Vengeance (SSU Trilogy Book 1) (26 page)

“What?” Niko struggled to sit up. “Jenna’s hurt?”

“No, I’m not.”

Dr. Perez pointed at her hand. “Your hands are badly scraped, my dear.” He nodded toward her feet, “and you’re limping.”

She blinked and looked down to see dried blood on her palms and knuckles. As if someone had removed a veil, she suddenly felt the pain.

“Jenna, goddammit, why didn’t you say something?” Niko started to swing his legs to the floor, but Jenna rushed over and pushed on his shoulders so he couldn’t get out of bed. She kept pushing until he leaned back against the pillows.

“Stay here,” she ordered. She turned away, but he grabbed her wrist, turning her hand over so he could examine the scrapes on her palm.

He scowled. “Dammit, you are hurt. Go with Dr. Perez and let him fix you up.”

She rolled her eyes and walked into the bathroom. Then it was her turn to scowl when Rafe arrived at the door with Niko propped against him.

At her glare, Rafe gave her an apologetic smile. “Sorry. He invoked big brother status. I have to do what he wants.” He helped Niko sit on the toilet seat cover. “Besides, he’s stubborn enough to try and walk in here on his own.”

The doctor finished cleaning the dirt and gravel out of her hands and poured antiseptic on them. Jenna sucked in a pained breath. Shaking her hands at the sting, she marveled that Niko hadn’t so much as grimaced when the doctor poured the same horrible stuff over his much deeper wound.

Her feet were worse, though. They weren’t scraped so much as bruised, but she had two deep cuts where she must have stepped on a piece of glass or metal. She hoped she hadn’t bled on the carpet.

When the antiseptic hit the cuts, she bit her lip so hard she tasted blood. Then the doctor smoothed cream over the cuts, bathing them in cool relief. Ah, much better.

“When was the last time you had a tetanus shot,
señorita
?”

“Uh…two years.”

Dr. Perez nodded. “Good. Then I won’t have to give you a shot.” He smiled gently at her. “I’ll give you a similar warning, and I hope you are more obedient than our friend here. You should avoid walking until the cuts have started to heal.”

Jenna glanced over at Niko. How well she obeyed the doctor depended on what they could learn about where Kai had been taken. If Alvarez had him, then they’d have to arrange an immediate rescue.

She saw from Niko’s slight nod that he understood the direction of her thoughts. “We’ll do our best to obey you, doctor,” he promised.

“Hmm.” The doctor’s eyes twinkled as he handed Jenna her own set of pills.

“No, don’t bother to get up,” he told Niko. “Let your brother show me to the door and then help the two of you to bed.” He carefully touched the uninjured tips of Jenna’s fingers in place of a handshake, then spoke quietly to Niko. Niko nodded, clasped the man on the shoulder and said good-bye.

Jenna was afraid to meet Niko’s eyes, but the silence in the bathroom wore her down. To her surprise, his expression was a mix of exasperation and…pride? She felt her cheeks heat and looked away. He didn’t say anything, for which she was extremely thankful. But he did reach out and take her hand, raising it to his lips so he could kiss her bandaged knuckles. The simple act of tenderness sent a curl of warmth through her.

“Okay, who’s first?” Rafe asked from the doorway.

Jenna pointed at Niko, who was pointing at her. Rafe laughed. “Ladies first, then.” He swung her up into his arms, startling a small growl out of Niko.

“Relax, bro. I’m not hurting her or honing in on your territory. I promise to be a perfect gentleman.” He carried her into the bedroom and left her sitting on the edge of the bed. It took him considerably longer to help Niko into the room.

“I’m staying the night,” Rafe announced once Niko was settled on the bed. “I’ll bunk on the sofa bed and check in on Niko every hour.”

“I can—” Jenna started, but Rafe shook his head.

“No, Jenna. I don’t want you waking up to check on him. You’re also hurt. You need to sleep.”

“Damn straight,” Niko muttered.

“Besides.” Rafe’s grin was wicked. “Those pills the doc gave you should knock you out shortly. I don’t think you’ll be in any shape to check on him, even if you wanted to.”

Which, of course was the problem. She did want to be the one caring for Niko. Yet already she could feel the effects of the pills, like a soft blanket being pulled over her mind. So she nodded her agreement.

“Right. Sleep well.”

