Piper
I hadn’t realized what seeing Julio Varga in person would do to me. Cade was talking, maybe even trying to get my attention, but it was as if he was a long distance away, his voice muffled and echoing in my ears.
“Piper. Are you okay? Piper!”
I jerked back to the present, realizing I’d been standing there long enough for Varga to get back to the inn. If we hurried, we might be able to catch up and see which room he was in.
“I’m sorry. I’m fine. Let’s go.”
“No, not now. They’re too far away. We’ll catch them later.”
“But now might be the only time we can.”
Cade shook his head. “No. You need some time to gather yourself. If you come face-to-face with him right now, there’s no telling what you’ll do. Let’s go back and relax. Tonight, at dinner, I’ll speak to some people and see if we can get a lead on which room he’s in.”
I knew he was right. I’d thought I could handle seeing him, being in his presence, but apparently it was going to be more difficult than I’d thought.
“I’m sorry.” I was repeating myself, but I couldn’t help it. I was sorry for freezing up—zoning out when he needed me to keep my head on my shoulders.
“It’s a shock, seeing someone like him in real life. It’s almost as if you’ve built them up in your mind to be these larger-than-life monsters, and when you see them… well, they’re just human.”
It warmed my heart that Cade understood. And why shouldn’t he? He’d lost friends, team members because of the man’s actions. Varga had set fire to that warehouse, killing those men and almost killing Cade and Levi, too. They’d been lucky.
Life was short, and every day that I worked with the underbelly of society, it hit me how quickly it could be taken from you in an instant. Some days, it felt as if I wasn’t really living, as if I was just going through the motions. It had been that way before Jake had come into my life, and then when I’d lost him, I’d gone back to those old habits, keeping people at arm’s length, building walls so high no one could scale them and so thick no one could tear them down.
And then Cade had come crashing in once again. The man who’d made me feel all those years ago. After bouncing from group home to foster home and finally landing safely at Will’s door, Cade had been the one to make me open up to life. Until then, I’d not been living—I’d been surviving.
Dammit, I wanted to live again. I wanted to feel breath coursing through me, driving me to take chances and let people in. But what happened when Cade walked away? Or worse—what happened when he was killed?
I shook off the morbid thoughts, and followed Cade back to the lounge chairs. He sat down heavily in his, and instead of allowing me to sit in my own, he tugged on my hand, pulling me down onto his lap. His strong arms wrapped around me, and I stiffened momentarily before finally relaxing against his chest.
“It’s okay.” Cade’s warm hands caressed my back, up and down in a soothing motion, and for a moment, I pretended he was right. I let myself believe everything would be fine. That the bad guys wouldn’t win this time. That there was no danger out there waiting for us. That Cade and I would live happily ever after. For a moment, I allowed make-believe to be my reality.
Later that evening, Cade and I had dinner at the hotel, hoping we’d catch a glimpse of Varga but also continuing the charade that we were here as newlyweds. Cade wore a straw fedora to disguise himself, in case he happened too close to Varga who would no doubt recognize him, with a black T-shirt and linen drawstring pants. The long hair and beard were different from when he’d worked with Varga, adding another layer of protection.
I’d decided on a yellow sundress with colorful flowers that complemented my skin tone. The halter top had a built-in bra, and yet I still felt slightly naughty being bare beneath it. If it were real, if Cade and I were really here as newlyweds, I would tease him about the lack of undergarments, making him crazy with desire. He’d tell the waiter to box our food up to go, and we would barely get to our room before tearing each other’s clothes off.
“Is everything okay?”
Cade’s question jolted me from my fantasies. Fantasies that would never be reality.
“Yes. Everything is perfect. Why?”
“Your face is all flushed.”
“Oh.”
I guess my fantasies had gotten the best of me. I patted my face with my hand and took a sip of the sangria the restaurant served. It was a recipe handed down through the owner’s wife’s family for generations, and after a couple of glasses I started to feel nice and warm on the inside. It also paired nicely with the carne asada and rice and beans that I’d chosen for dinner. The whole experience felt so personal and real. Not at all like we were playing a part, but more like it was a glimpse of the future we could have if only…
After dinner, we walked down the dirt path to another venue where a band played salsa music and the dance floor was crowded with people, some extremely talented and others who were just out there having a good time.
