Chapter 31
Nicolas was waiting for them when the elevator door opened. The dark expression on his face confirmed his anxiety.
Enrique assumed a nonchalance Viviana was confident he was far from feeling. “What’s up, buddy? Did you think the Enchantress and I were going to play hooky?”
Nicolas’s voice was uncharacteristically constrained. “Uh, no, man. We both know how important this next meeting is.” He added with an obvious attempt at humor, “Sorry, buddy. No ‘hooky’ allowed. At least at this time.”
“No worries, Nicolas, I wouldn’t miss this party for anything.”
Viviana added with a smile, “Nor would I, Nicolas. I apologize if we are tardy.”
Nicolas waved his hand at the crowd visible through the ballroom doorway and said with his more customary grin, “Well then, you both need to prepare to meet your fans. Better you know now, Enrique, this crowd is more excited about meeting the Enchantress than the next governor of California.”
Viviana engaged in a lively conversation with the eager fans surrounding her. She didn’t give away the fact that she was listening to the pre-raid sit rep from Jax’s teams in and around the hotel ballroom. From the various reports, it was clear that the teams were poised to strike.
Acknowledging the sound of a droning helicopter, Jax’s low voice confirmed the prize was at hand. “Gentlemen and lovely lady, the Eagle has landed.” He added with a wry chuckle, “Or in this case, as Hector warned Hercules, the Vulture has landed.”
Mick’s awed interjection was laced with hero-worship. “Fuck it, Jax, no wonder you’ve captured the Enchantress. Who else would quote the Greeks to announce the fuckin’ cartel’s arrival?”
Nicolas approached Enrique and inadvertently confirmed the message Viviana had heard over her com. Nodding to Sonia, who was waiting by the door to the conference room, he said, “Enrique, we have company.” Seeing the heated conversation among Enrique, Nicolas, and Sonia, Viviana saw them all looking her way as if deciding to include her. She smiled when Nicolas broke away and approached her. “C’mon, Enchantress, if you’re going to be part of the campaign’s inner circle, you need to meet our financiers.”
Viviana followed him into the interior room that was open to the balcony overlooking the hotel grounds. She managed to hide her anticipation when she recognized three of the compelling men waiting for them. Recognizing the smallish Hispanic man with the quizzical expression on his face after he greeted Enrique and planted a kiss on Sonia’s cheek, Viviana was certain the excitement churning in her gut was visible.
Politely pushing Sonia to the side, Enrique reached for her hand. “Viviana, I want you to meet a longtime friend of mine and Nicolas’s. We hung out together as boys. We called him ‘the Professor’ because he taught us everything we know. Especially how to achieve our most challenging goals.”
A deep voice rang out from the rear of the room. “It might be useful to introduce him by the name the rest of the world knows him by—at least the world that is determined to bring him down.” As he strode toward the startled group, Jax nodded to Viviana and said, “Sergeant Moreau, meet Joaquin Blanco, the despicable international drug lord and head of the El Blanco cartel. The outlaw agency that has visited untold agony on innocent people around the world.” Jax added, “And incidentally is the chief financial supporter of the Vega for Victory campaign.”
As dozens of uniformed SWAT members surged into the room, Enrique turned to her, aghast. “You? You did this . . . ?”
Viviana nodded coolly. “To be precise, our multilevel team led by our indomitable police chief did. Although I played a part. And I had help from your team. Thanks to the tags I placed on you, Sonia, and Nicolas this morning, my cohorts have been privy to your most private conversations.” Glancing at Jax, who was grinning broadly at her understatement, she held up the thumb drive and said, “This was undoubtedly helpful, Jax. As you instructed, I inserted it in the campaign’s main computer drive this morning. I expect by now our guys are more than familiar with the innermost secrets of the Vega campaign.”
As a crush of uniformed officers and special agents stormed the room, Jax saw Enrique make a dash for the balcony. On his ass in seconds, Jax called out, “Going somewhere, Counselor?” Waving off the men who surged in behind him, Jax squared off for what was sure to be a deadly encounter. As he circled the crouching man who’d assumed a fighting stance, Jax said in a low voice, “You thought you could touch her, Enrique? That she would let you? That I would let you?”
In seconds, the battle was drawn. Enrique displayed the quickness and viciousness of a streetfighter trained to go for the kill. But Jax was a highly skilled martial artist. In moments, following a dizzying series of brutal attacks with his elbows, hands, and most especially his feet, Jax drove Enrique to the floor, a bloodied, cowering man begging for mercy.
Waiting on the sidelines next to Viviana, Greg called out, “He’s done, Jax. Leave some meat on his bones for the animals at Leavenworth to chew on.”
When Jax stepped back, a frighteningly fierce expression tightening his face, Viviana tentatively reached for his arm. “Are . . . are you all right, Jax?”
He frowned as if surprised she’d seen him take down his would-be rival. In seconds, his expression cleared, and he said with a soft smile as he pulled her in next to him, “Better than I have been in a long time, tiger.”
