8. Nash
8
NASH
“ H ey, your phone is ringing,” the feminine voice moans beside me before she puts an elbow in my side.
“Ouch, what the fuck?” I curse, trying and pull myself from the dead-ass sleep I was in. Reaching out, I try a couple of times to grab my phone from the bedside table. “Someone better be fucking dying if you’re calling me at this time.”
“Nash, it’s Brooks,” his booming voice says through the darkness.
Shit.
I sit up quickly and am now wide awake. Brooks does not call me in the middle of the night to shoot the shit.
“What the hell are you doing calling me at …” my eyes narrow and try to read the bedside table clock, “… at almost four in the morning?”
“You alone?”
“No.”
“Get alone then,” he states seriously.
Kicking off the sheets that were wrapped around my naked body, I get up and walk from the bedroom, down the corridor to my living room. I stare out through the windows and across the sandy beach. The waves slowly lap against the shoreline, it’s my small part of paradise.
“I’m alone now, what do you need?” I ask him.
Brooks and I were in the SEALs together for ten years before each of us took a bullet saving our team when a routine situation went south thanks to some bad intel. Killed both of our careers. We then headed to the private security game in the Middle East after a year of rehab. I was over the desert, sick of seeing sand with no turquoise blue to break it up. I’d had enough of eating the fucking flies and the scorching sun. Brooks stayed on, and I headed to Mexico where I did private security. It’s as tough as the Middle East, but a hell of a lot more of a party atmosphere. It was all good and great until my knee blew out after dancing on a bar top. I decided it would be better for me to sit behind the bar instead of standing on it.
“Need a favor,” he asks.
“Anything, what is it?”
“One of Sophie’s sisters is coming over to Tulum looking for a friend who has gone missing,” he explains.
“Missing?”
“Yeah, we believe she is with Dominguez.”
Shit.
Is he fucking serious right now? “You’re talking about Pedro?” I ask to be clear that we are talking about what I think we’re talking about.
“Yes. His son specifically,” Brooks adds.
“Fuck. That’s not good, that boy is psycho. If he has her, I don’t know if she’s still alive, man. He’s a sadistic little fuck,” I warn him. “She involved any of the authorities?”
“No, she’s coming alone,” he advises.
“She can’t come here alone, Brooks. They will eat her up and spit her out. Her fate will be the same as her friend’s,” I tell him seriously.
“That’s why we are sending her to you,” my oldest friend tells me.
“Brooks, what the fuck, man. I know you’re pussy-whipped by Sophie, but sending her sister halfway across the world to find a dead friend isn’t a smart idea.”
“I don’t pull in my favors often, Nash. I am with this one.”
This is true, Brooks never asks for anything from me. But this is a suicide mission, even for me. “Man, you’re really complicating my life with this bullshit, you know?”
“I wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t important,” he adds.
“Why are you not coming with her?”
“That’s on a need-to-know basis, bud,” he explains.
What has he got himself caught up in? “You better not blame me if something happens to this girl.”
“Don’t let anything happen to her,” Brooks bites back.
“She’s not going to be going off playing Nancy Drew, is she?”
“She might be a handful, but you know how to tame a woman or two, don’t you?” he states with a chuckle.
“You’ve put me on babysitting duties, haven’t you? You know there isn’t a hope of her finding her friend but she’s as stubborn as Sophie, isn’t she? So, she’s coming here anyway, and you want me to make sure she doesn’t get into anything she shouldn’t,” I ask him.
“Something like that. I also said she could stay with you,” he adds with a chuckle.
“You’re lucky I fucking like you, otherwise, I’d be telling you to fuck off.”
“You do that anyway.” He laughs. This is true.
“When does she arrive?”
“Tomorrow morning. I’ll send you the flight details,” Brooks tells me.
“Fine, I’ll pick her up. How long is she going to be here?” I ask. Wondering how long this stranger is going to be invading my space.
“I don’t know, however long it takes.”
“So, indefinitely, then?” I ask, raising my voice.
