Chapter 15
Corkie lay on her bed, facing the wall, and trying hard not to cry anymore. She left her door open, praying that a cross-breeze from the window would cool the stuffy room and let her sink into a deep sleep. But she couldn't shut down, or ignore those emotions of guilt and heartache...or the feeling of abandonment by Alex's rejection, which was stupid of her because she didn't fall for lug-headed Army Rangers.
All that energy between them burst inside her, and it was their three days together, all over again, compacted into a single heartbeat. She could not imagine spending another three days, or months, or lifetimes, without him around to tell her what to do, where to go, or locking her behind furniture and doors. But his dismissal from his room splintered her soul. In the few minutes with him that night, while he comforted her, held her, kissed her, she felt more at peace and safer than ever.
She knew that his work and mission were more important than she'd ever be. How she yearned to be with him now, craved him like a tonic that would soothe her body, mind and reckless spirit. She laid there, eyes clenched tightly shut, hands clasped against the pain in her heart, legs and arms rigid with the misery of her loneliness...
Then a floorboard creaked behind her, metal pressed to the base of her skull, and a pistol cocked, an echo of sound in her small room. "Don't make a move or a sound."
Corkie smiled in the darkness. Alex. He came to her...he was here, when she needed him most...
"It took you long enough," she whispered thickly. And just like that night at Juan's, she flipped over, disarmed him, and he tumbled into the bed with her.
"Hi," he said, settling on top of her.
"Hello," she replied politely enough, though her heart was singing and her eyes suddenly stung with the elation of him with her. "Was that loaded?"
"No," he said with a laugh. "I wasn't taking the chance you'd shoot me."
"What are you doing here? I thought you said this was stupid."
He smiled as he gazed warmly into her eyes. "I'm stupid; you're crazy. There's no rationalizing this, Corkie." Then he kissed her, and she felt that familiar burning sensation in her belly.
"Alex," she sighed when he began to lick down her neck. She touched his jaw, scratching her fingernails on his day-old whiskers. "I missed you."
He raised his head. "I missed you, too, Corkie," he said honestly. "I've tried like hell not to, but..."
She waited for him to finish. "But what?"
He smiled into her eyes. "But you're damn difficult to forget. You and those big blue eyes, and your laugh, and don't forget those rainbows of yours. I tried, I really did. You are reckless and insane and too damn trusting." He kissed her softly. "But you're captivating and adorable and so damn sexy, I ache for you."
Shivers of delight shot through her extremities, contrasting with the warmth of the room and his body on hers, and she said, "I ache for you, too."
He claimed her mouth again, running his hands down her sides, stopping to murmur against her lips, "What are you wearing?"
"My pink pajamas," she said, arching her back into him, loving how he felt along her legs and belly, and she touched his bare back, his muscles rippling under her fingertips. "I thought you liked them."
"I'll like them better on the floor," he said, sliding the straps down her arms and pushing the whole ensemble, both pieces, down to her knees.
"Okay," she moaned and traced her fingers down Alex's spine, until they hit the waistband of his cotton shorts, and she pushed, baring his sculpted butt to her touch. "The door...I left it open."
"I closed it and locked it," he said, making his way down to her breasts.
"You did? I didn't hear it."
She felt him smile against her nipple. "I've been sneaking into girls' rooms since I was seventeen."
"Oh!" She playfully slapped a butt cheek, and he chuckled, sending those delicious vibrations spirally out from the nipple he sucked into his mouth. Corkie whimpered loudly with yearning, and he instantly smothered her with another kiss.
"Just a warning," he whispered. "We've gotta keep this quiet...no screaming tonight."
"Yes, okay," she agreed quickly, wanting him back where he was and where he hadn't been yet. "Don't want Daddy in here...that would be bad."
"Very bad," he agreed. Then he left her mouth to kiss the rest of her, and in between rediscovering all those parts she loved his mouth on, he said, "I still owe you dinner..."
"Uh, huh."
He curled his tongue around the other nipple. "When this is all over, can I cash in that debt?"
Her head felt fuzzy. "Wh-what?"
He moved to nibble at her ribs. "Can I take you to dinner?"
"Oh, yeah, sure..."
Bellybutton. "Can I take you to bed afterward?"
"Uh, huh..."