“Want to dance?” Cade held his hand out for me, and I stared at it in disbelief.
“I can’t dance like that.” I shook my head refusing to take his hand.
“Come on. I’ll teach you.”
“You know how to salsa?”
“I learned while Levi and I were on a case in Miami. We were down there a few months and took a few lessons. I’m no master, but I can teach you the basics.”
The man was always surprising me. He reached again for my hand, and I placed mine in his as I let him lead me onto the dance floor.
“Everything is on an eight count. Let’s start with the side step.” Cade placed his palm on my lower back, taking my right hand in his. He stepped to the side, leaning slightly into the step, then back together. I mimicked the moves.
“Now relax your hips into the movement.” Dropping his hands from their previous positions, he placed both on my hips as he guided me through the steps. “That’s it.”
“Now let’s go back.” Still with him holding my hips, he guided me into the front and back motions of the dance. “You’re a natural.”
I blushed, probably from my toes to my face. I was no dancer, but the sensuous moves made me feel sexy. The dress I wore was shorter in the front than in the back, so with each sway of my hips, it moved seductively, showing a little leg here and there. After several minutes of practice, Cade added a few turns and pauses. At one point, he dipped me low, his mouth right next to mine and a wicked grin on his lips.
“You’re the most beautiful woman in the world, Piper Collins.” Then he brushed his lips against mine, the kiss a request, a plea, a promise.
“Cade, I—”
His finger pressed gently over my lips, silencing me. “I’m not asking for any more than you can give right now. Just trust me.”
That I could do. I trusted Cade with my life. Not only because he was my team member and highly equipped for his job, but because Cade had never let me down. Even when I’d thought he had, I’d been wrong. He had come back for me, just as he’d promised he would.
Instead of answering him, I reached up on my toes and kissed him, hoping he’d read between the lines and gather the information I was too scared to say. That I trusted him. That I cared about him. That I—
Well, I was certainly not going there.
But as his lips moved over mine and we swayed to the music, I knew what my heart was trying to tell me. I may not be ready to hear it or even acknowledge it, but the truth was hidden there amongst the rubble of my broken heart.
Cade smiled down at me, but then something caught his attention over my shoulder, and his eyes grew hard and calculating. I started to turn around, but he shook his head, pulling mine closer to his, so he could whisper in my ear and still be heard over the cacophony of music and laughter.
“Don’t look now, but Varga just entered with his lady friend. They’re heading this way. Follow my lead.”
I nodded, unable to trust my voice to speak. Varga was there and coming our way.
Cade continued to lead me in the steps, but my mind was on the approaching murderer, and I kept stepping on his toes.
“Relax. Nothing is going to happen to you.”
As comforting as those words were, that wasn’t really the issue. Varga was right there. So close. All we had to do was grab him and take him back to the States, and I’d have answers about Jake’s death, and Varga would pay for what he’d done to him and to Cade’s teammates.
“I said to relax. You look like you’re going to tear someone’s face off at any moment.” Cade smiled, softening his words. I inhaled deeply, blowing it out slowly and regaining my focus.
“Sorry.”
“No apology needed.” He turned us then so I could get a better look at Varga and the woman he was with. She looked young, maybe early twenties. Her long, dark hair almost reached her butt, and she was curvy with large breasts and round hips. She was pretty and an amazing dancer.
They drew closer, and Cade backed us into the shadows of the bar, so we could watch. There was a table just off the dance floor, and we sat down, waiting for the moment Varga and his date would leave, and we could follow.
Varga whirled the woman around, drawing closer to our table. As they approached, Cade leaned in, cupping my head with both hands while crushing his lips against mine. For a moment, I was stunned, but as Cade’s mouth worshiped mine, his tongue delved in, stroking and tasting and teasing, I forgot about Varga and his girl, the rest of the club, the mission, the world. It was just us.
