Ricardo (The Santiago Brothers Book Three) (24 page)

“What’s wrong?”

He avoided her concerned gaze as heat flooded his cheeks.

“The explosion. Are you sure you’re all right? Oh my… Look at your legs! They’re bloody!”

He pointed to Abdul’s body. “Nothing serious. And I was still good enough to take him out.”

Mel frowned. “I heard you groaning just now. You’re really hurt. Where?”

“My butt,” he said softly.

“Where?”

His eyes pleaded with her. “Please don’t make me say it again.”

She tilted her head to one side before she reached out and touched his arm. She followed it down and around his back, which he hadn’t been aware he was holding. “Did you hurt your back?”

“Something like that.”

“Oh, great. Santiago, did you do this?” Daniels yelled, the muzzle of his gun angled in the direction of Abdul’s body. “We could’ve interrogated him.”

“It was either him or me. I’m not about to become a star on a wall just yet.”

Daniels shrugged. “Yeah, well, there’s that. You injured? You look…” His gaze scanned the length of him. He shook his head. Frown lines appeared on his forehead, between his brows, and around his mouth. “Terrible. Let’s get you to a medic, son. And Marshal Lewis, you’re a pretty good shot. Good work there.” Daniels pointed his gun at Qamar, who lay dead on the floor not more than ten feet from Abdul.

Mel managed a brief nod.

“It looks like Qamar snuck Abdul and a few others in. We’ve got bodies near the west entrance on the first floor. What’s that?” Daniels touched the receiver in his ear. “Yeah.” He looked at Ric and Mel. “The police are out in full force. Our men took out a couple of guys with rockets on the rooftops about a block north. But we’re still on high alert. Lewis, get Santiago some help and then the both of you get back to the operation room.” After Daniels disappeared around the corner, Mel lightly wrapped her arm around Ric’s waist and attempted to move him forward. When he wouldn’t budge, she looked at him with surprise.

“Just wait a minute.” His arms slipped around her and he locked his hands at her lower back. “I just want to look at you,” he breathed, eyes locked with hers. Even before the words came, emotion lodged in his throat. As he worked to clear it, the delay gave him time to just watch the concern in her eyes melt away to desire and love. “Are
you
okay?”

She smiled. “I’m a lot better now that I know you’re safe.” The light in her eyes faded and the smile on her lips vanished. “I hate to tell you this but…”

No. If she was going to say something that would separate them forever, he’d do anything to stop the words from ever reaching his ears. He leaned in, suppressed another groan from the pain in his back, and kissed her full on the mouth. Whatever was on her mind was lost as her arms went around his neck. He heard her soft moans of pleasure and she continued to kiss him, delicately, as though his lips were in pain.

“You’re making me lose my train of thought,” she whispered between kisses.

“Good.”

“Mmm, no, not good.”

“Whatever it is, I’m sure it’s not good.”

She took a step back. “No, it isn’t. I should probably tell you this now—”

“I don’t want this to end,” he blurted out.

Mel blinked. “You don’t?”

He shook his head. “No, baby, I don’t.”

“But…what about the job? Being in the field.”

The field. It
was
his first love, but things were different.
He
was different. He cupped the side of her face with one hand. “It doesn’t compare to kissing you. And I can’t do both at the same time.”

She blushed. “So you want to kiss me instead?”

He closed the distance between them. “Yes. Kissing is much better than breaking your butt.”

“Huh?”

“Never mind.” He pulled her into his arms again and kissed her gently.

“I still have to tell you about Ross.”

How could she be thinking about him when he was kissing her?
He schooled his features to display none of the irritation that rose knowing her thoughts were on that guy. He was glad he had a chance to break the man’s nose before things really got started; he wouldn’t really have an excuse now.

“He’s dead. Qamar shot him while she was escaping security.”

Dead? Ross was dead?
Remorse, sudden and shocking, filled him. The guy was an arrogant prick, but he was a solid agent and his love for the United States was his driving ambition.

