Bare Witness (12 page)

She suspected he was tired and running on adrenaline right now. She certainly was. It had been a long twenty-four hours, and while she’d been on jobs like this one in the past, she couldn’t recall one that was so draining on her emotions. She could handle the physical stress—she worked out so that her body was in tip-top shape—but this emotional crap was killing her.

And she wasn’t even Piper’s parent or relative. She had only met the girl a few short hours ago. What must Nigel be going through?

“Why don’t you let me drive for a while?”

“No. I can’t sit there again. It was making me crazy.”

She nodded. It was making her crazy to sit here and wait for something to happen. For a break to come in their investigation that would unlock the puzzle of what was going on in Peru. It was clear that someone was out to get Nigel. But a part of Justine wondered if it was personal or business. Was Baron Industries the real target, or was it Nigel Carter?

Driving to Cusco was really all they could do, but it didn’t make the trip any easier on either one of them.

“What is the new compound here called?” Justine asked, trying to ask questions that would jar something in Nigel, and make the initials at the bottom of that ransom note mean something.

“The Cusco factory,” he said. “Believe me, I’ve thought of every possible angle on those initials. It’s just not anything obvious.”

“It has to be something you’d know,” she said. “This person took your daughter, Nigel. He wants you to suffer, and he wants you to know he was the one who did it.”

“Then why doesn’t he just get on the phone and call me?”

“Don’t be sarcastic. I’m just pointing out that you probably know what those initials stand for.”

He scrubbed a hand through his hair. “I know, I just can’t think of what it means. And I’m tired, Justine. And worried about my little girl.”

She reached over and put her hand on his thigh, squeezing him. “I’m here with you, and together we will figure this out.”

“What makes you so sure?”

She shrugged. She’d already given him all the verbal reassurance she could. He had to decide if he was going to believe Piper would be okay or if he was going to continue to worry over her. There was nothing Justine could say to change his mind, and she knew that.

But a part of her believed that if he were the man she was coming to know him to be, that he would let his fear fall away. Because until he did, he wasn’t going to be able to see anything but his fear for his daughter, and Justine knew that wasn’t going to make it easier for them to find her.

T
hey arrived in Cusco in the middle of the afternoon. Nigel followed her directions to the house that Liberty Investigations had rented. They parked the car and immediately went to their computers, both of them downloading emails and information. Anna had designed a computer program to run combinations of words based on a set of variables, all creating the initials J.E.B.

Nigel was going through the list while Justine walked around the plush house. They were at a high altitude, and the beauty that was the Amazon Basin surrounded her, but Justine felt restless. She had to meet Anna’s contact in less than an hour.

She was still trying to decide the best way to disguise Nigel. She had hoped to leave him at the house, but he refused to stay, and she was still his bodyguard, so she couldn’t take a chance with his life.

She had some spray-on hair dye that would change the color of his hair, and clothes that would definitely change his image.

“Justine?”

“Yes?”

“Are you ready to go?”

“I will be as soon as we get you in disguise.”

He entered the living room and she was surprised to see he’d already used the hair dye. He looked different to her, with the deep red hair and the garb that college students tended to wear. Faded and worn jeans, a tight T-shirt, and a scruffy-looking hat.

“What do you think?”

“Pretty good. Let’s go. I want some time to get you in position so I can keep you safe.”

“I’m almost ready,” he said.

He crossed to her and drew her in to his arms, kissing her deeply before letting her go. “Sorry about that, but I missed the taste of you.”

He walked away before she could react. All she could do was follow him out the door to the car. Nigel was entirely too confident in himself sexually, and he wasn’t afraid to use that masculine confidence against her. He was making her feel like she was very desirable.

And she didn’t mind it as much as she thought she would have. There was something about the way Nigel looked at her that put her fears from the past to rest. She knew that was dangerous because it made her depend too much on him, but on the other hand, having Nigel in her life was something she realized she really wouldn’t mind.

She drove through the streets of Cusco on a motorcycle. Nigel straddled the seat behind her. She liked the feel of him pressed against her, and didn’t feel trapped by him at all.

He caressed her breasts as she drove and she found that she liked it. When they stopped and he helped her off the bike, she missed the feel of his hands on her breasts. She couldn’t wait to make love with him again. But she had no idea if they would have the time.

It was the first time her desires as a woman got in the way of her instincts as a professional bodyguard.

Nigel linked their fingers together as they walked back through town to the outdoor café where Justine was to meet her contact. She found a table for her and Nigel near the café wall. With the wall at their backs, they only had three sides to defend. They ordered Dos Equis and sat in the sun to wait. She felt sweat bead up between her breasts and slowly slide down her skin.

