Her Only Protector (6 page)

Well, it certainly wasn't on any must-do-sometime-in-your-life list Sonny had ever written. And she hoped she never had to go through anything like the past few weeks again. She wasn't sure she could. But it had been worth it. Even as Ellie fussed in her arms and she dragged herself across the floor in exhaustion, she knew it was worth it to have Ellie out of Eduardo Sanchez's hands.

And then there was meeting Gil. Why did his disapproval of her matter so much? She shook her head. The man was downright annoying. “Lord, I have to be crazy for thinking this way,” she said.

“Is something wrong?”

Sonny stopped short and swung around toward the sound of Gil's voice, continuing to rock Ellie in an effort to soothe her crying.

It wasn't working. The baby was rattled. So was Sonny.

Gil stood by the French doors leading outside, leaning up against the doorjamb. He was wearing a white T-shirt and loose-fitting blue jeans that had seen better days. His feet were bare and he held an empty mug on his index finger that was swaying back and forth. The warm Caribbean breeze filtered in, lifting the sheer drapes up into the room and gently messing up his hair as he stood there looking at her.

Her heart hammered wildly in her chest. It seemed odd that she hadn't noticed that the doors were open or that he was outside when she first walked into the living room. The flickering television should have given her a clue that
someone
was up. But her fatigue and preoccupation with the baby combined with all-consuming thoughts kept her from paying attention to those details. She'd have to make sure she was more on top of what she was doing so as not to be caught off guard again.

What is it about this man that keeps me so off balance?

“The baby okay?” he asked.

“I can't seem to get her to sleep.” Admitting it made her feel as much a failure as she'd felt earlier, walking away from the airport.

“Is she still feeding during the night?”

“I'm not sure.”

He raised his eyebrow as if to question her. It was a quick move. One that Sonny would've missed had she not been looking directly at him. And then it was gone. Tears sprang to her eyes. Who was she kidding?

“She might have colic.”

Sonny looked at him skeptically. “How is it that you know so much about babies?”

Gil shrugged. “I lived in a house full of babies.”

“Yours?”

That earned her a quick grin and a shake of Gil's head. “My mom and dad raised three of my younger cousins after my uncle and aunt died in a car accident when I was fifteen.”

“Oh, how awful. I mean, the loss of your aunt and uncle. Not that they raised your cousins.”

“I knew what you meant. You do what you have to do.”

Sonny couldn't agree more. Why else had Serena trusted her to rescue her baby? It had to have taken an enormous amount of faith in the Lord on her part to trust Sonny that way.
You do what you have to do.

“The two-bedroom ranch my parents owned was already too crowded, given that my room was the converted basement but the kids had to go somewhere so they came to live with us. My five-year-old cousin roomed with my sister upstairs. And I went from having my own room to having a baby and a three-year-old bunk with me.

“Johnny, the baby, had colic. I learned real quick how to take care of him so I could get a good night's sleep. He wasn't much older than Ellie when he came to live with us.”

“Wow, five kids in two bedrooms.”

Gil shrugged. “It wasn't so bad. Here, let me give it a try,” he said. Strong, capable hands reached for the baby.

She was tired and it would have been easy to hand the baby over to someone with real experience. But she held back. “Why don't you show me?”

A flash of anger crossed his face and then it was gone. “You don't trust me.”

“Trust is a big thing for me,” she answered quietly.

“I'm sure it is.”

Ellie was getting louder now.

“Sit right here with me while I hold her. I'm not going to steal her away.”

Sonny realized then that she was holding Ellie tightly, as if she'd be snatched away at any moment. This is what it had come to, she realized. The fear Eduardo Sanchez and his cohorts had instilled in her—and her whole family—made it impossible to know who to trust.

His dark eyes searched hers. “What are you afraid of, Sonny?”

Reluctantly, she placed the crying baby in his arms. “You are going to stay in the room, right?”

With a crooked grin, he said, “Ellie's sticking with you, Sonny, because I don't do diapers.”

She laughed nervously and settled into the seat near him, watching as he put the baby upright against his chest, resting her head on his shoulder. With long soothing strokes he rubbed Ellie's back. The baby continued to cry a little, but she was definitely calming down.

“Cute train pajamas,” he said, examining the clothes Cooper had purchased earlier. “Not very little-girl-like.”

“Cooper said there was slim pickings at the store. Wait until you see tomorrow's outfit. Ninja turtles.”

Gil chuckled.

“I'm just grateful to have a change of clothes in case she spits up,” Sonny said with a shrug.

She watched with admiration as Gil switched Ellie easily from one shoulder to the other.