“Maybe. We need to find this girl whether she’s dead or alive. It might take a while to get the information and whatnot,” he explains.
“You know I don’t like women in my space. They usually only stay for the night and that’s it. This is pushing the friendship,” I tell him.
“I’m using my favor,” he states.
“Fucking fine,” I say with a grumble. “Warn her my house, my rules, okay? I like my privacy.”
“She’s aware, don’t worry.” He chuckles. Fucking bastard.
“If that’s all the bullshit you need from me. Goodnight. I have a woman to fuck before I kick her out.” I hang up the phone to the sound of Brooks laughing.
Ellie Clark says the homemade sign as I stand and wait for Sophie’s sister to arrive at Cancun Airport. I have no idea what the hell she looks like. Brooks told me it would be a surprise. I think the fucker is having way too much fun torturing me over this and I don’t appreciate it. The doors to the arrivals open, and the floodgates of tourists pile out into the tropical heat, all excited about whatever adventure they have been planning for years. Everything stops when I see the most gorgeous woman I’ve ever seen step out. She’s dressed in tight jeans showing off her long legs, a white tee that molds to her perfect breasts, and trainers. She has big, dark glasses covering her eyes, so I can’t see what color they are. Her blonde hair is pulled up into a high ponytail, which is perfect for wrapping around your wrist. Her luscious lips are painted in the perfect shade of pink, the same color as a woman’s nipples. Perfection. If I wasn’t waiting for Sophie’s sister, I would be certainly making my way over to this goddess and introducing myself to her.
I don’t do so bad for myself. I’m tall at 6 foot 5 inches and still work out like I did in the SEALs, so every inch of me is cut. You never know living down south when something might go wrong, so I’m always prepared. My skin is tanned, I have a six to an eight-pack depending on the number of beers I’ve drunk. My light brown hair is buzzed short, it’s cooler. Maybe I could have shaved, I’ve got a bit of stubble, but I’ve gotten out of bed early for this stranger, so you’re going to get what you get. I’m still young at thirty-seven. I don’t smoke, I eat well except I drink, and I like women, a lot of them. Can’t be perfect all the time.
I watch as this goddess gets closer, her face scanning the crowd. Of course, someone like her is meeting someone. She probably has a rich sugar daddy or a football player boyfriend. She then turns and zeroes in on me. Dammit, it could have been my lucky day with this girl, but I’m waiting for whoever the hell this Ellie Clark is. Wasn’t our time, sugar.
Then she walks over to where I’m standing and stops. She lifts her dark glasses and shows off her bright blue eyes. Gorgeous.
“Hi, I’m Ellie Clark, you must be Nash Madden,” she says, holding out her hand for me. She has the faintest twang of an accent to her English, but I’m not sure what it is. Sophie’s Australian, so that must be it.
Wait a minute, this woman is Sophie’s sister? Why the hell have I never seen her in any of the photos she had lying around when we were all out in the Middle East together?
“You’re Nash, Brooks’ friend, aren’t you?” she asks, her brows pulled together, wondering why the hell I’m mute.
“Yeah, sorry, I’m Nash,” I say, taking her outstretched hand and shaking it.
“Great, well, that’s me and this is my luggage,” she states, showing off her suitcase and carry-on bag.
“Right, let me get that for you,” I say, forgetting my manners.
She gives me a bright smile as I take her luggage for her.
“We’re just outside. It’s about a ten-minute walk to the parking lot.”
She falls into step beside me as we navigate our way through the crowds and head over to the car.
“You’re Sophie’s sister? I’ve never seen your picture before,” I ask her.
“I’m adopted,” she states.
A frown forms on my face. “Really? Sophie never had any pictures of you when we were in the Middle East. Was it after that?” She does look younger than Sophie so it’s possible.
“You ask a lot of questions?” she says, turning to me as those blue eyes look me up and down, assessing me.
Good one, Nash, interrogating the beautiful woman within five minutes of meeting her.
“You’re right. It’s just, I would have remembered someone as beautiful as you.”
“That line might work on some girls, but I’m not one of them,” she bites back, shutting down my advances.