Jenna helped Niko get settled under the covers, noticing that his belt was gone and the button of his pants was undone so he’d be more comfortable. It made her realize she didn’t want to sleep in her bra. So once the lights were out, she reached underneath her top and behind her, struggling to undo the fastening with hands made clumsy by bandages.

“Here, let me.” Niko’s breath was warm on the back of her neck, sending shivers of pleasure down her spine. He nudged her hands aside and deftly undid the hooks.

Her breath caught as the rough pads of his thumbs smoothed over her skin, rubbing away the marks left by the snug elastic.

Her body stilled, poised on the verge of something she barely remembered. As if she were waiting with a mixture of anticipation and trepidation to welcome back a friend after years apart.

What if she couldn’t feel desire when actually touched by a man? What if this low hum was all that was left to her after the attack?

But then Niko nuzzled against her neck, and the heat of his mouth burned all the way to her belly.

He removed her shirt and bra and tossed them away, leaving her vulnerable to the chill of the air conditioner. She started to reach for the blanket, when he ran his hands across her bare skin from shoulder to wrist, along her waist and up her back. Everywhere he touched, he called nerve endings to tingling life, turning chill into inferno.

Her breath exited on a shuddering sigh.

Dear God, she’d forgotten what it felt like to be caressed by a man. But her body remembered and was greedy for more. She shifted restlessly on the bed, wanting his hands on her breasts.

Niko smoothed away the fringe of hair at the back of her neck and placed a kiss on her nape. His tongue licked her neck, savoring her skin as if it was the finest ice cream cone. Suckling her.

She closed her eyes as pressure built inside her.

Niko’s lips were suddenly gone. His hand slid onto the bed. His breath came slow and steady against her ear.

Damn those pills of Dr. Perez’s! Niko was asleep.

With her blood hot with arousal, she thought she’d never fall asleep. But in no time at all, the effects of the pills took over and she was out.

Chapter 20

Niko awoke before Jenna the next morning, despite the fact that Rafe had done his promised duty and woken him every hour to check his pupil response. Each time, Jenna had stirred in her sleep and then snuggled back against him when Rafe left.

It had been a very long time since he’d slept in the same bed with a woman without making love to her. He had a vague memory of touching Jenna last night. Of putting his mouth on her neck. The sweet smell of woman and the taste of peaches.

Dammit. He had no business starting down that road with Jenna.

He was using her. She was using him. Period. The end.

It didn’t matter if he liked her. If he wanted her so much, his insides were tangled up tighter than a Boy Scout’s knot.

He was here because of Aunt Madalena. Because this time, Alvarez wasn’t going to walk away free.

And with Paterson kidnapped, Jenna’s role was now over.

As he looked down at her, watching her sleep, he wondered what she was going to do with her life after her brother was rescued. She’d spent the past two years at the SSU compound learning skills only an agent would need. He still didn’t think she had the ruthlessness to be an agent. So, what would this former art conservation student do once she left the protection of the SSU?

Why do you care? You’re not going to see her again after this is over.

Problem was, he wanted to.

Stop dreaming. She’ll go on to live a normal life. Get married. Have kids. She deserves better than a man with questionable honor who lives in the shadows.

Of course, he might not survive the coming fight with Alvarez. Which was another reason not to get any closer to Jenna.

So he eased himself into a seated position. The cut on his arm was a hot pulse of pain, and he tried not to put any weight on it.

Jenna must have felt him move, because she stirred, stretched, then blinked sleepily up at him.

On its own accord, his good hand reached out and smoothed over her short, spiky hair. His finger traced a line from her forehead down her cheek to her chin. “Good morning.” Dammit, his voice gave him away, so husky he might as well hang a sign around his neck that said, Horny Male.

Jenna turned her face into his hand and ran her tongue along the pad at the base of his thumb.

He sucked in his breath and jumped out of bed before his body took complete control and he found himself inside her.

Easy, boy.

Jenna frowned at him in confusion chased by embarrassment. Then her expression settled into her usual stony mask.

Shit. He’d hurt her.

“Jenna—” He shook his head. Cleared his throat. Shuffled his feet. Then sighed. “Never mind.” Whatever he said would only make the situation worse. So he turned his back on her and headed for the bathroom.

