Authors: Elle James
Tags: #Harlequin Intrigue
The engine's rumble changed and then started to fade again. A few minutes later, Carlos emerged from the darkness of the surrounding jungle.
“They're gone.”
“What happened?”
Carlos's lips twisted. “They'd left a couple of soldiers at the intersection. I was only three feet away from one of them before I saw him.”
“Damn.” Rip grinned. “I take it you saw him, but he didn't see you?”
Carlos gave Rip an answering grin. “Damn right. I lay low, waiting for him to move far enough away I could slip back to you and let you know. But it wasn't until the truck returned that he left his post. Their leader was angry that they'd lost us and mentioned that Delgado wouldn't be happy. They loaded the two guards and headed back to Colinas Rocosa.”
“Good.” Rip climbed into the Jeep. “We can go back to Hector's now. I hope the others made it back without being followed.”
Tracie was glad to see the imposing concrete fence and concertina wire rise up out of the jungle when they arrived at Hector's. She'd be even happier when she got out of the dress and heels. Never had she felt so useless. When they returned to the festival, she planned on wearing a dress, but she'd have serviceable shoes and trousers beneath the skirt.
Having grown up on a ranch, dresses made her itch to be back in her jeans. The FBI had suited her perfectly. She dressed to suit the mission. Usually that was in trousers. This undercover bride stuff was challenging her inner tomboy to the limits.
Though she had to admit, the look in Rip's eye when he'd first seen her in the yellow sundress almost made it worth the discomfort.
This evening the real test would be following the guerillas back to their jungle hideout. If all went as planned, they'd get the information they sought and be on their way back to the States tomorrow.
Chapter Ten
As they pulled in front of the sprawling hacienda, Hector emerged from the house, his brow puckered. “
Mi amigos.
I worried when you did not return with my men.”
Rip climbed out of the Jeep and met the man at the base of the steps. “The owner of
le Plantación de Ãngel
seemed to want to follow us back to our place of origin. I didn't think you wanted them to know I was staying here, so we led them on what we call a wild goose chase.” He grinned. “It was entertaining to say the least.”
Hector's gaze shifted to Tracie. “And you, Senora? Were you equally entertained?” he asked, his tone doubtful.
Tracie slipped her hand into the crook of Rip's elbow. “Very much so. I felt like I was on the set of an action-adventure movie. It was exhilarating.” She smiled and shook her hair back from her face.
The motion made Rip's pulse quicken. How he'd love to run his hands through her pretty brown hair. She'd been stoic and held it together throughout the entire confrontation with Delgado.
Their host's frown deepened. “Carmelo Delgado is not a man to be toyed with. He will not be happy that he couldn't find you. Were you able to speak to him about buying a coffee plantation?”
Rip pressed his lips together, aiming for a sufficient look of irritation. “He didn't want to sell his place.”
Tracie touched his arm. “Oh, honey, he was quite adamant. He even had his people point guns at us.” She raised a hand to her breast, although Rip was certain she didn't have to feign her shock at their hostile reception on
le Plantación de Ãngel
. She dropped her hand and looked around. “I don't know about you, but all that excitement made me hungry.”
Hector hesitated, his eyes narrowing as if he wasn't convinced they were telling him everything. Then his brows rose and he waved toward the door. “Please. I will have my staff prepare a meal.”
“And I so look forward to swimming in that lovely pool,” Tracie said.
Rip could have kissed her for pulling Hector's attention off their day's adventure and back to his duties as a host. His gut told him that Hector was on the up-and-up and could be trusted with the truth, but Rip wasn't going to risk the lives of Tracie, Carlos and Julio on instinct. They entered the hacienda and settled down to a meal in the airy dining room. Afterward, Tracie excused herself and left the men to talk, claiming a headache.
Hector received a call at the end of the meal and left the room to go to his office to take it.
Rip stood and motioned to Carlos and Julio. “Please, let's go out to the pool to discuss tonight's plan. My wife wishes to attend the festival, but I worry that Delgado's men will be there. I want to make certain we have a way out, should things get sticky.”
Carlos's gaze shifted left then right before he nodded. “Let's go.”
Once outside, Rip settled in chairs far enough away from the hacienda walls they need not worry about listening devices. Carlos and Julio dragged seats close to him and they put their heads together. The night ahead could prove to be difficult.
“It might be suicide going to the festival tonight,” Carlos started.
Rip nodded. He wasn't sure he liked the idea himself. “I'll check in with Hank before we go. If they haven't been able to locate the rebel base, we have to get close enough to Delgado's men to plant GPS devices on them.”
“If they attend.”