Pelvic bone, but still not there. "Then can we have breakfast together?"
"Oh...okay..."
He moved his glorious mouth to an inner thigh. "Then can I take you to bed again?"
"Oh, my god, Alex! I'll let you take me to the moon, just stop torturing me!"
He bite her leg gently. "Hush...your father, remember?"
"Alex, please!" she said, panting and writhing with the agony of not getting what she wanted.
He clamped his hands around her hipbones and held her there. "Patience, nińa...I'm enjoying this."
"I don't do patience."
"I know," he said, laughing and blowing his warm breath against her heated core. "That's why I'm enjoying this. Just close your eyes and relax. I'll take care of you."
"Can you take care of me a little faster?"
"No, now be quiet." He blew another breath, and she felt his lips nuzzle below her belly, and she wanted to scream with frustration, but she wasn't about to have someone interrupting them, so she brought a pillow to her face and screamed into it. Alex chuckled again, and then he licked her. Straight up the middle, and she gasped into her pillow, melting from the sheer pleasure of it, and she finally closed her eyes and relaxed as he took care of her.
In the midst of one monstrous orgasm, she felt him move up and enter her with one solid, smooth thrust, causing her to spasm all over again. "Oh, god," she moaned, and clutched at his hips as he rocked high and deep, over and over, slowly, so slowly, making her feel every millimeter of the slide in and out while he buried his face into the crook of her shoulder and breathed hotly against her sweat-bathed skin.
It was a different kind of torture, but divinely agonizing all the same. There had been nothing slow, nor lethargic, about the last time they'd done this. Her heart swelled up with the pure beauty of what Alex was doing to her, and her throat caught as she tried not to weep against his shoulder, but a silent sob fell out of her mouth, and he stopped, raised his head to gaze down at her.
"What's wrong? Am I hurting you?"
"No, no," she said quickly. "You're amazing...incredible, phenomenal."
He smirked at her description. "Then what's wrong?"
"Nothing," she said. I'm falling in love with you, that's all. "Just kiss me. Kiss me as you...you know."
He stared deeply in her eyes. "As I what?"
"What you're doing," she said weakly.
"Say it," he commanded.
Corkie swallowed. "I...can't."
He raised up on his elbows, he hips pressing generously against her, and he said, "Making love, nińa." He shifted and glided gloriously within her. "This is making love, and I plan to make it last as long as possible." Bending his head down, he lightly touched his lips to hers, and flexed his pelvis, going deeper than ever before, filling her completely. "Don't be scared of this; don't be scared of me. We can get crazy next time, but now...now, let me feel you. I need this as much as you do. Let me love you, nińa."
Tears fell from her eyes, and he kissed them away. "Okay, Alex. Love me." Please, love me, she silently begged.
He dipped his mouth to her lips, kissing her profoundly, passionately, as he started moving again, and it was so elegant and seductive, she cried through it all. When they climaxed, they crested together, and still he kissed her, shuddering with his completion and setting off another wave of ecstasy within Corkie. She clung to him, afraid of letting him go, but he murmured, "Sleep, Corkie...everything will be okay."
She believed him and fell asleep in his arms. But when the first rays of morning came through her window, he was gone, and she rolled over and cried into her pillow.
Then she got up and got moving. A letter to her father, her passport and what was left of her cash, and a few items she would need when the time came for them. Sneaking out of a secret military base was not as easy as sneaking out of her bedroom, especially when she was the only female around. But...
Alex wasn't finishing this mission alone.
*****
Alex set out early. He regretted leaving Corkie that morning, but he had a job to do, and if he didn't, then she would never be safe. Before leaving, he spoke with Colonel Davenport and asked why he wasn't notified that she was on the base.
Colonel Davenport said in a stern voice, "I didn't find it necessary, lieutenant," and left it at that. Alex stifled his anger, but he let it go.
He recalled how she cried as he made love to her. Something she probably always fought against. Letting a man love her the way she should be loved in bed. Alex bet her wild and primitive sexual nature was a protective armor, never letting a man get close enough to have the justification to dictate her. But Alex couldn't afford to fall in love with Corkie. He needed his head in his mission, and not back there with Corkie.
