Hard Target: Elite Ops - Book One (18 page)

“Will that work without heating it up?” asked Anna, coming closer to watch him mix the liquid in.

He shrugged. “Heat doesn’t make a whole lot of difference. This stuff tastes awful hot or cold.”

“I could eat anything right now.”

“Well, that’s good. When you’re starving, it’s about the only time this crap is palatable.”

She huffed a laugh and smiled for the first time in what felt like days. Breaking off half the energy bar, she handed it to him. “Let’s split this.”

He shook his head. “No need. I’ve got another.”

He rearranged their packs, putting the other half of the ransom money and ammunition in his before combining his bag’s remaining contents with hers. Ten minutes later he was stirring meatloaf and handing her a spoon. As predicted, it did taste a bit like cardboard, but she didn’t mind. She was starving.

She ate half before handing him the spoon and packet back. Her fingers brushed his, setting off a new sizzle of awareness that shot up her arm. She froze and looked up to see the frank sexual heat in his gaze.

Lightning flashed at the window and thunder shattered the clouds as the rain continued beating down in earnest. Still shaken by the sexual zing, she started at the thunder. Her throat went dry.

“You okay?” he asked, reaching out to touch her shoulder.

She shook her head.
Why was this happening?
They’d been together all afternoon and she’d felt nothing.

Now suddenly she was aware of everything about him: the warmth coming off his body, even through his clothes; the deep jade color of his eyes; his broad hand on her shoulder; the scent of him. Heat, spice and man.

She wet her lips and his eyes flared a darker green. She had no idea what to say, but she knew what she wanted.

“We can’t do this,” she said.

“I know. It’s insanity.” His eyes pierced hers and she couldn’t look away.

She wasn’t sure who leaned forward first, but when her lips touched his, it didn’t matter anymore. He angled his mouth into hers and slid his tongue along the seam of her lips. She deepened the kiss and was instantly adrift in a sea of sensation.

Her arms went around his neck. His hands moved to her hips, pulling her closer to the heat and hardness of him. She arched into his chest, holding on as he slipped a hand under her tank top and moved his fingers up to the side of her breast. His lips were at her temple.

They pulled and tugged at each other’s clothing. She helped him yank his shirt over his head. If she stopped to think, she’d realize this was crazy and made no sense. But she wasn’t going to stop and think. All she could focus on was what she was feeling.

He lifted the hem of her top to raise it up and off then stood back to study her. The fire in his gaze took away any doubts she might have had about this interlude being some kind of misplaced pity. He was watching her face, his eyes focused so intently she forgot everything.

“Breathe, Anna.” He touched her cheek and kissed his way from her jawline to her chest.

When he reached her bra, he undid the front clasp with one hand. Pushing the lacy garment out of the way, he bent down to pull her nipple into his mouth. She gasped as her skin pebbled and peaked then closed her eyes when his hand skimmed under her gauzy skirt. His hand skated up her thigh and she shivered when his fingers slid higher still.

She was awash in awareness. The exquisite feel of his sculpted chest was hot against her bare skin. The sound of the rain beating against the tin roof of the motel blocked out the world.

Her back bumped the paneling next to the dresser and she froze, but only for a moment. She smiled, opening her eyes to meet his intense stare. The expression on his face took her breath away.

“You are so damn beautiful,” he murmured, pressing her to the wall.

He lifted her up and wrapped her legs around his hips, moving to cover her with his body. Her skirt was bunched around her waist and she felt the hard length of him touching her core. His hands caressed her bottom before his palms slipped past the edge of her panties.

She gasped when he pushed two fingers inside her, taking her to the brink. Higher and higher she spun before closing her eyes and pressing her face into his neck, unable to stand the passion of his gaze any longer. With a deep sigh, she shattered.

He held her against the wall as the waves of the orgasm crashed over her. After she could breathe again without gasping, she tilted her head up to meet his eyes. They were still dark and laser-focused on hers as she slid down his body.