“You
do
know babies,” she said as Ellie finally stopped crying.

Gil smiled. “I never would have made it through high school if I hadn't figured this out.”

She laughed and felt some of the tension inside her ease.

“When a baby has colic, it's best for them to sleep upright. I spent a lot of nights stretched out on an old recliner in the living room with Johnny on my chest.”

“Why didn't your mother or father take care of the baby?”

He was quiet a moment, his expression tense as he leaned back against the sofa. “They had their own stuff to deal with,” he said. “Mom was real close to my aunt. She took her death hard.”

It was amazing. The man who had grilled her so doggedly earlier—who had refused to leave her be at the airport—was perfectly at home with Ellie in his arms.

“You're staring.”

Startled, she looked away. “Am I?”

“Yes.”

Heat crept up her cheeks. “I was just thinking how you could possibly be the same man I met at the airport.”

“There's no difference, really. Just another face.”

She wanted to say she liked this face better, but since he'd managed to get Ellie to sleep—her mouth slightly puckered open, her face so serene—she decided to keep it to herself.

“You want to say something.” He wasn't asking a question, she noticed. He was probably reading her expression, which, given her tired state, was the equivalent of reading her mind.

“Thank you.”

He frowned. “That's it? Nothing else?”

With a heavy sigh she said, “I'm so tired I can't even sleep.”

He made a move to lean forward with the baby still on his shoulder. “Why don't you stretch out on the sofa? It's comfortable.”

“No, that's okay.”

Before she could protest further, he stood. Ellie seemed unaffected by his movement. “That's okay. I'll sit in the chair. You don't have to sleep if you don't want to. Just get comfortable. You look like you're about to fall over.”

Gone were the cold stares and harsh attitude and in their place, Sonny saw concern. She welcomed the change, but she knew she shouldn't. Gil wanted something she couldn't give him. Something she didn't want him to get. As nice as he was now, she was sure the accusing glare would return if she didn't give him the information he wanted.

Walking over to the sofa, she perched on the edge. If she allowed herself to fall back against the deep cushions, she'd pass out. She was sure of it.

“Ellie's asleep,” Sonny said. “Maybe I should put her back in the crib.”

“Not yet. She needs to be fully asleep or she'll wake up again. Too bad we don't have a car seat to put her in,” he said, easing back in the armchair.

“Why?”

“I used to let Johnny sleep in his car seat by my bed. It helped him.”

“I could just hold her like you're doing.”

Gil shook his head. “You're not used to holding her like this. If you fall asleep, she might slip from your arms.”

Sonny sighed, annoyed with herself for thinking more about getting sleep than what she could do for the baby.

“I'm sorry.”

The words were spoken so softly that Sonny would have missed them if she hadn't seen Gil's lips move. The expression on his face told her he meant it.

“What?”

“I'm sorry.”

“Why?”

“I was wrong. I shouldn't have called you a criminal,” he said gently.

Her smile was weak, but she felt it in her heart. “Forgiven.”

“That easy, huh?”

“Yep, that easy. You got the baby to stop crying, so I'm in your debt for that.”

He looked down into Ellie's face. “She doesn't look like you.”

“She looks like my mother. Cash looks like my mother, too.” Tears filled her eyes. How could she be complaining, even if only to herself, that she was tired and out of her element when Cash was the one so clearly in trouble?

“Come on,” Gil urged. “You know you want to trust me.”

It was true, but could she?

“Tell me what I want to hear, Sonny.”

“Y
ou never stop, do you?” she said, the weight of the day practically pulling on her eyelids. She was fighting to stay awake.

“No. But I can help you if you let me.” His voice was sincere and made her yearn to let down her guard with him.

I trust in You, Lord, to guide me through my darkest hours.
It would be so easy to trust Gil. But his motives for wanting information were mercenary.

“I don't know what you're talking about.”

“I'm no fool, Sonny. This wasn't a quick vacation to Colombia. Why would Ellie's mother allow you to take her to a foreign country? And why didn't I ever see you with her until today? It doesn't make any sense.”

She lifted her chin. “It doesn't need to make sense to you.”

“Look, I know something is going on. I
can
help you. But only if you let me.”

She turned away from his probing gaze. “You already ‘helped' me back at the airport,” she said sarcastically. “Or have you already forgotten that?”

“You're terrified of something.”

“How do you know it's not you?”

He took in her words and considered them. “Fair enough. But I know what kind of trouble your brother was in. If you're afraid—”

She cut him off. “I told you all I know.”

“Have you?”

Running her fingers through her hair in frustration, she shifted her position on the sofa. “Obviously, you still don't believe me.”

