Mastering the Devil (Rush Series Book 4) (25 page)

“Ready?” he whispered.

She nodded eagerly. “Yes! God, yes, you bastard,” she lamented.

With renewed vigor he began to plunge into her over and over again. She clutched his rock-hard buttocks in her hands as sensation after sensation
ripped through her body. She began to whimper and thrash beneath him. The more she moved, the harder and faster – wilder even, he became.

“Yes, baby, that’s it. I’m with you… I’m with you,” he gasped against her lips.

Excitement and need had her pushing up against him, meeting him stroke for stroke. Just when she thought her heart would burst from the delicious turmoil tumbling around inside her, she heaved forward one more time and broke through the tight control holding her orgasm from her. She cried out his name loud enough for the neighbors to hear and wrapped her legs tightly around his waist as desire, as she’d never felt before, was wrung from her body.

Above her, with his eyes closed, he grunted and moaned as he continued to push into her body, now made even slick
er. His jaw clenched as he worked towards his own end. She brushed a hand against his sweat-slickened back and whispered, “I love you, Alex… more than my own life.”

“I love you,” he grunted as with one last thrust, he came long and hard within the confines of her body.

Chapter 11

In the end, it
’d been easier than Alex had imagined to transport both Cash and Devon off to the island. Tipton had proven to be a valuable tool and volunteered to make the journey with them. It’d been a load off Alex’s mind. He smiled as he remembered Cash’s ranting and raving about the fishing boat they’d been forced to travel in. Alex had been afraid of renting a boat as he feared it’d draw too much attention to them. The small, dank fishing boat had seemed a godsend to him, but apparently not to Cash. Alex had stood on the pier until the small boat had no longer been visible.

Now he
exhaled and raked his hand over his head… one problem solved, now on to his next one. Since he no longer had a driver, he called the hotel and had one of their limousines come and pick him up from the docks. He made a quick stop by the cellular phone store and purchased a replacement phone. Once it was uploaded and charged, he slid into the back of the car and called John and Erick for an update. John answered the call.

“Hey ya, boss,”
he said, the words garbled through the crunch of whatever he was eating.

“I see high surveillance hasn’t changed all that much,” Alex said with a laugh.

Alex heard a loud slurp come over the line as the other man took a long pull of whatever he was drinking. “Nope, got to have something to fill my time. God, Alex, this is the most boring gig I’ve ever had! I should get double-time for this,” John groused.

He laughed. “I’m sorry, man. I’m on my way now to give you guys a breather.”

“Thank God! I need a drink in the worst way!” John declared.

“So nothing to report?” Alex asked.

“No, there’s been absolutely nothing. No one coming into the warehouse… or at least as far as our surveillance can pick up. The truck has just sat there undisturbed.”

Alex scratched his several day-old beard. “I’ll sit on it tonight and if we still don’t see anything, we’ll consider what our next move should be. It’s just weird that they haven’t tried to move the merchandise yet.”

“I agree.”

“I’ll be there in less than an hour. I need to swing by my room to shower and change first,” Alex said.

“Good deal,” John mumbled through his food once more.

The next call was to Rush, but all Alex got was his voicemail. He told him he really
didn’t have anything of importance’’’’ to give him, but was just checking in.

Clicking the phone off, Alex leaned his head back against the soft leather of the limo and closed his eyes. He felt he’d been awake for days. At least he was certain Devon was safe. She was far removed from Miguel
’s clutches and she had Cash to keep an eye on her. He didn’t really think she’d repeat her prior actions, but it was hard to tell sometime.

He felt like a new man once he was showered and in clean clothes. He decided to give Ensley a call to let her know that he kind of shanghaied her village for his own purpose. She’d laughed and told him she’d call him once they arrived the next morning.

He exited the pristine conditions of his own room to enter the outer pits of hell located in the suite next to his. There were pizza boxes scattered on every conceivable surface, along with empty chip bags, and candy wrappers. “My God, man, this place is a pig sty!” he said.

Erick glanced up from the computer screen he was monitoring and smiled. “Naw, that’s giving pigs a bad name.”

Picking up the closest phone, Alex called down to the front desk for maid service. Once he’d made the necessary arrangements, he then ordered room service and released John and Erick from their work-enforced prison.

“See ya in the morning,” John said as they sailed from the room before Alex could change his mind.

Alex sat in front of the computer screen and watched the same scene hour after hour. From years of experience, he knew this part, boring as it was, was usually what most of ops work encompassed. Most people thought the spy game was all thrills and excitement, when nothing could be further from the truth.

It was nearly nine the next morning when Alex was jostled from his unintentional catnap by voices coming from the monitor. From habit, he glanced at his watch and made a notation in the log. It briefly crossed his mind that he should have already heard from Ensley. Maybe she’d forgotten. He wasn’t that concerned… yet.

He leaned closer to the screen and recognized the man from the heist, that they’d called jefe. He was followed closely by several of the other thugs from the heist as well. The men spoke together in high excited tones, their words spoken in Spanish, lost on him. They seemed to be picking up the garbage and stuffing it into bags.

Once they’d completed their clean up, t
hey circled the truck and poked through the merchandise. They gathered around the front of the truck and the hand motions of pointed fingers, shaped like guns, and the laughter and arrogance, made Alex think they were reliving the robbery. He watched them intently until they moved out of his vision and he heard what sounded like a garage door being lowered. He once again glanced at his watch and notated the time of their departure. He wondered what that had been about and why they hadn’t moved the merchandise. He was disappointed that he’d not seen anyone new.

He ordered room service and ate the meal while keeping his eyes glued to the screen, but outside of the shadows changing positions as the sun rose higher, nothing changed. At noon, Erik returned to relieve him. He rubbed his eyes and rolled his head on his shoulders.