Without hesitation she reached for him, unzipping his jeans. He hissed in a breath when she slipped her fingers beneath his underwear’s elastic waistband to stroke her hand along the hard length of him.

He groaned and pulled her fingers away, lightly holding her wrists and pressing himself against her.

Touching his forehead to hers, he took a gulp of air. “I want this, Anna. I want you. Smart or stupid, I want to make love to you. But I don’t have a condom, and . . .”

“I’m not on the pill,” she finished for him.
And I’ve just slept with my ex, who has the morals of an alley cat.
She felt her face flush with the reminder of their illuminating visit to the ER last night.

He smiled faintly, but something in his eyes changed.

That hadn’t been what he was going to say.

There was a long pause as he searched her face before he said, “We’re going to stop now before we do something crazy.”

Her cheeks burned, and she didn’t need a mirror to know she was blushing a furious red. He was right. She knew he was right, regardless of his reasons for stopping.

She didn’t know what to say, but she had to say something. This man was risking so much for her and for Zach. He was obviously attracted to her or giving a remarkable imitation of it. She didn’t want him to think she was pouting because they weren’t having sex.

She took a deep breath, determined to clear the air somehow. Before she could speak he abruptly released her hands, kissed her temple, and stepped back, his eyes no longer searching hers.

She’d missed the moment and longed to pull him back to her, to explain. Anything. Instead, she crossed her arms across her bare breasts, embarrassed now by her partial nudity. Her shirt was just behind him on the floor.

“Could you hand me my top, please?”

L
ELAND BENT DOWN
to retrieve Anna’s shirt and turned away, staring at the floor in front of him to give her privacy. What the hell was he doing? At least he’d given the room a cursory inspection to rule out cameras or bugs before he’d practically screwed her against the bedroom wall.

What he’d really wanted to tell her, before they’d gotten sidetracked with the birth control issue, was the same thing he’d wanted to tell her last night. She didn’t have to do him to get Zach back. Whether or not they had sex had no bearing on whether he’d help find her son.

Not that he didn’t want her. He did. So much so that his teeth ached.

He hadn’t known her long but what he knew fascinated him. To have dealt with everything she had in the past year and to still be so strong. That inner strength captivated him.

It was important she not think he expected sex in exchange for his help. Sex wasn’t some kind of payoff. He needed to clarify that right away.

Besides, neither of them was going to be able to sleep now. He sighed, zipped his cargo shorts and pulled on his t-shirt and shoulder holster with the Ruger. He shoved the larger Glock into his backpack. This was going to be a long evening.

The night breeze had shifted the shabby curtain to the side, leaving an unobscured view into the room. He turned to face her, wondering if anyone on the street had just gotten an eyeful.

A red laser dot reflected off the wide shoulder strap of her tank top. Recognizing the threat, he dove for her, shouting, “Down. Get down!”

Chapter Twenty

L
ELAND TACKLED
A
NNA
around the waist and pulled her to the floor. A bullet hit the wall with a
sphlift
, right where she’d been standing a half second earlier.

He climbed on top of her, his heart rate skyrocketing, and covered her completely with his body. His boot was awkward. His knee came down between her legs, trapping her in the skirt. More shots slapped the stucco, but they were all hitting above his head.

The gunman must be using a silencer. A loud car engine revved in the street. Voices shouted and bullets flew through the window, no longer silenced.

How many shooters were there?

A flaming bottle whooshed through the window. Breaking on impact, the fire spread rapidly across the dry plywood floor. The pop of more bullets against the wall sounded deceptively benign.

“
What’s happening
?”
Anna’s lips were at his ear.

Her warm breath would have felt seductive if not for the shots flying overhead and fire licking at his ass. He was crushing her with his body weight but it was the only way to protect her from the onslaught.

“
Why are they shooting at us
?”
Her voice was thin, like she was having trouble breathing.

He raised up on his elbows to take his weight off of her chest but kept his head down next to hers. “They want the money.”

“How do they know about the ransom?” she asked.

“Everyone within a hundred miles knows about it.” He raised his head cautiously.

