CHAPTER FOUR
Columbia
The days crawled by. Six of the longest, most tortuous days of her life had passed since they’d returned to the compound. Lacey had counted the hours between the glimpses of Moreno Arjona she’d caught. One evening Reno had careered into her arm in passing. It was the briefest of touches. Only once had he dared, but it’d been heavenly. She dreamed of him that night. Imagined they were back on the island.
Even the indoor grotto failed to ease her rattled nerves. Instead, the morning swims had her stomach churning in knots.
Was Reno avoiding her? It was probably for the best.
Vasco had been scarce since their return as well, so maybe that’s why Reno had been absent. Today her babysitters alternated between Vasco’s mother—who Lacey was sure wanted to behead her for being an American—and the unbearable Sergio.
After lunch Vasco permitted her to go into the city. She wasn’t surprised. Since their third month together he’d allowed her to get her hair and nails done and have a massage. She wasn’t vain enough to want or need them done. Dread simply urged her away from the cartel lands whenever possible.
She didn’t recognize the driver, but Sergio seemed to know him well enough. Lewd comments spewed from Sergio as the other man drove them. So Lacey tuned them out and picked at her nails. Anything to occupy her time, her thoughts of Moreno Arjona.
At the spa, Sergio accompanied her to the door but didn’t come inside.
Good. She’d have maybe an hour or two of privacy. Oh, she knew the ladies who worked there reported back to Vasco, but alone time was alone time, which she desperately needed.
Lacey greeted Mariana and promptly excused herself for a restroom break.
“Of course, I’ll be ready when you are,” the young lady said.
“Thank you.” Lacey headed into the restroom. She squeaked at finding Reno waiting inside.
“Querida.” Reno put himself between her and the door as if she’d escape, but that was ridiculous. A giddy bubble flittered as her chest swelled in happiness. She’d never experienced such relief before.
“Reno…” She took a step toward him.
His arms encircled her to hold her close as he leaned back against the door. “Has he touched you?” The muscles in his jaw clenched.
“No.” She shook her head. “No.” Thank God. Vasco hadn’t hurt her since before they’d left for Trinidad. Initially he’d forcible taken her, but she’d made herself simply submit, endure his vile touch. She wanted to live and to survive she’d quickly learned not to fight him off.
“I’ve been drugging the bastard.” Reno caressed her face. “To keep him away from you. querida. I know about you, about your friends.”
“What?” She hadn’t told him her story.
Her breath caught at the risk he’d been taking on her account. “Thank you.” She stood up on tiptoe to kiss him. “But you can’t keep doing that.” Vasco didn’t partake in any of the drugs he pushed off on others.
He’d mentioned her friends, so she had to ask, “Elise and Kristen?”
“I’m sorry. Kristen Moore washed up on a beach in the Florida Keys. Elise Davis has yet to be found.”
“Oh, God.” She’d expected as much, but knowing cut like a knife. Her eyes welled and she blinked tears back. “How do you know all this?” She hadn’t told him her story. She’d been too afraid to share the horror she’d lived through, and part of her had been afraid of putting him in danger.
“Listen, there’s not much time,” His skin was warm, rough against her cheek and neck. “Lobo’s going to get you out of here.”
“What?” She gasped in shock. “Lobo?” Could Reno be serious?
“The driver who brought you into the city?” He rested his forehead to hers, briefly before he placed a kiss there.
Lacey straightened up to meet his dark gaze. “What about you?”
“Lobo is going to take you to safety.” His chest heaved under her palms. “That’s all that matters.”
All that matters? Was he crazy? “Reno what about you?”
“I’ve got to see things through here,” he said in a reassuring tone that did little to calm her down.
“Things through?” she asked in confusion as the nausea of worry ate at her very soul. “Listen to me. Vasco will kill you…” Lacey had seen him kill people. Vasco was a monster.
“Shh…” He cupped her chin and placed a thumb over her mouth. “Your family is in protective custody and soon you’ll be safe and sound with them.”
