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  “It damn well sure does,” Mike agreed. He crouched down next to Kat. ”I hate to say this but it also ups the danger factor.” His fingers caressed the nape of her neck as if trying to assure her things would still be okay.

  She finished the water and set the glass down. “One thing I don’t want you to do is soft pedal things for me. I can’t be of any use unless I know every fact available.” She swallowed the lump in her throat. “I’m scared to death for Mari. But is it really any worse having her held captive by a drug dealer than some other criminal? Her life is just as much at risk.”

  Mike kissed her cheek, then rose to his feet. “You’re right. And it gives us a new angle to pursue.”

  Mark picked up the stack of papers they’d printed out from Andy’s emails. “Why don’t I take these to my room and go over them. I’ll call Andy and tell him to see if he can find any connection at all between the three men and any drug organization. I’ll also have him do a search for the cartels who’ve been most active in this kind of thing lately.”

  “I have some stuff on my computer too,” Faith chimed in. “And I can have Tia, my research assistant, email anything new she’s come up with. It’s not hard to find. These men don’t seem to shun publicity.”

  “Why should they?” Mike said in a bitter tone. “Our government seems to be powerless to deal with anything on the other side of the border. The Mexican government is too corrupt and the politics are too shaky.”

  “So what can we do?” Kat asked.

  “Take care of it like we always do. Monitor new emails to the three men. Try to trace their source. Find out where the hostages are being held and go in and get them.”

  “That simple, huh?”

  “Well.” He smiled. “Almost.” He looked at the Hallorans. “And what will Katherine and I be doing while you’re rustling up all this information?”

  “Kat looks like she could use some rest and I think you can help her relax.” Mark winked and Kat blushed.

  “How about if we meet for dinner about eight o’clock?” Mike asked.

  “Could we have room service?” Kat asked. “I don’t think I feel like eating in a restaurant after the day we’ve had.” She looked at Mark and Faith. “Unless you’d rather not. We can eat here by ourselves.”

  “Not a problem.” Faith gave her a quick hug. “I’ll call you in plenty of time to call in our order. And add a couple of bottles of good wine. I think we could all use it.”

  She pushed her husband out the door and closed it behind them.

  Kat looked at Mike, the heat simmering between them despite the severity of the situation. Or maybe because of it. The situation with Brent had shaken her badly too, although it was a relief to finally be rid of him. Mike, reading her mood as always, took charge of the moment. He lifted her from the chair, cradling her in his arms. His mouth descended on hers, gently at first then with a firmer pressure.

  “Let it go, kitten. Let it all out.”

  She pressed herself to his body. “I think my batteries need recharging. I feel as if a truck ran over me.”

  “How about you lie down for a while?”

  She looked up at him. “How about you lie down with me?” She desperately needed this affirmation that in the midst of this despair and danger there was life and love.

  “I think that can be arranged.” He cradled her face between his palms, pressing his mouth to hers. “Open for me, kitten.”

  When she did his tongue swept in like a hot wire, trailing flame everywhere in the wet cavern of her mouth, brushing over her teeth, her gums, then mating with her own small tongue. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled his head closer, tasting him and savoring his flavor. God, just his touch generated such heat in her body, his kisses sending electrical jolts to every one of her pulse points. She could already feel moisture gathering between her thighs and her nipples pressing against the thin fabric of her shirt.

  He never lifted his mouth from hers as he carried her into the bedroom. His tongue continued to plunge and stroke until they reached the bed and he set her on her feet. She was breathless when he broke the kiss.

  He reached for the buttons on her blouse, releasing them one at a time and pulling the fabric from the waistband of her jeans and pushing it down her arms. When his fingers easily undid the front clasp on her bra and her breasts sprang free he sucked in his breath, his eyes flaring with heat. The need in his gaze made her nipples harden even more and her breasts ache. He cupped them in his palms, thumbs rasping the sides, his eyes feasting on them as if he couldn’t turn away.

