Under Fire (20 page)

“How would your death create a problem for me?” He seemed amused at her audacity.

“When it became known who killed me—and be sure it would eventually be known—my uncle and knuckle-dragging cousins would stop at nothing to get revenge. As I told you before they’re old school. In the meantime, it will appear to all you have made a move on our business. It would be a logical conclusion the next step would be to take control of all small businesses in Vancouver. Once that became clear the Asians would join forces with us to stop you. Eventually the Mexicans would join in. You would have created problems in Central America, the Pacific Rim and made many enemies.” By the look on his face this was not sitting well.

“You could send me packing. No business completed. I go to a smaller competitor of yours. On my return to Vancouver I would spread the word how you treated me like one of your whores. Disrespected me. The knuckle-draggers would come after you.” She shrugged. “You kill them. It clears the way for me. They get you…” She smiled. “Either way I win.”

Olivia paused to take some deep breaths. To conceal her trembling hands she used the hem of her shirt to clean her sunglasses. “I want your decision before I put my feet on dry land.”

Silva looked like he was going to explode.

Mansions filled the shore line. The yacht slowed considerably. Soon Ernesto was bringing them alongside Silva’s dock. Olivia stayed in her chair waiting for the mooring to be completed. When all was finished she rose. Walking past Silva, she asked without looking at him, “Will your driver take me to my hotel or do I need to make other arrangements?”

He didn’t answer. She kept walking.

Two months ago she would have killed the man rather than walk away, not caring what happened to her. Today she understood how the game was played, and for some reason she did care about the consequences.

She was about to put her foot on the dock when he called out, “We should do business.”

He would have to do better than that. One foot on the dock, the other on the boat.
Play it out. Never back down.
Rico’s voice hummed in her memory.

“If you are expecting an apology forget it.”

Looking up she found Silva leaning over the deck railing. “Apologies are for fools,” she called out. Two feet on the dock.

“Our deal is the same,” he said hastily, “but better—for you. I pay all the transportation costs. I want a meeting with you and your employer to talk about future business deals.”

She stopped, without facing him. “And tonight you’ll introduce me to your associates as a valued and trusted client?”

“Yes.” The word hissed out.

“What time is supper?”

“Eight.”

“Don’t bother me before then.” She walked the path to the house with confident strides. Things very definitely had changed.

Rico’s cell buzzed. The ID said it was the kid, not Olivia. “She there?”

“No.”

He cursed. She’d been gone since yesterday noon. Thirty hours.

“Dude, there’s another problem. A big one.”

“What?”

“I’ve been waiting outside the hotel watching for Miss Olivia. Two guys came up to me. I thought they were cops. Had the look, ya know.”

“Get to it, kid.”

“They showed me a picture of Miss Olivia. She was in a uniform. Asked me if I’d seen her.”

Rico pinched his eyes closed.
Trouble.
“What did you say?”

“Told ’em I’d been staying at the hotel with my dad for a week. Hadn’t seen anyone like her around. Said if I had I would’ve remembered. Told ’em if my dad had seen her he would have said something. That he’s always on the prowl.”

“Did they go inside?”

“No.”

That was a relief.

“I asked them if she was a missing cop or something, since she was in a uniform and all. Said she was military, not missing—they needed to talk to her. I laughed. Told ’em they were in the wrong neighborhood. Too expensive for somebody in the military. Told them the cheapest room in the Obsidian was a grand a night.”

“What did they say?”

“They looked around, said something about going to the beach to look. One gave me his card. Said to call if I saw her.”

“What’s the name on the card?”

“Lieutenant Tom Crenshaw. United States Coast Guard.”

“Son of a bitch.” Her crew was looking for her.

“What do you want me to do?”

“Can you drive a bike?”

“You mean like a bicycle or scooter?”

“I mean a motorcycle. A big one.”

“Yeah. I stole a couple big ones.”

“More information than I need, kid. Do not go back inside. Go to the café at the end of the street. I’ll meet you there in forty-five minutes to an hour. As soon as you see me, walk directly to me. I get off the bike, you get on. You go to my place, no stops. No side streets.”

“How do I get in?”

“In the bike’s document box I’ll have everything you need. Codes, permission to use the bike. Just be there and watch for those guys. Stay out of their sight.”

“Okay.”

“Mouse…if Olivia shows up don’t let her go inside. Get her as far away as you can.” Rico ended the call and rubbed his forehead. He hadn’t figured they’d get here so fast. It was only a matter of time before they showed that picture to the wrong person.

