“If Villarreal didn’t put that contract out on Kata, any ideas who did?”

“None.” It wasn’t adding up, but he honestly had no other suspects.

“Just because the connection isn’t obvious does not mean it doesn’t exist,” Logan surmised. “For all we know, Silva and Villarreal are friends, family, or one owed the other a favor. Or maybe he was hired because he was out of left field.”

“How could Villarreal afford Silva? But you may be right; I shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. Maybe there is a simple connection; I’m just not seeing it.”

Maybe. Whatever the case, Cortez Villarreal was the only suspect he had. Hunter would have preferred to hit the ground, shake people up, ask questions, dig up answers. But he was running out of time. Logan rose from the table, searching for his shoes, reminding him that it was nearly midnight, the dawn of a new day. He had just under three days to put this danger to bed once and for all. Thoughts raced as he made plans, discarded them, fine-tuned others. He wasn’t sure which would suit best without more information, but he hated all of them.

Hunter rang Jack again. As soon as the bodyguard answered, he fired off questions. “Do you know where to find Cortez Villarreal?”

“Exactly? No, but rumor is that he’s in the area and been laying real low over the past few days. I’ve been keeping tabs in case we need to have a meaningful conversation with him.”

“I think it may be time. When you find him, let me know.”

“I’ll get on it and call you back.”

The Colonel leaned in his face. “What are you thinking, son?”

Hunter gripped the phone, tamping down rising panic for Kata’s safety. “It’s time for something drastic.”

SUNLIGHT streamed through the windows Friday morning when Hunter heard someone grip the doorknob. He came to, sat straight up, and reached for his SIG on the bedside table. When the door opened, his wife, hair tousled across heavy breasts barely covered by a thin white tank top and wearing black lacy pajama pants that clung to her hips, entered. Damn. Hunter was always ready for sex with her, but the sight of her made far more than his cock ache.

“Sorry if I woke you.”

He glanced at the clock. Nine a.m.? He never slept that late. Then again, he’d spent all night holding Kata close, fearing their days together were numbered. He hadn’t fallen asleep until after five. “I’m glad you did. I need to get up. Honey, does the name Manuel Silva mean anything to you?”

Her blank stare told him everything he needed to know. “Should it?”

“Do you know anyone from Colombia? Where is Villarreal from?”

“I don’t know. I didn’t exactly read his family tree when I was assigned to him.”

“Does anyone in New Orleans have a beef with you?”

She blinked, shrugged. “Not that I know of. I haven’t been there in a few years.”

At this point, Hunter had to assume there was some connection between Silva and Villarreal that he simply couldn’t see. He had nothing else.

“What’s this about?” She crossed her arms and stared expectantly.

“Maybe nothing. How’s your mom?”

Kata’s face closed up as she sat on the edge of the bed. Hunter tried not to be distracted by the fact that he could see her rosy areolas through the little white tank.

“That’s why I came to talk to you. I appreciate all the trouble you and your father have gone through for her, but she’s not comfortable here. This morning, your father insisted on cooking for her again, carrying her out to the porch for fresh air, assisting her from room to room. He’s been glued to her side, jumping up with a box of tissues or her cough medicine every time she sniffles.”

In other words, his father knew what to do, and even after having his heart ripped out, he still couldn’t manage to change. Then again, Hunter hadn’t done much better last night at giving his wife space.

He cleared his throat. “Kata, having someone take care of her is good for her recovery.”

“Not if she can’t relax. The Colonel is being . . . a general. She isn’t comfortable with him hovering. She wants to go to Mari’s house, so I talked to my sister—”

“No. No way in hell am I taking either of you back to Lafayette now.” This wasn’t a good time to be inflexible, but damn it, she had to see the problems with her plan. “What if whoever wants you dead tracks you or your mother down? What if Gordon coerces her back home? Carlotta needs to give it more time here. She’s uncomfortable because she’s not used to others caring for her. She’ll adjust.”

Kata shook her head. “I don’t think so. Believe me, someone trying to kill me scares me, too, but I can’t leave Mamá here to get worse.”

“Carlotta won’t get much rest with two rambunctious grandsons underfoot. I’ll bet that she ends up waiting on them.”

Kata bit her lip and paused. “I was very clear with Mari that she can’t be out of bed.”

“Mari will have her hands full with her job, her kids, and a husband who lacks discipline. Your mother will naturally want to help. She can’t afford to.”

“Your father is totally overwhelming her.”

“The Colonel is too . . . attentive. He knows that and will work on it. I’ll talk to him.”

“You?” she sputtered incredulously. “You’re going to talk to him about backing off? Um, Pot, meet Kettle.”

He bridged the space and grabbed her wrist, pulling her against him. “You’re not using your head, Kata. You want to make your mother happy, but think about what’s best for her. Do you want her returning to Gordon? Because if she’s at Mari’s, he’ll browbeat her into it. If she stays here, the Colonel won’t let that happen.”

“Because he’ll smother her even more. Mamá doesn’t want to be here.” Kata tried to pull away. “I saw your point, now you need to see mine.”

He couldn’t afford to. “I can’t risk taking you or your mother to Lafayette now, with a potential assassin on the loose. I’m sorry. We’re staying.”

Kata rose and grabbed her suitcase. “You always have to be in charge, don’t you? It’s not just a bedroom thing, so stop pretending it is. And while you’re at it, sign those damn divorce papers. Mari is tied up at work today, so I’m calling Ben. He’ll give us a ride home.”