Caught up in the moment, I angled closer, frustrated at the space that separated us. A growl started low in Cade’s throat, and I felt the vibration from it, tingles of pleasure spreading out in all directions. He sounded as if he was losing control.
With what must have taken great discipline, Cade pulled away, his forehead pressed against mine. His breaths came fast and shallow, and I matched his pace, both of us trying to settle ourselves and gain a semblance of control.
“Do you see him?”
“What?” What was he talking about?
Cade chuckled, pushing a lock of hair away from my face and tucking it behind my ear.
“Do you see Varga?”
“Oh, right.” You know, just the whole reason we’re even in this place. I inwardly rolled my eyes and looked around the room.
“Looks like they’re heading out the door.”
“Let’s go.” Cade took my hand after throwing a few bills on the table to cover our tab, and we hurried out of the bar.
We followed at a safe distance until we reached the inn. A couple of times, Varga and his woman would hide in the shadows, kissing and groping. It was clear what their plans for the rest of the night entailed.
We’d been right in our assumption that Varga had rented one of the single-story palapas. It was on the opposite side of the grounds to ours, but fortunately the inn wasn’t very large. Cade and I watched as Varga opened the door, pressing the woman up against the doorjamb before closing it behind them. A light clicked on in the window, and Varga stepped in front to pull the drapes closed.
“We’ve got him.” Cade was speaking into his phone, and I assumed was talking to Levi or Ryder.
“Yeah. There’s a woman with him tonight. Might be best to plant the devices while they’re out tomorrow and then wait and see if we can get him alone tomorrow night… Good idea… We will… See you then.”
Cade ended the call and reached for my elbow, pulling me along with him back to our room. The door closed behind him, and he dropped his key and wallet on the table just inside the hallway. I waited patiently, knowing that he’d tell me what the plan was when he was ready.
“Ryder’s going to plant a couple of devices outside the windows tonight to see if we can pick anything up. Then tomorrow he, Oscar, and Cruz will come by and plant the listening devices inside the room. Levi will stop by here until it’s done to ensure we have everything ready to go. Once things are in place, we’ll try to wait for Varga to be alone and take him from his room at night. If that doesn’t happen, then we’ll have to deal with the woman.”
“Deal with her? You don’t mean—”
“Of course not. Geez, Piper. We’ll tie her up and leave her for the maid to find her. We’d just rather not have another person to deal with.”
“So you think we’ll be able to grab him tomorrow night?”
“Much of that depends on what we hear after planting the devices. There is some benefit to waiting and gaining more information before moving him. But at the same time, we don’t want to wait too long and miss our chance. So, most likely tomorrow evening.”
I pulled my leg up, unbuckling the red, high-heeled sandals I’d chosen for dinner. They were adorable with the dress but not the most comfortable. I fumbled with the buckle, hopping around on one foot, when a warm hand caught my ankle.
“Here, let me.”
Cade slid his palm up my calf before sliding it back down to rest against my ankle, slipping the leather from the catch and releasing the shoe from my foot.
Electricity hummed between us as goosebumps spread across my skin. He touched the back of my knee on the other leg, and I lifted it, allowing him to slip the shoe from my foot. When it hit the ground, Cade’s large hands traced the backs of my legs, behind my knee, up to my hips. I removed the fedora from his head, tossing it aside so I could better see his face. His eyes were so earnest as he knelt there, filled with longing and desire. The butterflies in my stomach took flight, causing warmth to spread through my body.
Slowly, he stood, hooking an arm around my waist and drawing me flush against him.
“Twelve years.” His voice was husky, as if he’d just woken up.
“Twelve years,” I echoed back, acknowledging the distance that had plagued us both.
Twelve long years of separation—and being in his arms after so many years apart felt like coming home.
Did I dare tell him that I thought of him every single night of those twelve long years? Did I confess that even while I’d been with Jake, I’d wondered where he was, if he was okay, and why he’d never come back for me?
Guilt gnawed at my insides. I’d thought about Cade while being engaged to Jake, and when he’d died, I’d somehow convinced myself it was my fault—that I hadn’t been faithful to Jake. That I was somehow being punished for not loving him with my whole heart. It wasn’t true, of course. I’d been completely and totally his… except for that small piece of my heart that would always be Cade’s.
