Chapter 29
Viviana, to be clear—you do not have to do this. In fact, I don’t want you to. It is too fucking dangerous.” Glancing at the solemn group surrounding the table, Jax laid down his marker. “Do remember, given that I am your chief, I have the deciding vote.”
Viviana sniffed. “That may be true for the rest of the team, but you know it’s never worked for me.”
Mick chortled, breaking in before Jax could respond. “C’mon, boss man, admit it. She’s right. Hell, she might even agree to your commands to get you off her tail. Unfortunately, the minute you look away, thinking that she’s agreed, she slips through your juggernaut and is off and running—flipping you off as she goes.”
Jax met Mick’s grin with one of his own. Only the steel hardening his voice undercut his relatively humorous response. “I concede, Detective O’Reilly. Sergeant Moreau does have a tendency to agree to follow orders only to decide that they don’t work for her—and then set off in the opposite direction.” He gazed at Viviana through half-closed eyes and added, “The problem for our wayward sergeant is that her chief also happens to be her lover, giving him access to a number of remedies to keep her in line that aren’t available to other wannabe commanders.”
Mick eyes danced salaciously. “I gotta admit, Chief Hughes, a lot of men have tried and failed to corral my partner. Not sure how you manage to have the last word, but you’re doing something right, even if she puts up a hell of a fight before she concedes.”
Jax allowed an enigmatic smile to curve his lips and said with a shrug, “Did you ever think the fight is simply part of the dance, Detective? After all, what is more enticing to an arrogant SOB like me than an impudent woman who continuously pushes out the boundaries, forcing me to ramp up my response and take her in hand?”
When Mick laughed uproariously and Mac and Greg followed suit, Viviana leapt from her chair and glared at Jax. Seeing the humor dancing in his half-closed eyes, she conceded that he was goading her before he laid down the law. Instead of responding angrily, she forced herself to smile and said sweetly, “Why, Chief Hughes, you must be thinking of one of your other women, the ones who refuse to bow and scrape before you. Surely you aren’t thinking of sweet, little, obedient me?”
As the others laughed, Jax rose from his chair and captured her in his arms. Hugging her tightly against him, he murmured, “Ah, Viviana, would that any of my women bow and scrape before me, least of all you.” Tightening his grip on her as she tried to wrestle free, Jax’s expression hardened. Glancing at the men around the table, he said with a sigh, “The problem that we face, lady and gentlemen, is that as much as I hate it, and like all of you, I admit that Viviana is the best—and probably the only—person who can successfully infiltrate the Vega camp.”
“Do you mean that, Jax? Or are you just saying that to placate me before you roll out some elaborate plan that ensures that I will never be alone with Enrique or Nicolas?”
Still holding her next to him, Jax met her gaze. “No, Viviana. To be successful, you not only will have to be in the same room with those two despicable men but you will need to entice them.” His voice was grim. “I can’t believe that I am saying this, but you need to convince them, at least Enrique, that you are beginning to see him in a different light. That you might even be interested in him.” Pushing her away, he said scathingly, “How about it, Sergeant Moreau? Think you can release the Enchantress and get that fucking asshole to make a pass at you?”
Viviana tried not to show her surprise at Jax’s outrageous suggestion. Instead, she said somewhat seriously but not able to hide her saucy smile, “Hmm, Chief Hughes, if past experience is evidence, I’m reasonably certain I can get Enrique to come on to me.”
As all of the men at the table laughed at her insolence, Jax swatted her butt and yanked her up next to him. “I’ll ignore that remark, Sergeant Moreau, and assume you are merely referring to your previous undercover work—not your experience with that fucking asshole, who truly is going to get his ass kicked!”
