Her Only Protector (11 page)

Sonny could no longer deny she had a strong attraction to Gil. Especially since it was obvious from Cooper's comment that whatever it was they were feeling was clear to the others.

It had been easy to push aside her feelings at first.

Gil wanted information about Cash, and she couldn't give it to him. She wouldn't have given it to him even if she could. But he'd stopped asking, and something had shifted between them. And now Sonny had no idea how to deal with her fear that she was falling in love with Gil. No idea at all.

A
fter all these years, Sonny finally understood what it was like for her parents to wait for her to come home after a night out with her friends. No, this was worse, she decided. Much worse. Her parents hadn't had to worry about Eduardo Sanchez and the Aztec Corporation. There was no amount of trouble Sonny could have ever gotten into as a teenager that would compare to this.

Gil wasn't back yet. He'd been gone for hours. Not knowing where he was or what was happening was killing her.

She hated the fact that although she sat in the living room playing with Ellie on the blanket, her attention was focused on the door.

And the man who isn't walking through that door.

Cooper was slouched in a chair with her legs swung over the arm, watching the news. She didn't have to say it, but she was pretty freaked out. She should be. If Gil didn't come back, they'd have to find a way to get out of Colombia without him.

No, she'd have to find a way. Cooper and Marco would be able to walk out of Colombia without anybody watching them. Sonny wanted to say that to Cooper, to ease her anxiety. But something told her that although Gil's team was seriously worried about what they'd been caught in, neither Cooper nor Marco was willing to leave Cartagena without Gil.

Marco had been on the computer all day. She was desperate to e-mail her father. Her parents had to be frantic by now. All three of their children were in Colombia and in danger.

“Is Gil back yet?” Marco said. Sonny had heard the printer whizzing earlier and now Marco held a stack of papers in his hand.

“Hasn't shown his face yet.” Cooper turned off the TV and got to her feet. “I'm all ears. What do you have, Marco?”

“Don't you think we should wait—” Sonny never finished her sentence as the door to the villa opened and Gil stepped inside.

“Perfect timing,” Marco said. “What's the word on the street?”

Gil dropped a package on the end table and motioned to Sonny with his head. “More supplies for the baby. It should last us a week or so.”

She felt disappointment flooding her heart. “That long?”

“I'm afraid so.”

“You got something in the works, Gil?” Marco said, pressing him for an answer.

“No one is saying anything on the streets.”

Cooper let out a sigh of relief.

“But that doesn't mean anything,” Gil added. “It just means they're scared.”

“You said no one is saying anything,” Cooper said. “That means we should get out of here while we still can.”

“It's not that easy and you know it,” Gil said, looking at her with sympathy.

Sonny closed her eyes. When she opened them again Gil was looking at her intently. “Just because people on the streets aren't willing to divulge information about Eduardo Sanchez doesn't mean they don't know what's going on,” Sonny said.

“That's right. To anyone here, we're just tourists. Worse, we're Americans. They don't trust us,” Gil replied.

“That's what Lucia said, too.” Sonny's stomach filled with dread. “She also said that any one of them would give us up in a heartbeat.”

Marco looked at all of them. “Well, we can't sit around and do nothing. It's just a matter of time before somebody hears the baby cry and realizes no one has ever laid eyes on her.”

“Don't worry. We're going to make our move,” Gil said. “Just not tonight.”

Gil's eyes met Sonny's for a brief moment and then moved away. There was no plan. At least, nothing set in stone. It amazed Sonny how much she could read Gil—she'd only just met him.

“I need to get in touch with my father, Gil,” she said quietly. “I hate that my family doesn't know what's happened to me.”

“I understand. But I still think we should wait until we have a concrete plan.”

Heaving a sigh, she picked up the baby. Ellie's eyelids were closing. Sonny hardly knew her little niece, making it difficult to know when it was time to put her down for a nap. But it looked like now might be the perfect time.

“I'll be back in a minute,” she said, needing a moment for herself. She knew she was going to have to decide whether to stick with Gil or cut both herself and Ellie free so the others had a chance. She just had no clue how to make that decision.

 

Orange and crimson streaked the sky as if an artist had taken a wide paintbrush and spread color to signal the night was on its way. Gil stood out in the courtyard, looking at the spectacle of color. He'd always liked the peacefulness of dusk, a time of quiet reflection at the end of each day to regroup. But tonight there was a hum inside of him that was growing so strong he was about to jump out of his skin. He doubted anything could quiet it.

Cartagena wasn't known for cool breezes like the kind he remembered from his childhood in Maine. The air off the chilly Atlantic waters had always cooled him in the evening, even on the hottest summer days.

Closing his eyes, he let the warm breeze wash over him. “Lord, please watch over this house, keep everyone within these walls safe in Your hands and deliver us back home without harm,” he whispered in prayer.

When he opened his eyes, he was startled to find someone standing below the arch by the French door. Darkness had fallen.

“Talking to the moon? Or just to yourself?”

The smooth voice startled him and his pulse beat faster. But not because of surprise. Gil had come out to the courtyard in the hopes of getting some distance from Sonny. From whatever it was that was making his head spin when he looked in her direction.

He turned and saw how her eyes reflected the bright light of the moon. It was no use. He'd have to go halfway across the world to get enough distance from Sonny—and even that wouldn't be enough. He'd never been so drawn to any woman in his life and now was the absolute wrong time for it to happen.

“Just working through some things in my head,” he said, unable to tear his gaze from her.