Nigel leaned over to her and licked a drop of sweat from her neck. “God, woman, you are so hot.”

“Literally,” she said, not really sure how to take all the sexual compliments he continued to give her.

“Me, too. After we take care of business here, I’m going to make love to you.”

She shivered. “Really?”

He smiled at her so sweetly she knew she was falling for him. He leaned forward and kissed her. “Yes.”

A bus rumbled by and less than a minute later, a man who looked as if he’d seen the inside of more than one prison ambled toward them. Justine dropped Nigel’s hand and pulled her gun under the table, prepared to shoot their way out of the café if they had to.

“This seat taken?” the guy asked.

“No,” Justine answered.

“I’m Emile,” he said.

“Justine.”

“Do you have the money?” he asked.

Justine nodded and Nigel passed him an envelope under the table. He pocketed it without opening it. “I’ve drawn a basic layout for you, and I think tonight might be the time to make your move. I can meet you inside the south wall at eight.”

He left a small paper on the table before getting up and leaving. Justine drew the paper toward her and examined it. The diagram of the complex was very detailed, and the notes on the side giving them directions to the location were done in very neat handwriting.

“Can we trust him?” Nigel asked.

“As far as you can trust anyone you pay.”

Nigel gave her a hard stare as they stood up and left the café. “What does that mean?”

“Just that as long as you are the highest bidder, you’re the one who owns the man—if you call that loyalty.”

“So how do you know if you’re the high man?”

Justine climbed on the motorcycle and waited for Nigel to climb on behind her. “You don’t, until you’re too deep to turn around.”

“Nice,” he said.

She turned on the engine and gunned the motor, shooting them down the street. She didn’t head immediately back to the house they were renting, just in case anyone had followed them. When she was sure they weren’t being followed, she returned to the house and pulled into the garage. Nigel got off the bike first, and when she stepped off, he drew her into his arms and kissed her.

Nigel loved riding through the streets of Cusco with Justine. It made him feel like he was really alive, something he thought he’d never feel again when Piper was taken.

But more than that, it helped take his mind off the horrible images that had plagued him the car. Thinking about Piper wasn’t helping anyone. He was doing everything in his power to save his daughter, and now all he could do was wait.

Waiting was hard, but the man who’d brought them the diagram looked capable, and Nigel believed he’d protect his daughter.

And right now he had this woman in his arms. A woman he’d been thinking about in inconvenient sexual terms since he’d met her. She pulled away from him and walked into the house. He stood there for a moment watching her.

She moved like she had earlier this evening in the lobby, all easy, long-limbed grace. Each step was slowly measured. Her shoulders were back and her hips moved sensuously.

“Do you want me, Justine?” he asked her.

“Yes. I do. I’m not sure what to do about it.”

“Let’s go inside and I’ll show you.”

He took her hand and led her into the house. It was cool after the heat of the city. He knew not to lead her into the bedroom. She wasn’t comfortable enough with him yet to make love to him in a bed, and he knew that.

Instead, he sat down on the long couch and drew her down next to him, onto his lap. She turned around until she straddled his lap.

“Comfortable?”

“Yes.” She pushed back from him, putting one hand between them. “Nigel?”

“Yes?”

“How about taking off your shirt?” Justine asked.

He arched one eyebrow at her. “Do you have something in mind?”

“Yes. Can I…I mean, would you just sit here and let me…”

He growled deep in her throat when she leaned forward to brush kisses against his chest. Her lips were sweet and not shy as she explored his torso. Then he felt the edge of her teeth as she nibbled at his pecs.

He watched her, his eyes narrowing and his pants feeling damned uncomfortable. Her tongue darted out and brushed against his nipple. He arched off the couch, and put his hand on the back of her head, urging her to stay where she was.

She put her hands on his shoulders and eased her way down his chest. She traced each of the muscles that ribbed his abdomen and then slowly made her way lower. He could feel his heartbeat in his erection, and knew he was going to lose it if he didn’t take control.

But another part of him wanted to just sit back and let her have her way with him. When she reached the edge of his pants, she stopped and glanced up his body to his face.

Her hand going to his erection, brushing over his straining length. “I guess you like that.”

“Hell, yeah,” he said, pulling her to him. He lifted her slightly so that her nipples brushed his chest.

“Now it’s my turn,” he said.

She nibbled on her lips as he rotated his shoulders so that his chest rubbed against her breast.

“I like that,” she said.