But somehow he found words coming out of his mouth, anyway. “We’ve no time for games,
querida
. Alvarez is skilled at torture. If your brother is still alive, I have to find him fast, or there won’t be anything left to find.”

He caught her stricken expression in the mirror over the chest of drawers and wanted to kick himself.

Way to go. Try a little tact next time, why don’t you?

Too bad it was the truth.

Jenna scrambled out of bed, tucking the sheet around her. “What do you mean, if ‘you’ don’t find Kai fast. You mean ‘we’ don’t you?”

Oh yeah, he was just batting a thousand in tact this morning. “No. I’m going to look for your brother. I’m sending you to Ryker.”

“No!”

He pinned her with a look. “Your role was to act as bait for your brother. That won’t work with him either kidnapped or dead. I don’t need you anymore. None of the other players will care about you once word gets out that Alvarez has your brother. You’re useless now.”

Jenna’s head snapped back as if he’d landed a fast punch to her jaw. Her lips parted in shock.

“I’ll arrange for someone to escort you home this evening.”

“But—”

“No buts. One—I don’t need your help. Two—” he waved his injured arm. “This is exactly the type of violence I didn’t want you exposed to. Three—You disobeyed orders and not only left the room last night, but ran after your brother. Proving you still don’t have the right attitude to survive in this world.”

“I texted you!”

“A lot of fucking good that would have done you if I’d been thirty seconds farther away.”

“But if I’d waited, we would’ve lost Kai!”

“So? I almost lost you!”

Shit.

There it was. The elephant in the closet. A cold vise squeezed his heart every time he imagined Alvarez doing to Jenna what he’d done to Aunt Madalena. No matter what Jenna wanted, Niko wouldn’t be able to function unless she was someplace safe. And Ryker would protect her.

Jenna blinked in surprise. Then frowned.

Niko didn’t give her a chance to speak. “Just forget it. You’re not leaving the suite again until it’s time to take you to the airport.”

“He’s my brother! I have to be the one to find him. Me. No one else!”

“No!”

A feral, vicious anger briefly lit Jenna’s eyes. Turning her into a deadly stranger.

Niko blinked, and the Jenna he knew was back. Furious, but not a killer.

Still, something was off here. She wasn’t being honest about her reason for going after Paterson. He remembered how he’d wondered before if Jenna was a danger to her brother. Was her ferocity simply a sign of strong family loyalty? Or did she plan to punish him for his role in the attack? Whatever her motivation, Niko’s gut told him it was safer for everyone if she went back to the States.

She flicked a glance at the bedroom door and he knew she was going to fight him. Try to run. Dammit, this was so not the way he’d wanted this morning to go.

“Rafe!”

His brother opened the door just as Jenna made a dash for it. She stopped short, pulling the sheet more tightly around her.

Rafe’s eyes bounced from Jenna’s bare shoulders to Niko’s naked chest. His eyebrows rose, but thankfully he kept his smart mouth shut.

“Don’t let Jenna out of the suite and don’t trust her to behave.” Niko glanced at Jenna, reading the depth of her fury in her rigid back. Tough shit. “She once pulled a pistol on me, so keep her away from the weapons.”

“Uh…mind telling me what’s going on?”

“She’s pissed because I’m sending her back to Ryker as soon as I find a secure flight for her.”

Rafe’s lips rolled in, hiding his amusement. “Right.”

“Thanks. I’ll be in the shower.” As he headed toward the bathroom, he pretended he hadn’t noticed Jenna’s eyes shooting amber fire at him over her shoulder as she hissed, “Bastard.”

It didn’t improve his mood that her impulsive reaction last night
had
helped their mission. He now knew that Paterson was in Acapulco and with Alvarez’s men. Finding out whether the man was dead or alive was something only Niko could do.

Knowing how Alvarez liked to draw out torture, Niko was betting on Paterson being alive. Although by now the man was probably praying for death.

If Paterson weren’t a murderous bastard, Niko’d almost feel sorry for the guy.

#

Tuesday, Morning

Ixtapa, Mexico

Jaime Alvarez buttered his croissant while he waited for his men to bring Paterson up from the dungeons. He smiled at the archaic word. This building had originally been a military fort, complete with dungeons. They were the main reason he’d bought the place. Not only was it close to Acapulco, where a majority of his businesses were located, but the facilities were perfect for carrying out his interrogations and retributions. And it suited him to play lord of the manor.