“Reno, please listen to me…” She clutched at his arm. “I know Vasco…”
“It saddens me that you do.” He stepped back just as gunfire went off outside. Women screamed. Reno kissed her quickly before yanking the door open. “Come on!” Reno took her hand and pulled her along behind him as he ran outside.
Just beside the door Sergio lay dead on the ground. At least she thought he was dead.
The driver stood with a bat in his hands. “Bro, this is going to hurt you more than it hurts me.”
“Lobo?” Lacey said. Surely the man wouldn’t, but he swung cracking Reno alongside the head. She gasped, reaching out as Reno crumpled over Sergio.
Lobo dropped the bat before he pulled her to his body. “Call me Jax. Only my team calls me, Lobo.”
“Jax…” She trembled head-to-toe. “Reno…”
He was dragging her now as she began to struggle. “Reno!” No, this couldn’t be happening, not like this. Lobo—Jax—easily shoved her into the trunk of the car they’d driven into the city. She kicked and beat at the lid as panic rattled in her bones. “Dear God…” Vasco would kill Reno if Jax hadn’t already. “Dear God, please, please keep him safe. Please.” She finally stopped pounding her fists and kicking her feet. She needed to save her energy. And the temperature was rising.
No way to tell how much time passed as the vehicle bounded along the road. It felt as if they’d gotten off the main route onto a dirt trail of some sort.
Suddenly the car stopped and she bounced hard into metal.
The lid opened with a loud creak. “Ma’am these Navy boys will escort you home.”
Gentle hands reached in and scooped her out. “Name’s Knox.” He nodded to the other guy. “That’s Powers.” Urging her to the waiting chopper, the sailors got on either side of her. “You’re safe now.”
She glanced back over her should to meet Lobo’s golden gaze. “Please…Reno…”
“I’ve got his back.” Jax tipped the baseball cap he wore at her before slamming the trunk closed.
“Ma’am, watch your head,” Knox said, as he escorted her into the chopper.
Powers climbed in last to declare, “Take us home.”
The chopper rose into the air and Lacey watched the car race away until she could no longer see its dust.
Please, please keep Moreno Arjona safe. The man had saved her life. She placed her palm against the cool glass. Despite everything she’d gone through since being kidnapped, she’d fallen in love with a hero. Why hadn’t she told him before he’d let Jax…
A sob tightened her chest and she wrapped her arms around herself as it tore from her throat. Briefly she attempted to cocoon the rattling of her body. Emotions beat in her heart and pounded in her head. The fervor of feelings she’d kept bottled up to simply survive rushed through her like a current of electricity. Denial, anger, and relief that the nightmare she’d been living had come to an end. “Dear God.” She hurt so badly…
Knox patted her arm. “You’re safe now.”
* * * *
Reno’s head throbbed where Lobo had cracked him a good one. He’d regained consciousness at the compound in the middle of the barn which held its share of ghosts. Men had been tortured to death exactly where he now hung. Only for the moment he was alone.
It definitely appeared things hadn’t gone according to the plan he and Lobo had pushed up the chain of command. Well, there’d been the possibility that things might go to hell, but he’d been counting against it. Although it was all the intel on Vasco’s European drug pipeline that had done the trick. When Lobo had told him what he knew about Lacey, he’d nearly had a panic attack over her welfare. At all costs, they had to keep her safe. They had to get her free.
And he’d been too deep for too long. Time for endgame.
With jerks of his arms he tested the rope that strung him to the plank above his head. Bracing his legs he gave the rope another mighty tug, sending dust everyone.
Yeah, he was fucked. At least Lacey was safe. The SEAL team had her far away by now, maybe even home already. No telling how much time had passed.
The joint task forces of government agencies and military groups planned to swarm the place at 2100 hours, while he and Lobo’s orders stated they’d help from inside the walls. He studied the shadows peeking through the cracks and window. They told him he’d been out a few hours. Sunset was taking place.
