Exposed (12 page)

“Yeah, little good it does. She won’t leave, period.” Their neighborhood had improved a lot since he was a kid, but there were still plenty of nicer, safer places for his mother to live in Miami. But she was stubborn as a freaking ox.

“Mine either.” She sighed. “She’s too attached to the people there, won’t leave no matter what my sisters and I say. She just tells us we’re ridiculous that we worry about her safety there.”

“How are your sisters, anyway?”

“Good. Ynez is an accountant for a company downtown and Bianca teaches at an elementary school in Coconut Grove.”

“And your niece? How’s she?” A real cutie pie who kept all the Lorenzo women hopping.

Marisol gave a soft smile, her expression a mix of pride and tenderness. Ethan had always thought she’d had a strong maternal streak. She was a fantastic aunt and he had no doubt she’d be a great mother one day to some lucky kid. He knew she’d always wanted that. Marriage and a family of her own.

Another reason why he should keep his distance.

“Vero’s nine already, if you can believe it. She said to say hi to you.”

The years went by pretty quick. “Say hi back.”

“I think she’s got a serious hero worship complex when it comes to you.”

Ethan smiled. “Yeah?”

She nodded. “She doesn’t have a lot of men in her life.”

He set down his water. This was the perfect opening to broach the subject he was dying to ask her about. But he had to go slowly, be subtle about it. Not exactly his strong suit, but for her he’d make the effort. “Both your sisters still single?”

“Ynez is. She’s super protective with her daughter and won’t date anyone for very long if they don’t measure up to be a good role model for Vero. Bianca’s been dating a guy for the past year or so. We all like him. Ynez and I have a bet going about when he’ll propose.”

“And what about you?”

Her gaze shifted up to his for a second, then lowered her eyes. “Haven’t dated anyone for a while. You?”

“No. Too busy with work.”

She nodded. “Yeah, me too. This case has me working crazy hours. And I’ll bet it’s tough for you to date anyone long term given your job and security clearance and whatnot.”

“That too, yeah.”
How can you still be a virgin?
he wanted to blurt out.

It defied logic. The longer he was around her, the more beautiful she became. Her brains and drive were sexy as hell. And though she’d earned the reputation of Ice Princess back in the day by coming across as standoffish and unattainable to the guys in the neighborhood, once you got to know her and she let down her guard a little, her charm and kindness were impossible to ignore.

Right now, he was having a hard time staying where he was instead of rounding the island and kissing her until she was breathless.

A heavy silence spread between them, spiked with a heavy undercurrent of desire. Marisol was the first to glance away, her gaze shifting to the bottle between her hands on the island top.

Her cheeks turned pink in the most adorable way and Ethan couldn’t help but wonder if she’d turn pink all over if she knew the things he wanted to do with her. With his hands and mouth, and other parts.

“Well,” she said, pushing up from the stool. “I appreciate you seeing me here and checking everything out, but I should probably call it a night. Have some work to do before I can hit the hay and then I’ve got to be at the office early.”

“Sure.” A little disappointed even though he understood and could use some sleep himself, he carried his half empty water to the sink and emptied it.

She came up beside him to do the same. Once again his senses heightened. She was small but not too small, and definitely not fragile, especially in disposition. Her sweet scent teased him, made him want to lean in and run his nose up the side of her neck where her pulse throbbed visibly beneath her lightly bronzed skin.

Marisol seemed to still next to him, avoiding eye contact as she stood there with her hand wrapped around the bottle.

He couldn’t fight the need to touch her for a moment longer. Ethan allowed himself to slide a hand into those dark-chocolate waves. Her gaze darted up to his, held. Her hair was silky soft, cool to the touch. And though he read a little hesitation in her eyes, they also held growing desire.

He wouldn’t push her for more tonight. “Lock up tight and set the alarm after I leave,” he murmured. Her eyes were so gorgeous. He could get lost in them if he let himself.

Part of him wanted that. To lean down and kiss her, sink into her. See if she’d want what he could offer, the pleasure he wanted to give her, even if it was only short term. He’d give her so much more than he’d take.

