Wild Ways (21 page)

Mollie sat on the bed, one leg bent, her foot tucked against the other. She was checking her mail on her phone. “Your phone dinged, a text alert.”

“Who was it?”

She gave him an indignant look. “I didn’t check.” A second passed, and her mouth twisted in a sheepish smile. “Risk.”

He held back his chuckle. He loved her smart-assed remark back when he’d called
her on checking his texts the first time they’d shared a room. He should have known she’d be trouble then. “What did he say?”

“I didn’t read the text. I just wanted to see who it was. I was hoping it was Chase with news about Brick.”

Julian had updated Chase on what they’d learned when they’d checked into the hotel. They had also sent their dirty laundry to be cleaned. Julian dug through his duffel bag and pulled out the last of his clean clothes. He yanked the towel away, balled it up, and tossed it right into the sink. In his peripheral vision, he could see her watching as he dressed.
I woke her
, his ego crowed.
Me, only me
. Ah, if only his ego was the sole part of him involved here. But he’d been feeling deep shifts inside his soul, like the plates of inner earth moving beneath the surface. She’d woken some part of him, too.

She had spirit, his Mollie. Even though she wasn’t technically
his
, she was his responsibility for the time being, so he was claiming her as his own. He’d seen a deep wanting in her eyes when he’d told her they had to perpetuate the illusion that she was his as they’d prepared to go into the Tulsa bar. He’d seen it a few times since then.

She moved her fingers over the tiny keypad on the screen, then set her phone down. “Aren’t you going to find out what Risk said?”

He dropped down onto the queen bed, making her phone pop up in the air. He caught it, handed it to her, and then grabbed up his own. Risk’s message:
Hey, buddy. Ping me when you can
.

Julian did, and a few seconds later the video chat app rang. Risk’s mug filled the screen. “Hey, Salsa. How’s it hanging?” Risk was sitting in a car outside an apartment building.

Mollie mouthed the word “Salsa?” Julian shook his head and shifted the phone toward her. “Mollie, meet Risk. Risk, Mollie.”

Risk, the son of a bitch, started full-out laughing. “Oh, buddy.” He didn’t even have to say the rest of it, which was probably something like you are so going to fall for that beautiful woman you’re helping. Julian knew Risk had had his hands full on his first assignment, too. And now he was a hooked man. A happy, hooked man.

“Skip the commentary and fill me in,” Julian grumbled.

“Hmm, Mr. Grumpy hasn’t had his morning walk yet, eh?”

That was code for getting laid. “Raining,” Julian said, prompting Mollie to frown as she glanced at the sun streaming in through the window. “Whatcha got?”

The image on the phone skipped to a row of modest homes across the street. Then to a hot babe in tight shorts bending over the open hood of her car and pointing out something in the engine to the man standing next to her. Even from that distance, her cleavage was clear to see.

Julian rolled his eyes. “Really? You’re on surveillance and that’s what you’re paying attention to?”

Risk chuckled. “That tasty specimen is one of the J-men. And yeah, she’s okay with being considered a
J-man
. Probably because there is no doubt she’s a woman. Not that I’m interested. I thought you might be, but …”

Not willing to let him elaborate on why Julian might not be interested now that Risk had seen Mollie, he asked, “Is the guy Brick?”

Mollie pressed up against Julian for a better view of the screen. “It looks like him,” she said “but it’s hard to tell.” Then he stepped into the light, and she amended, “Yes, it’s definitely him.”

“Vivi, our J-not-even-close-to-a-man, is playing at the helpless woman with a broken-down car. Dude came out to help her, but he’s jumpy, keeps looking around. Vivi unhooked some cable, so we’ll see how long it takes the twinkie to figure out what the problem is. Then she’s going to ask him if he’d like to come with her to her boss’s jet, which is at the local private airport. You know, in case the car stalls again.” He pitched his voice higher. “So I’ll have a strong, able man to help me.” In his normal voice, he said, “They’ll have the plane all to themselves, wink-wink, nudge-nudge. I think the guy’ll go for it.”

Mollie was now pressed so close that her cheek brushed against his. “What a
bicho
.”

Risk blinked at hearing that word. “Are you Puerto Rican, Mollie?”

“No, I’ve just been corrupted by one.” She seemed to try hard not to look his way.