  Her knees wobbled and she was afraid if she didn’t sit down she’d fall down. Just his touch was enough the start the pulse at her core pounding relentlessly.

  “Beautiful,” he whispered. “So beautiful. How did I go for two years without this? How was I so stupid as to push you away? Never again, kitten. I promise you.”

  Gently he slipped the sleeves of her blouse and the straps of her bra down her arms until they fell away to the floor. His lips brushed first one nipple, then the other and a shiver skated over her body. She clutched his upper arms for support, her head thrown back as she arched toward him.

  His fingertips traced circles around her areolas, a feather of a touch that might just as well have been a jolt of lightning as streamers of heat raced to every part of her body.

  “Michael,” she whispered.

  When his hands drifted lower to the snap and zipper of her jeans, she moved her hands to unbutton his shirt, pushing it aside as he had done to hers and running her fingers through the fine pelt of dark hair covering his chest. His flat nipples peeked out from beneath the dark curls, nipples that hardened as hers did when she scraped her fingernails over them.

  Suddenly he was in a frenzy for them to finish undressing as quickly as possible. “Clothes,” he said, his own breathing labored. “Off. Now.”

  They undressed together, eyes focused on each other, until they were naked. Mike’s gaze raked over her, hot and smoldering. He reached out a finger and touched each hardened nipple, then drew a line straight down to the curls covering her mound.

  “Hold everything.” His voice was rough with passion. “Be right back.”

  He unzipped his duffel and pulled out a handful of condoms.

  “Aren’t you being a little optimistic?” She heard the trembling in her voice. “We don’t have that much time until dinner.”

  His mouth touched hers in a brief kiss. “Maybe I want to be prepared for later.”

  And then they were naked, skin to skin, every inch of their bodies pressed together. The thickness of his erection was pushed hotly against the softness of her belly and he bent his head to suck briefly at each of her breasts. He yanked the covers back on the bed and lifted her to the cool sheets. In a moment he was stretched out beside her, running his hands over her body, relearning every dip and curve and swell.

  She could feel the electricity humming between them, her hormones leaping to attention as he worshiped every inch of her body. One of his hard-muscled thighs insinuated itself between her soft ones and she felt his hot shaft pressing against her, hard and ready. When his hand trailed down past her navel to the thatch of curls covering her mound and lower still to the seam of her cunt, she heard his moan as he became aware of how wet she was.

  Mike’s hands were everywhere, tracing every dip and swell of her body, cupping her breasts and her mound. His mouth was busy tasting her, licking along the line of her jaw. He nipped the lobe of her ear while his thumb and forefinger pinched and tugged at each nipple, sending twin spikes of heat through her.

  Restless in her desire and need for him, she wriggled a hand between them to reach for his cock, thick and hard against her thigh. When she closed her fingers around it, his hand contracted around the mound of her breast and his teeth closed on her bottom lip.

  His fingers slid down her tummy to find the throbbing button of her clit and farther until he drove them inside her. She pushed herself down o
n him, impaling herself on his fingers as she stroked his erection. It flexed beneath her touch and swelled even more.

  Mike’s thumb rasped her clit as his fingers continue to move in and out of her wet channel. When he bent his head to pull a nipple into his mouth and bit down on it lightly she crashed over the edge, her entire body trembling, her pussy clamping down on his fingers with tremor after tremor.

  Her fingers tightened convulsively on his cock and she heard his harsh intake of breath.

  Mike slid his fingers from her body and rubbed them on her lips.

  “Taste yourself.” The timbre of his voice was rough, his eyes like hot coals burning into hers. “See how sweet you taste.”

  She let her tongue sweep over her bottom lip, capturing the flavor that was sharp and honeyed at the same time.

  His hand lowered to her pussy again and he began the same teasing movements, the same assault on clit and vagina. Only this time, as the orgasm rose up within her, he pulled his hand away, rolled over and reached for one of the condoms.

  “I want you now,” he told her.