Alex left the ranch before dawn, riding out in an old truck with one of those camper shells covering the back, and winding his way west toward the coast. The drive from Durango to Espinoza's compound would normally take about eight hours, but Alex needed to make sure he wasn't followed or tracked from the ranch. Captain Mans had scoured the base all night, looking for evidence of their rat problem, and a guard had been caught where he shouldn't have been. Alex hoped that solved that mystery, or else, he might actually be walking into a trap.
Around sunset that night, he rolled into Puerto Vallarta, and checked into a hotel, discreetly letting it be known that Mikey Holmes was in town, looking for Espinoza. Alex rested on a hard bed that night, missing the warmth of Corkie next to him, and barely slept. He dawdled in the town for a few hours the next morning before making his way to Espinoza's hilltop mansion, overlooking the bay. He was met at the heavily-guarded metal gate by Poncho, Espinoza's right-hand man from Marta's place.
"Buenos dias, fucker," Poncho sneered through the driver side window of Alex's truck. "Get out."
"Go fuck yourself," Alex growled, switching into Mikey Holmes's character. "I was invited."
Poncho raised his rifle to Alex's head. "Get out of the truck, gringo."
Alex glared at the ugly man, but he obeyed. He stood there, hands raised, as another man patted him down, took away his gun and knife, and was held against his vehicle while they searched it thoroughly. Tapping his finger against the rusted paint of the hood, Alex waited impatiently for the routine to be over.
A guard opened the back of the camper, and...
A shout rose from Poncho. A scrambling of guards. A crunch of broken bone. A manly cry of pain, and the truck rocked as Poncho yelled, "Grab her!"
Her? Alex froze, his heart leaping into his throat. He had a very bad feeling about this.
Feet tied together, hands bound behind her back, mouth gagged, Corkie was pulled—kicking and writhing—from the back and dumped on the pavement. Alex heard her head hit the ground, and he just barely stopped the wince from taking over his face. But at that moment, he was so shocked and terrified and furious, he could barely breath.
Corkie? Dammit, woman! What have you done?!
He took a quick step forward but was shoved back by one of the guards. Corkie's eyes found him, and he saw a profound apology in them. Alex didn't care if she was dying a horrible, soul-wrenching death from remorse and her foolhardy deceit. He was going to kill her himself!
Did she have any idea the kind of danger she was in? His emotions must have shown because she shook her head once with a warning and turned rebellious eyes up to Poncho.
"So the worm has brought a present," Poncho said, crouching down to grab her chin, and Alex roared inside. The guard's arm across his chest dug into his breastplate, but he barely registered any of it. His focus was on Corkie and how the hell he was going to save her now.
Corkie jerked her head away from Pancho and twisted to kick at him. The men laughed, also focused on Corkie, and Alex took the diversion to shove the man next to him, snagging his revolver, and before any of those jackasses could take the next breath, he had it cocked and shoved against Poncho's temple.
"Touch her again, and I'll fucking paint the ground with your blood," Alex growled.
A dozen weapons aimed right at Alex and Corkie. Poncho didn't move, but he glared hatefully at Alex. "Go ahead, shoot, gringo. You will die, too."
"Like I give a fuck," Alex said darkly, taking this new problem in stride. Dammit, Corkie! "That's my prize, and no one touches her but me and your boss."
Poncho slowly rose to his feet, the revolver barrel rising with him. Corkie scrambled backward, but all Alex could see was red. He didn't know at whom to aim his anger...Poncho or her.
A black sedan rolled down the drive and stopped at the gate. Hibram Espinoza emerged from the backseat, immaculately dressed and dispersing the tension in the air with only his presence. Alex moved to put himself between Corkie and Poncho, barely paying any attention to the man who walked through his gates with all the ease and forbearance of a king.
Though petrified with his fear for Corkie, Alex managed to get back into character and put on an arrogant smile as Espinoza rounded the truck and came into his peripherals, because if he didn't see this through, they were both dead.
I'm going to strangle her, I'm going to tan her pretty backside, I'm going to make her regret the first time her daddy saw her momma. If she doesn't get us both killed, I'm going to have to marry her and lock a ball and chain to her ankles, so she never does anything like this ever again! Goddammit, Corkie!
"Senor Holmes," Espinoza said as he approached with a pleasant smile. "You have arrived." His dark gaze shifted to Corkie. "And I see you've brought me what I coveted."
Lay one goddamn finger on her and I'll stuff it down your throat!