Julian hoped, for the sake of the investigation, that Brick went with this Vivi. He hoped, for Mollie’s sake, that he didn’t and proved that, in some way, he loved Diana. That all men weren’t unreliable jerks.

Brick leaned down and fiddled with something in the engine. Vivi walked around to the driver’s side and started the engine. She hugged him, and he winced and set her back, then lifted his shirt to show her the meat on his chest. They talked for another couple of minutes, and by damn, he appeared to be demurring her invitation for hot thank-you sex. He appeared all apologetic but was shaking his head.

Go, Brick
.

Risk’s face filled the screen. “He’s passing. I can’t believe it.”

“Wouldn’t you?” Julian asked.

“Well, of course.
Now
I would.”

“Maybe the dude flies the other flag. Why don’t you go proposition him?” Julian suggested.

Risk gave him the finger. “We’ll have to go to Plan B. Which is not that. Stay tuned.” The screen went black.

“He’s probably too sore to have sex with her,” Mollie said.

“I never thought I’d suggest this, but maybe he does love your sister. Sure, in his warped, self-centered, save-his-ass-but-not-hers way.” Julian shrugged. “We can be optimistic.”

“What was this Salsa business?” she asked. “I thought you were Houdini.”

“I am. But the boys tagged me as Salsa Boy early in my SEAL career when they heard me listening to salsa. My grandfather was in a band in Puerto Rico, so I like to listen to his music. Reminds me of being on the island when I was a kid, before we all moved to Orlando.”

“I suppose you have a bunch more cousins and whatnot in Puerto Rico, too.”

He glanced over at the wan tone in her voice, brushing a lock of her hair from her face. “I’d give you some if I could.”

She smiled, soft and sweet, and it made his gut tighten. “Thanks. I used to fantasize about marrying into a big Italian family.”

Damn, but he wanted to give her that. He could imagine bringing her to one of their big Sunday dinners and introducing her to everyone. They’d love her, welcome her right in, so happy their JuJu had finally settled down. The image tightened his chest and sucked his breath away for a moment.

Her smile faded. “Silly, huh?” She slid off the bed. “I’m starving.”

Not silly, he wanted to say. How do you feel about Puerto Ricans? No tomato sauce, but lots of pork and rice. He cleared his throat and the words that wanted to escape. “Let’s get breakfast. They have one of those custom omelet stations.”

As they exited the room a few minutes later, the couple next door was returning. They both gave him and Mollie we-heard-you-banging-against-the-wall smiles as they turned toward their door.

Mollie was blushing, of course, while trying to pretend she hadn’t seen the inference. She’d made some exquisite noises, the thought of which was giving him another dose of morning wood.

“I didn’t think about thin walls,” she said once they were closed in the elevator.

“Which is good. You should be in the moment, in your body, thinking about nothing but my mouth on you or my cock”—the elevator door opened on that particular word—“inside you,” he finished, flashing a smile at the elderly couple who joined them.

Mollie tilted her head back and stared at the ceiling. Her cheeks were flushed a beautiful red. She did not look ahead until they reached the lobby level and the couple departed. Then she shot out of the car.

He caught up, whispering, “Look, if it had been some kids, yeah, it would have been embarrassing. But you don’t think they know about sex? Come on, they were probably banging the wall harder than we were. And more power to them.”

She came to a stop. “Julian, please! Stop talking about … that.”

“Can I whisper something? Then I’ll stop.” He stepped closer, lowering his mouth to her ear. “Do not be embarrassed about anything that we or you did last night. Not only
was it amazing, but you were amazing. Hell, we were amazing together. It felt completely natural and … right. So whatever’s going on in that pretty head, your self-doubts, your fear, don’t bring last night into the tangle.” He pinned her gaze with his, waiting for a response.

“You thought it was amazing?”

He had to contain his grin. Good. Let her focus on that. “Fan-fucking-tastic.” He slid his arm around her waist and leaned against her hip to give her a 3-D illustration. “Just thinking about it.”

She closed her eyes and drew in a long, soft breath. Then she gave her head a shake and started to walk off. “What have you done to me?”

He watched her ass sway as she headed to the breakfast area. “I woke you up,
querida
,” he said under his breath. “And you aren’t going back to sleep anytime soon.”

Mollie figured the strain of the last couple months—hell, her whole life—had finally eaten away at the last cells of sanity in her brain. How could one man infuriate, embarrass, and turn her on? All at the same time! Especially during the most stressful time of her life.