Jake had known it. He’d known there was something I was holding back from him, a piece of myself I couldn’t let go of. He’d asked me about it—why I’d grow sad or distant at certain times.
“It’s just habit,” I’d told him. “From all those years alone. I forget I have you here to share things with.”
He’d just smiled and held me close. “It’s okay, Piper, if there’s a piece of you that you’re unable to let go of. I’ll take what I can get.”
Jake had been accommodating like that. Patient and understanding. But I had a feeling Cade wouldn’t be that way. He would want all of me, and I wasn’t ready for that.
I took a step back, and Cade’s face fell.
“I’m not going anywhere, Piper.” He stood, crowding me with his big body, and for a moment, I reconsidered. Maybe I could be with Cade and let all of this other stuff go. Maybe I could trust him to not get himself killed. Maybe he’d stay with me forever.
Tenderly, he laid his hand on the side of my face and bent low to press his lips to mine. There was nothing assuming or hurried about his kiss. It was, once again, a promise, a vow. “I’ll be here when you’re ready. And I promise you, I’ll never leave you.”
“You can’t promise that.” My anger boiled to the surface, needing a target, and Cade had just given me one. “You can’t promise that you’ll never leave me, Cade. People die. Good people. They die from gunshot wounds and cancer and car accidents. You can’t say you’ll never leave me. Everyone leaves me!”
My voice had risen so loud that I was scared someone outside would hear. I dropped my face into my hands, tears threatening to spill over. Cade moved my hands away from my face, drawing me into his embrace.
“I won’t leave you. I promise. I will spend every day of the rest of my life proving to you that I will always be here for you.”
I lifted my eyes to see his glistening with unshed emotion and certainty.
“You can have as much time as you need, but you and me—” He tipped my chin up with his fingers, tilting my head back even more. “We’re meant to be. You can fight it, but it won’t do you any good. You might as well give in and enjoy the ride.”
He dipped his head low, capturing my lips with a hunger and passion I’d never felt from anyone. Not even from Jake. I pushed his name far from my mind and gave myself over to Cade and his kisses. I tugged at his shirt, and he helped pull it all the way off. I stood back, taking in the chiseled muscles, the slim waist, the definition that spoke of hours in the gym.
My mouth followed the path my fingers forged as they danced over the tight ridges of his abdomen. A groan escaped him as he dragged me away from my exploration and up against his hard chest.
“Don’t start something you’re not ready to finish.”
I dared to give him a saucy grin, and, with a hand to my chest, batted my lashes at him. “Who—me?”
Cade growled, scooping me up in his arms and up the steps to the second floor where that king-sized bed had taunted me when we’d arrived earlier. He placed me on the bed, standing back to look down at me, awe etched on his gorgeous face.
“What?” My voice was barely above a whisper, the emotion so close to the surface. This was Cade. My Cade. The man I’d loved for more than twelve years. And he was looking at me as if I was the most precious thing he’d ever laid eyes on.
“You. You’re magnificent. Beautiful. And you’re all mine.”
He lowered himself to the bed, covering me with his big body, pressing me against the mattress. The weight of him felt so good. Right. Perfect.
My hand reached up of its own accord, pushing back the hair that had fallen from where he’d pulled it back under the fedora for our evening out. Words that had no place inside me bubbled up, demanding to be set free, but I squelched those little buggers and made the decision that if I couldn’t tell Cade how I felt, or even admit that to myself, then maybe I could show him.
I moved to my knees, my arms resting on his biceps that bulged and flexed as his hands traced a path along my sides and around to my backside.
“So beautiful.” The words were murmured as he lavished kisses across my jaw, down my neck and along my collarbone.
“Mine.”
The word was forceful, commanding my response. I nodded.
“Say it, Piper. I need you to say it.”
I couldn’t. The word wouldn’t come out. I wanted it to. My heart was screaming, “Yes! Of course I’m yours, Cade! I’m all yours!” I opened my mouth, willing it to speak, but nothing came out.
Cade’s face fell as he slid back to the end of the bed.
