Chapter Fourteen
“Come on,” Kari said, closing her laptop. “I’m starving, and you need to get out of here for a while.”
Celeste cringed inside at the thought of everyone’s attention focused on her, knowing all they saw was the cartel leader’s daughter. But yes, she was starting to get hungry. She tied the laces on the combat boots Kari got her, then straightened, pulling her top into place so her cleavage wasn’t on full display.
In the back of her mind, Vix drew in a deep breath, letting her chest expand to show off her breasts. She draped her fingers against her collarbone, letting the tips drift down toward her cleavage.
“You’re rocking the Lara Croft look.” Kari winked, holding the door for her.
Yeah, Lara in a borrowed sports bra that pinched at the sides. She folded her arms, then put them down, leaving her hand over her belly. The thought of everyone looking at her was like a bout of poison ivy inside her. “How are they going to feel about sharing a table with an Ayala?”
Kari pulled the door shut, her hand resting on the knob. “It’s not unusual to pull an embedded agent for a debrief during a raid.”
“Women work undercover in this, too?” Celeste didn’t want to imagine a woman doing the god-awful things she’d seen on the internet.
Kari took a deep breath, staring into her eyes like she was coming to a decision. “We have a lot more people in deep cover with your organiza—”
“Not my organization,” Celeste rushed to cut her off.
“Within the cartel…than you’d imagine.”
“Wouldn’t they know I’m not one of you?” She worried her lip. “I mean, how am I supposed to act?” She scrunched her brow, trying to figure out what television show might give her a clue.
Kari chuckled. “There is no ‘way’ to act. If there were, the baddies would figure out who our people are in a heartbeat. Come on, we’re going to have dinner, and you’re going to be yourself.” She pushed open the door.
They walked across the yard, several men greeting them along the way. The looks they got ranged from curiosity to blatant interest. Celeste managed a stiff nod and kept her attention on the building ahead. “Are you the only woman here?”
“The one and only.” She did a walking bow. “Though I’m really just one of the guys. I just happen to have bigger boobs than they do.” She grinned, thrusting her chest out playfully.
Celeste gave her a sidelong glance. It was tempting to confide in Kari, someone who would understand her conflicted feelings about Rio. Surrounded as she was by people she could only consider as the enemy, it was a risk she couldn’t afford. As much as she wanted to completely hate him, her body and her heart continued to betray her. Meanwhile, her father’s warnings nagged at her, and Rio had done nothing to convince her that her father was wrong. She’d fallen for his brand of BS, thinking they’d have a wild, no-strings-attached weekend and never see each other again. He could have been her perfect fantasy, instead, he’d gone and ruined what was arguably the single best moment of her life.
They neared the cafeteria, and the spicy scent of Italian food wafted out to greet them. Kari reached for the door. Garnering courage, Celeste stepped in. Food, voices, laughter, and classic AC/DC surrounded them.
“Welcome to the chow hall.”
Kari swept by, heading to the serving area and leaving Celeste no choice but to follow. With green, cafeteria-style trays in hand, they each took oval plates and served heaping portions of spaghetti. Ooh, garlic bread. Her mouth watered as Kari took the last piece.
“Hey,” Gatlin called from a nearby table, waving them over. “You made it.”
“Hi.” Celeste kept close to Kari, setting her tray on the table as the weight of curious gazes followed their every move.
“Hey, Gatlin. Snow White’s going to need some of her stuff so she can shower.” Kari pointed a thumb at her as they settled into the round seats.
“Sure. I’ll sign out her belongings after we eat.” Gatlin shoveled spaghetti into his mouth.
Snow White. She almost laughed out loud. If only they’d seen her a few weeks ago. Before Leonard deemed her in need of a tan. The next day he got her a drawer of bikinis, which was disturbing in itself. Then his people had herded her out to sit in the sun, until only her hair remained as a pale reminder of her former self.
She twirled noodles on her fork. It had been weeks since she had pasta. An image flashed through her mind. Her, kneeling on a stack of pasta sauce boxes, her dress pooled at her waist, with Rio behind her, stroking between her thighs. Pushing the thought out of her head, she took a bite, savoring the rich sauce.