She tucked into her omelet while Julian dug into his heaping mass of eggs, ham, bacon, and every single thing they offered minus the onions. In case he kissed her?

Well, you’re not going to kiss him. Get that thought right out of your head
.

Julian’s text dinged, and he checked it. “Rath’ll be here soon. Don’t bring up what I told you about our last mission. It’s making him a little crazy.” He circled his finger next to his ear. “He’s determined to find out what happened. Like that’s going to change anything. He wants revenge.” Julian’s gaze faded to somewhere behind her. “But it might cost him his life.”

“He has an angry energy about him,” she said.

“That’s just Rath. It’s his fuckers-are-out-to-get-us attitude. But this pushed him over the edge.”

She tapped the end of her fork on the tablecloth. “What about you? Are you angry?”

His mouth tightened imperceptibly. “We tell ourselves that we’re lucky to be alive. The CIO assigned to this particular mission didn’t make it.” He let a moment of something, perhaps respect, pass. “We have our limbs intact. It could have been worse. But I can’t help thinking about the plans I’d made: doing a tour as a BUD/S instructor or taking an assignment on the Leapfrog parachute jump team. I let myself get pissed about having my life jerked out from under my feet for about ten minutes. Then I move on because being pissed off doesn’t do me any good.”

“The CIO, did you know him well?”

“We’d never worked with him before. He was brought in because he knew the players of this cartel and had been to the compound before. That connection was what identified us as SEALs.”

He sent a reply and returned to his omelet. The guy liked eating, probably about as much as he liked sex. A few minutes later, a different sound came from his phone.

“Video chat,” Julian said, snatching it up and using his lips to point to the door. “Let’s go outside.” He engaged the call. “Hey, bro.”

A man’s scream caught the attention of everyone around them. Brick’s scream. “All right. Just stop,” he pleaded in breathless pants.

“Horror movie,” Julian murmured to someone, anyone, as they walked toward the stairs. “Dude, what are you doing, peeling his burned skin off?” Julian asked as they quickly ascended.

“I’m treating that skin, actually. It’s getting infected. Remember, I had some medic training awhile back. I gave him a shot, and he about cried. Brick here says he’s ready to talk. Right, buddy?”

“Yes,” Brick said on a gasping breath.

That’s how Risk was torturing him? By making him better? Julian swiped the key card and seconds later they were closed up in the room. She sat next to him on the bed, and he propped the phone on his thighs so they could both see. Brick did not look well. His face was pasty, and he was trembling.

Risk held the phone in front of Brick. “You remember Mollie and my friend, Salsa, don’t you? They just want to find your ex–ol’ lady.”

“Not ex.” Brick’s head rolled back. “I love her,” he slurred. “But I told you, I don’t know where she is.”

“We think we found her,” Mollie said. “She’s working at a dance club in Chicago.”

Brick let out an even more agonized sound “No. Not Chicago.”

“Why does that concern you so much?” Julian asked. “Is it because of the Ball?”

Brick’s eyes bugged out. “You know about the Ball?”

“Yeah, but you’re gonna tell us more. They’re choosing the girls tonight, the best performers.”

Brick shook his head in a wide, lazy way. “No, they pick the worn-out ones. The ones that cause trouble. And the runaways they’ve been collecting over the last few months.”

Confirmation that Brick was telling the truth.

Mollie’s stomach turned completely over. She gripped Julian’s hand, and he nodded as he looked at the phone again. “So what’s this Ball about?”

“It’s a free-for-all, an orgy. The invitees pay big bucks to go. They can do whatever they want to the women, because they don’t … don’t …” He started to cry. “Di, no, not Di.”

The girls who disappeared. Di. Fear squeezed Mollie’s heart as she pictured Di, and then Lilliana, who was so afraid of being chosen, and … Mollie wanted to cry, too. Katie was a runaway.

“Focus, Brick,” Julian ordered. “Have you ever been to one of these balls?”

“Hell, no. Even if I was invited, I wouldn’t have gone. That’s some crazy shit. I heard it started out as a gang bang a few years back. They had to kill the girls so they wouldn’t tell the cops. The guys had such a good time, they did it again, but more of the patches wanted in. And the lead patch, he realized members would pay for the privilege. They could make it a big moneymaker for the club. There were patches who wanted nothing to do with it, me included. But he doesn’t listen to anyone.”