“They will.” Rip grinned. “I told them we'd be there.”
Carlos's mouth quirked up on the corner. “You did, didn't you?”
“Purposely,” Rip said. “And with the suggestion I was a competing weapons supplier, I don't think he will try to kidnap us. Follow, yes. Kidnap or kill, no.”
Carlos frowned. “From Hank's briefing, these guerillas prefer to shoot first, question later.”
“We'll be prepared.”
Julio leaned close. “Hank sent along enough equipment to outfit an entire SEAL team. All we need is for Delgado's team to lead us into their camp.”
“Good. Let's be sure to take what we need with us. I have a feeling we'll be headed into the jungle before the night is over.”
“What will you tell Hector?” Carlos asked.
“Leave it to me.”
Julio's eyes narrowed. “He'll want to send reinforcements with us. I prefer to leave them behind. We can handle this mission without them.”
“They might prove a good distraction. Delgado won't know who to target if he has eight people to follow instead of just the four of us. I'll have Hector instruct them to dress casual like they're going to the festival and leave the big guns at the house.”
Julio laughed. “Yeah, the camouflage might give them away.”
Carlos nodded. “We'll have to lose them, as well, or risk them following us to the rebel camp.”
Rip stared at the two men and felt a kinship, even though they'd only met the night before. “What unit were you with?”
“SEAL Team Six,” Julio answered.
“And you're working for Hank now?”
Julio nodded. “He recruited us when he'd heard we'd left the Navy.”
“Why'd you leave?” Rip asked.
“Our missions were becoming too bogged down in politics,” Carlos answered.
“Yeah. Watched one of our own get gunned down because we weren't allowed to fire first.”
Rip sucked in a deep breath. “I understand that. We're here because someone in our government ratted out the DEA agent we went in to rescue. Set us up to pull him out far enough for a sniper to take him down and we lost one of our team.”
Carlos and Julio nodded.
“That's what Hank told us.” Carlos's mouth pressed into a tight line. “Makes you wonder who you're fighting for.”
Julio's brows dipped. “When we heard about your situation, we asked to be a part of the team.”
Rip's chest tightened. “I'm glad you're on board.” A movement out of the corner of his eye caught his attention.
Tracie, emerged from the hacienda wearing a hot-pink bikini and a sheer wrap knotted around her hips. The ends of the wrap billowed out in the breeze and then plastered against her shapely legs.
Carlos gave a low whistle. “None of our buddies looked like that in the Navy.”
“Yeah,” Julio said. “Glad she's on our team.”
Rip's fists clenched. He wanted to tell the guys to back off, but what good would it do? Tracie had been clear about not wanting a relationship with him. On this four-person team, Rip was the outsider. Julio, Carlos and Tracie worked for Hank.
“Hank said she was a Fed,” Carlos said.
“Former FBI,” Rip confirmed. “I would have thought you three would know each other.”
Carlos shook his head. “Julio and I are out of San Diego. We've only been to Hank's ranch once. When he has a job, he either picks up the phone or takes one of his planes and meets with us in California.”
“Just how many people does Hank have working for him?”
Julio shrugged. “None of us know. He started with four cowboys from Texas. Since then, he's expanded out. I think he has one in Colorado, the two of us in California and now a woman. All of us were born and raised on ranches.”
Which would exclude Rip from Hank's selection criteria. He'd never been on a ranch in his life, having grown up in the suburbs of Atlanta, raised by his father, a member of the Atlanta Police Department. Not that he cared about Hank's methods of choosing his Covert Cowboys. He wasn't interested in giving up on the Navy SEALs yet. He loved his job, despite the corruption within the government.
If he could trace the source of the weapons sales back to the United States, he was almost certain he'd find a corrupt government official at the root of the problem. Clean out the traitor and he could go back to business as usual.
Silence fell over the three men as they sat in the shade, studying Tracie as she strode out into the sunshine, untied the wrap and let it fall onto a lounge chair.
Her body was trim, not an ounce of flab, her muscles tight and well defined. She'd let her hair hang straight down her back. Her skin was tanned, not too dark, but a perfect contrast to the bright pink of the bikini. For a moment she stood at the edge of the pool, staring across the hilltop to the east, as if she could see all the way to the coast.
Rip's breath caught in his throat. She was as beautiful in the bikini as she'd been naked in the shower and he wanted her even more. What would it take to break through her defenses and convince her they had a chance?
Then she sucked in a deep breath, her lungs expanding before she dove cleanly into the sparkling water.
When she surfaced, Carlos and Julio clapped loudly and whistled.
“Well done, Senora Gideon,” Carlos said.