A few forkfuls later, a burly man approached them, setting a plate stacked high with garlic bread on the table. Everybody reached for a piece. “Hey.” The man’s sharp tone stopped all but Kari. “Let the señorita have some. This dinner is for her.” She hesitated only a second before reaching up and plucking the largest chunk of bread from the plate. The man nodded, apparently happy with her choice. The rest disappeared in seconds.
“Jorge, this is Snow White.”
Oh, she was serious about the name. “Thank you, Jorge,” she murmured.
“Glad you’re feeling better, ma’am. Our Parker, she’s a great caretaker.” So that was the story. Illness was keeping her at the clinic with Kari. “Eat. Eat, please.”
She picked up the bread, taking a bite, and she almost swooned. Warm. Lightly toasted, with a sliver of roasted garlic crowning the center. She pushed noodles on her fork with the bread, soaking in the sauce before taking a bite.
“Rio nailed it,” he said, pleased. But Celeste stopped, mid-chew. “He said he’d never seen anyone enjoy sauce the way you do.”
The bread all but turned to cardboard in her mouth. A full second went by before she managed to swallow. If Jorge wasn’t standing there, she would have spit the food out. But it would be rude to do so, after the man had obviously gone out of his way for her.
“Excuse me,” she mumbled, pushing back from the table. She was halfway to the hall before Kari’s fork clattered to the table. Without slowing her pace, she pushed the door open, then headed away from the other buildings.
The rotten bastard. He knew she’d think about what happened in the storeroom. She pressed her lids shut, trying to banish the image. Unless a condom failed, that’s likely when she’d gotten pregnant. Even with no penetration. She dug her nails into her palms. Sentimental idiot. She’d thought to name the baby River, after the father, at the time, believing she’d never see him again.
“Wait.” Kari plowed into her, throwing her off balance.
“Let me go.” Celeste wrenched her arm away. She kept walking, though the clearing only went so far, then tall grass and mesquite peppered the ground into the distance. Rotten bastard. She needed to stay as far away—
“Stop! I’m trying to keep you from getting your ass shot.” The words penetrated her mental rant. “She’s good,” Kari called out, waving her arms. Celeste followed Kari’s line of sight to the man on the roof holding a weapon aimed in her direction. Then she looked across to the other building, slowing her steps as if she’d been weighed down. “I got her.” Kari dragged her to one side, pinning her with a glare. “Either one of them could have brought you down. And you’d be lucky…if you could get patched up.” She shook her head. “I figure the guard would end up paying in the long run.”
Her pulse pounded in her throat. She’d nearly found out the hard way, why she needed an escort.
“So,” Kari said, releasing her. “You gonna tell me what all that was about?”
Once again she was tempted to share. She was out of her element, and she could really use someone to vent with. But she couldn’t do it. Didn’t even know where to start, so the silence stretched out like the land around them.
“Come on.” Kari led them back to the infirmary, taking her time with each step. “I’m going to try putting the pieces together myself. Stop me if I’m off track.” They walked away from the edge of the clearing. “I figure you didn’t just meet Rio yesterday.”
Celeste kept her expression neutral.
“In fact, from the way he was acting, I’d say the last time you saw him was three weeks and two to three days ago.” She held up a finger. “Well, three to four, since that was a day ago.”
It shouldn’t surprise her that Kari had figured things out on her own. Did everyone else know? Did they realize he’d played her for a fool? She closed her eyes, wondering if everyone in the chow hall was laughing at her, even now.
“Oh, come on. When you two were together there was so much sexual tension in the room I thought I’d end up pregnant.”
Damn, she’d hoped she’d been wrong about that.
“There’s no reason you can’t pick up where you were back then.”
Celeste’s gaze snapped to Kari. Did she mean sex? If so, no. She shook her head. They wouldn’t be picking up there. She’s been seduced for one reason and one reason alone. To get the Ayala cartel.
“Rio’s an intense guy, and the way he looks at you…” She looked over and winked. “Well, as long as he doesn’t launch himself off the ceiling fan, you should be good.”
No-no-no-no-no. Celeste shook her head.
“You can have a normal, healthy, satisfying relationship,” she continued.
“That’s not going to happen,” Celeste said with finality.
“Uh-huh.” Kari pulled open the door. “I prefer my version.”