“He was protecting me. We were headed down to security when we first heard the shots. He didn’t have a chance to react…”

Now Ric was sorry the man went out with a broken nose. “He did his job, and no one can fault him for that.” He placed a loose curl from her messy bun behind her ear. “Especially since he kept you safe.”

The smile was back, as was a teasing glint in her eyes. She carefully wrapped her arms around his waist. “What were you saying earlier about not wanting this to end?” She rose on the tips of her toes and kissed him.

Several news stations devoted twenty-four hour coverage to the car bombings near the embassy. Nothing about the embassy’s breach by Qamar Sadiq or Abdul was reported. Ric decided to speak to Hassan after avoiding countless calls. Abdul’s fury over discovering Ric’s connection to the US government and saving Mel had apparently caused him to alter his plan of attack; he searched the embassy floors to kill Ric himself. Hassan had only learned of this fact after one of Abdul’s men — Mehmet — escaped capture and returned to service for Hassan. The sheik promised him a comfortable life and safe passage for Alima to join him in Saudi Arabia.

Almost as soon as a plane could be prepped, Ric and Mel were flown out of Dubai and safely delivered to an agency building located in Germany. Soon after, Ric was transported to the hospital and, now registered under an alias, occupied a room in a protected wing.

Melody stopped by the nurses’ station to thank them for their care of Ric, before she quietly stepped into his room. He had sustained a broken tailbone and a herniated disk, as well as significant hearing loss in both ears. The doctor’s prognosis was good; the bone and disk would heal. Although the disk would give him trouble for the rest of his life, the doctor speculated that perhaps it was too soon to know for sure whether or not Ric’s hearing was irrevocably damaged.

“
Sí mamá
, it’s me. Yes, stop crying.
Soy yo
, Ricardo.”

Mel stood near the door, not wanting to interrupt a conversation that was years overdue. Although Ric claimed to harbor no animosity toward his mother for her harsh love, he could never pick up the phone and thank her for pushing him out of the house after graduation. Being thrust into the world at a young age had only strengthened his character and molded him into the man he was today. It was time he let go of his lingering bitterness…to stop blaming his mother for problems that were solely the responsibility of his father, and make up for lost time.

As he chatted with his mother, half in Spanish and half in English, Mel stealthily moved to a seat near the window. She sat her covered coffee cup on a nearby table and took a seat. She closed her eyes and leaned her head back against the wall. Although they had no reason to fear any attacks or kidnappings, sleep still eluded her at night. Her energy levels were subpar and her dreams were filled with loud explosions, bullets, and sand dunes.
When was the last time I really slept?
She knew the answer to her own question: whenever Ric was lying next to her.

Mel’s face grew hot and she knew she was blushing. Ric was still on the phone and Mel kept her eyes closed. The presence of a man she had barely known longer than a few days had been so comforting and peaceful, it was a wonder she had ever slept at all before they’d met.

You’re safe with me.

Yes, she truly was. Ric was an unexpected answer to prayer during one of the most frightening and challenging experiences of her life.
Thank you, God, for getting us through.
Life would always test them, but they weren’t living it alone.

When Ric’s voice softened and he sniffed loudly, Mel peeked from beneath her lashes. He covered his eyes with one hand, but the unmistakable redness of his nose told her this was an intensely emotional moment for him.
Just wait until you see your brothers again.
That reunion was sure to be just as dramatic, even with the added dose of testosterone.

“I know you’re not asleep.”

Mel’s lashes snapped open and she tilted her head to look at patient Roberto Caberra — his alias. Redness brimmed his eyes, but he shot her a lopsided grin.

“What are you doing over there?” He patted the bed beside him as he scooted to his right. “Come here.”

She ignored the burning sensation on either side of her nose; she stood, walked over, and slipped underneath the flimsy sheet he held up for her as though this was something she did every day. She had barely settled back into the overstuffed pillows and his lips were on hers. She heard him grunt as he shifted his body to be more in line with hers.

“Roberto!” She struggled to push him back, knowing his back was in pain, but his lips were entirely too persuasive for her efforts to be taken seriously. “You’re…hurting…yourself,” she managed to say between kisses.

“Mmm…feels…good.”

