Marie, Laura - Miss: Senorita and the Soldado [The Miss Series 2] (BookStrand Publishing Romance) (7 page)

She felt his warm breath against her chin. She was mesmerized by the lines of muscle beneath the skin of his jaw and cheeks. He had a powerful, sexy look about him.
But then again, so did Armando and look how he tricked me.

Then as if to eliminate her fear, he slowly lowered the gun.

As soon as it was safely behind his back, Elloisa bolted for the door.

The man merely reached one hand sideways to grab Elloisa. She came flying back, and he pinned her against the wall again. Her shoulder blades hit the wall and she gasped. His hands held both her wrists in front of her and his other hand held her throat.

Elloisa’s eyes widened in shock. “You’re not gonna hurt me, huh?” she slowly asked him. A man his size with his strength could easily break her in two with one hand.

His eyes held a look of annoyance and anger. She swallowed beneath his grasp. He looked her over with his eyes and zeroed in on her chest a moment before moving his gaze back up to her face. She quivered as she took each difficult breath, making her chest lift up towards him. Elloisa felt the sexual pull.
What in God’s name is wrong with me?

“You didn’t listen to me. I’m here to help you. I know you are scared, but I don’t work for Armando. You’re leaving with me tonight, right now. I don’t have time for your non-compliant attitude. Now let’s move.”

His voice was commanding, just like the rest of him.

“But I can’t, I have Father…”

“No! Don’t worry about Father Zipotto. You have caused him enough trouble. Don’t you know what they do to people who cross men like Sintorez?”

He gripped her tighter, and she tightened her body in response and squinted, waiting for him to break her bones or bruise her flesh. He softened his hold and she gained some confidence.

“I know all too well.” She nearly spat at him.

He eyed her as if he didn’t believe her or trust her much himself. Yet, here he was asking her to trust him. Crazy!

“I’ll explain more once we’re across the border. I assume you purchased papers?”

Elloisa nodded.

“Get dressed and ready. No one expects you to still be here in the morning.”

He walked toward the doorway and turned his back towards her. It was obvious that he wasn’t leaving the room.

Elloisa quickly grabbed some clothes and turned her back on him.

* * * *

Gustavo’s gut was telling him to move quickly. This operation was a damn nightmare. He hated counting on other people, and he hated having his mission inconveniently altered. Never mind over a woman. Why was she so important?

Better yet, why was she trying so desperately to escape? He had followed her for days now and found himself impressed with her ability to remain undetected. She had obviously made a plan and ran with it. The problem was that Sintorez’s men now had the one guy who helped her in Monterrey. Carlos was probably already dead. They didn’t have time to waste. Ramos was on his way here.

He turned slightly to steal a glance. Elloisa was stepping into a pair of pants. She pulled the nightshirt over her head then tried quickly to replace it with a black T-shirt.

Oh yeah, she had the seductive body of a pin-up model. What man wouldn’t want to possess beauty like that? He turned back towards the door.

In his line of work, there was never any time for a relationship, dating, or even getting to know a woman even if he wanted to. He wasn’t getting any younger, but he was good at his job and the money was insane.

He had an uncomfortable feeling in his gut that he didn’t recognize and he didn’t like it one bit. Every time he looked at Elloisa, he felt it and it pissed him off.

“Hurry up!” he whispered his anger through clenched teeth. Then he heard her exasperated exhale.

Trouble. She was nothing but trouble.

* * * *

Elloisa grabbed her socks and boots then sat on the edge of the bed to put them on.

She didn’t want to trust this man. She didn’t want to be told what to do. She had her own plan. What the hell was wrong with it? She asked herself a bunch of questions then stood up from the bed.

The man was standing there watching her, staring with those brown eyes as if he was memorizing her body or could see through to her soul. What the frig? The thought warmed her. What the hell was wrong with her? How could she feel an attraction to a stranger, a man with a gun who had yet to identify himself?

He gave her the once-over. “Put on a sweater. Do you have one?”

Even that look caused warmth in her belly.

She grabbed one from her bag then gathered the rest of her things. “Let’s go.” He took her by the elbow and led her into the entryway.

They walked through the darkness, and he kept her close to him.

Although she had no idea who this man was, something deep inside told her to believe that he would do her no harm. She inhaled. He was so close to her, she could smell him. The aroma of outdoors and a slightly woodsy scent swept through her nostrils. It reminded her of a campfire and the smell of freshly burned wood. He was strong, in great physical condition from what she could tell when his chest wedged against her own. Solid muscle, an athlete or an ‘indigno de confianza.’ But if he was as untrustworthy as the locals called them, then why was he here? Perhaps Father Zipotto needed to initiate the backup plan after all. Elloisa wondered why the priest hadn’t come himself to tell her. Then again, perhaps the first attacker had caused the priest harm. Many thoughts went through her mind, but they all led back to finding out who this man leading her to the desert was.

* * * *

“You know my name, so what’s yours and who are you?”

They continued to walk through the darkness. The stranger wore his hat down low over his eyes. He was mysterious but also not one to mess with. He had used little of his strength to restrain her earlier. He had killed her attacker in a half a second. That kind of training, physical condition, and skill came with training and practice. She stopped and stood still.

She grabbed his arm to stop him, and he abruptly looked down at her.

She faltered a moment as the massive six-foot-plus frame loomed over her. The dark black military outfit was intimidating as hell. Clearing her throat, she gathered her temper and gall.

“¿Quièn eres? La Migra…DEA…CIA? ¡Dime! ¿Quièn te emplea? ¡Hijo de puta!” She was angry as hell and demanded to know who he was and who he worked for. It took them damn long enough to come to her aide. She didn’t need any of them. She was escaping on her own and she didn’t need this guy.