Knowing how close both he and Viviana were to the edge, not to mention the rest of their men, Jax led Viviana back to the conference table and began planning their mission in earnest. Watching her don her professional, hard-eyed cloak, he marveled at this extraordinary woman of his. Seeing his men gazing at her in admiration, no doubt marveling at her strength, he wished he could explain to them just how vulnerable she was. If they’d been with them last night after Viviana had collapsed in his arms when she recognized Joaquin Blanco and others as the men she’d seen with Enrique and Nicolas, they might understand. But as Jax had come to know over the last year with this volatile woman he deeply loved, Viviana didn’t show her vulnerable side to anyone except him. It was a gift and a challenge he treasured. Chastened by her willingness to trust him, he treated that trust with the utmost care.
Last night, declaring that they would reconvene at 8:00 a.m. sharp the next morning, Jax had sent the others on their way appropriately humbled by the task they were facing. Practically carrying the shattered Viviana to his car, he was pulling into his condominium garage minutes later. Disregarding her pitiful protests that she wanted to go home, he opened the passenger door and scooped her up in his arms. He didn’t put her shivering body down until he filled the garden bathtub, then deposited her naked body in the fragrant steaming water. Waiting until he was sure he could leave her alone, he went to the kitchen and threw together a hasty feast of soup, bread, and hot chocolate. After drying her off, he wrapped her naked body in a warm throw and carried her up to their rooftop refuge.
Ignoring her insistence that she wasn’t hungry, he held her on his lap and fed her spoonful after spoonful of the steaming soup until she’d eaten it all, including three slices of sourdough bread. He liberally laced the hot chocolate with Bailey’s and held the mug to her lips, asserting that she needed to drink it all. When she finally let down enough to relax in his arms, he began to interrogate her. In halting sentences contorted with sobs, she told him about the men she’d seen and some of the conversations she’d overheard. Dismissing her anger at herself for being so gullible and for not acknowledging the clear signs she had seen, Jax held her in his arms until she drifted off into an exhausted sleep.
****
Now seeing the competent woman standing toe-to-toe with his impressive former operatives, Jax was filled with pride. Serge’s UC had confirmed that several of El Blanco’s key henchmen planned to be in Oakland following the Vega for Victory rally tomorrow. Jax decreed this was a golden opportunity to make their move. Oakland was close enough to San Jose that they could rely on Mick O’Reilly’s crack SWAT team to lead the raid. They couldn’t take a chance on bringing other departments into the assault, at least until they were vetted. Instead, augmenting Serge’s DEA squad that was already here and Mick’s team, Jax planned to call on his off-the-grid special operatives he’d relied on in the past when the mission was too sensitive to call on the local PDs.
After several hours of arduous planning and at Jax’s insistence, they’d gone over the plan multiple times, and he conceded they were as ready as they could be. The challenge for Jax was that the plan required Viviana to not only confirm the El Blanco members’ presence but also get irrefutable proof that El Blanco was providing financial support to the Vega campaign. To do that, she would need to be an integral part of the campaign’s inner circle. After much discussion, she was able to convince Jax the easiest way for her to insinuate herself into the heart of the campaign was to make an overt play for Enrique.
That the woman he loved more than life itself was the lynchpin, to be honest, the bait, in the dangerous plan they’d conceived tore at Jax’s psyche. The only reason he agreed to allow her to waltz into a literal den of thieves and take them down was because he knew if anyone could do it, Viviana could. He also knew that anyone who tried to hurt her would have to go through him. Fortunately, he was arrogant enough to believe that was an impossible task—even for a despicable gang of soulless international murderers.
****
Enrique’s grin split his face as he rose to his feet and strode to meet her. Reaching for her hand, he pulled her up next to him. Gazing into her eyes, his voice was filled with wonder. “Damn, Viviana, I can hardly believe what I’m hearing. After seeing Chief Hughes in action the other night, I assumed that you would no longer be permitted to see me, much less join me in the campaign.”
Viviana snorted dismissively. “It’s clear that you don’t know me as well as you should, Enrique. Yes, Jaxton Hughes is an impressive man if you’re into extraordinarily arrogant, controlling men. Unfortunately for Chief Hughes, I have never been one to bow down to bossy men. Once again, Jax overstepped his bounds, and at my insistence, we agreed that we need time away from one another.”
