CHAPTER 3
Imogen
The instant Mateo’s lips met hers, time ceased to exist. The present collapsed, buckling onto itself until she’d fallen through its folds straight into the past. Memories of Mat flooded Imogen’s senses, and the last five years disappeared as if they’d never been. Everything about him was so familiar. His taste, smell, even the feel of his hands on her back.
As his closely trimmed beard tickled her chin, she breathed him in.
Pepper and oranges.
His scent was the same. Despite knowing what to expect, she was powerless against his pull. Always had been. With Mat’s mouth moving on hers, a cozy warmth seeped into her veins. It was as soothing as slipping into a hot bath.
Kissing Mat felt like coming home.
Is this even real?
The old fire that burned between them rekindled, but doubts crept in.
Why is he kissing me?
His tongue teased her lips while her mind whirled with questions. When his palms cupped her face, the flames built higher, and she worried they’d consume what remained of her heart, leaving her an empty shell after the fire burned itself out.
Lifting her hands, she placed them flat on Mat’s chest and attempted to push him away. But he held her fast.
Before she could object, someone cleared their throat. They’d intended for it to be loud, but it was a crack of thunder in the silence. The noise cut through her hazy awareness, clearing her head. She blinked and found herself caught in the storminess of Mat’s stare.
Like the sky after a summer downpour, his eyes flashed with heat lightning, even as the throat-clearer spoke. “ El Jaguar wants to see you.”
Mat didn’t take his gaze off her as he answered, “Tell him I’ll be right there.”
Imogen tried to step back, but Mat didn’t release her. One of his hands was tangled in her hair —When had he unwound it from her bun? —the other cupped her cheek. A shiver made her twitch against his hold when she realized she had no idea. How lost had she been in that kiss?
Mat continued to block the speaker’s view of her as the man said, “He demanded I bring you.”
Mat’s expression shifted so quickly she almost gasped. With a deadly growl, he turned on the speaker. “Then wait the fuck outside!”
With her view no longer obstructed, she caught the man’s flinch before he silently turned for the door. She could’ve winced in sympathy. This terrifying narco in a sharp suit was a stranger to her. He might smell like her Mat, but he wasn’t. Not anymore.
Only after the door had shut behind the man did Mateo look at her.
A hardness had settled over his features. It was foreign enough to have her hugging her arms across her chest while she put some space between them. When he didn’t speak, the silence became unbearable.
“Don’t you have to go?” She’d meant to bark the question at him, but her voice came out as thin as a reed, tangled threads of emotion strangling her words.
“Yes.” His stare assessed her, and he looked like he wanted to say more. “Will you stay here? Our conversation ain’t over.”
Conversation, ha! That’s not what he meant, and she knew it. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.” At least now she’d put some authority back into her voice.
The man outside grew tired of waiting because he rapped his knuckles on the door.
“Please, Gen.”
The soft plea gave her pause. She chewed her lip as Mat’s eyes begged her to stay. Her heart wanted her to but her head . . . it knew better.
He glanced at the door and added, “Give me fifteen minutes. Then we’ll talk.”
Her hands smacked her hips, skeptical of his words. “Talk?”
“Just talk. I promise.” He backed toward the door with hooded eyes. “If you’re gonna stay, we need to go over some things.”
“Oh.” She lost her defensive stance. So he did really mean a conversation. Why did that leave her feeling disappointed? She should be relieved. “Okay. Fine.”
After a nod, Mat gave her one more assessing stare before he left the suite.
Confused by the kiss, she sank back into the chair by the fireplace. From the sitting area, she could see his bedroom through the open door along the far wall.
Dark satin sheets lay tangled half on the floor, and Imogen frowned, wondering exactly how they’d gotten that way. She remembered tangling their fair amount of sheets together and the idea of him doing so with anyone else sparked an ember of jealousy that she tried to tamp out.
He’s not yours anymore, chica.
Imogen turned her gaze away, but her thoughts ran in multiple directions as scrambled as a plate of eggs. She couldn’t stop wondering why Mat had kissed her or what might’ve happened if they hadn’t been interrupted. Despite telling herself she would’ve stopped things from going too far, she didn’t fully trust her ability to say no to him.
Not when kissing him felt so good. His lips had warmed the blood that shock had frozen in her veins. So much so that she’d nearly melted in his arms. She’d hoped she’d gotten over Mat, but that kiss proved otherwise.
When her mind tried to replay it, she violently shook her head, determined to toss the image from her thoughts. Why was she waiting here when she should be trying to find her brother? She’d been so caught up with Mat she’d forgotten why she was here in the first place.
Estúpida!
Imogen surged to her feet. If Mat was meeting with the lieutenant, then at least he’d be busy. Hurrying to the door, she opened it and checked the hall. It was empty.
