Nowhere to Hide (23 page)

“Watch him,” Cav growled, straightening. “You called an ambulance?”

“Si, si, they are on their way…”

“If he moves, tell me,” Cav told him, walking to Lia.

Leaning down, Cav placed his hands on Lia’s upper arms. “You’re okay now,” he told her quietly, holding her tearful gaze. “It’s over. You’re safe, baby. Safe. Do you hear me? No one’s going to hurt you any more.”

His voice thickened as he fought to keep his emotions at bay. It was easy with the two kidnappers. But with Lia? She was shaking her arms wrapped around herself, sitting on the ground, whimpers tearing out between her contorted lips.

“T-they grabbed me as I was coming out of the showers,” she babbled. “I-I didn’t expect—Oh, God, Cav, they were trying to kidnap me!”

Whispering her name, he hauled Lia into his arms, holding her tightly against him, trying to give her a sense of safety. The sobs ripping out of her sounded like those of a wounded animal caught in a trap.

Turning his head, he watched the Latino on the ground. The owner was watching him, his hand on his hips, anger on his face. The whole parking area was now devoid of vans and cars. Everyone had rushed to their vehicles, getting out of the line of fire. Cav couldn’t blame them. Tourists were hurriedly running to the busses awaiting them, wanting to get away as well.

He returned his focus to Lia, gently massaging her shoulders, wanting her to cry until her terror had been fully released. He kept whispering words of solace to her. She clung to him, her fingers digging into the fabric across his chest, her face pressed hard against him, the front of his t-shirt damp with her tears.

This time, Cav knew she was crying for herself. He kissed her hair, her damp temples, letting her know that she was safe.

Angry with himself, Cav knew he’d let down his guard. He should have stood outside Lia’s shower stall area and waited for her. Dammit, anyway! But Lia had insisted she’d be fine and insisted he go get his shower.

And she’d almost been kidnapped.
Sonofabitch!
He stilled the anger and stuffed it into his “kill box” deep down inside him. He’d be writing a report to Robert Culver later on this incident, and he knew his boss would chew him a new ass, for sure. He’d allowed Lia to dissuade him and he shouldn’t have.

Now, he took stock of Lia. Except for some bruises around her wrists where they’d grabbed her, Cav couldn’t see any other marks. Had they threatened her with those knives again? Were the knives they wore now the same ones that they’d used to cut her five years earlier?

His eyes narrowed as he inspected the blond kidnapper who laid dead, a long combat knife in the sheath on his right side. Despite his mistakes, he felt deeply satisfied that he’d been there to kill the bastard and sorry he hadn’t killed his partner. But one of them needed to be alive to talk. And talk he would—or else, Cav grimly thought.

“Can you stand?” he asked Lia gently.

Sniffing, Lia gave a jerky nod. “I-I’m so dirty…”

He smiled a little as he lifted her easily to her feet, keeping his arm around her waist, holding her against him.

“Want to take another shower?”

Lia looked at the men to the right and left of her, and Cav felt her shrinking into his embrace. Wanting to get her away from the scene, he said, “Come on, let’s get you to the shower. I’ll stand guard while you get clean. And I’ll shake out your clothes and try to get rid of some of the dirt on them.”

“O-okay,” Lia said, looking around for the first time. Her knees felt wobbly and she was still shaking from the assault. Cav patiently led her across the parking lot and back to the showers. He guided her into one and helped her sit down on the stone bench.

“The
policia
will be here soon,” he told her, his hand on the curtain above. “Take your time, okay? I’ll be right outside this curtain.”

E
verything was a
blur for Lia. She sat in the office with two
policia
who took her statement. Cav never left her side. The desire to run still tunneled through her, but Cav’s calm presence helped her focus as she related exactly what had happened. Sometimes, she broke into English instead of Spanish, and then Cav would interpret for her, noting that Lia’s hands wouldn’t stop shaking.

Everything was in chaos. The
policia
were trying to put together the pieces of three criminal acts. There was Lia’s aborted kidnapping, Cav’s fatal shooting of Schaefer, and his serious wounding of Dominguez, who was now in the hospital. The word was that he would live.