“Cade, I’m sorry. I mean, I want to—I need—”
He smiled, but not the cocky grin or the wicked delight that I usually saw there. This smile was sad, yet resolved. “It’s okay. I told you I could be patient. I’ll wait.”
“I don’t need you to be patient. I’m fine. I just—”
“When I have you—and make no mistake about it, I will have you, Piper—I want all of you. Heart, mind, body, and soul.”
Cade leaned down, placing a kiss on my forehead then rounding the bed to the bathroom. He paused before going in, turning back to me. “Get some rest.”
***
The ringing of a phone woke me from sleep, and I reached blindly in the dark on the bedside table for my phone. When Cade answered his, I realized it hadn’t been mine after all.
“Yeah?”
He was quiet as he listened to the caller on the other end, then stood, walking to his bag on the floor, dressed only in the tight boxer briefs I was beginning to fall in love with. Cade pulled on jeans and motioned for me to get up and get ready.
“Got it. We’ll be there in ten.”
“What’s going on?” Cade continued to get dressed, but glanced over his shoulder at me as I found black cargo pants and a black tank top to put on. I had a feeling whatever we were doing this early in the morning meant needing to be discreet.
“Varga’s lady friend left a few minutes ago. Ryder was able to overhear a call from Varga saying he was leaving. Looks like he’s spooked about something.”
“So, we’re going in tonight?”
“Looks like it. Ready?”
I nodded, pulling my hair up into a bun on top of my head. Cade handed me the gun we’d brought in our bags. Levi and the guys would have more for us once we met up with them.
I took Cade’s offered hand as we ran out the door and towards Varga’s palapa. One of the guys whistled, and we detoured to the left behind a palm tree.
The guys all nodded their hellos as Levi handed us more artillery and Kevlar. “It’s just him. Oscar and Cruz have done a sweep of the perimeter, and it doesn’t appear that he has any help on the grounds. I’m assuming whoever he called will be here shortly to get him.”
Levi drew a circle on the ground in the dirt with his finger. “Here’s the palapa. There’s only one way in plus the windows.” He pointed to the four rectangles he’d drawn in the middle of the circle. “Cade and I will go in first, Cruz and Oscar right behind us. Ryder and Piper will remain on the ground here.” He pointed to the windows. “I don’t expect him to have time to get out, but just in case, we’ll have you guys there. If you see anything or hear anything suspicious, you’ll have to yell since we don’t have time to get our comms synced. Questions?”
Everyone shook their heads, glancing around to see if anyone was going to speak. When no one said anything, Levi gave a quick jerk of his head. “All right, then. Let’s roll!”
Ryder and I moved below the windows, ready to pounce on anyone who might try to shimmy out of them, while Cade and the rest of the team crept towards the door. I glanced over my shoulder and watched Levi give the count.
On three, Cade kicked in the door, and the guys swarmed the small palapa. A shout rose up, followed by grunts and something crashing to the floor. It was over in seconds, and Cade and Levi came out holding a half-naked Varga by the elbows. Apparently he hadn’t finished dressing for his escape as his shirt hung open and he was only in boxers.
Varga cursed in Spanish while Cruz and Oscar brought up the rear, closing the door the best they could with it hanging by its hinges.
Cade shoved an elbow in Varga’s side as he marched him towards the Hummer that was waiting close by. Ryder and I followed behind, and I caught Ryder’s disappointed face.
“You okay?”
“Just missing out on all the action once again.” He grinned, clearly not as upset about it as he wanted me to think.
“Sorry you’re always stuck babysitting me.”
He shook his head. “Nah, it’s fine. I’m good being behind a computer anyway.”
Ryder hooked an arm around my shoulders as we met up with the other guys. Cade had finished putting Varga in the Hummer and eyed Ryder’s arm with a raised eyebrow. Ryder just grinned wider.
“Guess you’re looking for another round in the ring with me, huh, Blake?”
“Guess so.”
Cade growled, making Ryder laugh.
Levi slapped Cade on the back, ending the pissing match between the two guys.
“Get your stuff. We get out of here tonight.”