Lily's Outlaw (Once a Marine, Always a Marine Book 2) (3 page)

BOOK: Lily's Outlaw (Once a Marine, Always a Marine Book 2)
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He nodded. “Every little thing was an ordeal for my sisters. For me, it was just plain trouble.”

“How is your family?”

“Big and far, far away.”

“Why didn’t you come home for the ten-year reunion?”

Jesse suppressed a shudder. Home. Where his mother harped on his single status and his sisters invited an endless stream of eligible women over for sweet tea and cake. It was a loving, smothering…nightmare. He liked all his brothers-in-law and adored all fifteen of his nieces and nephews, but the match-making was enough to keep him away. Except for holidays. His mother would be heartbroken if he missed the important ones. So he never did.

“I was afraid of ending up engaged to buck-tooth Beatrice Jones.”

Lily erupted into peals of laughter.

“Oh sure, you can laugh, but my mama likes that family and thinks Beatrice is my perfect match.”

“She’s had her teeth fixed,” Lily said solemnly, trying hard to contain herself.

Jesse sat transfixed on Lily’s animated face, watched how her eyes crinkled at the corner. Even her nose all scrunched up was adorable. He cleared his throat and focused on the food. “This is almost edible.”

They both heard her stomach growl. “It smells delicious.”

Jesse shook his head, filled up a bowl, and passed it over with a spoon. He handed her his canteen of water as well. He could see that she was starving but good manners had her eating slow and taking dainty sips of the water. They ate in silence, the only sounds the scraping spoons and drips of water into the pool behind them.
 

“What are you involved in, Lily?”

She went still for a millisecond before shrugging and continuing to eat. But that's what he’d been looking for.
 

“That was good,” she said, polishing off her meal with water.
 

“Tell me what’s going on.”

He had a feeling she knew more about why she’d been taken, even if she didn’t know the players. She avoided his gaze by opening her satchel and inspecting the very expensive camera. She opened a canister and upended it, credit cards and IDs falling into her palm. “Thank God they didn’t take all this. Getting everything replaced is a nightmare.”

Lily returned everything to its position before stretching out on the cot and staring up at the dark cave ceiling. He waited patiently for her to answer. Finally, she sighed. “I don’t know who those men were or why they’re chasing me. I really don’t.”

“I know that, Lil, but you know something that you aren’t telling me.”

“You don’t know anything, Jesse,” she said softly. “You haven’t seen me or kept in touch in over ten years. A lot has changed.”

“You’re right. A lot has changed, for both of us. But I can help you.”

“Are we safe enough right now?” Yawning, she rubbed her eyes and stretched a little.

“Yes.”

“Then do you mind if I rest a bit? I’m completely fried.” With her eyes already closed, her words slurred a bit and she was out faster than a tranquilized kitten.

Jesse knew when to back off. Lily was involved in something dangerous enough to have a price put on her pretty head. Someone wanted her dead. The question was who? And why?

It was something he planned to find out. Soon.

***

Ramon Garcia didn’t like working with Americans. Old rich white men were the worst, in his opinion. And he certainly wasn’t going to stand being talked to like an idiot.

“We do not know who it was,” he said mildly. “But I will find out.”

He listened intently for a few more moments and then snapped the cell phone shut. As a high ranking member of the Huerta drug cartel, he was known as a problem solver. Right now that little
puta
was a problem that should have already been taken care of.

Ramon nodded to the man standing by the door to his office. “Send for Pedro. I want a word with him.”

He’d put Pedro in charge of taking the girl, getting the information and killing her. Now she was running loose with at least one man who knew how to handle himself. The rich gringo was proving efficient, at least, and would have new coordinates on the woman soon.

Ten minutes later, Pedro shuffled slowly into his office, head down. He knew he fucked up and Ramon was not known as a man who forgave mistakes.

“Tell me everything.”

“Por favor, Ramon. How can I make this up to you?”