Lia would never forget the murderous look in Cav’s eyes as they took the injured Dominguez into the ambulance. In that split second, she’d seen Cav, the SEAL, on full alert, protecting her with his life. He wanted to move his fingers across her tight, drawn up shoulders as the
policia
questioned her. But he couldn’t. Not as a professional security contractor. Besides it would confuse the policia. He did give her bottled water, urging her to drink and remain hydrated during the long interview session.

Finally, Cav called a halt to it, telling the two officers that he needed to get Lia to a doctor because she was injured, too. The men immediately agreed. They told Cav he needed to visit the La Fortuna police headquarters to issue his report on the situation. Cav knew that because he had permission to carry a pistol here, he wouldn’t get jail time. He promised he would go to the police precinct office and talk to the detectives about his role in the shootings after he dropped Lia off at her home.

Cav came and pulled over a stool in front of Lia’s chair after the policia left the interrogation room. There were no cameras in it, the blinds drawn. It was private for the moment and he took advantage of it for her sake. “Tell me what you need,” he asked gently, holding her hands in his.

So powerful were her feelings for Cal at that moment that she was at a loss for words. Finally, she said, “I just want to go home.”

“Okay, then, let’s do it.” He leaned forward and kissed her brow. “Come on, let’s go,” he said, standing up and drawing her into his arms.

Lia crumpled against him, her arms going around his waist, pressing her cheek into his chest, feeling safe at last.

Cav had saved her life today. Saved her! She didn’t even want to think what those two were going to do to her this time. Cav’s hand moved comfortingly against her back, skating across her hips and then coming back to her shoulders, she felt as if he were magically removing all the terror and tension still inhabiting her.

Lia pulled away, looking up into his green and gold eyes. He looked like the operator he was, his mask still in place. “My clothes smell dusty and I need to go home and change into something clean.”

Cav held her gaze, “So let’s make it happen.”

The day had started out so beautifully for Lia. The talk she’d had with Cav up on the cliff near the cave had made her heart sing, and their kiss…their kiss had melted her soul and removed that armor she’d hidden behind for so long.

She’d stepped out of the shower, dressed and was leaving when her whole world upended. Lia had frozen, shocked at suddenly seeing not one, but two of her previous assailants from the motor pool. What on earth were Schaefer and Dominguez doing here? Only when they’d dragged her out had she screamed and started to fight back.

On the way back to La Fortuna, Lia’s mind began to revive, but Cav was quiet as he drove the SUV. He’d already had several conversations over his mic with Tanner, who was still in the area. Most important to Lia was that when Cav had to give his statement at the police department, Tanner would remain as her guard in her home while he was absent.

Next, Cav had picked up the satellite phone and called Dilara in Alexandria, Virginia at the Delos Charity Headquarters. He filled her in, as well, and Lia felt badly as she sat there, her clammy hands in her lap, hearing Cav tell Dilara that he had messed up. He knew he should have remained at the women’s shower entrance while she got cleaned up. Guilt ate at Lia because she’d persuaded Cav that it was all right. Yet, he’d accepted all the blame, never mentioning their conversation.

She prayed that Dilara wouldn’t fire him. When Cav finished with the conversation and turned off the phone, she asked, “Will you get fired?”

Cav smiled reassuringly. “No. It just goes on my record. That’s all.”

“Why didn’t you tell her I had a part in that? I’m the one who pleaded with you to let me be and to go take your shower.”

Cav said somberly, “Because it was my job, Lia. I shouldn’t have left you open to attack.”

Rubbing her arm, feeling chilled, she whispered, “Is this over?”

“I don’t know. We’ll know more when the police detectives interrogate Dominguez from his hospital bed.”

“He said Dante Medina sent them to get me.” She saw Cav’s mouth draw downward. “Why were they kidnapping me? Did he order it? What was he going to do with me?”

“Those are all good questions,” he said gently, reaching out, squeezing her hand in her lap for a moment. Returning his hand to the steering wheel, he said, “Right now, you’re safe. Focus on that. And Tanner will take good care of you while I talk to the police.”

She nodded and closed her eyes, leaning back against the seat, her mind swirling with so many questions, but no answers. Had Medina been involved with her rape five years ago? She didn’t think so. At least, it hadn’t come out at the trial that put Schaefer and Dominguez away for four years in prison.

