Master of the Game (Rush Series Book 3) (26 page)

Laying
her head against his shoulder and pressing her lips against his neck, she
asked, “Is it always like this?”

“Sex?”

“Yes,”
she whispered.

He laid
back and once again turned them on their sides, facing each other. He traced
the curve of her eyebrow. “No,” he said simply.

Her
eyes shifted as she studied his serious face. “I don’t know how to do this,”
she said haltingly.

He
inhaled slowly and deeply. “I’m not sure I do either,” he admitted.

She
took a shaky breath and let it out. Switching gears, she asked, “What are my
mother’s chances?”

He
hesitated in answering her. “The truth is, I just don’t know. It could be she
got away before your step-father returned. If he took her, her survival will
depend on what his purpose was for taking her. There’re just too many variables
at this moment. I wish I could tell you something for sure, but I just don’t
know. We’ll know more when Jacob calls back. I’m sorry, but you’ll just have to
hang on for a little bit longer.”

She
blinked as she contemplated his answer, his face so beautiful it almost made
her weep. He was a good man – kind, considerate, and caring. Her heart clutched
in her chest as she struggled to contain the love she felt. Not able to contain
it any longer she whispered, “I think I love you, Alex Masters.”

He
couldn’t respond
,
he wasn’t sure what to say. He
didn’t want to make promises he couldn’t keep. Wordlessly, he captured her head
and leaned in to kiss deeply and tenderly. When he pulled back, she stared into
his eyes for a long moment before pulling away. She wasn’t sorry she’d finally
told him… disappointed he didn’t reciprocate – but not sorry.

Pointing
toward the bathroom, she said, “I’m going to get cleaned up… do you think you
could call and see if Jacob found anything?”

“Of
course,” he replied quietly.

She
paused like she wanted to add something,
then
thought
better of it. So with a quick nod of her head, she wrapped the sheet around
herself, modest for reasons known only to herself as he’d seen her naked on
numerous times – had just been inside her – and climbed off the bed.

“Devon,”
he called out as she turned away.

She
stopped and looked back at him, her eyebrows raised.
“Yeah?”

“I… I,”
he paused, not sure what he wanted to say. With a shake of his head, “I’ll
order some dinner while you’re cleaning up.
Steak okay?”

Her
eyebrows scrunched together as if she sensed his internal battle. With a small
smile, she nodded. “Steak would be great.”

~*M*~

Her
bleary eyes felt weighted down and sewn shut as she struggled to open them when
her unfamiliar ring-tone,
Midnight Rider
,
began to play. It took her a moment to realize it was her phone. She’d not had
that particular ring tone for very long, her heart hurt as she remembered it
was Roman who’d programmed it after she’d worked the late shift at the
restaurant for two weeks straight for the extra money.

Once
she shook off the cobwebs, she became aware of a huge weight draped over her.
She shifted and then realized the weight was the arm of Alex Masters. It dawned
on her just as suddenly that there would have been only two people who would be
calling her, and one of them was dead. Moving carefully from the bed, she moved
to the bathroom alcove where she had her phone plugged into the charger and
snatched it up on its fifth ring. She exhaled in relief when she saw her
mother’s phone number displayed.

“Mom?”
she asked, her voice quivering.

“Mom?”
came Miguel’s mocking tone. “Well, well. You never cease to amaze me. I’m so
glad I didn’t let that dumbass,
Lex
, kill you like he
wanted to. I knew you’d come in handy one day, and guess what, princess?
 
Today’s the day.”

“Where’s
my mother?” she asked as she slipped into the bathroom and soundlessly closed
the door.

“She’s
with me, of course. If you ever want to see her again - alive, I mean - you
will meet me at the Grande Luna Ruins right now. I’ll be generous and give you
an hour. After that, you better say your goodbyes, because your mother will be
dead. Am I clear?”

Devon
swallowed. “Why do you need me?”

“That
is not your concern. Your only concern is to get to me in time. The clock
begins ticking right now. Don’t let your mother down. Her life depends on it.
Am I clear?” he snarled into the phone line.

“Yes,”
she answered shakily.

“One
last thing… you’d better come alone.
Comprende
?
Understand
?

“Alone?”
she asked inanely.

He gave
an evil laugh. “Yes, don’t bring your little boyfriend with you. I want you
alone or else your mother dies.
Comprende
?”

“I
understand. An hour, alone,” she repeated, as panic threatened to overwhelm
her. “I…” she began when the connection was suddenly broken. She sat down
heavily on the toilet.

Chapter 13

An
unexpected noise had Alex sitting straight up in bed. The room was completely
dark thanks to the black-out curtains covering the windows. He strained his
ears to hear what had
awaken
him from a deep sleep. He
heard the rattle of the air conditioner as it pumped much needed cool air into
the room. He distantly heard water running in the room connecting to this
theirs.

While
he sensed he was alone in the bed, he reached out a hand anyway just to be
sure. He cocked his head to listen for Devon in the bathroom, but everything
was still and quiet. Slipping out of the bed, he flipped on the light in the
alcove off the bathroom. The bathroom door stood open and the room was dark and
empty, as was the alcove. His eyebrows creased. Where would she have gone?
Outside of his boxers and T-shirt she didn’t have any clothes.

He
walked back into the bedroom and bent to pick up his sweatpants, but couldn’t
find them. He cocked his head to one side as he thought what he should do. In
the pit of his stomach, this felt wrong… felt off. With one more glance around
and still not able to find his sweats, he moved to the dresser and bent to open
the drawer to grab a pair of jeans. It was then he saw the folded note. His
lips thinned as he picked the note up and opened it.

