Reckless (16 page)

I offer a smile and follow him outside, but my intuition is set to DEFCON 1. Nothing about this adds up.
 

The wind is so fierce my hair is knocked back into my face, covering my eyes. Beyond the loggia, the rain is falling in thick sheets.

“Diego, this is crazy. There’s nothing romantic about this or fun. Let’s go back to the house. If you want to be romantic, we can sit by the fireplace.”

Diego shuts the door. I look over my shoulder. He has a crazed look in his eyes. Something has happened. Something really bad.

“This is plenty romantic. Let’s go to the beach. We’ve never made love on the beach. It will be just like in the movie
From Here to Eternity
.”
 

He pulls me by the arm and leads me out into the rain.

“There wasn’t a tropical storm going on in the movie. The waves will be out of control. Diego, stop this!”

His grip tightens. He pushes me to the edge of the beach and shoves me so hard I fall against the wet sand.
 

He pulls something out of his pocket.
 

I can’t make it out at first.
 

Then I see it’s the mic and the recorder. “And to think I trusted you.” He flings the devices into the ocean.

“Diego, I wasn’t lying. I really want to be with you. I want to go to New Zealand.
I love you
.”

He falls on top of me. I try to put up a fight, but he’s too powerful. He knocks me across the face with a closed fist.
 

My vision goes dark.
 

When I regain consciousness, I can’t see anything in the rain. Each time I open my swollen eyes angry droplets hammer my vision.
 

His hands wrap around my throat.
 

I try to kick him, but he pins me down.
 

Fingers dig into my neck, squeezing the life out of me.
 

“Don’t say that,” he screams. “You don’t love me. You’re some narc sent here to set me up. I loved you. I’m the one who risked everything for you. What have you risked for me? You’ve probably never even told me your real name.”

Dots of light stipple my vision.
 

He’s right. While I’ve asked him to give up everything for me, I’ve done nothing for him. I’ve taken no real risks. The entire time, I’ve plotted some fallback position.
 

In a few moments, all that will be over. Maybe I’ll ride that great tunnel to the shiny world on the other side of the universe where dad will be waiting for me, arms open and smiling. Of course, I know better.

I don’t hear the gunshots at first.
 

Diego’s grip loosens and his body slumps over me.
 

I can bring air into my neck but getting it into my lungs proves difficult with Diego still on top of me. His body rolls off my chest.
 

I breathe and breathe.
 

My vision slowly returns.
 

I hear shouting. Someone is calling for Miranda.

I try to answer but no words come out of my mouth.
 

Someone picks me up and begins lugging me down the beach.

“It’s going to be okay,” the voice says. “You’re safe now, Miranda.”

Nick
. He begins to run with me slumped over his shoulder. There’s a small boat farther down the shore.
 

Shouts erupt from Diego’s home.
 

More gunfire.

Nick steps into the boat and sets me down. He yells for José to take off.
 

The bow punches through the waves. The wind is fierce, like sailing through mountains.

“We’ll be at a safe location in a few minutes,” Nick assures me. “We’ve been camped out here all day waiting for an opportunity to get you out safely.”

I stare over the stern of the boat. The lights of Diego’s mansion become tiny specks of orange before disappearing over the horizon.
 

The rain and spray of the bay slap my face.

Nick holds me and asks if I’m okay. The simple question proves too much. I tell him the entire story, even the parts I left out in Cusco.
Everything
. I can’t hold back, and I’m crying by the end of my long admission.
 

Exhausted, I collapse into his arms.

15

In a hotel room a few hours from Cartagena, Nick sits across from me on the bed. He holds a cold washcloth wrapped in ice against my face.
 

“So that’s the entire story?”

“Yeah, that’s everything.”

“Why, though? That’s what I can’t figure out.”

“I don’t know. Maybe it had something to do with my dad. Every good thing in my life has always left me. I guess I was afraid to let anything real and good into my life.” I start to cry again. “I messed up big time, didn’t I?”

I wait for Nick to tell me that Bailey was right and that he should have listened to him.
 

