Ah, civilization. The hustle and the bustle of Bogota was a welcome change after their three-day odyssey. Due to their hasty departure, they hadn’t had the luxury of a guide and had to find their way with just a compass, stopping only when absolutely necessary. They had to use several modes of transportation along the way. They had to ditch the Ducati because of rough terrain – and, oh, how it had grieved Kodiak to do it. Thankfully, they had another motorcycle for the final leg of the journey. It had been waiting for them, along with a supply of fresh water, at one of several designated locations that had been arranged by the Ramirez brothers. Of course, agreeing to the locations before leaving Louisville was one thing; the joy of actually seeing them off in the distance like a mirage in the desert was quite another. The whole thing had been like a cartel version of ‘Planes, Trains and Automobiles’. Kodiak could respect that kind of strategic thinking.
They had arrived in Bogota today before the afternoon sun was at its zenith. Although it was a far cry from the slower pace of Louisville, Bogota’s busy sidewalks felt familiar and somehow comforting to Kodiak and Logan. She relaxed her hold on her husband’s waist as she took in the sights and smells around her, and allowed herself a sigh of relief and silent word of thanks that they had reached their destination in one piece.
The city’s historic edifices and bright colors drew Logan in. A woman sat cross-legged on the pavement and strummed a guitar. Tables were set up off to the side with a colorful array of fruits and vegetables, and even live chickens in cages. Jewelry, textiles, you name it and you could probably buy it from a street vendor. In the midst of Bogota’s many cultural charms, diesel trucks expelled towering black clouds of smoke. Obviously, emissions testing wasn’t a high priority in Bogota.
Kodiak turned onto a side street. He pulled up to a hotel and parked in the back, then cut the engine.
“Where are we?” Logan asked, groaning as she stood and reached down to touch her toes, eager to stretch her stiff muscles.
Kodiak admired his wife’s curvy, toned ass as he stowed their helmets and threw a small backpack over his shoulder. She still had the sleek build of an athlete but had curves in all the right places. “Well, it ain’t the Ritz but it’s a lot better than just four walls and a bed. Looks like paradise to me. I think we’re long overdue for a taste of civilization.”
“I’ll settle for a taste of anything. As God is my witness, I never want to see a granola bar again as long as I live.”
“We’ll grab something to eat after we check in. And besides,” he said as he pulled her against him and swatted her behind, “I need a shower and you look like you need to be fucked good and rough.”
She laughed as he kissed her forehead. “Yeah, not much privacy in a Colombian jungle camp. But are you serious? Have you seen my hair? I look like you’ve already fucked me plenty.” Logan ran her hands through her tousled hair, her fingers catching on tangles that had formed during their three-day odyssey.
The man at the front desk turned his nose up as the scruffy Americans approached the desk to check in. Kodiak didn’t seem to notice or care. He was more concerned with the tall, elegantly dressed man watching them from a corner of the lobby. Kodiak palmed his holstered gun, as much for his own peace of mind as to give the stranger a clear warning.
As Logan marveled at the charm of the hotel, Kodiak discreetly took note of the man’s impeccably tailored suit and unmistakable air of authority even as he lurked in the shadows.
Kodiak finished his transaction with the hotel clerk and placed his hand on the small of Logan’s back. They walked to the elevator. When they stepped inside and the doors began to close, Kodiak released the breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. A large hand grasped the edge of the door panel. As the doors slid open once more, the stranger from the lobby entered the small space. He leaned back against the wall, regarding the two of them with some amusement as he crossed his arms over his chest.
“You wanna tell me why the fuck you’re following us?” Kodiak snapped as he stepped toward the man, nostrils flaring even as the hair on the back of his neck bristled.
The man’s mouth curved in a small, almost indulgent smile that made it clear he wasn’t intimidated in the least. And it soon became apparent why. “Calm down, Kodiak. I bring you greetings from your father and the Ramirez brothers.”
“Fuck,” Kodiak said, momentarily awestruck by the global reach of the three powerful men. The guy was legit. “How did you find us?”
“Are you kidding? We’re talking about your father, Kodiak.”
“True that. So, what’s the word from my father?”
“Nothing so urgent that it can’t wait. Go take a shower and meet me in the restaurant. I’ll see you there in thirty minutes. Oh, one more thing. You’ve got to stay under the radar so turn your phones off if you haven’t already. No phone calls or texts in or out until further notice.”
“We’ve had them off ever since we left the camp.”
“Good. Keep them that way.” The stranger stepped out of the elevator on their floor and disappeared down a stairwell as quickly as he had appeared.
They opened the door to their room and began shedding their clothes as soon as it was locked behind them.
“Let’s take a shower, baby girl,” Kodiak said as he tossed his ratty jeans on the floor and walked away from her toward the bathroom, the taut muscles of his ass flexing with each step. That impressive view and the way he said ‘baby girl’ were a turn on, but then again it had been a while since they’d last made love.
Kodiak held his hand under the shower spray until it reached a steamy temperature. With the lopsided grin she had fallen in love with, he looked at her and gestured toward the shower. “Ladies first.”
“Lady first. And don’t you ever forget it.”
Logan stepped beneath the shower spray, turning toward him and arching her back. She sighed with pleasure as she ran her hands over her wet hair. The hot water rushed over her shoulders, down her chest and back, glistening as it trickled off the tips of her breasts.
