Chapter Twenty-Four #2
A growl tore from Caleb’s throat.
Gia stabbed the mute button, praying the sound hadn’t carried.
Another voice rumbled in the background of the call.
Juan.
“His cousin,” she murmured. “If Vincente agrees to the trade, Juan will be with him.”
Her stomach clenched. Juan had dumped Antonio’s body in the ocean. Laughed when she’d screamed.
Vincente’s voice returned. “Let me speak to Gianna. She is there with you, yes?”
A muscle ticked in Caleb’s jaw. “You don’t have to talk to him.”
Sweat dampened her hairline. Her heart pounded in her throat. “I do. He needs to believe I’ll go.”
She took the phone off mute, forcing her voice to stay steady. “I’ll return to Miami, but only if you release Jennie and promise no one else will get hurt.”
“Very well, mi amor .” His false indulgence turned her stomach. “You and your soldier will meet me at a location of my choosing. No one else. Or the Indian woman suffers the consequences.”
“I’m not stupid enough to walk into a trap,” Caleb cut in. “Gia and I come alone. Day after tomorrow. Time and place are my choice. I’ll be in touch.”
He ended the call before Vincente could respond.
Gia sagged against him, adrenaline crashing, the taint of Vincente’s voice still clinging like smoke.
“Now what?” Zach had been a silent witness until now, but the tension in his body betrayed the fury simmering underneath. He looked carved from stone, violence just beneath the surface. His eyes mirrored the guilt and fear Gia had seen in her own reflection ever since Jennie disappeared.
“Find me a lo cation,” Caleb said. “Isolated. No civilians. Lopez will bring men. Armed. We need ingress and egress mapped out—and a sniper in position. That’s your specialty, if I remember. Day after tomorrow should be enough time for me to get my Dìleas teammates here and in place.”
Zach nodded. “Set the trade for late afternoon. I’ll scout in the morning, then we’ll work the plan.”
His gaze shifted to Gia. “You sure about this?”
Her smile felt brittle. “We need Jennie back. Alive.”
“Which means we don’t play by the book,” Caleb said. “No local law enforcement. No Feds. Time is our enemy. So are loose lips.”
Zach’s jaw tightened. “I am law enforcement.” He exhaled hard. “At least for now. I’ll be in touch.”
Caleb walked him out to the Tahoe.
Gia hovered near the door, the weight of their plan pressing against her chest like a boulder.
She shut her eyes, as if that might quiet the panic flooding her veins. Even with all their planning, Vincente wasn’t stupid.
She had to be ready to go with him—if that’s what it took to free Jennie.
And keep Caleb alive. Because she had no doubt Vincente wanted him dead.
The door opened, bringing a rush of cold air.
Strong arms wrapped around her. Sheltered her. Made her feel like she mattered.
If they survived this…
She would happily spend the rest of her life with this man.
The rest of my life.
She’d done it.
Fallen stupidly, hopelessly, madly in love.
She wanted ever ything.
To accept President Blackwater’s offer and stay on at the clinic.
To live in this community, with the people she’d so quickly grown to care about.
With Caleb by her side, rediscovering his family, his roots.
If she could convince him to stay.
Did Caleb love her? She didn’t want to know. Not yet.
Not when the answer might shatter her.
If he loved her—and she lost him—she shuddered.
Oh God.
“You’re thinking too hard again.” Caleb’s voice rumbled against her ear, deep and low and steady.
Her future teetered on a knife’s edge. In two days’ time, she’d either be free—or back in Vincente’s grasp.
She refused to waste whatever time she had left.
Turning, she cradled his face in her hands.
“I don’t want to think,” she whispered. “I want to feel. Make me feel.”
His mouth crashed onto hers.
She met him with everything she had, clinging to him like she’d never let go.
Every stroke of Caleb’s tongue erased Vincente. Erased fear. Erased the darkness closing in.
The world tilted as he swept her into his arms and carried her to the bedroom.
Clothes fell in a fevered trail.
His broad palm cradled her head as she sank into the mattress, the bed cool against her back, his body blazing hot above her.
Weight settled over her, solid and grounding, warmth seeping into her bones.
Lips traced fir e down her throat. “Do you feel this?”
“Yes,” she moaned. Shivers rippled through her.
He cupped her breast. Took her nipple into his mouth. Licked and nipped until she trembled.
Electricity coiled in her belly, radiating outward with every flick of his wicked tongue.
“Can you feel this, baby?” His voice was raw. Reverent.
Her breath hitched. “Yes, Caleb .”
His hand skimmed down her stomach, over her hip. Found her center.
He thrust two fingers deep.
She arched. “I need—”
His tongue replaced his hand, teasing her with long, slow glides as her spine arched and her thighs quivered. Licking her like she was his favorite ice cream.
Ratcheting her tighter, inch by delicious inch.
“I love the way you taste,” he growled. “So sweet. Like prickly pear.”
“Please.” He’d reduced her to begging. “I need you inside me.”
He hovered above her, dark eyes wild and wanting. “Look at me. See me, Gia.”
Her heart nearly exploded. She did see him.
Not the soldier.
Not the protector.
The man.
The one who made her believe in something more than survival.
“I see you,” she whispered.
Something fierce and aching flickered in his gaze. Then he thrust into her—deep, possessive.
A sob tore from her lips. Not pain. Pure, aching rightness.
He was hers. She was his.
Heart and soul .
She clung to him. Scored his back with her nails. Tasted the salt on his skin. Drank in his groans.
“Mine.” His grip tightened. His thrusts turned savage, relentless.
He slipped a hand between them.
She shattered—pleasure crashing through her like a tidal wave, her scream caught in the curve of his neck.
He came with her, hips jerking, body shaking, a rough groan breaking from his chest.
She held him as he collapsed, his weight grounding her, his heartbeat pounding against her breasts.
Proof of life. Proof of them .
But even as his warmth surrounded her, reality clawed its way back in.
Vincente always won.
And if he saw the truth in her eyes—if he guessed how deeply she loved Caleb—he’d kill him.
Just to watch her break.