"Cortney Elizabeth Brooks," Alex replied viciously, still trained on Poncho. "It wasn't easy. She changed her hair, but a little hair color doesn't fool me."
Espinoza walked around Alex, laying a hand on Alex's arm, lowering the gun, and murmuring, "Relax, Senor..."
"I don't like my merchandise to be handled," Alex snarled.
Espinoza smiled again. "I understand." He moved over to Corkie and gazed thoughtfully down at her. She trembled and stared back fearfully. Alex prayed she was afraid. She should be. Because if she wasn't...I swear, Corkie, how could you do this?
"And what of Lieutenant Spears?" Espinoza asked, shifting to look back at Alex.
Alex shrugged, sticking the gun into the waistband of his pants. "Ain't got a fucking clue. I found her in Texas, alone, and came straight here."
Espinoza flicked his hand at Poncho, and Corkie was hauled to her feet. Espinoza touched a finger to her chin and lifted her face to him. Alex clenched his teeth.
"Careful," he warned Espinoza, glaring at Corkie. "The bitch bites."
Corkie's eyes darted to him, taken aback, and then she glared hotly at him. Good, Alex thought. Let her hate me. Because right now, he didn't like her too much either.
This had to be the dumbest, most maniacal, bravest, and most treacherous thing he had ever seen from anyone, soldier, civilian, man or woman, and Alex hated her and loved her for it. Sacrificing herself like this! He had a fairly good idea why. Her guilt. Because that bastard standing in front of her killed a young girl, and Corkie thought this would make it all better? By gift-wrapping herself at Espinoza doorstep?
Espinoza, apparently pleased with his findings in Corkie's face, stepped back and said, "Come, Senor Holmes. Join me in my car. You are welcome in my home. Poncho, bring the woman."
Alex stomped over and muscled Corkie away from Poncho. "I'll bring the woman. I don't trust your men."
"Very well," Espinoza said. Alex grabbed Corkie's arm painfully and tossed her over his shoulder. He carried her to Espinoza's waiting car, and set her down with a jarring thud. He bent his head slightly to the side, and from the corner of his mouth, whispered, "If we survive this.... I don't even want to think about how you tied your hands behind your back."
She snorted against her gag and tossed her head in defiance.
Alex shoved her into the backseat of the car.
*****
Corkie had caught up with Alex in the middle of the night, at the hotel he chose in Puerto Vallarta. She climbed into the back of the truck just before morning and bound herself as if she was a captive. The knot around her hands was a specialty of hers. It looked complicated and constricting, but it was easy to get out of, if she needed to.
Then she settled down and waited, trying to get comfortable on the hard truck bed. If Alex discovered her before going to Espinoza, she would be screwed. He'd take her all the way back to her father. But as it so happened, Alex seemed to be deliberately careless all morning, until he drove up to Espinoza's property.
The note she left for her father said she was going home by herself and that she would call him in a few days. Hopefully, that would buy her and Alex enough time to finish off Espinoza. Otherwise, her daddy would have the entire U.S. military force down on them.
Corkie was so scared, her knees shook, and when Alex saw her, his expression darkened beyond furious. But this was something she had to do. Espinoza wanted her for some reason and now he had her. He could stop hurting innocent women now. She was here. She put herself and Alex in mortal danger, but it had to be done.
Oh, Alex...I'm so sorry, she thought as the car wound up the hill to a large, Spanish mansion with a terracotta tile roof and verandas dotting the exterior. Her body trembled violently next to Alex. He shifted away from her, despising the closeness of their bodies. She loved him, but after today, he would never love her back. And that was okay, she told herself. She was doing the right thing.
Hibram Espinoza casually studied her through the whole ride, never taking his despicable dark eyes off her, and she shuddered under his scrutiny. What is he going to do to me? Or to Alex, if he discovered the truth? How am I going to save us both when the time came? Because the way Alex was acting, he just might leave her to her fate.
The back doors opened, and Espinoza exited first. Then Alex, dragging her with him. "I mean it, nińa," he warned, too softly to be heard by anyone else. "Behave."
He didn't need to tell her that. She would behave perfectly, like a penitent child, until it was time to get nasty. Alex picked her up again, and she closed her eyes to the gentleness he now exhibited. She relaxed, hanging down off his shoulder, tears leaking out of her eyes and falling into her hair.