Reno didn’t have too long to wait to find out his fate. Head hurting, he let it slump forward to conserve his energy. He’d need the strength.
“Finally the coño awakens.” Dressed immaculately Vasco strolled into the barn as if he owned the world, which in fact the man did, at least for a little while longer. “I’d wanted to kill you while you slept, but no.” The drug lord pressed the tip of a knife into his chin, forcing Reno to meet his gaze.
In a flash Vasco grabbed Rene’s left ear and cut a chunk off. He jerked at the onslaught of pain, then gathered himself. Fuck!
“I’m going to have some fun.” Vasco ran his tongue over the flat of the big blade. “I suspected you’d been putting something into my drinks…” Vasco dug the knife down the left side of Reno’s face. “And then when my mujer was taken while you’d been away…” Vasco tsked and shook his head. Lacey is not your woman, Reno wanted to scream.
Fuck! Fuck!
He clenched his teeth against the buring sensation. Sticky blood pooled inside his mouth from the slice.
Lacey had made it to freedom, that was all that mattered. He’d known the risks.
“Jefe, here’s the driver.” Two gaurds entered behind Vasco and Lobo was shoved to the ground at Vasco’s feet.
“Por favor. No se nada. No se nada.” Continuing to act his part Lobo babbled and huddled protectively in a crouch at the man’s feet, repeating that he knew nothing. “No se nada. Por favor. Por favor. No se nada.”
“Cállate!” Vasco screamed. Shut up!
“No se nada. Por favor. Por favor. No se nada.” Lobo acted then, he sprang up into the air in a poweful split kick, surprising the two gaurds. Bruce Lee would’ve been proud. Their heads snapped back. A neck snapped. Teeth clanked. Blood spewed.
Vasco screamed on a charge, but Lobo was ready and dropped into the splits. Lobo punched out with a lightning fast palm heel strike to Vasco’s balls. The drug lord dropped to the wooden planks like a sack of potatoes. His knife slid away as he clutched himself. Vasco heaved, vomiting in pain.
Quickly Lobo cut him down. “Sorry, hermano.”
Reno held his forearm up to his face. With his free hand he clasped Lobo shoulder. “Hermano.” He was alive and Lacey was safe. In the end that was what counted. His chest heaved as Lobo set about securing Vasco. First he shoved an old rag into the drug lord’s mouth, then hog-tied him with the rope that only a minute ago had held Reno captive. After Vasco was secure, Lobo worked to stop the bleeding on Reno’s face. They had some time to kill. Reno leaned against the wall while Lobo stood guard. They both knew no one would come looking for Vasco. The man had torment on his mind. No one wanted to get between him and his playtime. Fucking sadist.
At exactly 2100 hours the compound erupted in gunfire and screams. Reno stayed with the prisoner as Lobo went for assistance.
Vasco’s dark eyes blazed with hate. Reno managed a weak smile. His ear and face didn’t hurt so bad now, but he was going to be ugly.
Lobo escorted their team leader, Stone, with countless others into the barn. Every agency wanted a piece of this takedown.
“That’s a nasty cut.” A female medic set to work cleaning up his face and he winced.
“What do you think of Van Gogh, or maybe Gargoyle?” Lobo joked.
Ignoring his buddy, he asked their commander. “Lacey?”
“She’s safe and sound.” Stone knelt down, crowding his other side. “Don’t worry, brother.”
Drained of energy Reno closed his eyes.
Three months later.
Country music strummed from the car as she drove. Therapy had gone well today. She was making progress with what she’d gone through. Coming to terms with what had been done to her. Not a victim, but a survivor and in her case, she knew exactly who she had to thank for living. She thought about Moreno Arjona. Some nights she dreamed of the time she’d spent in his company.
Turning into the driveway, Lacey parked and gathered her purse and keys. She slid out, closed the car door, and stared at the big Dodge parked at the curb of the home she now shared with her parents. She didn’t recognize it. A frown creased her brow. They’d been put into protective custody with round o’clock security. Who could be here?