With that, she slammed out the door. Hunter scrambled out of bed to find his pants. As he shoved his way into them, he heard the slam of the nearby bathroom door, heard the shower start. She was batshit crazy if she thought he was going to let her put a door between them so that she could fucking call Ben and leave.

But he also couldn’t mow down her free will, or he’d lose her.

Hunter cursed, wishing for a convenient terrorist to put his fists into. Fuck, he didn’t want to sign those papers. But while he was on active duty, Kata could proceed with the divorce without him—and he’d be powerless to stop her. Regardless of his dad’s words of wisdom, he wasn’t ready to stop fighting for Kata.

As Hunter reached for the bathroom door, the phone in his pocket rang. A glance at the display made him groan. “This better be fucking good, Andy.”

“Remember who you’re talking to, Raptor.”

Shit. Andy Barnes was now his commanding officer, not just a buddy. He’d better suck it up. “Sorry, sir. What’s up?”

“Your leave has been cut short.”

“What? Twice in the same leave?” This was fucking unheard of unless it was a goddamn national emergency. “Is something happening?”

“The Sotillo organization is definitely gathering. The big arms-for-drugs sale that we anticipated earlier this week will go down Saturday night. We need you there.”

Hunter struggled to wrap his head around Andy’s words when he could still hear Kata threatening to call Ben in his head. “How? Víctor is dead. If you read my report, I received intel on my last trip that his brother, Adan, was killed, too. Who the hell would be organizing this?”

“Sotillo had underlings. I guess it’s one of them. Víctor’s death created a vacuum of power. Of course someone will want to step into it. We’re going to send a small four-man team in there—”

“Four men? If they’re going to conduct major business, both parties will come with a frigging army. Four men aren’t going to get the job done.”

“Four men will be able to slip in under the radar undetected and clean house. Too many men and too much equipment means that the potential for detection and fuckups is greater.”

So was the potential for ineffectuality. This mission sounded like pure suicide. “I want it on record that I disagree.”

“Duly noted.” And boy, did Andy sound pissed off. “We’ll need you back at base by fifteen hundred tomorrow.”

With that, Andy hung up. Numbly, Hunter pressed the off button on his phone. Three o’clock tomorrow afternoon, in barely thirty hours. How the fuck was he supposed to save his marriage and ensure that his wife was completely safe before he had to leave?

Hunter didn’t see a way to do both, and any good soldier learned how to prioritize mission objectives when things started going to hell. Between those two, he had no doubt which came first. Mentally, he sifted through his possible tactics. He had only one left.

And it hurt like hell.

Gritting his teeth, he reached for his phone and called Jack, who answered on the first ring.

Hunter didn’t even let the man greet him before diving in. “We’ve got to move tonight. I’ll be out of the country indefinitely tomorrow.”

Jack cursed, sighed bleakly. “Okay, we’ll make it work. Word on the street is that Villarreal is tired of dodging cops and is ready to wring your wife’s pretty neck. I know the connection between him and Silva isn’t obvious . . .”

“But what you’re saying definitely lends credibility to Villarreal’s motive and seems to validate him as the prime suspect.” Goddamn it, Hunter felt the walls closing in around him—the danger to Kata, her distance, his job. He had to get his house in order quickly, and keeping her safe was top priority.

“You know anything about him?” Hunter hated feeling impotent. Usually, he’d be in there digging for answers and making heads roll accordingly. Staying near Kata and protecting her must take precedence.

“I’ve done a little research,” Jack said. “Villarreal likes throwing his cash at flashy strippers. Sexy Sirens’ grand reopening is tonight. I’ll have Deke ask Alyssa to put out the word that he’ll be a VIP if he shows up. Deke and I can grab him and have a ‘friendly’ chat with him until he agrees to leave Kata alone.”

“Good. I’m going to keep Kata busy tonight while you bag this fucker. I’ll be around in the morning to talk to him so we can settle this.”

After agreeing to coordinate later that evening, Hunter made two more phone calls—both necessary evils. Then he threw on the rest of his clothes, brushed his teeth, found Kata’s phone, and gave it to his dad for safekeeping. No way was she calling Ben to come take her away when she was in danger. Preferably not ever.

Rubbing damp palms on his denim-clad thighs, Hunter stood in front of the bathroom door Kata had retreated to and let out a deep breath. It didn’t help; every muscle remained clenched. If there was another fucking way. . . But there wasn’t, and he knew it. This was it.

His heart pounded as he pushed into the room. The fragrant, humid air wrapped around him. Everything smelled like her: spicy amber, sweet lilies. Beyond arousing. Like always, he turned hard and aching in an instant.

God, he loved this woman.

Seeing him, she gasped and scrambled for her towel on the basin. He grabbed the damp terry cloth first, loving the hell out of her in nothing but a lacy, baby blue thong. Her smooth olive skin and lush breasts with those tight, rosy brown nipples tempted him like nothing ever had. The dark ropes of her wet hair dripped down her back, framing her freshly scrubbed face. He couldn’t wait to get back inside her, hold her again. Yesterday, she’d been dealing with too much, so he’d backed off, hadn’t pressed his way into the snug, silken clasp of her pussy.

Tonight, all bets were off.

Realizing that he wasn’t going to give her the towel and that he blocked the path to her clothes, Kata faced him squarely, chin raised. “What now? I’ve told you how I feel and what needs to happen. If you’re here to stop me from leaving, you can’t.”

Ah, that stubborn streak of hers that intrigued him so much. Normally, he’d argue until he wore Kata down or seduce her until she gave in with a well-sated cry. This situation was far from normal. Until dawn, his most important role was to keep her safe. Nothing mattered more. Hunter had only one way left to do that . . . and give her what she wanted.