But he had no right to make a move if he had no intention of giving her more than a few days at most. Even if he wanted to, he couldn’t. He’d be leaving Miami and heading back to Quantico as soon as this op was done. “And if anything happens that makes you nervous, call me,” he added.

She nodded and whispered, “I will.”

The seconds stretched out, the pause growing taut with anticipation. His hand tightened briefly in her hair, the strands thick and soft against his skin. Though he wanted to wrap both his hands in it and turn her mouth up to his, instead he bent and pressed a kiss to the middle of her forehead, aching to give her so much more. “Sleep tight.”

She swallowed, seemed surprised that he hadn’t pushed for more. “Thanks. You too.”

Releasing her, he stepped back and headed for the door, aware of her following behind him. Tantalizingly close, but still so far away.

****

Seated across a sleek metal table from the defendant the next morning, Marisol kept her hands loosely clasped in her lap and refused to shrink away from the hard stare aimed at her. It’s what Fuentes wanted. To intimidate her. The sole female in the room, an easy target. The weak link.

Or so he thought.

She held that cold black gaze out of pure defiance as her boss continued to outline the terms of the deal they were prepared to offer him.

“If you want to avoid a needle at the end of your sentencing, then you need to give us enough to get Alvarez or Perez, preferably both, and their enforcers. Most importantly,
el Santo
,” Frank told him.

Fuentes’s full lips twisted into a condescending sneer as he shifted his gaze to Frank. “You think I’m afraid of dying?”

Frank didn’t miss a beat. “I don’t care one way or the other. I’m just saying that if you want to live past the age of forty-two, then you’d better seriously consider taking this deal.”

Fuentes leaned back in his seat, the plastic creaking under his weight. Even in an orange prison jumpsuit with his hands and feet chained, he still radiated danger. And power. The kind that came from holding men’s lives in his hands. “You think I have a fucking clue where
el Santo
is? Or even
who
he is?”

“I think you know a lot more than you’ve admitted to previously, yeah,” Frank said, his tone just as hard.

Fuentes’s answering smile was a hard slash in the midst of his neatly-trimmed goatee. “You might be disappointed.”

Marisol barely resisted the urge to roll her eyes. This asshole was playing them, still, even though the trial was less than a month away. She shot Frank a look that said it was time to leave. They wouldn’t get anything else out of the man. They’d made their offer, now it was up to him to decide whether his life was worth taking the deal.

“And what about her?” Fuentes added in a silky voice. He nodded at Marisol, his eyes still on Frank.

“Her? She’s only the best assistant attorney in my office.”

Fuentes shook his head, a soft chuckle escaping that raised the hair on the back of Marisol’s neck. “Wrong. She’s the sacrificial lamb in this little game.” Now his black gaze settled on her, chilling her from the inside out.

She suppressed a shiver, refusing to let him see how much he repulsed her.

“I knew as soon as you walked in here with her that you’re not nearly as smart as you like to think you are. She’s fresh meat. Any one of my lieutenants will have her in their crosshairs, and I hear someone’s already got her in their sights.”

She barely refrained from shooting a questioning look at Frank. Had Fuentes ordered someone to target her? Or was this merely another scare tactic?

Had to be. This facility was secure. They’d moved him here immediately after the attacks in D.C. during the Qureshi trial, to prevent a similar attack from happening. Dozens of militants had stormed the courthouse back in April, killing scores of people and injuring countless others.

“You think you can protect her, Escobar?” Fuentes continued in a taunting voice. “From someone like
el Santo
if his boss gives the order to take her out?” He let out a flat laugh. “Right. She’s hot, I’ll give you that, and I’m sure she gives good head under your desk while you’re pushing paper around, but the truth is, she’s a liability.”

Marisol’s gut clenched and she barely withheld a gasp. She’d dealt with some asshole defendants and witnesses before, but none as disgusting as him. Frank tensed beside her, his expression tight.

She struggled to bite her tongue. Just because she was quiet didn’t mean she was a doormat. Every word of this was being recorded and there was a team of FBI agents on the other side of the two-way mirrored wall behind her. She still wanted to spit in his face. But she shouldn’t be surprised. He was a disgusting human being who peddled drugs, weapons and human beings for profit.

