CHAPTER FIVE
While Monkey, or mustard boy, took his bath, ZQ went over all the information with his team. They studied maps and JJ plotted their flying route to Cartagena complete with fueling stops at small airports. Grey printed some new emails he’d gotten from his various sources. He also printed out a close-up map of the older section of the city where his informants told him security was heavy at one particular building owned by the Muñoz Cartel. Grey put an X on the address provided.
ZQ studied it. So did Dust who asked if the cartel owned other properties in the area. Grey, a computer whiz, hacked into Cartagena land records. Athena, fluent in most Hispanic dialects, translated them for the guys.
Gilberto Muñoz owned seven buildings, plus acreage in the mountains. His brother Eduardo owned two residences. Grey laughed, claiming one house was probably for his wife and the other for his mistress. Most of Eduardo’s holdings was land concentrated in the mountains.
What had ZQ worried was the new intel Grey had gotten. Gilberto had flown out of Tampa this afternoon. No doubt to wherever his men held Rose.
Once again, ZQ told himself he would have to start thinking of her as Ivy and not Rose. Ivy was her real name. It was how little Quinn heard people refer to her. His son was under enough emotional stress, he shouldn’t be further confused by hearing his dad call his mom by another name.
Dust, the architect, pulled a chair next to Grey and asked him to use a program that gave a closer view of buildings than typical sites.
After Grey brought it up, Dust rattled off descriptions Steelhead jotted down. “The building is stucco. Five floors. Wooden blinds are closed on the fifth one. Wonder why that is? Any ideas running though your minds? It has a flat roof with railing around it. Building is a coral color.
“You getting all this, Steelhead?” Dust barely spared him a glance.
“Every damn word. Sketching it out, too.”
Dust patted Steelhead’s shoulder. “Good, man. Now, the building next to it is the same rectangular shape, but turquoise stucco. All the blinds are open on all the floors. Pan around to the other side of the coral house, Grey.
“Turquoise? Why not say blue. What man says turquoise or coral, for that matter.” Titan crossed his massive arms.
“I’m an architect. I have to be able to identify the differences in colors. You’re a gear head. You know car parts. I know buildings and, yes smartass, turquoise and coral.”
Titan held up two open hands. “Hey, cool your carburetors, man. I still say they look fuckin’ blue and orange to me.”
“Enough!” ZQ barked. “Continue, Dust.”
“The neighboring building is gold, almost faded to yellow and only three floors. It’s built flush against the coral one. Yet there are a few feet, roughly six I’m guessing, between the suspicious coral structure and the turquoise dwelling. If she’s in the upper floor, one of us could repel between the two to get to a window.”
“That would be me.” ZQ leaned over Grey’s shoulder to study the pictures. “Are these real time? I see two men out front with guns.”
“As real as it gets,” Dust insisted.
“Pan around to the backs of the buildings. Are there lawns or more houses built close to them? Any guards in the back?”
“No men, ZQ. Just a narrow alley between buildings.” Dust pointed and ZQ leaned forward to get a look-see himself.
Everyone got quiet when pajama-clad Quinn entered the room. He had his hair combed in the same style as ZQ’s—in the front anyhow. The back was still a tangled mess. He quietly slipped into his dad’s outstretched arms and curled against him.
“Are you ready for bed?” Athena kissed the child’s hand.
“I want my daddy.” He curled his fingers into ZQ’s t-shirt and snuggled closer.
He kissed his son’s forehead. Depending on how the mission went, he might never see him again. He was determined to bring Ivy back to little Quinn no matter what it cost. “He’ll be fine here with me while we go over plans. Quinn, when you wake up in the morning, we’ll be gone. Daddy and his men will be on their way to find your mommy. Don’t be scared. Okay?”
“Okay.” Small, dark eyes bore into ZQ’s, no doubt searching, yearning to trust someone he’d only ever heard of from his mommy.
“Never forget Daddy loves you more than anything. You’re his special boy.” He kissed him again. His palm rubbed up and down his son’s back until Quinn fell asleep. “Athena, make sure you do something for me. Tell Ivy she’s a hell of a good mother. She’s raised him well. He’s warm, loving, and comical as hell. Any man would be proud to have him for his son. In case things go to shit for me, I want her to know how I feel. Promise me.”
“I will.” Athena nodded.