Pedro Vasquez wasn’t a smart man, but he knew how to take orders. His deep brown eyes were alive with fear as he twisted a white cowboy hat around and around in his hands. He relayed exactly what happened in the warehouse, leaving out nothing.

Two unknown men. One shooter and one on the ground. That was interesting.

“I am disappointed, Pedro.”

“Please, give me the chance to make it up to you.”

“Of course.” Ramon smiled and nodded. “I am not an unreasonable man.”

“Gracias, gracias, El Jefe.” He bowed several times, keeping his eyes downcast.

“In English, Pedro.”

“Thank you, sir.” He shook his head. “Sometimes I forget the words.”

Ramon came around the desk and shook hands with the man, noticing his shoulders had relaxed and the fear was beginning to leave his face. “All my men need to be fluent. Try not to forget.”

Turning him toward the door, he walked Pedro out into the outer room.

While his back was turned, Ramon pulled the chrome plated pistol from the holster under his jacket. When it was pointed at the back of the man’s head, he called out, “One more thing, Pedro.”

Pedro turned and Ramon saw understanding dawn just as he shot him in the face.

Chapter 3

“Time to go.”

Lily woke up groggy. It felt like she’d been asleep for only a couple of minutes. Her eyes hurt, her brain was fuzzy, and her borrowed shirt had ridden up so that her panties were showing.

Nice.

Jesse had everything packed up in the magical-Marine-backpack-of-wonders and he stood over her holding her shoes and the canteen. She sat up and pulled her shirt back down to cover herself decently.

“Take a quick drink because we have to move.”

He never even acted like he noticed her half-naked state. It was confusing. Especially after the quick hot stare he’d given her before. Shrugging off useless speculation, she shoved her feet into the sandals, took a long drink and stood up. Instantly dizzy, she swayed and would have fallen if Jesse hadn’t reached out and grabbed her arms.

“Oops.”

“Take it easy. You got a couple hours sleep, but you could use a solid night of it.”

“I’m okay now, the room just went spinny for a moment.”

“Then follow me and watch your step. The other side of this tunnel is older and there’s loose shale.”

Jesse went up to check out the area before calling her up and out into the night. The air was so much fresher out of the cave and it had cooled off significantly as night had fallen. Thousands of stars were out and it was profoundly quiet.

Making sure to step where Jesse stepped, she avoided cactus in her toes. The moon cast shadows on the big saguaro cacti, making odd shapes on the desert floor. They were at an open clearing before she realized he’d stopped. She bumped into his backpack.

“Sorry.”

He looked back at her and grinned. “No worries.” He pointed at a large flat rock. “Sit there and relax, our ride is on the way.”

“How do you know?”

“I can hear it.”

Even straining, she couldn’t hear anything. Just some crickets and what sounded like coyotes off in the distance. She shook her head. “I don’t hear a thing.”

“You will.”

It started off as an echo on the canyon walls, but then she heard it. A thump, thump sound that was unmistakable as helicopter blades. Jesse dug into his backpack and pulled out five flares. Lighting them one by one, he outlined the clearing, making a safe landing zone for whoever was coming for them.

“I’ve never been in a helicopter before,” Lily said.

“You’re about to fly with one of the best.”

“Is this the friend that was going to take the contract to kill me?”

“He’s a great guy, you’ll like him.” Jesse laughed.

Lily rolled her eyes. She didn’t think so. What kind of a man killed people for money? Even if he ended up being on Jesse’s side, it still made for a shady character. And she was very familiar with shady characters.

She crossed her arms and waited.

The helicopter was sleek and black and churned up so much dust that she couldn’t see anything when it started to land. Jesse guided her to the chopper, picked her up and set her inside, buckled her in and slid headphones over her head. She had her eyes closed the entire time.

When she could tell the doors were closed and they were lifting off, she finally looked around. Jesse was up front with the pilot, but he had his body half turned to look at her. Pointing to the headset, he pulled up his cord and showed her the on/off switch so she could hear and talk.