Shit. Why hadn’t Olivia come back last night? Was she in trouble or had she made such an impression Silva had been taken in? No way to know.
Plan for the worst. Hope for the best.
He’d give her until tomorrow morning to show. If she hadn’t, he’d go in. Get help finding her. He’d been a fool getting her involved. No matter what her reasons were he should have said no. All he could do now was get her out of that fortress Silva called his home. On the ride to get Mouse, he went through options. He dismissed all but one. She was getting rescued whether she wanted to be or not.

Rico pulled to the curb, and the kid was standing next to him before he could climb off the bike.

“A Ducati! You’re gonna trust me with this?”

“Yes.” Rico handed him the helmet. “Get on, check it out. Be quick.”

Mouse put the helmet on, flung a leg over the bike and sat.

“You can handle this?”

“Yeah,” he answered, checking the controls.

“The code and permission is in there.” Rico tapped the document holder. “You get back to the garage and stay put. If you don’t hear from me in twenty-four hours, there’s an envelope on the table with a number. Call it. Give them my name and tell them everything you know. You’ll have to give them the address. They don’t know about my place. When they get there give them the envelope. Got all that?”

Mouse nodded. “Man, this is way cool.”

He slapped Mouse’s helmeted head. “Not cool, kid, dangerous. Be careful.”

Rico watched him blast into traffic and disappear. Two months ago he trusted no one enough to know about his safe house. Yet he’d let in Olivia and a sixteen-year-old street kid. The odd thing was he trusted the both of them. What the hell was happening to him? Shaking his head, he turned to go to Olivia’s suite and wait.

A long shower relaxed her enough to nap.
Sleep when you can.
At six she called the kitchen asking for a light snack. Whatever they wanted to send, Olivia said. She was hungry and didn’t want to wait for supper.
Eat when you can.

A soft rap at the door announced Silva carrying a tray of cheeses, fruits, assorted breads and crackers. She said nothing.

“During dinner we will conduct business, discuss plans. The women will not be here. Should you care to take me up on my offer of working for me, tonight will give you an understanding of our operations. After dinner is what will be important.”

“Not work for you, with you.” She gave him a disgusted look. “And after dinner,
nothing
.”

“Yes.” He laughed. “
With
me. After dinner I want you to meet someone important to my operations. His ideas are similar to yours. There is a meet at sea on my yacht concerning a new business venture I hope will be very successful. I want you to join us. We will be gone three maybe four days. Can you manage it?”

He was asking her to come with him, meet contacts, get details about his operations—how could things get any better? Feeling incredibly triumphant, she nodded.

Silva walked to the door, pausing with a hand on the knob. “Trust me, Olivia. You will like my Mr. Baker. The two of you have a lot in common.” He closed the door.

Her legs trembled. She sat on the bed before she fell.
Baker.

She had to get to Rico.

Olivia dressed in her own black jeans with one of the tops Silva had sent to the room. She put on the diamond earrings and bracelet, and went to supper.

His associates were not overjoyed about her joining in, but listened politely when she spoke. When the conversation turned to finances, she was astounded by the amounts and how casually they were spoken of. Attempting to draw her into the conversation, or to discover how much she knew—she couldn’t decide which—Silva asked her for suggestions to solve the organization’s money laundering problems.

Olivia looked at each of the men. They seemed amused. Judging by their expressions they thought she wouldn’t be able to answer. They were wrong.

“Money laundering these days is the most difficult part of our business. There are groups, companies that aid financial institutions in ferreting out money launders. They make huge amounts of money giving seminars to these institutions and training them how to guard against launderers. They provide them with software to monitor and identify activity patterns.” She settled back in the chair and smiled. It was a good bet that no one ever thought Homeland Security training would ever be used like this.

“How does that help us?” a man named Lorenzo asked.

“Put men in these seminars. Again, hire the geeks. Stay ahead of the technology. Discover which institutions are the most vulnerable to cyber attacks and make them our first targets.” Olivia saw nods of approval. Silva’s expression was unreadable.

“One activity you can absolutely have no connection with is terrorist groups.” All heads turned toward Silva. What was that about?

“Why is that?” he asked in a tight voice.

“Terrorism is the major thrust of law enforcement in this country. You get linked in any way to a terrorist group of any kind you’ll set up red flags with every law enforcement agency. You’ll make your whole operation vulnerable because they
will
be watching and recording your every move. Why bother when you have other, perfectly legit ways to clean your money?”

All the men at the table stared at Silva. Was it possible he was considering dealing with terrorists? Doubtful. He was an intelligent, extremely wealthy man. He wouldn’t risk it all for a few more dollars. Even a few million more.