“I believe what you've told me is true. But I don't believe you've told me everything.”

She bit her lip. “You want something I can't give you.”

“Cash.”

She nodded. “I don't know where he is.”

“Then why did you come here? And why do you have his baby, a baby you don't even know how to take care of?”

His words, however true, stung. She closed her eyes for a brief moment to hold back her tears. A good cry was long overdue. She hadn't really allowed herself that for fear she'd never recover enough to do what she had to do.

“Do you know who can find your brother?”

Eduardo Sanchez could give Gil a whole lot of information. But she didn't want Gil or his team to mess with the Colombian kingpin. Or connect anyone in her family to him. At least not until she and Ellie were in the United States again.

When she didn't answer, he went on in a quiet voice. “Your loyalty to your brother is admirable. It's clear by your actions that you love him very much. But you're not doing Cash or yourself any favors. He needs to come out of hiding.”

“You don't even know me or my family. How can you make a claim like that?”

“He was arrested for a crime and if you cared for him like you say you do, you'd make sure he was brought in for justice.”

She laughed humorlessly. “Is that why you're doing this? For justice? Don't even go there, Gil. I know what you're after. Money. Isn't that what all bounty hunters are after?”

His eyes darkened for a brief moment. “I'm not going to lie to you. I get paid well for bringing criminals back in to face trial. But I want justice, too.”

“For who?”

“For the people.”

She shook her head. “You don't know anything about this case, do you? All you know is there's a nice bounty up for grabs.”

“I don't need to know all the details. I know that bail was set at one million dollars and judges don't issue that kind of bail without a good reason. DEA or not, there had to be compelling proof for the judge to set bail so high. Your loyalty and love for your brother don't change the fact that he's guilty of a crime.”

It was hard to sit still with Gil talking about Cash as if he was a common street thug. “You've been out of the country too long, Gil. In America, a person is innocent until proven guilty. You've forgotten that.”

Their eyes met. Sonny liked his eyes. When he wasn't being hard and accusing, his eyes were warm and she found herself drifting away from all that was happening, focusing on the depth of his gaze instead of the stress of the past few weeks.

Instead of the words he was saying.

She shook the thoughts out of her mind. She was tired. And she was sure he was using that to get her to talk. She couldn't allow herself to be trumped in a battle of wills.

“You're right,” he finally said. “But Cash can't prove his innocence unless he comes in.”

“I couldn't agree more. And believe it or not, we want the same thing.”

“Do we?” He scanned her face intently, looking into her eyes, then at her lips, then back to her eyes.

“Yes,” she said, shaking away the fluttering feeling in her stomach. “I miss my brother. Despite what you think, I'd like nothing better than for him to come home. His wife, Serena, feels the same way. And before you start thinking you can grill her, she's not in Colombia. And she doesn't know where he is, either.”

“Then trust me. Help me find him.”

“I have put my trust in others that justice will be served.”

Gil cocked his head to one side. “Others? Who?”

“The Lord.”

He made a noise of frustration. “You'd be foolish to wait around for miracles, Sonny.”

“Why? You don't think the Lord will answer my prayers?”

“I think prayer helps a person get through hard times, but it's not a lottery ticket.”

She laughed softly. “No, you're right. But I can't look at that baby sleeping soundly in your arms right now and not believe in miracles. They happen every day all around us, whether we see them or not.

“My faith in God is not just something I do on a Sunday morning at church, Gil. My faith is the backbone of my family's life and mine. It's my driving force.”

Gil made no reply.

Sonny's cheeks flamed and she found it hard to turn away from his intent stare. She couldn't tell him that when their eyes met it made her heart skip a beat. Men didn't do that to Sonny. At least, no man she'd ever known had.

All the men she'd encountered at work were not men she wanted to date. And although Mrs. Altman, the church organist, was always trying to fix her up with one eligible Christian bachelor or another, she never found any man interesting enough to pursue beyond a first date. She often ended up turning the relationship into a good friendship.

Sonny had only just met Gil. But she'd never been this attracted to a man before. Especially a man who couldn't be more wrong for her if he tried.

Lord, are you trying to tell me something? Because if You are, I'm not getting it.

She shrugged the feeling off. “You remind me of…”

“Who?” he asked.

“My brother.”

“Cash?”

She shook her head. “No, Dylan. He's the oldest. Cash is a few years younger. It took Mom and Dad a while to have me.”

“I'm sure they were a handful when they were kids.”

“Yeah, I guess.”

“Why do I remind you of your brother?”

