at escape."

Twenty-eight

IAN GAVE TEHYA A GUN.His backup weapon, small and compact,
but it didn't take a large gun to

commit suicide.

Ian filled Kira in on the confrontation between himself and
Diego as well as the fact that Diego was

aware of Durango team's involvement. She learned that Diego
was also questioning Ian's plans once

Sorrell was taken care of.

When they returned to the villa, Ian cleared the servants
from the house, sent them back to Palm Beach,

and placed a complete lockdown on any transmissions into or
out of the villa that he didn't make or take

himself.

Fuentes soldiers were positioned around the grounds, but
none were inside the villa. Deke, Trevor,

Cristo, and Mendez were busy securing the room to be used
for the meeting, and Diego was sitting in the

living room alone, a glass of whisky in his hand, the
bottle at his side, though it didn't appear he was

seriously drinking the liquor.

"Ian." He came to his feet as they entered the
foyer, the bodyguards still surrounding them protectively.

"Garcia was here moments ago. He asked to speak to you
regarding the additional men sent to the

warehouse. I was not certain how you wished to handle
them."

She felt Ian's hand tense at her back as he sighed roughly.

"I need to take care of this," he told her,
brushing her forehead with a light kiss as he stepped away. "I'll

leave Deke and Mendez with you. I shouldn't be gone
long."

She nodded, watching as he moved toward the back of the
villa, his tall, leanly muscled body tense and

prepared for battle.

When he disappeared into the back hall, she turned to Deke
and Mendez. "Why don't the two of you go

on to the kitchen and eat," she told them, aware that
they had missed lunch while she met with Tehya.

Deke stared back at her, his gaze flat before glancing back
at Diego. It was obvious he didn't trust Ian's

father, and she couldn't blame him much.

"If you need us, just yell," he murmured.

"I'll be fine," she assured him.

Deke and Mendez didn't hide their reluctance to leave her,
but they did anyway. As they headed into the

kitchen Kira stepped slowly into the darkened room.

"Saul isn't with you?" She looked around the room
as Diego watched her carefully.

"I sent Saul back to Colombia to oversee the estate
there several days ago." He shrugged, his face

shadowed as she moved to the chair across from him.
"He is old. This is not the place for him."

As he resumed his seat she watched as he gripped the glass
of liquor between his hands and stared into

it as though he weren't certain if he should drink it or
throw it.

"Saul was your father's advisor, wasn't he?" she
asked.

She was taking advantage of this chance to talk to him,
free of Ian's disapproving gaze or the

bodyguards' obvious curiosity.

Diego smiled fondly at the question. "He and my
father, they began the cartel. Saul was his most trusted

friend. He returned to help me after Carmelita's
death."

He hadn't mentioned his youngest son, but then she had
heard that he didn't.

"Ian, he has completed this promise he made to me
quickly, has he not?" Diego asked then. "I asked him

to return to rid me of this problem that Sorrell
represents. I did not expect him to do this so quickly."

Sadness filled the monster's voice.

"He's very competent," she agreed as she leaned
forward, gripped the decanter of whisky and one of the

extra glasses on the table.

As she poured, she was aware of Diego's eyes on her, his
gaze thoughtful.

"You remind me much of his mother, Marika." Diego
sighed. "She had spirit as well. But a spirit filled

with grace. She was a lady. You too have this."

She looked up as she returned the decanter to the table and
leaned back in her chair.

"His mother is a very strong woman, she's had to be. I
take that as an incredible compliment."

"As well you should." He nodded. "It was
meant as one."

He sipped at his drink then, his expression still though
somber, his position relaxed. It wasn't a relaxation

that bespoke confidence though, it was more wearied
acceptance.

Kira sipped at the smooth, expensive whisky and continued
to watch him, wondering what caused the

small frown between his brows, and realizing that Ian had
much that same look when something was

bothering him.

"Ian frowns like that when he's thinking." She
shared her thought, offering him a small smile as he lifted

his head in surprise.

"He reminds me much of myself, sometimes." He nodded,
a small, subdued smile tugging at his lips. "He

is a good man. A man to be proud of."

Kira nodded rather than speaking.

"He has no pride in his father," he said, his
voice almost a whisper now. "No pride in the world I have

built for myself nor what I represent. He calls me 'pop,'
thinking I am not aware of the condescending

meaning behind it. He believes I do not know that he came
to me, not for who I am, but for that which I

can give him. Sorrell."

He tossed the drink back then reached for the decanter and
poured another.

"What did you expect, Mr. Fuentes?" She was
careful to keep her voice gentle, without judgment.

He nodded slowly. "I should be angry." He lifted
his eyes to flash a quick look at her, mocking

self-disgust lining his expression now. "I should be
angry with my father, with Carmelita for the hell she

caused him and Marika. I should be angry with my father for
the deception that stole Ian's mother from

my arms. Why am I not angry, Miss Porter?"

He watched her as though genuinely confused by this.

"Perhaps I have grown weak?" he asked then.
"I am growing old, my youth is gone. Perhaps this is what

comes of a man realizing his chances are gone. When I was
young, there was always next year to fix

those things I thought I should fix. Next year to atone for
the deaths of my brothers. Next year to rail at

Carmelita for more children. Next year. Always next year,
until one day I awoke to learn that next year

could not fix those mistakes I had made."

Shock held her silent now. This was the monster? This man,
not broken, not weak, but realizing the

choices and the consequences of his life.

"You killed your brothers," she said quietly.
"Their wives, their children, because they wanted out of the

cartel."

"Is that what you think? That I took those lives
simply because they would betray me to your American

government?" He laughed at that, though the sound was
bitter. "How I wish it had been so simple. That

my treachery and blood thirst was so blackened by
evil." He shook his head. "No, Miss Porter, I killed in

an act of rage. The explosion that destroyed the home I had
given Marika, I learned had been set

because my brothers had betrayed her location to my
enemies. This I was told, and in my grief, I took all

they held dear as well, before killing them." He shook
his head then. "I should have known better. I

should have seen that the madness that was affecting my
father at that time couldn't be trusted."

"Your father told you they were the reason Marika was
dead?"

"He told me that my brothers were aligning themselves
with our enemies, and it was true that they were.

It was only later that I learned that it had not been my
brothers who betrayed Marika's home, but

Carmelita. She did so after my father went to Ian's mother,
told her of the business of the cartel, told her

that I was vile, deceitful, and all but wed to another. He
told her I would kill her once our child was

born."

He moved quickly from his seat, paced to the other side of
the room, and tipped the glass to his lips.

"So many mistakes," he whispered once he had
consumed the liquid. "So many times I wished I could

go back." He shook his head then. "I see my son,
grown, a man of honor slowly dying inside as he runs

this business." He set the glass on the low
marble-topped table beside him and ran his fingers through his

unbound hair, keeping his back to her as he stared at the
curtained window. "It is almost finished, is it

not? He will leave when Sorrell has been dealt with."
He turned to her, staring at her questioningly.

"Ian hasn't revealed his plans to me, Mr. Fuentes. He
hasn't said one way or the other."