Silva led them to his office for after dinner drinks. He took papers from his desk that each man signed several times. Although extremely curious, Olivia made no attempt to discover the content.

While he saw his guests off, Silva insisted she wait in his office. He left the documents on his desk, an obvious test. Patiently, she sat sipping her drink.

“Have you decided to come with me tonight?” he asked, when he returned.

“I have. I want to go to the hotel to get my things. Your man can drop me off. I still have the Jag. I can be back here quickly.”

“We aren’t leaving from here.”

“You said we were taking the yacht.”

“That little boat?” He pointed outside and laughed. “No. I have a larger, more suitable yacht for our needs.”

“Can I meet you were it’s moored?” Olivia worried he would not let her leave. If she couldn’t get back to the hotel she would have no chance to contact Rico.

“Meet me at the Replay. Go to the private parking in the back. You can leave your car there. It will be safe.”

“Will Mr. Baker be there? I’m looking forward to meeting him.”

“Yes.”

She rose. “I can be ready to go in twenty minutes.”

“A driver will be ready. And, Olivia, I want to make amends for my bad behavior today. Please keep the jewelry you are wearing.”

“I’ll think about it,” she said, leaving the room.

Olivia swished the card through the suite lock and entered the suite. She waited a moment then stepped back into the hallway, checking both ways, listening carefully. Silva had sent a second man in the car with her. He hadn’t followed her in, but if they had slipped past security and into her room at least once, anything was possible.

She didn’t like surprises. Seeing no one and hearing no sounds she retreated into the suite. She had to call Rico. He would be afraid for her and annoyed as hell she’d been out of contact so long.

Olivia smiled. His scent filled her nostrils. He was there, in the room. Standing motionless, she let him come to her. This was one surprise she liked.

His long lean form filled the space behind her. She wanted to turn, throw herself at him, squeal with happiness and tell him how close they were to getting the cartel. Instead she teased him, taking a step away. He moved closer and lightly ran his fingertips along her arm. When she moved away again he captured her in his arms. Laughing, she fell against him. Rico pressed his cheek to her hair and she heard him suck in a breath.

“I’ve been scared shitless for you,” he said in a low shaky voice. “When you didn’t come back, I imagined all kinds of things. If it hadn’t been for the kid…I would have stormed Silva’s place.”

Feeling the tension in his body, she pressed back hard and rubbed against him in an attempt to relieve his anxiety. Twisting her face to his, she whispered, “Is it safe to talk?” He’d cautioned her not to speak until he gave her the go ahead should the room be bugged.

“Yeah.” He hitched his chin toward the bed where a small piece of electronics lay. “I swept the room.”

“Rico. I’m fine. Everything went well. I have so much to tell you. He trusts me. He’s told me things.”

His arms tightened. She tipped her head back to rest on his shoulder, allowing him to run his lips over her neck, but she noted the tension was still there.

“Rico,” she muttered, “let me tell you.”

“Later.” He nuzzled behind her ear, fondled her breast and stopped. “I don’t remember this shirt in the things you bought.”

What on earth? He remembered her clothes at a time like this? “It wasn’t. I bought it at the boutique downstairs.” She removed his hand from her breast. “Let me tell you.”

“No.”

“Will you tell me what’s happening here?”

“I want you.” His voice was deep, harsh and urgent. He mashed his erection against her. “I need you.” The sound of his voice and the feel of his hot breath sent a swelling wave of heat and desire through her. He walked them backward to the chaise. The long fingers of one hand teased a nipple and the other sank inside the front of her pants.

Slowly, he lowered her to the soft yellow cushions. Kissing with a strength and passion he hadn’t shown before, he settled over her. The thought of him sliding inside started her muscles clenching. The flat of her hand rubbed the hard mound in his jeans.

“Stop,” he commanded.

“But I—”

“Tonight, we do this my way,” he interrupted. His voice brought her blood to a boil.

“What do you want me to do?” she asked, withdrawing her hand.

“Nothing. Be still. Trust me, Olivia.”

Hell.
He was right, everything could wait but him. She peeled off her top and he crammed down the lace cups of her bra, exposing her breasts to his lips. He licked a nipple and her body arched to meet his mouth, pleading for more. He sucked, drawing out a long sigh of pleasure. He slipped a hand between her legs. Discovering how warm and wet she was, he let out a low desperate sound. Olivia moaned a protest when he stood to get his clothes off. He ripped away his shirt. Her body quivered with the anticipation of taking him inside her. She lifted her head to watch him shed his jeans and caught sight of the red glowing numbers on the digital bedside clock.

“Shit!” She bolted upright. Like the timer on Rico’s boat, they forced her into a cold reality. She had less than an hour until she was to meet Silva. Rico put a hand on her shoulder, pressing her back.

