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“There was no way to tell—”
“Bullshit. You missed it. Geraldo set you up. He gave Juan the coordinates, right? That’s what you said.”
She leaned forward, lifting her head and shoulders enough that the pillow slipped down, wedged against her lower back. “Yes. It appears he tried to kill Juan and me.”
“Appears? Geraldo led you in there, set off the explosion. Figures he’ll wait a couple days for you two to be noticed missing. And then boo-hoo to the cops about how he’d given Juan some directions, because good ol’ Juan was looking into the disappearance of his fiancée. Geraldo couldn’t have asked for a better scenario. He gets you and Juan out of the way, exposes the tomb, which gets rid of Armand, then takes control of Oaxaca, and is cleared for the tragic disappearance of his fiancée.”
“It’s a mistake anyone could have made. I did a thousand things right, and I won’t have you harp on my one mistake.”
Tony dragged a hand down his face. “All it takes is one, D. That’s it. One. You and Justice are going to be the death of me.”
“I’m not like Justice.”
Tony exhaled, and rolled his head around on his neck. “You’re more like her than you think. If you weren’t, you’d leave. We’ve done everything you asked. We took that woman you were concerned about, Rosa, and flew her and her son Carlos to relatives in Canada. You did good. Let us put someone from another unit out here.”
“No. I’m here until this is done.”
Tony’s eyelids lowered with suspicion. “Is this about your informant, this Juan guy?”
“I don’t know what you mean.”
Tony snorted. “First, he looks nothing like a Juan.”
Dada shook her head. “Trust me when I tell you no one in this town uses their own name.”
“Second, I don’t like the way he looks at you.”
Dada wasn’t going anywhere near that minefield. Fishing her pillow out, she placed it behind her head, leaned back, and hoped Tony didn’t notice her ignoring that question.
But Tony wasn’t one for tiptoeing past a subject. “He looks at you like you’re sleeping together. And he’d give his right ball to see that kept happening.”
“That’s none of your concern.”
“Fuck. You kiddin’ me, D?”
“I’m handling this.”
“I’m pulling you.”
No. No way. A lifetime for her and Sion started now. “No. You aren’t.”
“The hell—
“You need me. More importantly you need Juan. He still has an in with Walid.”
That stopped him. He waited a beat. “An in how?”
“He supplies the man with…” she shrugged, “physical entertainers.”
“What, like jugglers.”
“Like men more than willing to hurt each other and have sex in front of Walid while they do it.”
Tony’s winced. “Momma won’t approve this.”
“So don’t tell her.”
“D—”
“Juan is doing this for us, and I’m not using or manipulating him. He is doing this for me, for these women, so we will help him find Sophia.”
Tony stood, strode across the room, and punched the stone wall. “Fuck.”
He shook out his hand and turned to her. “This is the last near-death experience you get. Next time, I pull you.”
Dada did not envy him his position as team leader on this mission. She put her arms out for him. He came over and embraced her.
“Just be careful. I don’t want to lose you,” he said into her hair.
“You won’t. No one is going to die on this mission.”
“Oh yeah? We’re that good?”
“Yes. We are. And I’m just that lucky.”
Chapter 24
Darkness soaked into Sion’s bones and sweet exhaustion weighted his legs. He longed for a few more moments holding Dada, but knew she wanted to help more in the soup kitchen—especially now that she spent so many nights with him.
He ran a hand over her arm. “Give me a minute.” He pulled her closer. “You in my arms… It’s precious. Not to be rushed. One more breath, one more inhale of your sweet skin, before you have to leave. That’s what I need.”
He meant it. Things had gotten better after finding Rosa, but it wasn’t over. It wouldn’t be until Justice, Dada’s sister, was able to put an end to Walid. So once Dada got out of bed, the threats out there, the danger, the pressure of dealing with Walid and his new man, sifting through Armand’s files to locate Sophia, all of that returned. “A minute, luv, a minute more.”
She sighed and rolled closer to him. “I have to go. And with barely two hours’ sleep.”
He grinned, remembering how she’d coaxed him from sleep two hours ago. He’d woken, moaning and throbbing, to find she had his dick in her mouth. “Hottest thing I’ve ever awaken to.”
She laughed, pushed away with a regretful sigh, and stepped fully out of bed.
He watched her cross the room. Beautiful. “You’ve perfected walking away, luv.” She shook her bottom, and he flat out died. “You’re torturing me.”
Laughing evilly, the sexy witch, she closed the bathroom door.
He relaxed into the pillow and drifted off thinking of her, the best wake-up call of his life.
Dada screamed. Bloodcurdling. He threw himself out of bed and charged into the bathroom to find her perched on the edge of the tub. She pointed down.
What the bloody hell—
He started to laugh. “Really, luv? It’s a spider.”
“A spider the size of my foot. I’ve incapacitated it. Take it outside.”
Incapacitated? The spider, if that’s what it was, didn’t move. Ach, she’d hit it with his shaving gel. Not dead but, as she said, but woozy.
He bent down. It definitely wasn’t average size. Opening the cabinet, he pulled out a piece of cardboard from a shoebox and slid it under the spider’s heavy body.
He maneuvered the monstrosity out of the bathroom, through the room, and onto the fire escape. He shut the window. Locked it. Could never be too certain.
Returning, he found his woman still holding the shower curtain rod. Had to admit that was exactly where he’d wanted her. He shut the door behind him.
“There’s a lovely.” He crooked his finger at her. “Need some comforting?”
With as much class as he’d come to expect from her, she climbed down from the tub, walked forward, and slammed into him. Fast and hard.
Which made him hard. Fast.
He wrapped his arms around her as she began to kiss his chest and rub him with hands that shook. Nothing got the motor going quicker than a near-death experience.
His body responded in a way that was all about keeping her safe and taking her here and now. His hands grasped her arse with a grip that intended to do both. Kissing her with as much reassurance as he could convey, he lifted her onto the sink.
Her soft lips clung to his. Her hands dragged at him. Her legs wrapped around him so tightly, she pushed him toward her opening. Wet, soaked, and ready.
He thrust into her softness, and she moaned and mewled, a soft needful sound. She was doing him in with those sounds.