He takes away the washcloth and places a small bandage below my right eye. “You might need stitches for that. It’s too early to tell.”

He gets up and puts away the gauze and bandages.

“I think you’re being too hard on yourself. You went through a lot, and in the end, Peña and Diego are dead. That’s more than any case could have done no matter how solid the evidence was. You’ve done the CIA and the taxpayers a favor. I’m the one who should have done a better job. I was the leader of this operation, and I failed you.”

“Nick, you didn’t fail anyone. You saved my life.”

“Barely. Another way of putting it is that I almost cost you your life. You weren’t ready for this mission, Miranda. I’m not saying you aren’t tough or smart. You are. You’re a natural at this, but now wasn’t the time. I knew that, and I ignored it anyway. I brought you here for the wrong reasons.”

I reach out and take his hand. “I’m still glad you recommended me. When I saw your face after I got off the plane, I was so relieved to see you. I missed you so much. I always wanted to know what happened to you. I wondered what could have been between us. How come you never asked me out, Nick? Was I that frightening?”

He laughs. “You were, but that wasn’t the reason.”

“What then? Was there some other girl?”

“No. Dating people you work with is against the rules.”

I can’t help it. I start laughing, and I can’t stop.
 

“What’s so funny about that? So I followed the rules.”

It takes me a few minutes to get a hold of myself. “Oh my God, you really are straight-laced Nick. They should put that on your tombstone.”

He moves near me. “I thought I told you already. I’m not that straight-laced anymore.”

He leans in and kisses me. This time, I don’t mind. I’ve denied myself of Nick for too long.

The cut on my lip stings. He sucks on my lower lip as he holds my chin. Each of the bruises on my face is given a special kiss, kisses so soft I almost can’t feel them.
 

His hands begin unbuttoning my blouse. Eons pass between each plastic button. I can tell that Nick is a slow and sensual lover and that my pleasure is important to him. He kisses me along my neck and down my sternum before opening my blouse and revealing my lace balconette bra.

“Fancy,” he says.

“I went shopping.”

He smiles and kisses the top of my breasts. I unclasp the bra and let it fall. Nick sucks on my nipples. They harden against his tongue. His lips touch every inch leading down to my belly. I push off my jeans and panties as Nick kneels on the floor and spreads my legs.
 

Lying against the bed, I enjoy the touch of his lips against my thighs. Nick understands foreplay in a way few men do. He doesn’t rush as he kisses the lips of my pussy. He slides his tongue along the delicate aperture, teasing my pleasure centers with the tip of his tongue. I can’t take it any longer. I grab his head, moving his tongue over my clit.

Mmm. That’s better. I close my eyes as the swirl of his tongue goes to work. I doubt Nick will be as rough or as wild as Diego. Nevertheless he has skills Diego could never learn. And after everything I’ve been through, I need a sensual lover who can worship me between the sheets while protecting me outside of the bedroom.

With his tongue between my legs, I rake my nails through his hair, digging them into his scalp. The sensations eventually become too much, and I have to push Nick away. I stare at the bulge between his pants and giggle. “Looks like someone is ready for some attention himself.”

I tell him to stand up. My hands loosen his belt, and I lower the zipper. I’ve always wondered what Nick is packing underneath. From the impression against his briefs, my assumption is something large. I pull against the elastic band and lower them. Nick doesn’t disappoint. I stare up at him and smile as I run my tongue along the underside of his shaft. Nick moans. His body shudders as if he hasn’t felt this kind of attention since his ex-wife left him.
 

Taking his head into my mouth, I swirl my tongue along the glans while pumping his shaft with my hand. His cock thickens. Flicking my tongue underneath his head, I listen as his breathing deepens. I want to give Nick the same pleasure he gave me, but his member is huge. I spread myself out on the bed and elongate my neck before trying to take all of him in. Nick moves his hips forward. Relaxing my throat, I begin to move back and forth.
 

I love giving him the pleasure he’s earned. There are so few gentlemen left in the world willing to travel to another country to put a couple of bullets in a guy roughing you up. That’s my kind of chivalry. Chivalry with a gun.