She pushed his hand away and wriggled off the chaise. Rico grabbed her arms.

“Let go of me.” She stiff armed him. “There is more to tell you. I have to…”

“Later,” he interrupted. He tried to cup a breast.

“Rico. No. I want you to stop.” She tugged on her bra until she was covered.

Rico stared, contemplating her for long moments. “You—want me to stop?”

“Yes.”

He straightened, standing almost at attention before her. Slowly, with exaggerated movements he closed his jeans, never taking his eyes from her.

“I want you as much as you want me,” she whispered and touched his arm. He jerked away. “I
have
to meet Silva at the Replay in less than an hour. There’s a meet at sea. A huge drug deal. He’s taking me. Rico…Baker will be there.”

Rico said nothing, his expression cold.

“Don’t you understand? We can get both of them. Catch Silva at something that will close the organization down, put him behind bars.”

“No. Olivia, you aren’t going back. It’s too dangerous.” He turned his back on her and retrieved his shirt from the floor.

“Are you out of your mind?” She couldn’t imagine what had spooked him like this. Everything was coming together. There was a good chance they could shut Silva down. At the very least keep him from operating in this country for years, if not forever.

“Tell me what’s going on here.”

“Olivia.” His tone sent a jolt through her. “Your crew…They were here, at the hotel showing your picture around, asking questions. It’s too dangerous for you to go back. By now Silva may be on to you.”

“I don’t believe you.” The words were said with no conviction. “I know Silva doesn’t know who I am. I was with him an hour ago. Everything was fine.”

“How can you be sure? Things can change in an hour, Olivia.” Rico pulled his shirt on. “This yacht thing could be a set up. You have no backup, no safety net once you go aboard. I’m ending this. Going in, getting help. You’ve done a great job. It’s time to let the big guns take over.” He looked at her. “This is way more than the two of us can handle.”

“I’ll be armed. I can take care of myself. You said it yourself, I’ve done damn good.” Defiant, Olivia opened the safe and removed her weapons. “We’ve been through this before. You can’t stop me,” she said, tossing clothes from the drawers to the bed. “You do whatever you need to do.” She jammed the clothes into the small suitcase.

He turned away to stand at the window overlooking the courtyard. “You’re not going anywhere.”

She stopped. This was a tone of voice she’d never heard. “Rico, if I don’t go it will be years before anyone gets this close again. I can’t,
I won’t
, wait that long,” she said to his back as she stripped out of her tight jeans. She pulled a worn comfortable pair from the pile on the bed and slipped them on. “My mind is made up.”

“Olivia, this has gone too far.” He came closer. “You aren’t thinking clearly.”

Her thinking was crystal. It was his mind that was fogged. She sat on the bed lacing her boots. “You’ve known from the beginning I wanted Silva for what he did to Danny.”

“What about me? Us? Danny’s dead. I’m here, alive and—”

“Until Silva is stopped there is no
us.
Only this, what I’m doing for my brother. You don’t want in, fine—but stay out of my way.” She lifted her bag and headed for the door. “I’ll be back in four days. I’ll call you.”

Rico closed the space between them before she realized he’d moved. He snatched her bag, flinging it across the room. Powerful arms encircled her, lifting her. In seconds she was on the bed pinned beneath his weight.

“I am not letting you go. It’s too dangerous. I can’t,” he snarled.

Olivia head-butted him.

“Ahhh.” His grip tightened. She struggled beneath him. “Olivia,” Rico groaned. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

“Then let go, you asshole.” She wrapped her leg around his and slammed the heel of her boot into his hamstring. He jerked with pain but held on. His weight alone was enough to pin her, but his strength was exceptional. Struggling, she got both legs around his, attempting to roll him off. The best she could do was get them to their sides, and Rico easily slammed her back. She wedged a hand under his chin pushing his head back. He pinched the inside of her upper arm. Hard. It hurt like hell and she released him.

Rico levered himself above her, jamming his knee between her legs to keep her from rolling again. It was the opening she needed. She brought her knees as close to her body as possible then forced them into his chest and flipped him over her to the floor. Rico held on, dragging her to the floor with him. They landed on their backs side-by-side. He planted his elbow between her breasts as he raised himself to a sitting position. “Stay down, Olivia. I don’t want to hurt you.”

She nodded. He eased off the pressure and sat, his back to her.

Olivia brought her legs up, circling them around Rico’s upper body locking her ankles and pulling him down to her.

“Stop.” He thrashed as she curled her arms around his neck. Olivia held on until he quit struggling.