"I'm sorry," she muffled around her gag, and he slapped her bottom, a stinging slap of anger.
"Shut up," he growled loudly, and she sighed. Behave, Corkie. Let Alex do his job. And go home alive. Together.
Easy enough, she thought, until he dumped her on a bare tile floor just inside the front entrance. "Fuck! The bitch is heavy," Alex said, rubbing his back and glaring down at her.
Call me a bitch one more time, her answering glare replied. He smirked and nudged his boot into the side of her hip.
"Don't look at me like that," he said, bending down, close and personal, grabbing one of her breasts. Now, is that necessary? she thought.
"You like it rough, don't you? I know you do. You liked every fucking thing I did to you."
Okay, now you're just taking this too far, she scowled at him. I get it already! Be an asshole, but lay off the rape talk...jeez!
Espinoza, who had disappeared for a moment, came back to the entrance and caught that last remark. "You had her?" he asked indifferently.
Alex grinned evilly into her eyes. She shied away from him. "Yeah," he said meanly. "Fought like a tiger at first...but then you screamed like a whore, didn't you, sugar? I fucked you hard and you loved it."
Corkie was getting tired of his act. He could tone it down a little! She drew her knees into her chest and aimed her boots at his groin. He caught her ankles before she could do more than twitch, and he laughed at her.
"Still got some fight in you, don't you, sweetheart?" His eyes softened just a little, and Corkie saw the old Alex in them for barely a second. "You're going to need it."
"Untie her," Espinoza said. Alex shot him a startled look.
"I didn't drag her sweet ass all the way here to let her escape," Alex said.
"Untie her," Espinoza repeated, his voice growing dark and dangerous. "She is a guest in my house."
"A guest? The bitch tried to kill me twice already!"
That did it. Corkie jerked free and this time, the heel of her boot found Alex's jaw. He staggered backward, nearly losing his purchase on the ground. He bit off a nasty curse and bore down on her with murder in his eyes. And Corkie wasn't sure if that was a real emotion or fake.
"That is enough," Espinoza said, his voice now stopping Alex in his tracks. "Untie her."
Alex snarled and flipped her over onto her stomach. His hands touched the knot, and Corkie breathed through a moment of fear. He didn't know the trick to untying her. She felt him hesitate, and she arched a finger, inconspicuously pointing to the one loose end that would unravel the whole knot. He squeezed her fingertip and then the ropes fell away from her wrists. Corkie stretched her arms, moving to push herself up, but Alex pressed a knee into her back.
"Stay down," he warned and went to work on the ropes around her ankles. That one was a standard knot, and he had it undone quickly. Then he shoved her back over, grabbed a handful of her shirt, right there between the breasts, and jerked her to her feet. Corkie's head snapped from the force of it, and she let out a yelp through her gag.
That had to go. It left a foul taste in her mouth, and her lips were cracked and parched. She shoved it off her head, fixed her hair, and saw Alex smirk at her.
Then she slapped him. Clear across the cheek.
And he retaliated with a palm across her entire left side of her face. "I hit back, sugar," he snarled as she reeled from the force of his blow, though she had a good feeling he held back most of his strength. It still hurt.
"Go screw yourself, Mikey," she hissed, and pleasure flickered in Alex's gray eyes that she remembered his alias.
"Are you two quite done?" Hibram Espinoza asked.
Corkie stepped back from Alex, licking her lip where she tasted blood. She saw Alex's hand lift toward her, and she glared at him not to do anything stupid. Then she turned to Espinoza and asked, "What do you want with me?"
Espinoza gave her a warm, horrible smile. "All in due time, Miss Brooks. Please, join me for a drink." He waved at a room off the main hall and she glanced back at the front door before stomping into a large library. Alex followed behind her.
She dropped into a leather chair, sighing with petulance and the severity of her situation. Alex hovered over her, and she wanted to sink back into his protective warmth. But she didn't. She was supposed to hate him, so hate him she appeared. Craning her head around she asked, "Do you have to stand so close? You stink."
He grinned and grasped a handful of her hair, painfully stretching her neck. "You don't smell so sweet yourself, sweetheart."