“I didn't mean to intrude.”

“You're not.”

She was beautiful, not just pretty like he'd thought earlier. Her dark hair was like midnight with golden streaks of light that made him want to sift his fingers through the strands.

“I came out here earlier with Ellie. I was showing her the flowers in the urns and telling her about colors.” Sonny laughed and it sounded musical to Gil's ears. “She didn't have a clue what I was saying, of course, but she still looked at me as if she were hanging on every word.”

“She probably was mesmerized by your voice.” He knew he was. Sonny's voice was rich and honey-toned. Her mouth stretched into a smile that made her lips all the more appealing.

“Where is the baby now?”

“Cooper is playing with her.”

“I'm surprised you let Ellie out of your sight.”

“I wanted to talk to you. It's kind of crowded in there with the team,” she said. “Don't get me wrong. They've been great.”

“They wouldn't treat you wrong, Sonny. No matter what happens. They're just a bit edgy.”

“As we all are.”

“We're a little far from home in more ways than one.”

Even with the benefit of a nearly full moon, he couldn't see her face fully. But he could make out the furrow of her brow, so he explained.

“As bounty hunters, we have a certain amount of latitude as far as the law is concerned in the United States. We're allowed to obtain information and go to certain lengths to apprehend criminals. For example, we don't need to wait for warrants to enter a fugitive's home.”

“But not outside U.S. borders?”

He gave her a half smile. “One more thing for you to be angry with me about.”

“I'm not angry with you.”

You should be. If not for me, you'd be safe right now. So would Ellie, and Marco and Cooper.

“I was angry with you for keeping me from leaving Colombia,” Sonny said. “But I know anger isn't going to make this better for us. It's just wasted energy. You had no way of knowing what kind of people are after my family. Sometimes I still can't believe it myself.”

Her bottom lip quivered and her eyes glistened with unshed tears.

“The longer we stay here, Sonny, the harder it's going to be for us to leave.”

“I know.”

When he didn't say more, she groaned and said, “Come on, Gil. You can jump in at any moment here and play the big hero. You know, tell me that everything is going to be okay and all that.”

“Is that what you want? A big hero?”

Her shoulders rose and fell with her sigh. “No, I guess I don't.”

“The world is full of big heroes. Not as appealing as they once were, huh?”

“Not if they're not real.”

He wasn't going to be a hero to anyone if he couldn't get her and Ellie out of Colombia.

“Cooper and Marco say they're not leaving here without you.”

He looked up at the sky, away from her probing stare. “I know.”

“I think that's a mistake.”

“So do I. But it's hard to break up a team that's been together for as long as we have.”

“Cooper said she wasn't with you when you worked with Bruce,” Sonny said gently.

He snapped his head toward her.

“She told me about him today,” she said, answering his surprise. “It's not the same thing, Gil.”

Sonny was still leaning against the column that held up the overhang by the door. Part of him hoped she stayed there. He was honestly afraid of what he'd do if she came any closer.

“Cooper worries too much.”

She took a step into the moonlight and it danced on her hair and illuminated her face. Just looking at her took Gil's breath away.

“I don't know about that,” she said quietly. “You're a protector. You may hunt criminals, but you still feel responsible for protecting others.”

“Is that right?”

With a roll of her eyes, she laughed. “Go ahead and play the he-man.”

Gil chuckled and pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to hide his expression from her. She had him pegged, and he didn't know how much closer she could get before he stopped breathing altogether.

He wanted her to sit with him on the bench, feel her next to him, and yet he didn't invite her. He didn't trust himself not to touch her. Kiss her. He worked to focus on the issue at hand.

“I talked to a man down at the market today who's from Sweden. He was talking to one of the vendors about a job because he's running low on cash. This man—Olof—is sailing alone.”

She raised an eyebrow. “What does this have to do with us?”

“We could leave Colombia by boat safer than any other way. I talked to him about taking us to Puerto Rico. He's interested because he needs the cash, but he'll only take us halfway.”

Her eyes widened, letting in more light from the moon and making it harder for him to focus on what he was saying.

“Can't he just take us all the way to Puerto Rico? That's U.S. territory. It's as good as Miami.”

Gil shook his head and dragged his gaze away from her. “He had a run-in with another sailor on his way down. Seems the Coast Guard got involved and he'd just as soon stay clear.”

“What kind of run-in?”

“I didn't ask. And let's be honest. It doesn't really matter as long as he's not a drug runner.”

“Do you think he is?”

He shrugged. “We don't have a lot of options. The less said, the better. The important fact about him is he's not Colombian.”

“And he doesn't have ties or loyalties to Eduardo Sanchez or his people in any way.” Her voice held just a hint of fear. She wouldn't be human if she weren't scared, but it amazed him that most of the time she kept that emotion in check.

“Right.”

She looked up at the sky. The breeze was blowing her hair around her face. “When do we leave?”

“Tomorrow, after the money I sent for gets wired—there's a Western Union down at the center of the marketplace. I have to pay Olof up front.”

“I don't have money to pay for this. I mean, I can get it. I can have my father wire it.”

What Olof was asking for in the way of payment was a small fortune, even for a charter service. But they weren't in a position to bargain for a lower price, so Gil took what he could get and thanked the Lord for the open window He'd provided.

“That won't be necessary. It's taken care of.”

“By who?”

“It doesn't matter. The point is I don't want to risk anything coming in that can be traced to you. It's safer that way.”

“As safe as it can be,” she whispered, glancing down at her hands in her lap.