Chapter 18 #3
“So what’s the plan? Did you figure out where we are when you looked over the edge of the roof?”
His woman didn’t miss much. “Just that we’re headed in the wrong direction,” he admitted a little sheepishly. “We want to head back toward the water, not away from it.”
“But isn’t that where Mateo’s men will be looking for us?” she asked, her brow furrowing.
“You saw the fliers. They’re looking for us everywhere. But my team and I were at a motel near the water, the port. I’m sure they’ve fanned out, trying to find us, but the closer we can get to my team’s perimeter, the better.”
“What about your computer friend, Tex? Can’t he tell them where we are?”
“He should be able to. But if he had, they’d have found us by now. I have a tracker on me, but it must be malfunctioning.”
“Oh. I have a feeling Tex isn’t going to be happy about that.”
“You have no idea,” Smiley agreed, thinking about what the computer genius was doing right that second. Having a temper tantrum to end all tantrums, probably. He wasn’t exactly thrilled himself. If ever he’d needed an assist, it was now.
“Maybe if I got the lay of the land, I could help,” Bree suggested.
Smiley’s first reaction was to say no, she needed to rest. But he reconsidered. He was obviously useless when it came to navigation. She couldn’t be worse than he was.
“In a while. For now, we need to rest. When the sun sets, we’ll set out again.”
“In the dark?” Bree questioned.
“We’re too conspicuous. The bounty on your head is too much for the people in this part of the city to ignore.
It would be like someone offering two million dollars for the return of their runaway dog back home.
Everyone would be on the lookout and wouldn’t hesitate to make a call for that kind of money if they spotted the animal. ”
“I don’t understand why he wants me so badly,” Bree mused.
“I’m not saying this to be a dick, but I don’t think it’s you, per se,” Smiley said. He’d been thinking about this. “I think it’s more the principle at this point. He paid a good chunk of money for you, and as time went on, stubbornness set in and he became more and more determined to get you.”
“So it’s a pride thing?” Bree asked with a frown.
“Something like that.”
“That’s stupid,” she said with a huff.
“It is,” Smiley agreed.
“So…what happens when we find your team and get the hell out of here? What then? Is he going to come back to California? Send more people after me? Will I have to hide out for the rest of my life because of his stupid pride?”
“No!” Smiley exclaimed. Again, too loud.
He heard the woman with the baby make a noise of disapproval, and he glanced at her and shrugged apologetically. There was a gap in the cardboard boxes that were stacked around her little area, allowing her to see them, and vice versa.
“Remember what Tex said, about the group that took out Castillo’s predecessor?” Smiley asked Bree.
“That Rex guy?”
“Yeah. So, needless to say, Rex isn’t happy. He’s going to make sure Castillo isn’t a threat to you, or any other woman, ever again. Once we get home, the only thing we have to worry about is our future. Together.”
Bree looked up at him. “I want to stay with you.”
“Good. Because I want that too.”
“Don’t hurt me, Smiley. Because I think it would destroy me.”
“I’m not going to hurt you. I think you could hurt me way worse than anything I could do to you.”
She snorted. “Whatever.”
“I mean it. You think I usually spend months looking for women I meet while on an op? I don’t. There was something about you that wouldn’t let me quit. You got under my skin, Bree. And now you’re in so deep, I can’t imagine you not being there. You once asked me why I was helping you.”
Bree nodded. “And you said you’d tell me after Mateo was caught.”
“Right,” Smiley said, pleased she remembered the conversation.
“He hasn’t been caught yet, but he’s as good as dead.
I think I loved you from the second I saw you.
Which sounds impossible, but I can’t think of any other reason why I was so obsessed with finding you, making sure no harm came to you. ”
Bree stared at him with an expression he couldn’t read.
He blurted, “If you come to your senses and change your mind about being with me, it would destroy me.”
“I’m not going anywhere. Why do you think I went to Riverton when I left Vegas?
I could’ve gone anywhere. But for some reason, I went straight to where you were.
I think we were meant to be together. I somehow realized you were someone who wouldn’t let me down.
I don’t know about love at first sight, but there was definitely something about you that drew me in.
That’s why I found you in Riverton, why you were able to track me to Mexico, and why we’re here now.