Kodiak scowled and shook his head, desperate to lose the nightmarish image of that asshole chasing his wife from the tent, no doubt with every intention of killing her…of destroying his reason for living. He stepped into the shower, crowding her as she backed up against the cold tile wall.
The delicious sensation of Kodiak roughly handling her breasts and gripping her ass had Logan’s clit pulsing with need. A rush of liquid heat surged between her thighs.
He yanked her hard against him, crushing his lips to hers. Her muffled squeal of surprise and the taste of blood on his tongue enflamed Kodiak’s senses. He had come so close to losing her. He was consumed by the biological imperative to fuck his mate.
Frantic with need, he took his cock in hand and notched the bell end between her slick pussy lips. When he rammed his way inside, Logan winced and grunted harshly at the intrusion, only to wrap herself around him and begin clawing at his back and ass, wanting him closer, wanting to take even more of him inside.
“Fucking hell, you feel good, so hot and tight.” He pumped furiously into her, his cock hard as bone as it relentlessly pummeled her needy flesh. Her body responded to the primitive call of his innate sexual dominance, meeting him thrust for thrust as waves of pleasure began to ripple out from her core.
The orgasm tore through her without warning. Her anguished cries of pleasure echoed off the travertine tile walls. Kodiak slowed his thrusts to the rhythm that he knew would prolong her pleasure. He was barely able to construct a coherent thought with Logan’s inner walls clenching around him like that. He managed to grit his teeth and wait until he was certain she was satisfied before he surrendered to his own release with a harsh, guttural groan.
There was no time to bask in the afterglow. Grinning at each other stupidly, they quickly soaped up, rinsed off, dried off, and got dressed in the extra jeans and t-shirts that Kodiak had thought to bring in the small backpack that was just big enough for necessities.
“What do you think this guy wants to talk to us about?” she asked.
“How to kill the two men who caused all this trouble. My guess is they got away.”
“Well, I can’t say I’d have a problem with that,” she quipped as she ran a brush through her damp hair.
“Alright, girl. Time to go.”
When they arrived at the restaurant just off the hotel lobby, the mysterious stranger was sitting at a corner table with his back to the wall. He stood as they approached, waiting until Logan was seated before lowering himself back into his own chair. After a quick scan of the menu, they gave the waitress their orders. They sat in silence as she gathered the menus and left to get their drinks.
The stranger spoke first. “Your journey was uneventful, then?”
Kodiak glanced at Logan and chuckled. “Well, there was a little excitement as we were leaving camp, but nothing we couldn’t handle. It’s been a crazy few days since then. Took the bike as far as we could. Had to get creative about finding shelter, but we handled it.”
He smiled when he looked down at their entwined fingers before he lifted Logan’s hand to his lips. Their dinner companion eyed the romantic gesture impassively but said nothing. “Then we enjoyed a sweltering day of hiking that I never want to repeat. Hopped the plane at the ‘in case it’s necessary’ location we had agreed on back before we left Louisville. No problem there. Smallest fucking plane I’ve ever been in, though, it was like being in a tin can. But it did the job. And this motorcycle was at the drop off point outside Bogota, as promised. Do I have you to thank for all that?”
The man simply shrugged. “No problem. Sorry it’s not another Ducati but I figured your needs would be simpler for the last leg of the trip and you’d want to blend in. Now, on to business; you still have a long way to go before you head home. Bogota is a tough place, tougher than most. The brutality that occurs here every day is unsurpassed. The leading cause of death for people between the ages of ten and sixty? Violence. Man’s inhumanity to man, I guess.”
“And you’re telling us this why…?” Kodiak didn’t mince words. He wanted to know exactly who this guy was and what he was doing here. His father and the Ramirez brothers had sent him for protection, but there had to be more to it.
“Because, as the saying goes, you aren’t in Kansas anymore. Colombia is unlike anything you have ever known. At its worst, the streets of Bogota can run with blood. I’m not going to be responsible for your deaths and gain enemies within the Bratva or the Colombian cartel. I don’t have a death wish. I will serve as your bodyguard and your advisor.”
“So, what have we missed. Catch us up,” Kodiak said.
“Your sister and her husband arrived home yesterday morning. Aurora has met with your father and the Ramirez brothers. Lucca and Marco have gone into hiding. They’ll surface eventually to protect their business interests. Until then, we wait. I have access to information and resources you’ll need. Be prepared to hunker down. We may be here a while.”
“How long?” Logan asked.
“Don’t know,” he said, turning toward her with a slight smile. “Could be a couple of weeks. Could be a month. In the meantime, you’re safe here. Just keep your head down. I can take care of anything you need.”
Like it or not, this guy was their lifeline. It was true, they were in a strange country with no connections. Right now, Kodiak just wanted to get the job done and get home, before Christmas ideally, but alive would do just fine. Kodiak turned to Logan. “Well, looks like we have a chaperone.”
Logan had had enough. “Fine, but I have one question,” she snapped.
“Certainly,” the man replied serenely with a deferential nod.
“Just who the hell are you?!”
He smirked and extended his hand first to Logan, then to Kodiak. “Ah. My apologies. My name is Sergio Alegre. For as long as you are here, I am at your service, up to and including matters that call for the shedding of blood.”
He declared his purpose with the casual ease of a man discussing the weather. Killing was part of Sergio’s everyday life and, as far as Kodiak was concerned, that made him the right man for the job.