Espinoza ignored them and poured three glasses of amber liquid from a crystal decanter. He handed one first to Corkie, and then to Alex. Corkie sniffed her drink and touched her tongue to it before sipping. Scotch...the good stuff. She drained her glass and held it up for more. Espinoza eyed her curiously. He'd probably never seen a woman guzzle scotch before.
"You are a delight, Miss Brooks," he said to her, taking her glass for a refill. "You would make a wonderful addition to my household."
Corkie snorted. "Ain't happening, buster. You killed a girl, because of me. I don't live with murderers."
The man sighed and returned with her glass. "Yes...Poncho misinterpreted my directions with that girl. You failed to heed my first invitation, so I need something a little more...personal."
"She's dead," Corkie spit. "What the hell is wrong with you? A phone call or an email isn't enough?"
Espinoza chuckled and settled into the chair across from her. "If Senor Holmes had not captured you, would you have come to me on your own?"
Corkie's blood froze as the question hit a little too close to reality. "I don't know."
"Ah, but you do," he commented, smiling politely at her. "Where were you going when Senor Holmes found you? Home? To your father? Or back here to me?"
She stared at him. "What do you want? Those pictures I took? Is that it? Well, good luck with that. I don't have them. That bastard, Spears, stole them from me, and I haven't got a freaking clue where he is. He dumped me at the border and took off."
"Yes," he said, brushing lint off his tailored slacks. "Lieutenant Spears has been a thorn in my side for a long time as well, nińa."
Corkie stiffened, and she sensed the same reaction from Alex. "How did you know that nickname?" she asked in a whisper.
"I know quite a lot about you, Miss Brooks," Espinoza replied. "Six years provides plenty of time to get to know your prey."
She blinked at him. "Wh-what do you mean, six years?" Sheer terror filled her now. This wasn't about those photos at all...this was something else.
His smile increased, and it looked innocent enough, but something dark and evil glittered in his eyes, and he said, "You do not remember, do you?"
The air behind her thickened with alertness, and Alex finished off his scotch, moving toward the small table to refill his glass...further from her, but closer to Espinoza. Corkie caught Alex's warning glance, and Espinoza didn't seem to notice, or to care, but he added, "Senor Holmes, would you please excuse us? I wish to speak privately with Miss Brooks."
Alex went still, the scotch decanter clutched in his hands. He darted a look between her and Espinoza, but if he argued, he would appear suspicious. Corkie watched the play of emotions on his face.
"You never mentioned anything about a reward," Alex said to Espinoza. "What's she worth to you?"
"You will receive your payment shortly, Senor Holmes," Espinoza answered, not looking at Alex.
Alex clearly tried to stall, but what could he do? Pull a gun on one of the most dangerous men in the world and demand his fifty pesos? Corkie thought that's exactly what Mikey Holmes would do, but Alex wasn't really Mikey, and try as he might to play the role, Alex would never do anything to put her in danger.
Finally, Alex shrugged and took his glass with him. "Sure, whatever. You got a john I can use?"
Espinoza raised an eyebrow. "A john?"
"Yeah, a bathroom...I need to take a shit."
The sigh from the man in the chair filled the room. "There is one near the kitchen. I assume you can find it on your own?"
Alex grunted and flicked Corkie a quick look of Be careful. Then he was gone. Espinoza watched her, never taking his eyes off her as Alex left, and he asked, "Senor Holmes lacks discretion and the respect due to a beautiful woman. How did you ever survive his presence for so long?"
"I survived, that's all that counts," she countered.
"Yes," he agreed, a strange amusement entering his gaze now. "It is that survival trait which has kept you from me for so long. But I discovered your one weakness, Miss Brooks."
"What weakness?" she inquired haughtily. "I'm infallible."
He smiled for a moment. Then his gaze left her and focused on the door behind her. He waved someone in, and Corkie turned to see who it was. Her breath caught. Niro.
"Miss Brooks, I would very much like you to meet Luka Sultanovich...twin brother of Niro Sultanovich."
Corkie stared at both men, unsure what to believe...Espinoza's introduction, or her eyes. "Niro doesn't have a twin brother," Corkie said, still too shocked to breath normally.
Luka said nothing and went to pour himself a drink. Corkie turned her wide gaze to Espinoza. He plucked a cigar from a box at his elbow, prepared and lit it, and smiled at her through the smoke.