  When he knelt between her legs to sheath himself, the desire burning in his eyes was so intense it took her breath away. In the next moment he drove into her with one hard thrust.

  They moved together in a motion so familiar it was as if they’d never been parted. Each time he withdrew her muscles quivered with the loss of his presence. When he reentered her they clasped him tightly, sheathing him, sucking him into her body. She opened her eyes to watch him above her, every one of his muscles taut with strain, sweat dripping from his face.

  Unbelievably she felt her climax building again so quickly she was afraid she’d get ahead of him but then he rasped, “I can’t hold it any longer, Kat. I can’t wait.”

  “Me either,” she whispered.

  “Come with me, Kat,” he urged, his face taut, every one of his muscles rigid.

  And she did.

  She convulsed around his hot erection, her internal muscles gripping him and pulling at him. Still gasping for breath, her fingers digging into the hard muscles of his back, she was shocked to feel her body begin to respond yet again as he set up a hard in-and-out movement.

  Rockets exploded throughout her body, her pulse drumming in her ears and her blood racing like fast running rapids. She shifted to take him even deeper, then locked her ankles behind him and pulled him close.

  They came together in an explosion so intense it was like all the fireworks on the Fourth of July. The orgasm gripped them both like a giant fist, shaking them, tossing them like leaves in a wind. Her muscles spasmed over and over as she felt him throbbing deep inside her sheath, the only thing separating them the thin covering of latex. With a last shudder he threw his head back and screamed her name, then fused his mouth to hers as the convulsions died away.

  For a long time she lay beneath him, completely spent, the room filled with the scratchy sound of air being dragged into lungs. She wasn’t sure whose heart she felt beating ferociously, hers or his. He lay atop her, catching most of his weight on his forearms, his lips pressed against the damp column of her neck.

  At last he slid from her gently, rolled to the side and said, “Give me a minute here.”

  She heard him in the bathroom disposing of the condom, then he was back, stretched out next to her, pulling her against him so her head was tucked into his shoulder and his hands could stroke her spine and buttocks.

  “We wasted so much time because I was such a stupid ass,” he told her.

  “I thought we weren’t going to talk about that anymore.”

  “I just want you to know—”

  “Ssh.” She touched her fingers to her lips. “We have plenty of time for all that when this is over, when the Wrights and Mari are back safe and sound. Meanwhile we know we have each other.”

  * * * * *

  Mari was doing her best to keep it together but her head throbbed incessantly, a constant dull pounding that kept her on the edge of nausea. Sydney had made her drink the water when a tray was delivered again and she choked down one tortilla. If she ever got out of this, she swore she’d never eat one of the damn things ever again.

  The tiny patch she could see through what passed for a window high up showed her the sun had set and the sky was darkening. That left little light inside the hut. She still had her watch that fortunately had an LED readout. Pushing the button to light it up, she realized it was almost eight thirty. They’d been here all afternoon and into the evening.

  She tried to figure out who would do this but she didn’t have a clue. Someone they knew was involved, she was convinced of that. The people who took them had to know when and where they’d be eating lunch. But who could be so evil? So vicious? And who were they working with who facilitated it?

  She glanced around the room, looking to see where everyone was. Sydney was sitting on the floor next to her, eyes closed, having finally dozed off. She watched Eli sitting in the opposite corner, his arm around Lissa, speaking quietly to her, obviously trying to reassure her that things would be all right.

  What a laugh that was. She wished she’d left something behind that Kat could use as a clue, a point of focus to discover their location. But everything had happened so quickly. One minute they were laughing, waiting for their car to return to the airport. The next they were drugged and in a van, speeding away from the scene.

  Oh Kat, please find us. I hope Vivi Alderson was able to help you strengthen your gift and some clue lets you “see” us.

  She heard the clacking of the wood outside that obviously kept the door in place, then the door itself slammed open and Pedro and Enrique sauntered in, accompanied again by the cameraman.