“They’ll make an example out of her,” Fuentes went on, the gleam in his eyes telling her he was enjoying himself now. “Killing her will slow down the trial, maybe even kill your case if the witnesses you say you’ve got lined up suddenly decide to split town rather than testify against me.” He smirked at them both. “What then? You brought her on board for this, her first big case. Can you live with that if anything happens to her, Frank?”

Enough.

She leveled a cutting glare across the table and held her ground. “You don’t scare me, Fuentes.”

His gaze shot back to her, a hint of surprise showing in his oily black eyes.

“You’re the one in chains. And frankly, if I’m not getting a death threat on a weekly basis, then it means I’m not doing my job. But you know what? I am doing my job.” She threw him a smug smile, just to make her words burn a little more. “That’s why you’re never going to see the outside of a jail cell once the trial is over.”
You pathetic, scum-sucking waste of skin
, she added to herself.

Fuentes narrowed his eyes at her and opened his mouth to respond but Frank snatched the folder from the desk with an angry swipe. He pushed his chair back, the metal legs scraping over the concrete floor with a grating sound that put Marisol’s nerves further on edge. “This is the federal government’s final offer, Fuentes,” he said, waving the file. “Take it or leave it, I don’t give a shit.” He threw it down in front of him with a thwap that was surprisingly loud in the austere room.

Fuentes didn’t answer, merely stared up at Frank with an insolent expression until her boss turned away and started for the door. “We’re done here.”

Marisol stood, refusing to show how much he’d angered her as she got to her feet. Her heart was knocking against her sternum as she followed Frank.

“Sweetheart.”

She didn’t stop, didn’t acknowledge the blatant disrespect in Fuentes’s tone with even a single glance as she reached the doorway.

“You’ve got balls, I’ll give you that, but think about what I said,” he called after her. “It’s not too late to get out. Take my advice, quit while you still can.”

The steel door shut behind them with a resounding clang. Marisol took a steadying breath there in the hallway, kept a rapid pace as she put distance between herself and that room. Agent Lammers was there, along with two others.

“You get all that?” Frank asked him.

“Yeah. We’ll keep digging into it, see if there’s any indication that call to Marisol came on his orders, but my gut says it was orchestrated by someone on the outside. I’ll be in touch.”

It absolutely could have come from Fuentes himself, but Marisol kept her mouth shut. He could have paid off any number of guards or officials, let alone inmates, even from this high security prison.

Frank nodded and indicated for her to follow him toward the exit. She fell in step with him and headed for the front doors, still fuming inside.
Let it go. He’s not escaping justice this time
.

“Hey.”

She stopped and looked up at her boss with a carefully composed expression, paused before the exit. His face was a study in concern. “He’s boxed into a corner and he knows it. He’s just trying to mess with you, screw with your head because he hates that he’s powerless now. Don’t let him get to you. Trust me, you’re the furthest thing from a weak link in this case.”

“I won’t.” She raised her chin, pretended she wasn’t rattled in the least. At the moment all she wanted was to get out of there and get back to work. “I’m hungry. Want to grab a bite on the way back to the office?”

His lips twitched in a half-smile. “Yeah, sure.” Then he sobered. “There’s no way he could have orchestrated anything from in here.”

Frank was only trying to make her feel better, so she pasted on a smile. “Personally, I hope he rejects the deal and opts for the needle.”

Frank huffed out a laugh and patted her once on the back. “Damn, I wish I could clone you, Lorenzo. If I had a dozen assistant attorneys like you, we’d win the drug war down here within a year.”

She held onto those words for the rest of the afternoon and into the evening. Every time Fuentes’s face crept into her mind or that oily smile flitted through her concentration, she thought about what Frank had said. Diego Fuentes was a sore loser and a misogynistic asshole, plain and simple. She refused to let him shake her confidence or make her afraid.

By the time she finished up a file she’d been working on in preparation for the coming interview down in Key West on Monday morning, it was almost midnight. After shutting down her computer and grabbing all her stuff she headed for the elevator.