The breath rushed from her lungs as the truck door opened and a man stepped out. Reno! It was him. His dark hair. His big stature. He was there. “Oh…” She stopped walking, but he didn’t. Closing the door behind him, long strides carried him to where she stood still. In shock. In awe.
“Moreno.” She inhaled his scent.
He didn’t hesitate to step close into her personal space. The closeness felt right. “Querida.” As tall and broad as she remembered, he was there in the flesh.
With trembling fingers she touched the scar on the left side of his face and then trailed her fingertips over the mutilated ear. “Vasco?”
“It’s all behind us now.”
Moreno had been tortured and she hadn’t known… A lump formed in her throat. Sadness tightened her chest.
“How are you, Lacey?” His Spanish ascent was thicker than she remembered.
“I’m better.” He was here and for that she was glad. She smiled. “Much better. I’d hoped I get to thank you one day…” And to see you again, she added silently.
“I wanted to see you.” Instead of touching her as she wanted him to, he put his hands in his pockets. “Needed to see you.”
“Why didn’t you come sooner?” She’d done web search for him, yet nothing had popped. It was as if he’d been a phantom of her dreams. A superhero that appeared and disappeared in her time of need. Or an angel. She’d prayed for help to come. To be rescued.
“I wanted to give you some time to heal.” His dark gaze was steady. “Figured you needed time.”
Yeah, she supposed she had needed time. Space. Day-by-day she’d recovered bits and pieces of her old self. Although her soul would never, ever be the same. And the world she lived in was different. “I still have some rough patches, but I’m better.” She stood up on tiptoe and placed a soft kiss on his mouth. “Thank you.”
Moreno clasped her hands that rested on his chest. “Ah, querida.”
Lacey smiled. “I’m really glad you showed up.”
He arched an eyebrow. “You sure?”
“Oh, yeah.” Butterflies danced in her belly. While she worked to forget a lot of what she’d been through, she had total recall of Reno and what they’d shared.
“So you remember me?” His white teeth flashed.
Laughter bubbled up. “Guess you remember me, you’re here after all.”
Amusement lifted the corner of his mouth. “Yeah, I sure do.”
Eyes locked on one another, and for a moment they stood there holding hands. He leaned down and she closed her eyes in pleasure. Moreno had come for her. His warm lips played with her mouth until she opened for his tongue. The kiss was gentle and sweet and long overdue. Lacey moaned as she brought her arms up around his shoulders and neck.
Moreno crushed her to his chest as the kiss deepened and became passionate. When he eased off, she relaxed. He held her close and caressed her cheek with his thumb. His eyes were dark, pupils dilated. “Querida, I bought a horse farm I want to show you.”
“What?”
He took a small step away. “If you’ve got the time, that is.”
“A horse farm?” She asked.
“Yeah, this mug is definitely recognizable now.” He shrugged a shoulder. “I’m semi-retired from the…”
“007 business?” She bit her lip to keep from smiling.
“Yeah.” Moreno nodded. “I’ll just be working behind scenes now from time-to-time.”
“Horse farm, huh?”
“Like my family once owned.”
“I remember.” She pointed to the house where her parents stood peering outside at them. “Think they can come?” She gave them a quick wave. “They tend to hover nowadays.” She smiled. They really were sweet and had tried so hard to help her since she’d gotten rescued.
“Absolutely.” He pointed up to the sky. “If you don’t mind giving a wave up there.”
“Huh?” Feeling kind of silly and smiling about the emotion she hadn’t experienced in so long, she waved a hand upward.
“My team…one member in particular has been watching to see if you’d mind me showing up.” Moreno smiled. “She’s a little mentecato.”
Lacey laughed at him calling someone else goofy, waving wildly. “So she can see us?”
“Yeah.” He looked up. “As long as the satellite is aligned.”
“Well, let’s make sure she and your team knows I’m happy you’re here.” She pulled his head down for a kiss.