When I sense he’s getting close, I slide my mouth off of his cock.
 

“Fuck me,” I say, trying to catch my breath.

He picks me up and while still hoisting me aloft, he slides my pussy onto his cock. I wrap my legs around his waist and hold onto his neck.

My hips bounce in the air as I enjoy the ride. I throw my head back and moan. Nick comes with me. He pulls me close to him as his body tenses and his hot cum fills me. We both tremble in one another’s arms until the spasms have left us both.

He lays me down on the bed so we can rest. For the first time in my life, I can honestly say that I’m sexed-out. My brain and nerves can’t take anymore. I can now die a happy girl.

We cuddle in each other’s arms as I run my hand along his bare chest.

“So what’s next?” I ask. “Got any more adventures planned?”

He brushes my hair. “Yeah. Now I quit the CIA.”

I sit up. “What? Are you serious?”

“Very. I wasn’t kidding about what I said. I want a normal life. I won’t ever have it doing this.”

“So what are you going to do?”

“When we get back to DC, I’m going tell Bailey that I can no longer be an agent.”

“I mean with your life.”

Nick shrugs. “I’ll figure something out. Don’t you want to get out of this, too? We could move in together, start our own business.”

“Doing what? Selling life insurance? We have to be realistic. Besides, I’d go crazy after a month.”

“Come on. Just give it a try.”

I shake my head. Nick is talking with a head full of after-sex vibes. By morning, he’ll realize how ridiculous he sounds. People like us don’t just settle down and go on with normal lives. We’re like José. He’s already off in some faraway land beginning another crazy adventure. Even when we try to lay low, trouble and chaos have a way of finding us. A thousand years ago, we would have been the ones sent out to chase down wild boar. In the comatose routine of suburbia, we’d lose our minds.

“I’m going to get more ice,” Nick says. “You want a soda or something?”

“Yeah, sure. Get me whatever.”

Nick grabs the ice bucket and leaves for the hall.

I force myself up off the bed and go to the bathroom. My appearance surprises me. The bruises along my cheek and neck are twice as big as the last time I saw them. My busted lip will almost certainly require stitches. I wash my face and clean up. As I’m putting away the towel, the sound of broken glass spills into the bedroom. The shattered glass crunches under the weight of something heavy. Or
someone
heavy, my instincts tell me.

I look for one of the guns. Shit, they’re in the drawer beside the bed. Or does Nick have one of them with him? I can’t remember if he went to the drawer or not. There’s nothing that can serve as a weapon except for a toothbrush.
 

I move behind the door and wait, pressing myself against the wall. My hearts beats like boots in a dryer. The footsteps draw near. As soon as this fucker tries to step inside, I’ll slam the door into him so hard that he’ll be out cold for days.

The steps move down the hall. They’re getting close. Almost.

“Don’t be a fool,” the voice says. “Come out from behind the door.”
 

I don’t move.
 

A gun is cocked.
 

“If you don’t come out, I’m going to put three bullet holes through the door frame.”

I step out.

Carlos stands in the hall, holding a gun with a silencer aimed at me. “Taking a shower?” He looks between my legs and grins. “You are a little whore, aren’t you? Not every chick can fuck and kill and fuck another man all in the same day. Where’s the other guy?”

“It’s just me.”

He shakes his head. “Not according to the smell in this room. I caught the stench of sex before I climbed through the window.”

“Go to hell, Carlos.”

“Oh, I will. Eventually. But first we have a little business to settle.”

“Are you going to kill me for what happened to Diego? He was trying to kill me!”

I speak as loud as I can so Nick will hear me when he comes back. He’s my only hope of getting out of this alive. Carlos motions me out of the bathroom and into the bedroom. He tells me to sit on the bed.
 

I sit as close as I can to the table. The drawer with the guns is eighteen inches from my hand.
 

“I don’t blame him for trying to kill you,” Carlos says. “That idiot should have wasted you a long time ago. I couldn’t care less that you killed Diego. It’s just more for me and Ivan to split.”