We’re going to get back home, I just know it. ”
Smiley’s throat was so tight, he couldn’t speak. All he could do was gather Bree closer to his chest and close his eyes and pray she was right.
As Bree fell asleep in his arms, Smiley stayed awake and on alert. He wasn’t tired. Not even close. When he was sure they were safe, and they were on their way out of the country, he’d crash hard. But for now, he was wired.
Bree slept for two hours in his arms, but when more and more people started coming and going from the roof, he decided it was in their best interest to head out.
It wasn’t dark yet, but Smiley didn’t like the looks he was getting from some of the men, and even some of the women.
His analogy about the lost dog and the massive reward kept replaying in his head.
All it would take was for one person making a phone call, and they’d be in big trouble.
“Bree,” he said softly.
She woke in an instant, as if his voice was all she’d been waiting for.
“What? What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” Smiley soothed, hoping against hope he wasn’t lying. “It’s time for us to get going. You want to check out the area, make mental notes so you can get us going in the right direction?”
She nodded and went to climb off his lap, but Smiley held her still. “Hang on, sweetheart. Let me get up first.”
He helped her slide off to his side, then stood. Reaching down, Smiley helped her stand as gently as he could, then stood behind her as she looked out over the city.
In Smiley’s estimation, it was probably around five or so in the afternoon. The sun was still up, but much lower in the sky.
Bree scanned the area, and Smiley could practically see the wheels turning in her head as she did her best to memorize landmarks and plot a path toward the ocean.
Once the sun went down, he’d be lost, but Smiley had confidence in his Bree.
He should’ve asked her way before now for help.
He’d gotten used to his teammates taking charge of navigation without having to be asked.
She looked up at him. Even with the bruises and scrapes all over her body, she was the most beautiful woman he’d ever laid eyes on. She shone with an inner strength and kindness that called to him.
The woman with the child began speaking, and Smiley turned to glance at her through the opening in the boxes. He thought she was talking to them…then he realized she was actually using a cellphone.
He was somewhat alarmed, praying that she wasn’t calling someone to alert them to the foreigners who were so out of place on the roof. But she didn’t look worried, or concerned, or shifty in any way…
The woman’s baby began to cry, and she hung up the phone to try to console the child.
Feeling like an idiot for not even considering that someone on the roof might have a phone, he asked Bree, “You good?”
She nodded. “Yeah. I’ve memorized a few landmarks, and if we start out now, while the sun is up, that’ll help a lot.”
Smiley grabbed her hand, then took a few steps away from the edge of the roof. “Okay?” he asked. “Your legs feel good?”
“Yeah. The nap helped a lot. Thank you.”
Shaking his head, Smiley wanted to tell her that she never had to thank him for giving her what she needed, but he was too focused on what he should’ve done way sooner. Circling around to the front of the woman’s makeshift shelter, he stopped. Shit, how did he ask for what he wanted?
“I took Spanish in college,” Bree said softly. “What do you want to ask her?”
Once again, Bree was saving his ass. “She has a cellphone. We can use it to call Kevlar.”
Bree’s eyes widened. “Holy shit, that would be much better than walking all the way back to the coast.”
She turned and asked the woman what her baby’s name was.
Smiley understood that much Spanish, and while he didn’t know why she wasn’t asking about the phone, he trusted her to do the right thing.
As Bree and the woman had a stilted conversation, considering Bree’s rusty Spanish and the woman’s obvious mistrust of the foreigners, the hair on the back of Smiley’s neck prickled.
Looking around, he didn’t see anything out of the ordinary, but experience had taught him not to discount the uneasy feelings he got while on a mission.
“We need to go,” he told Bree.
She nodded, and her voice changed as she spoke with the woman. Got softer, as if she was pleading for something. They said a few things back and forth, then Bree turned to Smiley. “She wants to know what we’ll exchange for the use of her phone.”
Smiley didn’t hesitate. He ducked his head and removed the small bag he’d been carrying and held it out to Bree. “There’s a couple bottles of water left. A candy bar, another loaf of bread and two cans of vegetables.”
Bree’s eyes widened. “You have a candy bar?”
He felt like shit for not giving it to her earlier. “Yeah. But I figured you needed something more nutritious first. Then you fell asleep and…” His voice trailed off.
“You’re never going to live this down,” she muttered, as she took the bag and turned back to the woman.