Kitty has claws, I like it. “Noted, kitty.”
“Did you just call me kitty?” she asks, raising a questioning brow at me.
“Yeah.”
“My name isn’t kitty?” She hisses at me.
“I know.”
Silence falls between us as we continue to walk to my Jeep.
“Why the hell are you calling me kitty, then?” she asks, eventually breaking the silence between us. Who knew ruffling her well-put-together feathers would be such a cheap thrill for me?
“Because you’ve got claws,” I answer her.
“You have no idea how deep these claws can go,” she bites back, giving me a flick of her blonde hair.
She’s spicy. I like that.
“I can handle anything you throw at me, kitty,” I tease.
Ellie stills, and I realize she’s stopped after a couple of steps, where I turn around and look at her. Those blue eyes narrow and look me up and down, assessing me.
“Highly doubt that.” She huffs as she starts walking again.
Who the hell is this girl? And why do I find her coldness hot? Do I have a degradation kink I didn’t know about? I’m not usually stumped by women, but this one has me unable to work her out. I thought Sophie was the only hard-ass of her sisters. From what I’ve seen of them, the others are sweet except for this feisty kitty.
We walk in silence the rest of the way to the Jeep. I place her luggage in the back and hold open the door for her. She eyes my gentlemanly behavior suspiciously but doesn’t say a word as she gets in. I slam the door shut and jump in the other side before putting my foot to the floor and getting out of the parking lot. It’s a full twenty minutes before she decides to speak again.
“I want to be clear, I’m not looking for a holiday hook-up. I’m here to find my friend,” she tells me.
Wow. Cocky much? But also, such a shame we could have had so much fun.
“I know, and I’m here picking you up from the airport, nothing more.”
She turns her head and looks at me, raising a brow as if she doesn’t believe me. And I guess she would be right, the woman is a knockout with supermodel vibes, but her personality stinks. She knows she’s hot, and to me, that is a turn-off. Probably for the best, I’m here to help find her dead friend not fuck her. “You’re not my type, anyway.”
“I’m everyone’s type,” she quips back.
My mouth falls open because I don’t think I’ve met a cockier woman before. “Not this time, kitty.”
She rolls her eyes at my nickname for her before turning her attention away from me and back out the window as we pass the palm trees and empty landscape that’s along the highway.
“You’re nothing like your sisters, you know,” I tell her, turning to look over at her.
Ellie stiffens ever so slightly, and if I wasn’t looking at her, I would have missed it.
“Not all sisters are the same. We are our own people.” She huffs.
Something isn’t adding up and I don’t understand what Brooks is keeping from me.
“I’ve met all of your sisters, and I can see the similarities in their personalities, even though they are so different, but you …” I say, shaking my head.
“I don’t have to prove myself to you. Brooks and Sophie sent me here, that should be enough to satisfy your curiosity about who I am. What’s your problem anyway?” she asks, her voice laced with agitation.
“No problem at all, kitty, just curious to know who I am letting into my home, that’s all,” I tell her.
“Would you stop calling me kitty? My name is Ellie.” She huffs.
Never.
The fact that calling her kitty annoys her, brings me joy. Not sure why I am getting off on annoying this woman, I’m not normally this much of a dick to women, but there’s just something about her. I can feel her eyes on me, and it’s hard not to let my lips curl up into a smile at the invisible daggers she is sending my way.
“You’re not going to stop, are you?” She sighs.
I shake my head.
“I feel like we’ve gotten off on the wrong foot today. I’m not normally this much of a bitch. I’m worried about my friend and what these bad guys could be doing to her. I don’t want to waste a moment of my time on anything else other than finding her,” Ellie explains to me.
Now I feel like a dick. Here I am playing around with her when all she is worried about is finding out about her friend.
“You’re right, I’m sorry,” I tell her.
“Bet you don’t say that too often?” She smirks, as I look over at her.
“I’m rarely wrong,” I tell her.
“Guess I better take that apology while I can, seeing they come around so infrequently.” She grins.