Tracie twisted in the water, pushing the wet hair back from her forehead. “I didn't see y'all there,” she said in her soft Texas drawl. “Am I missing anything?”
Rip shook his head. “Not really. We were discussing going to the festival tonight.”
“Oh, good. I haven't danced since our wedding.” She winked at Rip.
“Ah, the beautiful Senora Gideon is taking advantage of the pool.” Hector stepped out of the shadows, wearing swim trunks with a towel slung around his neck. “The pool sees so little use with only me to enjoy its pleasures.” He draped the towel over the back of a chair and stood with his arms crossed, facing Rip, Julio and Carlos. “Gentlemen, perhaps you would care to join us?”
“I'm more interested in a siesta,” Carlos said.
Julio stood and stretched. “I could use one, as well. If we're to go to the festival tonight, I want to be well-rested and alert in case we encounter trouble.”
The two SEALs left the patio. Rip stood. “I suppose I could do with a swim. I'll be right back.”
He entered the hacienda, glancing back at the sound of a splash.
Hector surfaced next to Tracie, close enough to touch.
Rip's blood heated. He was tempted to turn around and jump into the pool fully clothed to put a little space between Hector and Tracie.
For a long moment, he clenched his fists and counted, reaching fifty before he finally calmed enough to enter the house. He strode across the living area and ran up the stairs taking the steps two at a time, not slowing until he reached the bedroom he shared with Tracie.
He riffled through the drawers, digging deep, searching for swim trunks. After the first two drawers, he was throwing shirts, shorts and underwear on the floor, grinding his teeth down to the nub. Where the hell were his swim trunks?
Finally, he reached the bottom of the shorts drawer and unearthed what was nothing more than a pair of shiny black men's underwear.
“Really, Hank? Real men don't wear tiny swim briefs unless they're competing in a swim competition.” He flung the offending item on the bed and dug through the next drawer. None of the shorts would do. As soon as they got wet, they'd be sheer.
“I'm not wearing that,” he grumbled. The image of Tracie laughing into Hector's face flashed in Rip's mind and he grabbed the swimwear, shucked his trousers and yanked the garment up over his thighs. He might as well be swimming naked.
He stood in front of the mirror, his cheeks hot, and almost ditched the entire idea. If not for the thought of Hector flirting with Tracie, he would have. Grabbing a towel from the bathroom, he wrapped it around his waist and ran back down the stairs and out to the pool.
Tracie and Hector glanced up as he skidded to a halt at the edge.
“Join us, sweetheart, the water's wonderful.” Tracie stood in water that came up to just beneath her breasts, the reflection of sunlight emphasizing the hot-pink bikini top.
“
Si.
Join us Senor Gideon.”
“Oh, Hector, we don't need to be so formal. Call him Chuck.”
He smiled at Tracie, his charm turned up full blast and then he faced Rip and dipped his head. “Join us, Chuck.” His emphasis on Chuck made it almost sound like an insult.
With both of them watching his every move, Rip didn't want to remove the towel. “I think I'll enjoy the sunshine.”
“You have to get in. The water is just the right temperature.” Tracie batted her eyes at him, making his stomach do all kinds of flips, even knowing she was putting on a show for Hector's benefit. “Please.”
The
please
won. With a sigh, he dropped the towel.
Hector's brows rose.
Tracie's green eyes flared and darkened, but she didn't say a word.
Rip dove into the water, figuring that the sooner he got in, the sooner his swimming apparel wouldn't be as conspicuous. When he surfaced, he came up behind Tracie and pulled her against him. “Did you tell Hector where we're going tonight?”
Tracie shook her head. “I thought I'd let you.”
Hector's head canted to the side. “Are you going to the festival as planned tonight?”
“We are.”
Hector's brows dipped. “It is dangerous for foreigners to wander around the countryside at night. There have been many kidnappings and murders at the hands of
Los
Rebeldes del Diablo
. I wish you to reconsider.”
Rip smiled and nuzzled the back of Tracie's neck. “My wife has made up her mind.”
“What of Senor Delgado?” Hector asked.
“There will be a lot of people in the town. We'll do our best to blend in.”
Hector snorted. “Senora Gideon, your skin is far too pale to blend in and Senor Gideon is much taller and broader than most men of the area. I am afraid you will have difficulty getting lost in the crowd.”
“That's where your men could come in. Do you mind loaning us the four men you sent with us this morning?” Rip asked. “I need them to dress in clothes that will help them to blend into the crowd. I will have my men do the same. That way if we run into trouble, no one will know they are there to protect us and they can help us get out.”