“Can you hear me?” Jesse asked.

She nodded and gave him a thumbs-up.

“This is Damon Dupree. He’s our ride to the next stop.”

“Glorious.”

A low chuckle floated through her headphones. It was dark in the cockpit, the only lights coming from the instrument panel, so she couldn’t get a sense of who Damon was or what he looked like. His laugh was deep and oddly sexy. If a chuckle could have an accent, his did.

But Jesse’s face she could still see. And his evil grin.

“My, my. What would your mama say about such a shocking lack of manners?” Jesse asked.
 

Lily crossed her arms and frowned. “She’d say I shouldn’t be taking rides from dangerous strangers in the first place. I don’t think she’d fault my manners in this instance.”

“I like your friend, Jess,” the voice said. “She reminds me of your sister.”

“Which one?”

“All of them.”

Jesse laughed and turned away. “They’re all married off now and immune to your charms.”

“Good. I’m not good husband material.”

They started talking in code and Lily tuned them out. Maybe she was wrong. Jesse would never, ever, take someone home to meet his family unless they were trustworthy. He just wasn’t that kind of guy. He was so insanely protective of his family that he’d scared away most of his sisters’ boyfriends all through high school, even though he was the baby. She knew they all got engaged while he was away so he couldn’t stop the process.

So maybe Damon deserved more than her suspicion. If Jesse trusted him, then maybe she could too for the short time that she’d be in their company. Right now, she needed to get to safety. A hot shower, more food, and a good night’s sleep were on her short list. Then she’d find a way to ditch her escort.

The ride was comfortable and Lily zoned out while staring at the passing landscape, what she could see of it. The chatter over the radio brought her back to reality. They were landing instructions for the airport in Phoenix. Damon was speaking quietly and Jesse was flipping switches.

“Almost there, Lil.”

They landed and she finally got a good look at Jesse’s friend. The lights were bright out on the runway and when he turned to face her she sucked in a little breath. His deeply tanned skin contrasted beautifully with his topaz eyes. Thick black hair hung in waves to brush his shoulders. He wasn’t as tall as Jesse or even as muscular, but the lithe way he moved made her think of a sleek panther.

“It’s nice to meet you face to face,” Damon said. He didn’t extend his hand, probably thinking she wouldn’t take it. He might have been right.

“Thank you for turning down the offer to kill me.”

Jesse laughed out loud and even Damon smiled. Then he punched Jesse in the shoulder.

“Stop scaring this girl with your lies.”

Jesse held up both hands while trying to maintain a straight face. “Hey, most of what I told her was true.”

“What are you talking about?” Lily was too tired to take any crap.

“Come, walk with me and we will part ways as friends.”

It wasn’t until that moment that she could pinpoint his accent. But the way he phrased his last statement made her look up at him. “Louisiana?”

Damon nodded. “Cajun to the core.”

“You hide it well, but my grandmother on my daddy’s side was direct from the swamp, as she used to say. So I recognized it.”

“Well, then, we’re practically kissing cousins.”

Lily found herself between the two large men as they walked toward the parking area. She thought Jesse mumbled something rude about Damon’s lips but couldn’t catch it.

“Tell me how you knew to contact Jesse,” Lily said.

“I’m a liaison of sorts for ex-Marines looking for the kind of work that isn’t listed in the want-ads,” Damon explained.

“Jesse said it’s a lot of bodyguard work.”

Damon nodded. “A lot of times it is and I have a good friend that specializes in guard work, so I refer people to her all the time. But there’s other work out there as well. Your case, for example, as well as direct assassinations. When one of our guys is contacted, they run the job through me. I have resources and contacts all over the world so I can usually give advice on which jobs to take and which jobs to avoid.”

BOOK: Lily's Outlaw (Once a Marine, Always a Marine Book 2)
7.26Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
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