Chapter One
Two Months later
Mia Mendez huddled in the shallow space beneath the floorboards in her bedroom as the heavy steps of booted feet passed inches above her. The way they stomped told her they hadn’t expected her to be in the small one bedroom apartment she’d been renting for the past two months. Dios, they weren’t even making a token attempt at stealth. It would be a miracle if her downstairs neighbor didn’t call the local police… not that it would do any good. Mia had lived in Columbia her entire life and had yet to meet a public official who hadn’t been either compromised, threatened, or killed by one of the cartels.
The man standing directly above her was obviously in charge. His barked orders spoken with an edge of urgency told her he wasn’t looking forward to reporting back to his superiors if they failed to find what they were looking for. His promise of a night with one of ‘the girls’ for the man who found her laptop made her want to throw up. She wondered what she’d done to tip them off? Damn it to donuts, she’d managed to fly under their radar for so long, she’d evidently gotten careless.
Holding her breath as she watched the man through the ill-fitting boards, Mia cursed herself for not rearranging the bedroom. It had taken her most of the first week to fashion a hiding spot large enough to stash her ‘go bag’ and several more days to enlarge it enough for her to slip into. The finger holds were almost undetectable from above, and she’d barely had time to scramble inside when she’d heard numerous car doors slam outside on the street. She might have grown slack, but her survival instincts had kicked into high gear at the out-of-place sounds. The deserted street she lived on rarely had traffic of any kind, and several vehicles at one time had been a sure sign of trouble.
The sound of breaking glass made her suck in a quick, surprised breath, causing the man closest to her to call for silence. They all stopped moving for long seconds, and Mia held her breath so long, her vision started to dim. After what seemed like an eternity, the rag-tag group finally agreed to return later that night after she’d returned. It didn’t take a genius to figure out how that would work out for her.
Mia remained hidden even after she heard vehicles speeding down the hard-packed dirt street, trying to slow her breathing and sort through her chaotic thoughts while planning her escape.
*
Brock Deitz eased back, melting deeper into the shadows when the men who’d been searching Mia Mendez’s small apartment began filing out of the building. He and his brother had been watching the apartment for the past four days. His brother, Tucker was spotting from the roof of the building at his back. Brock knew Tuck had kept the men in his rifle sights from the moment they’d arrived in force.
“She’s quick, I’ll give her that. Damn, she grabbed her backpack and computer and was hidden before they made it up the first flight of stairs.”
“The hidey-hole under the floor?” They’d found her safe space, but it hadn’t been easy. Brock had to give Ms. Mendez credit, she was well prepared. Her go bag had a generous stash of cash and multiple sets of identification. He wondered if she’d created the space when she’d first arrived or if a recent incident had caused her to worry… like mailing pictures of Senator Tyson to his wife.
“Yeah. I thought for a few seconds they’d made her after one of the asshats broke a lamp, but they finally gave up and moved out.” Tucker’s voice held a hint of respect for the woman they both were starting to feel as if they knew despite the fact they had yet to meet her face to face.
Tuck, as he was known to family and close friends, had maintained a healthy distance from any woman who’d expressed even the smallest interest in him since his split from the witch he’d been married to for six harrowing months. If Brock never saw Jina Ives’ cheating face again, it would be a lifetime too soon.
“I know we’re only supposed to watch her until the rest of the team arrives late tonight, but I think that option was just taken off the table.” Brock knew he was stating the obvious, but Tucker had been trying to downplay his interest in the woman they were shadowing, so Brock wanted to make sure his brother was on board upping their timetable.
“We’re going to have to grab her—there won’t be a safe place for her in the entire damned city.”
Brock could tell by the sound of Tucker’s voice he was already on the move. Within seconds Brock felt the faintest brush of air as Tucker stepped up beside him. Brock didn’t respond to his presence, just nodded in the direction of the apartment building. They needed to get to Ms. Mendez before she decided to make a run for it—and he didn’t have a doubt one that was exactly what she planned to do.
“Fuckers destroyed everything. They might have been looking for something, but this was also intended to send her a strong message,” Tucker’s comment surprised Brock. Ever since his divorce last year, Tucker had made every attempt to turn off any emotion vaguely resembling compassion.
“Well, message received. My guess is the simpletons expect her to be picking through the carnage when they return later tonight. She’d be distracted and easy to grab.” Pushing out an exasperated breath, Brock moved from the shadows, the two of them crossed the street, and made their way up the stairs.