Cowboy,
Miguel called... he has my mother. He gave me an hour to get to him, which is
at about eleven o’clock. I’m to meet him at the Grande Luna Ruins. I’m not
foolish enough to think he won’t kill me or my mother at a whim. I’m not afraid
of what he will do, but I am afraid he might get away with all he’s done to
those I love and have loved. I’m leaving you this note so it can maybe give you
and your team a starting place to get Miguel. He is an evil man. I’m not sure
what he wants from me; but he knows what my weakness is – my mother. Please
don’t let me be your weakness. I’ll leave my phone on so you can trace it. I
wish things could have been different… wish I’d met you when I was at a
different place in my life. Please don’t take any unnecessary risks on my
behalf. I meant the words I said to you. Be safe, Devon.

Frustration had Alex balling
the note in his fist and slinging it across the room. “Dammit it to hell!” he
snarled. What was she thinking? She was walking right into his trap. Why hadn’t
she
woken
him? But he knew why - because he would
have stopped her. He sat down heavily on the end of the bed and scrubbed a hand
over his pensive face. He didn’t know if he could save her this time. Guilt
gnawed at his stomach. His chest tightened painfully and he struggled to breathe.
All he wanted to do was slam his fist so hard into something. Instead, he
reverted back to his years of training and cleared his mind. His ability to do
so was what had made him successful at what he did.

Snatching his cellphone up from
the charger, he dialed Devon’s number. It rang five times before switching over
to her voicemail. Her sultry, Hispanic-accented voice invited him to leave a
message. Alex’s jaw clenched tightly. What had he expected? That she’d answer?
He knew she wouldn’t, just like she’d not awakened him. She didn’t want to be
stopped. He didn’t leave a message in case someone else obtained her phone.
Quickly, he snatched on his jeans and grabbed a shirt before grabbing his phone
once more. Punching in the familiar saved number, he listened to it ring three
times this time before Jacob answered. “This better be life or death, Alex!” he
grumbled sleepily.

“It is… just not mine,” Alex
replied.

“
What’cha
got going on? I thought you were done and on your way home?” he said.

“I need the team to report to
the Grande Luna Ruins. Miguel Munoz just called Devon Montanez to meet him there
by eleven o’clock. She’s already gone, but can be traced by her cell phone. I
need that done ASAP!”
Alex said, his voice clipped.

“It’s probably a trap,” Jacob
said.

“I’m sure it is. A trap for
what or who, though?” Alex said thoughtfully.

“I’m sure Miguel must have
realized that his missiles are duds by now,” Jacob said.

“That’s my thought. I think
he’ll try to use Devon as leverage,” Alex replied.

Silence met his words. Finally,
Jacob said, “I’ll have the team there within the hour. Let’s hope the situation
stays contained until then. I’ll begin the trace procedures immediately. Keep
me informed. I guess it’d be asking too much to get you to wait on the team?”

“Can’t do that, Jay,” he said
simply.

Jacob sighed heavily. “That’s
what I figured. Try to keep from getting yourself killed, okay?”

Without answering, Alex clicked
off his phone and finished tying his boot-laces before retrieving his spare
handgun from his lockbox in the safe provided in the hotel closet, and strapped
on his Kevlar vest. He slipped on his black nylon jacket and filled the pockets
with ammunition. With his firm lips set in grim lines, he closed the room door
firmly and moved with rapid steps to the elevator. When he realized it was
still on the first floor, he sprinted to the stairs and shuffled down them
hurriedly.

~*M*~

“Are you sure, miss?” the taxi
driver asked when she told him to drop her off outside the ruins.

With a decided nod of her head,
she paid him with money she’d taken from Alex’s wallet. For the millionth time,
she berated herself for not taking the time to gather all or at least some of
her belongings from the campsite. Alex had said the team would gather up
everything and bring it to the hotel the next day. At the time, it’d seemed
like a good idea. Now she was forced to wear his sweatpants, which were too big
and much too long. Fortunately, his shirt hung down far enough to hide how
she’d been forced to bunch the pants on the side. She was thankful to have her
own shoes.

She swallowed hard as she took
in the darkness surrounding her. While there was some moonlight, it wasn’t
much. The Grande Luna Ruins stretched out before her,
it’s
crater-like gullies – from whence it was named due to its moon-like surface -
threatened to twist her ankles with every step. She looked quickly out into the
distance, straining to see beyond the shadows of the trees, but didn’t see
anyone. On legs that trembled, she began to move forward, maneuvering around
the chain stretched in front of the entrance with a
CLOSED
sign attached.

In the pocket of the
sweatpants, she felt the vibration of her phone. Turning away from the ruins,
she dug out the phone. But she already knew who it would be… Alex. She licked
her suddenly dry lips and wanted to answer… wanted to beg him to come help her…
save her. But she didn’t. Instead, she slipped it back into her pocket without
answering and turned back to continue across the grounds. She’d hoped for a
little more time before he’d discovered her note. She’d debated long and hard
before writing it. She’d known he’d come for her, it was his nature. He was a
natural-born protector. But she hadn’t wanted to give Miguel another
opportunity to take something away that she loved. He’d already taken enough.
But she’d also not been naive enough to think she’d get away from Miguel and
she desperately wanted him to pay.

A shifting in the shadows up
ahead, to her left, made her pause. She strained to see, but the silhouette of
the trees made it hard to differentiate one shape from the others. The wind
whistled through the tree boughs, causing the leaves to rustle. Her heart was
pounding so hard it seemed she could hear it. She took a deep breath to calm
herself. In her mind, she began to recite all the things Alex had told her
about self-defense:
your elbow is the
strongest point on your body; go for the four weakest points: eyes, throat,
groin, and knees; it’s not about the strength, it’s about the speed; face
strikes cause pain and take away an attacker’s breathing, hearing, or eyesight
capabilities.