Enrique sounded skeptical. “While I’m delighted that you want to join us at the Oakland rally, I admit I’m cautious. Are you sure you aren’t using the campaign to rub Chief Hughes’s nose in the fact that he overstepped?”
Viviana laughed a trilling sound. “What if I am, Enrique? Do you object to helping me put an arrogant man in his place?”
“Of course I’m pleased to help, Viviana. If anyone needs to be taken down a peg or two, it is Chief Hughes. But I will be honest. It shouldn’t surprise you that my goal is to be more than a pawn on your chessboard, merely a means to taunt your arrogant lover.”
Viviana let the silence stand for a long moment, then spoke carefully. “I will also be honest, Enrique. I would be lying if I said the only reason I want to go to Oakland with you is to get away from Jax. It . . . it’s about more than that. This last week has been one of the most momentous in my life. Standing beside you on the stage, hearing you eloquently address the issues that have consumed my life . . . I’ve never felt as energized. It’s not only your commitment to the causes I care deeply about. To be frank, Enrique, it is about you. I’m coming to believe that if,—make that when—you are elected governor, you will actually be able to reverse the hideous toll that drug and human trafficking has taken on our country.”
She hesitated for a minute and then said with a dismissive laugh, “Forgive me if I sound like I drank the Kool-Aid. But it became clear to me when I was working with my team yesterday, trying to stop the gang war raging in San Jose, how futile our efforts are. Yes, we might be able to take down one or more of the gang leaders, but within months, another will come to power in his place. It just seems so pointless. What do I care if they kill each other off? I’d much rather be with forward-thinking evangelists like you, who are courageous enough to try to rewrite the entire landscape.”
When Enrique frowned at her and was silent for a moment, Viviana hoped she hadn’t gone too far. After all, the guy was hardly a neophyte. She sniffed, reminding herself that he was as consummate a performer as she was. She was relieved when he responded seemingly sincerely.
“I’m overwhelmed, Viviana. I admit I was disappointed that I wasn’t able to take you home from the hotel the other night. That said, I hope after the Oakland rally we can find time to be alone together. I value your insights and . . . I value you.” He was silent, then said softly, “You know that don’t you, Viviana?”
Viviana waited, then chose her words carefully, allowing him to make what he would of her layered response. “Yes, I do know that, Enrique. And yes, I agree. We do need time alone.”
****
Pacing across the room, Jax ran his hands distractedly through his hair. That no one spoke, not even the dependably irreverent Mick O’Reilly, confirmed that his team was as confounded by the conversation they’d overheard as he was. Turning to face the men who were silently staring at him, Jax blew out a hard sigh and said tersely, “I hope you all know the magnitude of what we are asking Sergeant Moreau to do. We are literally throwing her into a swamp that includes men as dangerous as any we’ve encountered. While we are prepared to intervene, I trust that none of us is so naïve as to dismiss the hellhole and danger we have put her in.”
Serge articulated what the rest of the men were undoubtedly feeling. “As hard as it is to let her walk into that fetid swamp, you gotta know, Jax, there isn’t a man among us who isn’t determined to bring her home safe. And yes, we know she’s in danger. But the plan we developed under your leadership is as foolproof as it can be. And damn, man, I’ve seen some accomplished agents in my time, you chief among them, but I gotta tell you that sassy babe of yours puts us all to shame.”
Jax stopped pacing and forced himself to smile at Serge’s on-target assessment. “Yes, Serge, she does that and so much more. And yes, our plan, as far as it goes, is foolproof. When it goes to shit as we all know it will—like every other plan we design—I can only pray that we can get her out of there in one piece.”
When no one took issue with his grim assessment, Jax didn’t bother to hide the rage he was feeling and declared in a low voice riddled with danger, “As for Enrique Vega, gentlemen? He’s mine. Mine and mine alone.”