Stepping out, she closed the door behind her as silently as possible, then listened for the sound of footsteps. She would follow Mat to the lieutenant’s rooms and do some snooping while he kept the man occupied. Noting the direction they’d gone, she removed her noisy pumps and crept after them. Even if she found nothing about Emil, she could at least eavesdrop on their conversation.
◆◆◆
Mateo
“The boss won’t like it.”
Mat glared at the back of Julio’s head. He’d kissed Imogen so the person who’d entered his room wouldn’t be suspicious of the real reason she’d been there. Maybe if anyone other than Julio had come to his door, it would’ve worked. The man was gum on a boot heel—annoying as hell. He liked to run his mouth any chance he got.
It had been a risk, but Mat thought he could play the embrace off as nothing. The problem with his plan was that kissing Imogen had been the opposite of nothing. His body remembered her and reacted more strongly than he’d intended. What had started as a cover-up morphed into something else. Which made him that much more anxious to throw Julio off the scent.
Making sure his authority sounded in his voice, Mat replied, “ El Jaguar doesn’t care what I do with one of his housemaids. He has far more important matters to attend to.” He paused so the next shot would hit its mark. “Like you should be doin’.”
Julio stopped them outside the lieutenant’s office, whirling around with an expression of uncensored hatred. “You don’t tell me what to do, gringo .”
The fact Mat had been promoted stuck in Julio’s craw like a burr. Knowing it would infuriate him, Mat smiled. Julio liked to think he answered only to the lieutenant, but Mat knew that wasn’t the case. The man wanted power but was little better than the lieutenant’s errand boy. “Are you sure ’bout that, Julio? Maybe we should ask El Jaguar .”
Julio started to reach for the gun in his shoulder holster before he thought better of it. Mat hoped that would be the end of this conversation, but then Julio’s eyes lit up.
His slimy voice settled like tar over Mat’s airways. “I guess I don’t have to tell the lieutenant about your maid. If she’s willing to open her legs for you, she can do the same for me.”
Motherfucker!
With the wire tripped on Mat’s anger, he went off, slamming Julio into the wall and pinning the shorter man’s throat under his forearm with eyes that promised murder. The move epitomized the scary narco Mat played at, but this wasn’t an act. The idea of Julio going after Imogen fired a rage he’d never felt before.
He barely recognized his own voice as he growled, “You so much as sniff in her direction, and I’ll feed your balls to the dogs, you fuckin’ mico .”
Calling an angry man with a gun a cunt might not have been the smartest move, but Mat needed Julio to know he meant business. Because undercover or not, Imogen’s safety was more important than the operation, at least in his mind.
Julio hissed a heap of curses before shifting his weight. Mat spun the bastard around, pushing his face into the wall to silence him before he had a chance to get off a punch.
Leaning in, Mat spoke low in his ear, “ Me entiendes , Julio?” Adding pressure to the bend in the man’s arm he was using to hold him in place, Mat asked, “Or do I need to break your fuckin’ arm to make my point clear?”
Julio half-spat his response on a howl of pain, “ Entiendo! ”
El Jaguar’s voice sounded through the closed door. “Is that you, Mateo?”
Mat released Julio with a shove as he answered, “ Sí, patrón .”
The lieutenant opened his office door, sized up the situation, and scowled. “Stop playing with each other and get in here.”
Julio pushed in front of Mat as if entering the room first was some sort of prize. Mat could care less. His only aim was finding out whatever the lieutenant wanted, so he could get back to Imogen as fast as possible.
“Instead of trying to ferret out the traitor, we make him reveal himself,” El Jaguar spoke as he walked to the bookshelf behind his desk. Grabbing a tattered tome, he turned. “I’m going to throw a party to celebrate Carnival and invite every Lazcano.”
The hairs on Mat’s neck stood up. He had a pretty good idea of where this was leading, and he didn’t like it. His head would be on the chopping block if he didn’t find a traitor at the celebration.
The lieutenant opened the book and leaned over his desk to hand it to Mat. Though his eyes were on the open pages, Mat heard the smile in El Jaguar’s voice.
“It’s time we revived this tradition.”
Despite his stomach’s revolt, Mat met the lieutenant’s dark gaze. “It’ll be my pleasure.” He made his lips form a smile while the line he walked between maintaining his cover and upholding the oaths he took as a Ranger stretched horribly thin.
“Tomorrow.”
Mat’s thoughts were muddled with potential outcomes to get out of this mess. Distracted, he repeated, “Tomorrow?”
The lieutenant’s smile turned into a glower. “The party. Make it tomorrow night. The sooner we catch this traitor, the better, verdad ?”
Mat nodded. “Consider it done.”
When the lieutenant dismissed him, Mat’s feet wanted to fly out the door. It had been at least twenty minutes since he’d left Imogen. He raised his eyes to the ceiling and prayed she’d still be in his room.