They say that if you have a good relationship with your father and your brothers, you look for a man who reminds you of them. Sonny supposed that was why she was suddenly feeling drawn to Gil.

“He's gruff, like you. All big, bad, tough guy on the outside, you know?”

She could tell he wanted to laugh out loud. A funny sound escaped his lips, but he held back to keep from waking the baby. His chest rocked up and down as he laughed silently.

“And you willingly handed the baby over anyway?” he finally said.

“That's just it. Dylan always comes across like the big, bad marine. He's a cop now. But when you get him in a room full of my little cousins during the holidays, he's just a cream puff. He's the one they all flock to. He rolls around on the floor and plays with them, makes them laugh. They never leave him alone. But he doesn't mind. He's just a big kid behind that gruff exterior.”

“You think that's what I'm like?”

“Are you telling me you're not?”

“You don't know me.”

“I know what I see,” she said, gesturing to Ellie, who was completely content on his shoulder. “You just told me you used to rock your little cousin to sleep at night and now you're holding Ellie like she was made to fit in your arms. You're a softy, Gil.”

“Appearances can be deceiving, Sonny. I'm still going to bring your brother in when I find him.”

She nodded, irritated that his determination to collect his bounty had crept into the conversation. The two of them would always be at odds on that matter. The very last thing Sonny would help Gil with was looking for Cash if it meant he'd interfere with the rescue operation.

“You may want the world to believe you're a hard case, some of us know better, Gil.”

He shifted in the chair. “Listen, Sonny. Whatever game you're playing with me, you can stop. Smooth talking isn't going to keep me from doing my job.”

She tried not to show how his accusation hurt. “I wasn't playing a game. What I said was a compliment.”

He nodded, apparently somewhat thrown by her sincerity. “Then thank you. But you should know that Marco is going to figure out what you did online. And when he does, we'll find your brother.”

No, you won't,
Sonny thought. She'd made sure she didn't even mention Cash's name in her e-mail to her father. If only she'd had time, she would have planted something to steer them off course in case they did find her e-mail.

Sonny hadn't had time to think when Gil and Marco had left to get the crib. She just knew that she had to alert her father and enlist his help in getting out of Colombia with Ellie. It was only a matter of time before Eduardo Sanchez started searching.

Neither Gil nor his team knew what kind of monster they were dealing with. He was just the CEO of a shipping company to them. But Sonny knew all too well. If they didn't move fast, they probably wouldn't be able to use Ellie's passport to leave by plane. In fact, it might already be too late. Eduardo Sanchez was a powerful man in Colombia. He rose above the law, despite his illegal dealings. To many, he was a king for bringing small hill towns out of poverty and filtering money—despite the illegal means in which he acquired it—back to communities in need.

By the standards of many, he was living a good Christian life. But his motives had nothing to do with helping others and everything to do with control and power.

Gil was worried about finding an e-mail containing information about Cash. But that was the least of his worries. He just didn't know it yet.

“You know, my father must have been devastated when the plane landed and Ellie and I weren't on it.” Oh, how she wanted to be able to call him to let him know they were both all right. But she couldn't do that without someone hearing the conversation. And that would only bring on a new onslaught of questions from Gil and his team. Sonny wasn't ready to deal with that.

She realized that it was a good thing she knew nothing about what was going on with Dylan and his former military team in regards to Cash's rescue. She was feeling worn down, and knew that she might let something slip if Gil started grilling her again. Fortunately, she had no idea what was going on with Dylan and Cash. Dylan had been right to keep the plans from her.

“For a woman who values her faith so highly, you must be having a crisis of conscience.”

Gil's words broke into her thoughts. “Why do you say that?”

“You were sitting there looking…guilty, actually. Clearly you're upset.”

He'd misread her expression.
Good.
“You still think I'm guilty of something?”

“You tell me. Why did you come to Colombia, Sonny? Your passport shows you boarded a plane in Chicago and yet you were headed to Miami.”

Anger surged through her. “You went through my things?”

“Cooper did. But we already knew about the plane tickets so she didn't find anything of real interest.”

“You tapped into the airline's computer to spy on me? How dare you!”

Her voice was loud enough to startle Ellie, but the baby didn't fully rouse.

“If you want to get back to sleep any time soon, I'd keep your voice low.” He patted Ellie's back lightly until she settled again. “Marco checked you out before your plane ever hit the tarmac here in South America.”

Her jaw nearly hit the floor. “You've been following me since before I got here?”

“I'm good at what I do, Sonny. That's why the bondsman pays me.”

“Money.”

She hadn't meant for her voice to sound so accusing, but this was her brother they were talking about. Not some jackpot at a church bingo game.