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She wanted to ask what they had been after, but the last thing she needed was to get in the middle of this turf war. At least, that’s what she was assuming this whole business was about. “That’s a shame. She went missing from their compound, and I was hoping to find her.”
“The only woman I know that is missing is my love. But she was taken from me months ago and never returned, despite my attempts to get her back.” He stopped at the thick wood front door and glanced at her. “I know those Americans are responsible.” He practically spat the words at her. “And they will pay.”
Now she knew what Navarro wanted.
Information about the woman he lost could be the currency she traded for her freedom.
Before she could figure out how to work the conversation around to him using her to get the information in exchange for her and Jax being free, he stepped inside.
A young woman in a flowered dress and sandals, long hair down to her elbows, stood in the entryway with a tray. On top were a bottle of wine, a bottle of sparkling water, and two glasses—one of which had been filled.
He handed the water to Kenna.
She twisted the cap. Even with all the strength she had in her, she couldn’t fight the condensation to get enough grip to take the lid off. She sighed.
Navarro took the bottle from her and uncapped it.
“Gracias.”
He dipped his head very slightly and took the wine glass. “Let’s go to the deck.”
From the view she got walking through the house to the back, Kenna could say with complete certainty that Elisa definitely picked the wrong house.
She had finished the bottle by the time they stepped through the French doors, where another young girl took it from her and disappeared. Kenna stared out at the pool and the gardens. “It’s so peaceful.” She couldn’t hear much but the buzz of insects in the trickle of water.
Horses grazed on the hill behind the house.
A red barn with a wide-open door. Several other buildings.
This seemed to be a working ranch, and if there was any illegal business happening at this location, then it occurred completely out of sight, where not even surveillance could detect it.
To go suddenly from a dismembered body in the back of the truck to this view, with the sunset easing down the sky and setting the world aglow, she couldn’t help but notice the stark contrast. Like the compound to this ranch. A contrast as evident comparing this man standing in front of her now to the person he became when it was necessary to take a life. Or the difference between Kart and Navarro.
“I’m glad you are able to appreciate it as much as I do.” He sipped his drink. “So you can imagine my displeasure when those Americans moved in over the ridge. Or when they send a gift that is nothing but another attempt to undermine me.”
“Do you know what they are going to do?” Kenna asked.
“I am prepared for anything,” Navarro replied.
Across the other end of the pool, an elderly woman walked along with a little boy probably not more than three years old. She held his hand, and they headed for a small pond in the corner of the garden.
Navarro’s son?
And he had lost his bride. He still cared about what happened to her. He needed a mother for his son.
One of his men stepped out of the house, strode over, and spoke quietly in Navarro’s ear. His gaze came to her, and he waited until the man had stepped back to take up a guard position before he said, “She is Kenna Banbury.”
So they knew who she was now.
They’d run her name to see if she’d been lying—and maybe her picture as well—and discovered her history. Even a summary would give them enough to get their heads spinning.
Now was the chance to make him an offer he couldn’t refuse.
“If you’ve looked me up, then you know I can help you find—”
The pool house exploded.
The old woman screamed, and the child broke away from her to run toward the house. Navarro spun to his man and barked orders. He didn’t even finish getting the words out before the barn exploded.