She opened her eyes and again was struck by Cav’s strong, hard profile. He was still in operator mode; she could feel it and see it.

“Medina is a new player in this,” she offered. “His name was never brought up in the original trial against Schaefer and Dominguez. I wonder how long they’ve been down here? Did they know I was here? Did they find and follow me down here to get revenge?”

“I know,” Cav admitted. “I’m asking myself the same questions. The fact it wasn’t brought up at their trial tells me this is new, but hopefully Dominguez is going to sing like a canary and spill everything he knows.”

“I wish I could be there for that interrogation,” she muttered.

“No, you don’t.” Cav didn’t know how the Costa Rican police operated, but he knew what he’d do to squeeze the truth out of that bastard, Dominguez. “I won’t be present, either. We’ll find out after they talk to him after surgery.”

Looking out the window at the jungle on either side of the road, she muttered, “Why Medina? Do you think he knows about me putting those two soldiers in prison for attacking me?” She sent Cav a terrified look.

“It’s possible,” Cav said, “that those two told Medina about you. More likely, though, Medina knew you drove Lupe to the San José airport so she could escape to her own country, free of Medina once and for all. He could be in this because he wants revenge on you for helping her escape.”

“Yes,” she said wearily, rubbing her brow, “I thought of that angle, too.”

“I think Schaefer and Dominguez were already working for Medina,” he said grimly. “And they may have told their boss you threw their asses in prison for attacking you earlier. Medina wants revenge against anyone who helped Lupe to freedom. I think that’s his whole
modus operandi
.”

Opening his hands on the wheel for a moment, he added gently, “And I don’t think Medina cares if his two soldiers had crossed paths with you before. I think he’s focused on kidnapping you because of your role in Lupe’s escape. What he was going to do with you, I have no idea.”

Cav had his own ideas about that, however. He knew Medina worked in the sex slave trade. And Cav would be damned if he thought he was going there with Lia.

His own theory was that Medina would either keep her as his unwilling mistress, or would sell Lia to the highest bidder. Either way, it was a very troubling scenario. His mouth tightened. No way was he going to elaborate on those possibilities with Lia.

“Cav, I feel like there’s a noose around my neck and it’s tightening around me,” she admitted heavily, giving him a worried look.

“Look, we need to take this a step at a time. You have good protection from Tanner and me. I’m not letting you out of my sight, Lia, until Dominguez spills what he knows to the police. And even then, you can’t get rid of me. First, we need to understand the bigger picture of what’s going on here.”

Giving a short nod, Lia tried to tamp down her out-of-control emotions. “You know, I thought…I thought…I was safe down here, Cav. I never dreamed that Schaefer and Dominguez would find me again. My God, it’s my worst nightmare…”

“They’re all dirt bags,” Cav growled. “People like Medina hire idiots like these two and send them out into the field. In the final analysis, he could care less about those two clowns. They were beyond stupid to try and kidnap you in a tourist area where there would be so many eyewitnesses. These guys were rank amateurs.”

“I guess you’re right. I never thought about it from that angle.”

Cav wanted to add that a real operator would have waited until she was alone, shot her up with a drug to dope her, then carried her limp body to the trunk of a car. But there was no way Cav would tell her any of this, either. Lia had a very active imagination to begin with, and many of her fears were based on reality, and he had no desire to stoke any of them right now.

“Do what you normally do,” he told her quietly. “And let me and Tanner do what we’re good at. We’ll get the whole story in the next day or so. We know Medina has his sights on you and until we can figure out why and what, you’re going to be protected.”

“Okay,” she said, her voice strained. “I feel like I’m still a target. It’s just a feeling…”

“Feelings count, but let me get this sorted out and then we’ll make plans according to what we know.” Cav didn’t blame her for feeling that way.

He wasn’t sure whether Medina knew that his men had botched Lia’s kidnapping, but more troubling was the possibility that Medina would send out another man or team to come after her. Once he got Lia home and met with Tanner, he’d take his colleague aside and share his concerns.

When Cav drove up to Lia’s house, Tanner met them at the door. He had two other operators with him, and they all looked grim. Cav introduced Lia to them and took her directly into the house, asking Tanner to wait outside. He nodded, his eyes dark, but said nothing more.