They were nose to nose, but he ignored the intimacy of the position. They had to get out of the smoke-filled room. In here, even with just half the money, they were sitting ducks.

He needed his bag. It held all his ammunition and the Glock 17. And they couldn’t leave the cash, not now anyway. Having the money might be the only thing to keep them alive when they got out of here.

“Come on.” He rolled to the side and tugged Anna’s hand to pull her along with him. “But don’t raise your head.”

Another bullet hit the wall where she had been moments earlier. God, how many men were there? Knowing that could make a difference in getting out of this alive.

“The old man was right. We should have left all the ransom money with him.” She wriggled along beside him as Leland reached onto the bed for his backpack and pulled extra speed loaders from the side pocket for his Ruger.

He tapped the bag. “This is our only leverage to getting Zach back, but we have to hang on to it until the exchange.”

“So that whole charade of leaving the duffel and taking half the cash was worthless?”

“No, we had to try. This was just too big of a secret to keep.” He zipped the pack and put it on both shoulders before pulling her bag off the bed as well.

She shuddered. “Or someone doesn’t want us to get Zach back?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know the answer to that, but we’re not going to figure it out in here.”

He helped her put her pack on. Anna gamely gripped her skirt in one hand as they belly-crawled across the floor to the door. He reached to unlock the thumb latch. After he peered around the doorframe, they clambered into the hallway and stood to run.

Leland didn’t head toward the lobby. Instead, he pulled Anna down the hall along with him to the back of the building. Gritting his teeth against the pain in his ankle, he stumped along to the exit.

A screen door that had seen better days led out to a large stretch of gravel serving as a parking lot for the El Flamenco and the motel. Two cars were parked there. About twenty yards out in the middle of the lot was the butane tank he’d heard the clerk complaining about on the phone. The tank that was almost empty, or so she’d claimed.

Beyond the parking lot and butane tank was dense jungle, comprised of tall trees and vines. Leland had no idea how many trigger-happy fortune hunters were out here. At least two, more likely three to four. So far the shots had all been coming from the north end of the motel on the cantina side.

Thunder rumbled in the distance and the rain continued to beat down. He pressed his back to the wall, pulling Anna beside him. The desk clerk ran toward them from the lobby. Leland drew his gun and blocked her path before pushing the girl against the scuffed paneling, his arm across her neck.

“What do you want?” he demanded.

“I’m here to get you out,” she said.

“What did you have in mind?”

She shrugged. “I had several ideas before the shooting started. “I’m supposed to take care of you.”

“Who hired you?” She squirmed but he wasn’t letting up on her throat.

Her eyes bulged in fear and her voice squeaked. “For this job? Rivera. He owns everything in this town. Money came in an envelope with instructions to look after you. At the time the request seemed easy. Just make sure you two have everything you need.”

She stopped and took a labored breath before continuing. “I didn’t ask questions. But I don’t want his men coming after me tomorrow because two crazy Americans burned up in this fire trap of a motel.”

Leland studied her a moment longer before letting up the pressure on her airway. “Do you know where we can hide?”

She nodded and rubbed her throat but didn’t break eye contact.

“Where?”

“First, let’s get out of the building.”

“We’re going to have to run for it,” he said. “See the tree line there? That’s where we’re headed.”

“Into the jungle?” Anna’s voice broke on
jungle.

“For now,” said Leland. “Like she said, we’ve got to get out of this building. We can decide what we’re going to do once we are away from here.”

“But the shooters?” asked the girl.

“I’m going to distract them,” said Leland.

Anna’s eyes were as huge as the girl’s had been earlier. “How?” she asked.

“Do you trust me?”

She nodded.

“Okay, that’s all I need to know. I hope you were telling the truth about that tank being empty,” he muttered to the girl.

She stared blankly at him for a beat until understanding dawned. “Yes, it’s almost empty.”

“Good.” With the Ruger he took careful aim on the metal cylinder that was the size of a SMART car and pulled the trigger.