Her giggling effectively ended his amorous greeting and she opted to bury herself in the crook of his arm while he relaxed back into the pillows. “Did you and your mother have a good conversation?”

“We did. I asked if I could come home.”

“What did she say?”

“That I was always welcome.”

She felt him struggle to clear his throat and she lightly stroked his bare chest. “When are you going?”

“Well, I have to debrief at Langley after I’m discharged. I’ll be granted some R and R and will drive to see her. She said Ale and Rafa and their wives will be visiting in a week. I plan to be there.”

Mel smiled against his chest, predicting the union to be a joyful event. She would have her own reunion with her family and coworkers back in Texas. And after that?

“Would you like to come with me? I know you’ll want to see your parents, but I can fly you up to Virginia afterwards.”

“You want me there?”

Warm lips pressed against her forehead. “You’re already part of the family. How about we make it official?”

Make it official...
Make it official? Her brain grappled with the concept. Did he mean…? Was he talking about…? Her words jumbled and came out as a gurgling sound. Ric’s laughter came from deep within his chest and the sensation felt wonderful beneath her cheek.

“Are you okay?”

She didn’t know. Fear and excitement warred within her and she was left speechless. A finger lifted her chin until her eyes locked with his. He stared at her for a few moments. His eyes searched hers for the answer to his question.

“Yeah, you’re okay.” He smiled and kissed her.

“Yes,” she breathed after a lengthy kiss.

“Do me a favor, would you?”

“What?” she asked against his chest when Ric had settled back.

“Don’t mention anything about my tailbone getting broken to my brothers, please? They will never, ever, let me hear the end of it.”

Mel chuckled. “Sure. But did you tell your mother?”

“Nope. That’ll be the first thing she blurts out to them after telling them she’s heard from me. I’m keeping that part of my medical history to myself. Only you, the agency, and I will ever know.”

****

Rafa?
What was he doing here at Langley? Ric spotted the profile, so like his older brother’s, near the main entrance to the building. Was he here for a meeting? Ric wasn’t sure which section of the FBI Rafa was working for. Was it the Joint Terrorism Task Force?
Maybe he’s here to surprise me,
he mused, although he hadn’t spoken to either Rafa or Ale since before leaving Germany. His mother had given him their numbers and he’d planned on phoning both of them after he finished his debriefing.

Seeing Rafa about to leave the building, Ric jogged up to him. “Rafa? What are you doing here, bro—” When the man gave him a funny look, Ric realized that he wasn’t staring into the face of his older brother, but someone who looked eerily similar to him in plenty of ways.

“I’m sorry, but I think you have the wrong guy. But I could’ve said the same thing about you.” The man’s dark eyes narrowed and studied Ric’s features. “You look familiar.”

“I was just thinking the same thing. I’m sorry about that.”

“No worries. I’m Dolf.” He extended his hand.

Ric shook it heartily. “Ricardo.”

“Good to meet you. Perhaps we’re cousins or something. You have any Perreras on your side of the family? That’s my mother’s side.”

“Perraras? No. That’s your last name?”

“Yeah. Adolfo Perrera. How about any Ortegas? Raul is my father.”

The shock of hearing his father’s name stunned him into a chilled silence.
That’s why he looks like Rafa
.

“Oh, boy.” Dolf cleared his throat. “I can see you know exactly who I’m talking about.”

“When were you born?” Ric asked sharply, switching easily into interrogation mode. The man looked about the same age as him and now the idea formed in Ric’s mind that his father left their family because he was happy with another.

Dolf’s brows bushed uncomfortably. “Uh, I don’t know what you’re getting at.”

“Because Raul Ortega is
my
father, and the father to my other two brothers. He left our family years ago. Now, when were you born?” His voice dropped dangerously low, although Ric had no anger toward the man in front of him. Everything was directed at the man who appeared to have sired more children after leaving his family.

Dolf confirmed his birthday was approximately one year before Ric’s birth. “I have two older brothers myself, and a younger sister. Father was often gone a lot, but he never mentioned having another…” His eyes faltered and his feet shifted nervously. “I feel kinda funny talking about this here. How ’bout we get some coffee?”