****
Viviana sank onto the chaise lounge on their rooftop refuge. She was glad she’d allowed Jax to talk her into going home. Hours after Enrique and his despicable cohorts had been hauled off to jail, Jax had been consumed with the arduous task of updating the numerous agencies on their remarkable coup. The arrest of not only the principals of one of the most dangerous international cartels but the revelation that the evil enterprise was funding the Vega campaign had every media outlet clamoring for their attention. Viviana and Jax had answered a barrage of questions from the rabid media for what seemed like hours. When Jax finally shut them down, calling it a night, he insisted that Viviana go home. “Look, darlin’, it’s going to take me several more hours to brief all the relevant agencies. You need to get some rest.”
Sipping on a glass of Glenmorangie, Viviana tried to come to grips with what had happened. She’d turned off the sound on the television, not wanting to hear or see more of the wall-to-wall coverage. Once again, the media was gaga over whom they called the indomitable Enchantress, claiming she was the heroine of the stunning victory. At that moment, her phone pinged. Reaching for it, she was shocked to see Jax’s unexpected text.
“What are you wearing, sexy woman?”
Not wanting to give in to his arrogant assumption that even after the night they’d had she was at his disposal, she texted back, “None of your business.”
His response was immediate. “Oh but it is. Take off your pants, Viviana.”
She quickly answered, “Why should I?”
His concession surprised her. “You’re right, sexy woman. How about I take them off for you?”
Surprised, Viviana looked over to see Jax standing at the top of the stairway ladder, a wide grin splitting his handsome face. In seconds, he crossed the expanse between them and was at her side. He sank down beside her and pointed to the bottle of Glenmorangie. “Much as I hate to admit it, sweetheart, I need a shot of this almost as much as I need you.”
Viviana jumped up and grabbed a glass from the cabinet. She poured him a healthy portion of the potent alcohol and refilled her glass. Raising it, she said with a weary sigh, “I don’t know about you, Jax, but I had my adrenaline crash several hours ago and am thoroughly exhausted.”
Swallowing a healthy draught of the amber liquid, Jax nodded. “Yeah, tiger, I have to admit, I’m running as close to empty as I get.” Glancing at her sweats and tank top, he grinned. “Although stripping you naked, as I indicated that I would, will no doubt bring my weary body to full attention.”
Seeing the weariness straining his expression, she sank down beside him and snuggled up next to him, then teased him, “My goodness, Jax, are you saying that the ever-ready sexual marauder is too beat to perform?”
He ran his hand under her pants and pinched her bare butt. Smiling at her startled response, he shook his head. “Never fear, darlin’. Just sitting beside you, drinking in your heady fragrance and knowing what’s under your innocent attire, already has a critical part of me coming to attention.” Frowning down at her, he surprised her with his next assertion. “However, before I rip these clothes off of you, I need to fill in some of the holes in our narrative. To be specific, you neglected to mention what Enrique referred to as the ‘other night when you kicked him out of your room.’ Mind filling me in on that omission, sweetheart? I need to know if he so much as touched you. If he did, I may have to make a midnight foray to the jail and finish what I started earlier tonight.”
Remembering Jax’s vicious takedown of the clearly outmatched former candidate, Viviana sniffed. “Relax, big guy. Believe it or not, I have years of experience shutting down amorous advances, even from someone as insistent as Enrique.”
Jax shook his head. “Not good enough, baby. I want the details. All of them.”
“Seriously Jax, nothing happened. It was late—after midnight—and we’d had an exhausting day. I went to my room and couldn’t wait to get into bed. I had just gotten out of the shower when there was a knock on the door. I assumed it was a staffer bringing information for our morning appearance. To my surprise, it was a grinning Enrique, holding a bottle of Maker’s Mark.”
Seeing Jax’s jaw clench, Viviana quickly added, “I shut him down, Jax. I told him I was exhausted and that he should leave. That was it. I closed the door and went to bed.” Before he could question her further, she reached for his hand. “I know it sounds ridiculous, but I was truly surprised at his advance. If it will make you feel better, I crawled into bed and would have given anything to have had you beside me.” She hesitated, then confessed, “As I was lying there missing you, I got a text from you admonishing me to eat. Believe it or not, I burst into tears, wishing that you were there holding me in your arms.”
Jax was quiet for a long moment, as if considering his response. Viviana was relieved when he put his glass on the table and reached for her. His voice was gruff as he laid her down on the chaise lounge and crawled up beside her. Slipping his hand inside her pants, he grasped her hip and pulled her up next to him. “I remember that night, Viviana. I was so goddamned angry at you for leaving me to work on Vega’s fucking campaign. I was beside myself with fury, imagining all the things I wanted to do to you and that arrogant asshole you were with. But when I sent you that text, all I wanted was to hold you in my arms and never let you go.”
Viviana hesitated, then murmured, “I . . . I’m here now, Jax, and so are you.”
He blew out a hard sigh as he slid off her pants and dispensed with her top. Gazing at her naked body gleaming in the moonlight, he said in a gruff voice, “So we are, tiger. Let me see if I can show you how very much it means to me to have you next to me. Oh, and make it clear that I’m never letting you go, ever again.”