  “Time to make video stars of you again,” he told them, shifting the cigar in his mouth to speak around it. “Everybody up.” When they all moved slowly to their feet, he pointed his gun toward the ceiling and fired it, making everyone jump. “I mean right now. We are on a schedule here.”

  “Listen.” Eli moved his daughter behind him as he stepped forward. “I want to know what this is all about, who’s in charge here and when you plan to let us go.”

  Without warning Pedro flipped his gun to hold it by the butt and smashed it into Eli’s nose. He tried to stifle the cry of pain as blood streamed down his face.

  “Daddy!” Lissa cried.

  Mari immediately went to her and put her arms around her, forcing her own pain into background and stroking the young girl’s hair.

  “Eli! My god!” Sydney grabbed some of the paper napkins left from their last round of food and water and pressed them against his nose. “Here. Hold this.” She turned to Pedro, a fierce expression on her face. “Do your orders say you’re to brutalize us?” she demanded of Pedro, who stood watching them with evil satisfaction glistening in his eyes.

  “Señora. My orders are to make sure the people we are contacting take us seriously. If they think you are being treated like celebrities, where will the urgency of the situation be? Now get back before you have a matching cut on your other cheek.”

  “People?” Mari saw Eli had picked up on the plural. His words were muffled as he kept the absorbent paper pressed to his nose but he hadn’t lost his air of quiet command. “So there’s more than one person involved?”

  “The number is irrelevant,” Enrique told them, the first time he’d spoken. “We have our orders and you would do well to follow them. Now take your places.”

  Roughly he pulled each of them into the places they’d stood previously and nodded to the cameraman. He now had a portable light with him, which he set up on a tripod. The glare nearly blinded them.

  This time the taping took only seconds. Pedro and Enrique stood by the open door as the cameraman finished up. The light went out, the door slammed shut and they were plunged into near darkness.

  Sydney raced into the dirty bathroom, wet some of the toilet paper in there and carried it to Eli. “Come sit down and put your head back,” she told him.


  Mari led Lissa over to where her parents lowered themselves to the floor and the two of them crouched down.

  “It’s interesting that he said ‘people’,” Eli said, looking at Mari.

  “I was thinking the same thing.” She wished her head would stop hurting so she could think better. “That makes me think more than one person arranged this. But Eli, who would do that? Who knew where we’d be, who would want to do this to us?”

  “Disgruntled employees?” Sydney asked.

  “No. I can’t think of any of them who would have the resources or contacts to set this up.”

  “People you’ve done business with?” Sydney suggested.

  Eli shrugged. “Yes, no, maybe.” He looked at Mari. “Anyone come to mind?”

  “No one who would be angry enough to do something like this. The other thing is, whoever it is didn’t do this himself. He made arrangements with someone to grab us.”

  “You’re right,” he agreed. “The plane they flew us here on had a logo on the side that said Mazatlan Textiles, so you know we’re in Mexico.”

  Sydney gave an unladylike snort. “You could tell that by our so-called hosts. But who do we know who would have this kind of connection with someone so powerful in Mexico?”

  “I just don’t know.”

  He looked at Mari, his eyes sending her a message. She turned away so no one would catch the message between them but she knew what he was thinking. They’d read about it often enough in the newspapers.

  Drug cartels!

  The kidnappings by drug kingpins of wealthy, high-profile people had been all over the news for the past few months. That added another dimension to the situation. Now they needed to figure out not just who engineered this but who would have contacts with a drug cartel.

  A cold knot settled in her stomach like an icy fist. If what she suspected was true, the situation had just gone from bad to much, much worse.

  Chapter Ten

  Kat was sure that she glowed. That everything she and Mike had done was imprinted on her somehow for everyone to see. She was beyond self-conscious when the Hallorans joined them in their suite but Faith, as usual, made her feel at ease. Even when Mike couldn’t keep himself from touching her, whether it was draping his arm around her or rubbing his finger along her arm or her hand, the other couple acted as if it was business as usual.