“Part of the gang came to visit the truck this morning. I’m not sure what the significance of that is. It’s been several days so I’m curious why they visited today,” Alex said.

Erick, in the process of setting up the station to his satisfaction stopped to look at Alex. “I don’t know. What do you want us to do?”

“Just keep doing what you’re doing. In a few days, we might need to up the ante. I’ll give it some thought. Every day we go without supplies at the jobsite, is costing a bundle. We just really need a break in this case. I really, really need to get out of Mexico and back to the States!”

“I hear ya, brother,” Erick agreed.

“I’m going to go catch so sleep. Wake me if anything happens, no matter what it is.”

“Will do,” Erick said.

Alex returned to his room and glanced for the hundredth time that day at his watch. Anxiousness washed over him. He should have heard from Ensley already. He’d give her another hour before calling her. Taking the phone in the bathroom with him, he showered quickly while keeping an ear open for his phone. Stepping out of the shower, he scrubbed his skin dry and wrapped the towel around his waist. He filled the sink with water in preparation to shave. He’d just lathered his face when his phone rang out.

He quickly swiped at the lather before snatching up his phone. “Ensley, I was beginning to get worried. He frowned when there was a hesitation on the line and he could hear soft sobs coming through the line. “What is it,” he asked quietly.

“Alex… I… I’m so sorry. The boat Devon and Cash were on… it capsized. No one is sure why. A group of fishermen found it this morning while they were out.”

He swallowed and closed his eyes. “And Devon?”

There was another pause before she replied, “They didn’t find anyone… they are all presumed dead.”

Pain washed over him and he struggled to pull it together to think. “There… there were no bodies?” he asked.

He heard a sob and it made his concentration waiver. Then she answered softly, “No. Alex, I’m so sorry.”

He shook his head to clear it. No! He’d not believe they were dead
, not until he had undeniable proof. Was this the work of Miguel… or maybe, Jacob? Where could they be? Had their boat capsized and maybe they’d been picked up by another boat? He cringed at the condition of the boat he’d sent his most valuable treasure off in. Anger swirled in the pit of his stomach. If anyone laid one finger on her, he’d kill them… slowly – very slowly!

“Alex?” Ensley’s watery voice finally reached him.

He cleared his throat and swiped at the moisture in his eyes. “Yes, I’m here. I need to go check on some things. If you hear anything else, let me know. Once I can make the necessary arrangements, I’ll be there. Where can I find you?” he asked.

“Just call me when you make the arrangements and I’ll meet you back at the docks,” she promised.

He promised he’d call with his arrangements and clicked the phone off. He wiped the remaining lather off his face and braced his hands on the sink’s edge and stared at his reflection in the mirror. What if she was indeed dead? He’d been the one to send her off. She’d still been so weak and pale the last time he’d seen her on the dock. She’d kissed her fingertips and lifted them in his direction. He wanted to feel those lips against his own again. He didn’t want that to be his final memory. He couldn’t endure it. He was done running. He wanted her and he refused to give up until he found her… one way or the other.

He straightened with resolve and moved swiftly to his room where he snatched on jeans and a white, button-down shirt, which he left untucked. As he tried to formulate a plan of sorts, he absentmindedly rolled up the sleeves on his shirt. He needed to speak to Erick and John and place a call to Rush. He felt bad for the probable delay in Rush’s project, or at least he should have felt bad, but really, all he wanted was Devon back in his lap, surrounded safely
in his arms and shrouded by his body.

In his mind, he could still see her pressed up against the room’s door, her head thrown back as he’d plunged into her hot, silky center. God! What if he never had that chance again?
Once more, he shook his head. No, he’d have more chances to indulge in her body… he just had to!

He slipped on socks and brogans before heading over to the suite next to his. Erick had on headphones and was listening
to something that caused his head to bop with its rhythm. John was sitting on the couch across from Erick flipping through a newspaper. He glanced up, and at Alex’s expression, he pulled his reading glasses off and set them aside. He haphazardly folded the newspaper and tossed it on the far end of the couch. 

“What’s up?” John asked, standing at near attention.

Alex once again rolled his head to try and relief the tension in his neck and shoulders he couldn’t seem to shake. “The boat I sent Devon and Cash off in, capsized sometime in the night. The boat was found by fishermen from the island they were bound for. There were no bodies found. I’m not sure what that means, but I’m making arrangements to head down that way. Are you and Erick good to hold down this fort?” he asked nearly emotionlessly.

By the time Alex had begun to speak, Erick had removed his headphones and had turned to face him. “Of course,” he said. “Do you think it’s related to this?”

“I’m thinking so, but I’m not sure how Miguel could have possibly known where to find them. Outside of the boat’s owner, Tipton, and us, no one else knew where they were or where they were going.”

John blinked rapidly as he assessed the situation. “How well did you know the boat’s owner and Tipton?”

Alex sighed and rubbed a hand over his gritty, sleep-deprived eyes. “Uhh, the fisherman was chosen randomly, and he didn’t know who he was transporting. Tipton was a driver hired by Rush. He was waiting for me at the hotel when I arrived in Mexico.”

Erick tipped his head as he thought
. “Had you used Tipton before?”

Alex shook his head as anxiety began to run through him. Quickly, he snatched his phone from his pocket and dialed Rush’s number. He answered on the second ring.

“Ah, Masters. How’s things in sunny Puerto Vallarta?” Rush asked with a grin in his voice.

“Complicated,” Alex responded. “Listen Rush, I have an odd question to ask you. Did you hire a driver for me?” Alex asked, while already knowing the answer.

“Uhh, no. Why would I do that? I never have in the past. Is that a problem? Do you need a driver?” Rush asked perplexed.