“One more thing. Encourage her to take him to the ranch from time to time. I’ve already talked to Mom about leaving the property to him. Eagle Ridge Ranch has been in our family for four generations. She’s having her will changed. I want Quinn to fall in love with the place.”
“Come on, man,” JJ growled. “Ditch this defeatist shit. We’ve been is worse situations.”
“Yes, but I only had to worry about my men then. Now I have a son who needs his mommy and I’m hellbent on seeing he gets her back.”
ZQ’s determined gaze landed on everyone and the room went quiet. “Understand this: No one means more to me than this boy, his mommy, and my own mother. I’d gladly give my life for any one of the three. I protect what’s mine. End of discussion. Now, let’s detail our plans.” Everyone leaned in to go over the intel they had.
****
Ivy curled on her bed. Something was up. No one had beaten or threatened her today. In fact, an older woman had given her a crumpled red tank top and an orange and yellow floral long skirt to replace the torn and bloody dress she’d worn to court the day she was kidnapped. The young woman who brought her meals still called her “Puta” before she spat into her food. That hadn’t changed, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that something bad was in the air.
She snatched the hard roll from the edge of the plate before it touched the defiled rice and meat concoction she’d been given. Breaking a piece off, she held it to her nose to inhale the yeasty aroma. No moldy smell, thank goodness. She examined every bite for tiny bugs. Since she’d been here, her diet was sparse thanks to the quality of the food and the server’s behavior. To hide the fact she wasn’t eating, she scraped the contents of her plate into the commode and flushed it away.
Would she ever make Quinn pancakes or baked macaroni and cheese again? She smiled as she slipped beneath the raggedy cover. What about his favorite—a mustard and cheese sandwich, heavy on the mustard? She missed their run and playtime at the nearby park when she got home from work. She missed reading to him at night. She missed him period.
What would his father think of the child named for him if he ever met her boy? Once they grew close why didn’t she tell Quinn her real name and that she was looking for positions in Florida? Then if he wanted to find her after his mission, he could have tracked her down. Where was he now and who was he with?
Memories of meeting her SEAL giant slipped through her mind as tears slid into her hairline. She curled into a fetal position and tried to ease her way into sleep, gunfire peppering the night air outside to the soothing strains of trumpet and guitar music from a nearby cantina.
Did her little boy miss her? Was he scared?
Where was her SEAL Master? Was he safe? All these years without him and he still crossed her mind every night before she drifted off to sleep. Was he even alive? He’d never replied to the pictures she texted him. His silence was so unlike his normal behavior. Yet she still hung onto his memory when, in all likelihood, he never thought of her. Not anymore. She closed her eyes and her breathing deepened.
He swaggered toward her, the Dom who’d introduced himself to her weeks ago. She’d been on her way to the locker room to change clothes before leaving Secrets of the Deep, a BDSM club. He’d stopped both her and her heart as they exchanged names and pleasantries. She liked his manners and the way the corners of his eyes crinkled when he smiled. There was an innate kindness about him.
Then he’d been gone for three weeks.
She figured she’d never see him again. Who knew, maybe he’d just been a figment of her lonely feminist body, because Quinn had to be the finest man she’d ever seen in black leathers. Sexy. Potent. Desirable.
He’d been on her mind almost constantly these past weeks. As he approached tonight, her heart triple beat and she couldn’t focus on anything or anyone, but him. Well developed thigh muscles bunched and lengthened as he walked in his tight leathers.
Only he didn’t merely walk, he sauntered with the grace of a man who knew his strength and paid attention to his surroundings. He carried himself with a military bearing. Although his height was almost intimidating, his sensual demeanor made her hormones want to stand up and salute. To her surprise, there were stitches through his one thick, dark eyebrow.
His attention was solely on her. With every step he made to close the distance, her breath quickened.
“I was hoping you’d be here.” He took her hand, his thumb making slow circles. “How are you, Rose?”
She lowered her gaze. “I’m fine, sir.” When her gaze rose, she counted seven stitches and a nasty bruise on the side of his face. “May I ask what happened to you?”
“I’m a SEAL. We were on a mission. It was short, but intense. That’s all I can say. We’re not at liberty to talk about where we go or what we do.”
She’d heard about the secrecy involving Special Forces missions. “I see.”
“Are you spoken for this evening?” She shook her head. “Would you consider being my submissive tonight?” His head lowered to brush a kiss beneath her ear as his hand lightly swept down her spine sending waves of desire skittering over her skin.