He read her anger immediately but he didn’t seem to give a shit as he grabbed her, pulling her arms behind her back. Then he held her face with his hand.

“I’ll explain everything once we’re across the border,” he stated with clenched teeth as if she was pissing him off.

Well, she was damn pissed herself, and she didn’t need this asshole screwing up her plans.

“I don’t want your help, none of you, whoever you’re working for.
Es demasiado poco y demasiado tarde. It’s too little too late.”
She attempted to pull her hands away but he held firm. The man was a body of muscle, and she had no way to escape his hold.

“Gustavo,” he said softly then clenched his teeth as if he didn’t intentionally mean to give up such information. Just Gustavo wasn’t enough.

“Gustavo from…”

“From nowhere in particular. Let’s get you across the border then I’ll explain, all right?” He was firm, and she sensed that he wanted to put an end to the questioning as their gazes locked.

She held her expression and watched the tiny muscles near his eyes bulge. He was getting angry with her, and her gut warned her to back off.

“Fine!” she stated, admitting only to herself that it wouldn’t be the worst thing to have some highly trained agent by her side, if that’s who he really was.

They were silent while they left the village and made their way to the border.

He was definitely military and highly trained. Even though he was dressed in all black, she could tell he was trim and muscular. The black T-shirt he wore was stretched tightly over his firm chest. It was tucked into his black camouflage pants, which in turn were tucked into his military-issued black boots. He had multiple pockets on the pants, a knife holder and gun holder on his trim waist, along with some sort of thin utility belt. If it was government-issued then he probably had a few high-tech devices located in those secret compartments. She wondered what was in the black backpack as well.

They had passed a few small houses, and she could see the scattered lights from the village behind them.

Suddenly, Gustavo grabbed Elloisa’s hand to stop her as he looked back in the direction they came from.

“What is it? What’s wrong?” she asked, and before he could answer, she heard the sounds herself.

Multiple Jeeps made their way through the village.

She heard guns shooting and then an explosion.

Elloisa stared in shock. Then Gustavo pulled her towards the side of a house. They ran, him holding her hand tightly and her nearly stumbling trying to keep up.

There was a large green tarp covering a pickup truck.

The truck looked a little beat up but in decent shape.

“Get in the back,” he demanded, giving her a push. Then he lifted the cover but kept the truck covered.

Elloisa lay in the back bed of the dirty old truck while Gustavo rummaged through his black backpack.

She could hear people screaming, and Elloisa knew they were suffering because of her. The smell of rust and dirt filled her nostrils. The screams from the townspeople echoed in the distance. Gustavo kept his hand over her head, applying pressure and silently telling her to keep her head down.

She heard Gustavo reach in his pocket then heard a sound. When she looked up, he pulled the knife away and placed it back into his pocket. He had cut a small hole through the tarp, then another for Elloisa.

The instant she looked through the hole, a larger explosion lit up the town. It startled her as she grabbed Gustavo’s shirt. One look into his mean-looking eyes and she immediately dropped her hands. She trembled from touching him. There wasn’t an ounce of fat on him.

He didn’t say a word as he focused on the task at hand.

In an instant he put together what appeared to be a sniper rifle, scope and all.

He set the barrel up through the hole and looked towards the direction of the town currently lit up in flames.

She knew that he could see exactly who was being dragged to the center of town along with the scope.

Elloisa could only see the figures through the darkness, but she couldn’t make out the faces. She wished they had gotten farther way. If those men found them, Gustavo and she were as good as dead. They were outnumbered.

“Who is that? Who do they have?” she asked, her voice shaking as well as her body.

“The priest,” Gustavo stated with little emotion as he tightened his grip on the gun then placed his finger on the trigger.

One shot and he could take out the guy holding the priest, but then someone else would replace that guy who held the priest.

It wasn’t worth the risk. His job was to get Elloisa out of Mexico and to a safe location.

Elloisa watched as Father Zipotto received blow after blow to his stomach, ribs, and face.

“Do something. Do something, damn it!” Elloisa yelled at Gustavo, but he didn’t move.

Father Zipotto was screaming out in pain as the knife pierced through his hand.

Elloisa was crying. She could make out the figure causing all the damage.

She didn’t have to see his face clearly though.

Armando only sent one person to do the dirty work and that was Ramos.

* * * *

“¿Dónde está la mujer? Tiene el pelo largo y castaño y los ojos marrones y seductivos.

“No. No sè de què estás hablando, No había ninguna mujer Hermosa.” The priest told them that he didn’t know what they were talking about. There was no beautiful woman.

“¿Estaba sola? No?”

Father Zipotto shook his head and continued to deny the interrogator. He just kept asking about a beautiful woman with long brown hair and big, seductive eyes. Father Zipotto would not tell him anything. He swore to help save Elloisa, and she gave him all that money. Their church, their people needed it. Armando Sintorez didn’t care about the village.

“Is she alone?” he demanded to know.

“I don’t know who you are talking about.”

“¿Estás seguro? Ramos. Nos encontramos con un muerto en una de las alcobas.”

Ramos looked back at Father Zipotto.

“You heard what they said. There is a dead man in one of the rooms with a broken neck. What do you know about it?”

“I don’t know what you are talking about.”

Father Zipotto didn’t have time to block the hit by Ramos.

* * * *

Elloisa watched as the confrontation continued. Then Ramos struck Father Zipotto across the face again. Time passed slowly, and Elloisa caught herself holding her breath.