“Let’s find her and get out of here. The more miles we can cover before they return, the better. Let the team and Prairie Winds know about the change in plans.” Tucker pulled out his phone and began tapping a quick message.
Slipping into her apartment less than a minute later, Brock shook his head at the devastation. The first time they’d stepped into the young woman’s home, it had been neat to the point of being impersonal. Now, however, the space looked like a tornado had gone through it—or their younger sister, Nell. Nellora was a one-woman wrecking crew. Brock had seen their mother scramble to stash treasured pieces of her crystal before Nell made her way into a room.
Brock moved to the bedroom and smiled when he saw the cover of her hiding place still securely in place. It’s time for us to finally meet, sweetheart. Pulling the knife from the sheath around his ankle, he pushed the tip of the titanium blade between the slats of the rough-hewed floor and lifted the cover. He heard Mia’s startled cry at the same moment his gaze met hers.
He’d expected her to be alarmed at having been discovered, what he hadn’t anticipated was the startling crystal blue of her eyes. Her hair was so dark, even the dim light reflected from the shining strands that had pulled free of the long braid she wore. During the past couple of days, Brock had been forced to pull himself out of more than one fantasy where he threaded his fingers through the loose length of her silky hair. Damn, he wanted to see it loose and flowing around her slender shoulders.
“Come on, Mia.” Extending his hand, he smiled down at her and nearly laughed out loud at her look of defiance. “We need to get you out of here.” When she didn’t immediately take his offered hand, he frowned. “My brother and I have been sent to help you, but we’re going to need your cooperation. You and I both know the men who just left here will be coming back, and you can’t hide in here forever.”
A flicker of acknowledgment shone in her eyes, and she started to grasp his hand, but just before he could grasp it, she pulled it back.
“How did you know where I was? You walked right to this spot.”
“We found your little safe space the first time we checked your room when we got to town. It’s well hidden, but it’s not impossible to find. Even the morons who trashed your apartment will find it, eventually.” For the first time since he’d pried the boards away to uncover her, Brock saw a very real flash of terror in her eyes. She started to reach for his hand once again but pulled it back when she heard footsteps in the hall.
Tuck stepped into the room and frowned when he saw Mia was still tucked into her hiding spot.
“What’s the fucking hold up? We need to roll.” Closing the distance between them, Tucker moved into Mia’s view, and Brock heard her quick inhalation when she saw Tuck for the first time. He and his brother were only ten months apart in age and looked enough alike to be twins—almost.
Tucker’s bright green eyes were always the first thing people noticed. Strangers on the street would stop and stare at him when Tucker had been a child, much to the dismay of their parents. His eyes were so memorable, Tuck was forced to wear colored contacts on missions to avoid drawing undue attention to himself.
“You said you were sent to help me… who sent you and why?”
Brock smiled at her question. Thought you’d never ask, baby. He’d wondered if she was going to overlook the most obvious questions and was relieved to know she was cognizant enough to be thinking about her own safety.
“Come on, Mia, let’s get you somewhere safe, then we’ll talk about who sent us. For now, all you need to know is we’re the good guys.”
This time she took his proffered hand despite Tuck’s snort of derision at his words. Brock was amused at the way she shimmied out of the small space. When she turned and started to reach back into the hole, Brock wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her back until she was flush against his torso. The lush curves of her ass pressed against his groin, and he barely stifled his groan at the surge of blood rushing to fill his rapidly inflating cock.
Leaning down, Brock spoke softly against the sensitive skin behind her ear, “Let Tuck retrieve your things, sweetheart, while you and I take a quick look around. Let’s see if there is anything left you’d like to take, shall we?”
He’d inhaled deeply and almost moaned as the sweet smell of her skin filled his senses. A surge of electricity raced up his spine when his lips brushed over her tanned skin, and satisfaction warmed him when she shivered in his embrace. She didn’t immediately move away when he released her, and he fought the urge to turn her, so he’d be able to feel the soft press of her pillowy breasts against his chest.
When she finally stepped away from him, Brock had to turn away to readjust himself. If that brief moment of contact had such a profound effect, what would it be like to have Mia sandwiched between him and Tuck? Turning back to her, Brock smiled when he saw her on her hands and knees, her luscious ass pointing in the air as she pulled a second bag from its hiding place under her bed. He was enjoying the hell out of the view when Tuck moved to his side.
“Jesus,” the single, almost reverent epitaph summed up Brock’s sentiments perfectly.