Her mouth had gone dry with all the moisture in her body rushing to her core. “I would like that very much, sir.”
“Your safe word?”
“Homework.” She glanced at him under her lashes. “I’m a college student.”
He leaned his head back and laughed, a rich sound that cocooned her in safety. “Homework, it is then. What are you studying?”
“Too much. My brain is tired.” She really didn’t want to go into her private life. Her future career as a lawyer had to be completely separate from her stolen hours as a submissive where she could let loose of life’s stresses and relax.
When she stopped focusing on his face and how well he filled out his leathers, she realized his bicep was also bandaged. “What happened to your arm, sir?”
He glanced at the dressing as if he’d forgotten it was there. “Just another souvenir from our latest mission. It doesn’t bear talking about.” He wrapped his arm around her waist and led her deeper into the club. “What interests you here, Rose? Do you enjoy watching the scenes or would you rather participate?”
“Sometimes I’m not even sure if the lifestyle is completely for me.” At his arched eyebrow, she explained. “I do like kink, but not to the degree a lot of the people here do.” She laughed in embarrassment. “Some of the scenes I can’t even bear to watch. Does that make me a coward or a vanilla woman who just likes to be spanked and stuff?”
The backs of his fingers trailed down her cheek, a gentle caress that made her want to lean into him. “Why not explain to me what you like? I’m a trained and certified Dom. I’ll tell you what I think. I mean, a little kink is not a bad thing.” He winked at her and she had to look away to keep from laughing.
He had a way of relaxing her so she could talk frankly about herself. “I’m a very independent woman. Strong willed. But being in charge gets to me sometimes, so when it comes to sex, I enjoy having a dominant male take over.”
“A lot of professional women do. Some men, too, for that matter. In an environment like this or the privacy of a bedroom, they can relax and enjoy while the male or female tells them what to do for a change.”
She nodded. “Yes. It’s like that, exactly, although I do prefer men. Muscled men who aren’t mean, just masterful. I enjoy being spanked, flogged to a degree, blindfolded and tied up, but not hurt where I’m bruised. I don’t like being afraid, just taken care of.”
“If a Dom earned your trust, do you think you’d allow him to push your boundaries? That’s what a good Dom will do, you know. He’ll want to help you grow in the lifestyle. He’ll also punish.”
She backed up a step. “How do you punish?”
His arm swept around her just before he jerked her against his hard body. “Depends on the offense, pet. I punish slowly and after I’ve given the issue thought. Safe…sane…and consensual, always.”
The scene changed and they were suddenly in a black room illuminated with red lights. She wore nipple clamps with jeweled dangles Quinn claimed matched her eyes. Her arms and legs were tied to the four bedposts. Her Master was nipping and kissing his way up her thighs to where her core throbbed in eager anticipation. The closer he got, the wetter she became.
“Who am I, my lioness with the golden skin and tawny hair?” His voice was a deep masterful command, full of power and control over her.
“You’re my Master. I belong to you.”
His tongue made one long sweep through her slit and she moaned, lifting her mound toward his face. He rewarded her impatience with a smack to her ass before the prize of inserting a finger into her slit and slowly rotating his thumb around her clit.
“Is this what my sub needs?”
She stretched and groaned. He chuckled in response before he stuck a second finger inside her, slowly pumping them while he kissed the undersides of her breasts. Somehow he knew where she loved being touched, kissed, and nipped.
“My submissive is perfect. I think I’ll keep her.” He growled as he slowly crawled up her body until they were eye-to-eye. “I could lose myself in your eyes.” His lips covered hers, a kiss of possession and affection. When he was with her, she could let go of all the demands on her time and mind, enjoying the safety of being in his arms. His tongue swept over hers before he sucked on her lower lip. Then he sucked on her upper lip before his tongue entered her mouth. He didn’t just kiss; he devoured.
His two masterful fingers entered her again. In his total command, her insides quivered, spinning like a cotton candy machine and his fingers the cone that held all the passionate goodness. Just when she was sure she’d lose her mind, his thumb pressed down on her clit and her eyes must have rolled back in her head because the only thing she saw were pink and yellow stars.
Meanwhile her body trembled. The tearing of a foil packet vaguely entered her sex-hazed conscious. And before her climax ended, Quinn slipped into her and drove hard until another climax tore her apart. Then his head reared back, the cords in his neck stood out as he groaned her name.