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“Sorry, what did you say?”
“He was unarmed, Jaicon.”
1
TRYST
ONE YEAR AGO
“Tryst, this is Jaicon Heart, code name Esencia,” said Kade Butler, a man I’d known most of my life.
A cool autumn breeze swept across the meadow where we stood, but when my hand met hers in greeting, warmth flowed from the top of my head to my toes. Staring into the depths of her violet-blue eyes—the color of the cornflowers that used to grow in the gardens of my home in California—something stirred inside me I never thought would again.
“Most people call me Jacy,” she said.
“I am Tryst Avila. Welcome to Mexico and toEl Lugar de Curación.”
“It’s so beautiful here.” Jacy looked down at her hand still between both of mine. “It’s the Healing Place, yes?”
As much as I wanted to feel her touch a few moments longer, I let go. “Do you speak Spanish?”
“Jaicon speaks several languages,” bragged Merrigan, Kade’s wife and the managing partner of the private security and intelligence firm they owned.
Even as she and I cheek-kissed, I didn’t take my eyes off the woman whose aura captivated me—the woman who had to be half my age. I would’ve said younger, but that she worked for my two friends meant she had to be older than I might’ve initially guessed.
“Jacy will be assisting with the reunification process when the trafficking victims arrive later today. I can’t thank you enough, Tryst, for allowing us to use your ranch to bring these families back together.”
“Ditto,” said Kade, putting his arm around his wife. “What these people went through is horrifying and heartbreaking.”
The men, women, and children Kade spoke of had been abducted by human traffickers and loaded into shipping containers bound for the UK.
Kade and Merrigan’s firm, K19 Security Solutions, was responsible for their rescue once the ship the containers were on landed in the Port of Felixstowe, outside of London.
“It is a small thing compared to what you and your team have done,” I said, glancing at my two friends, then at Jaicon. “May I show you to yourcasita?” I asked.
She looked over at her employers.
“Go ahead,” said Kade. “We’ll find our own way,” he added, nudging me with his elbow.
I motioned to a golf cart a short distance from where we stood. My eyes drifted downward from her long wavy blonde hair that, even swept up in a ponytail, touched the small of her back, to the sway of her hips as she walked in front of me. She was dressed simply, in a pair of bottom-hugging jeans, a loose-fitting white T-shirt, and cowboy boots, yet on her, it was…sexy.
I ran my hand through my beard, trying to recall the last time I’d had a similar thought about a woman. It had been years. Not since before my beloved wife, Rosa, was diagnosed with cancer fourteen years ago. She’d been gone ten. Had it truly been that long since I felt desire?
Thinking about my wife should’ve quelled my reaction to Jaicon, but once I sat beside her on the bench seat of the golf cart, I found myself wanting to lean closer and brush the bare skin on her arm with mine. Instead, I gripped the steering wheel with both hands.
“That is the main house, where I live,” I said, pointing to it. “Should you need anything, do not hesitate to knock on my door.”
“That’s very kind of you.” Her smile took my breath away.
“It is my pleasure.” I cleared my throat, hating the suggestive tone in my voice.
When I parked the cart in front of the guestcasita, I wondered if I’d made a wise decision by lodging her in such close proximity. Actually, I knew I hadn’t. “How old are you?” I blurted.
Her laughter stunned me back to my senses.
“Forgive me,” I murmured.
“Don’t apologize. I’m often asked.”