Blood roared in his ear. He was so hard, so full right now, that he needed to be inside her body.

Impatient with the fabric of her clothing, he shoved her shirt out of his way and undid her pants. “Stand up and take those pants off.”

She did as he asked and he shed his pants at the same time, making sure to grab the condom he’d put in his pocket.

He pulled her back onto his lap and caressed her creamy thighs. God, she was soft. She moaned as he neared her center and then sighed when he brushed his fingertips across the crotch of her panties.

The cotton was warm and wet. He slipped one finger under the material and hesitated for a second, looking down into her eyes.

Her eyes were heavy-lidded. She bit down on her lower lip, and he felt the minute movements of her hips as she tried to move his touch where she needed it.

He was beyond teasing her or prolonging anything. He ripped her panties aside, plunging two fingers into her humid body. She squirmed against him.

He pulled her head down to his so he could taste her mouth. Her mouth opened over his and he told himself to take it slow, but slow wasn’t in his programming with this woman. She was pure feminine temptation and he had her in his arms.

He nibbled on her and held her at his mercy. Her nails dug into his shoulders and she leaned up, brushing against his chest. Her nipples were hard points and he pulled away from her mouth, glancing down to see them pushing against his chest.

He caressed her back and spine, scraping his nail down the length of it. He followed the line of her back down to the indentation above her backside.

She closed her eyes and held her breath as he fondled her, running his finger over her nipple. It was velvety compared to the satin smoothness of her breast. He brushed his finger back and forth until she bit her lower lip and shifted on his lap. He wanted to give her this pleasure because from the few things she’d said, he guessed that her experiences with men hadn’t been that great, in bed or out.

He saw the sexy confident woman she was disappear each time he pulled her into his arms. He wanted to know who had harmed this woman, so he could exact vengeance on them. He needed to wrap her in his arms and keep her safe for the rest of both of their days.

She moaned a sweet sound that he leaned up to capture in her mouth. She tipped her head to the side, immediately allowing him access to her mouth. She held his shoulders and moved on him, rubbing her center over his erection.

He scraped his fingernail over her nipple and she shivered in his arms. He pushed her back a little bit so he could see her. Her breasts were bare, nipples distended and begging for his mouth. He lowered his head and suckled.

He held her still with a hand on the small of her back. He buried his other hand in her hair and arched her over his arm. Both of her breasts were thrust up at him. He had a lap full of woman and he knew that he wanted Justine more than he’d wanted any other woman in a long time.

Her eyes were closed, her hips moving subtly against him, and when he blew on her nipple, he saw gooseflesh spread down her body.

He loved the way she reacted to his mouth on her breast. He kept his attention on her breasts. Her nipples were so sensitive, he was pretty sure he could bring her to orgasm just from touching her there.

The globes of her breasts were full and fleshy, more than a handful. He hardened as he wondered what his cock would feel like thrust between them.

He leaned down and licked the valley between her breasts, imagining his cock sliding back and forth there. He’d swell and she’d moan his name, watching him.

He bit carefully at the lily-white skin of her chest, suckling at her so that he’d leave his mark. He wanted her to remember this moment and what they had done when she was alone later.

He kept kissing and rubbing, pinching her nipples until her hands clenched in his hair and she rocked her hips harder against his length. He lifted his hips, thrusting up against her. He bit down carefully on her tender aroused nipple. She screamed his name and he hurriedly covered her mouth with his, wanting to feel every bit of her passion.

Rocking her until the storm passed and she quieted in his arms, he held her close, feeling her heartbeat against his chest and her soft exhalations against his neck. That she was letting him hold her was a pleasure he thought he’d never have.

He stroked his hands down her back and tried to keep from rushing her into another bout of sex. But he was desperate to get inside her silky body, and the feel of those bare breasts against his chest was driving him crazy.

He glanced down at her and saw she was watching him. The fire in her eyes made his entire body tight with anticipation. This was what he needed.

Justine was more to him than he’d thought he’d find. He knew this evening was going to be rough. And he was honest enough to admit he was scared for the both of them. He didn’t want to think of anything happening to Justine, and he really didn’t like it that her job was one where she put herself in danger daily.

But that didn’t matter right now. Now he was making love to her, Justine O’Neill…his woman, he thought. But he knew better than to say that out loud to her.

He refused to have sex with her again without using a condom. He put the condom on one-handed and reached for her again. He’d never wanted a woman the way he wanted Justine. There was something almost primal in the way he needed her.

“Hurry,” she said, no shadows in her eyes now. “I don’t know how long I can last,” she said. “I really want you. Come to me now.”

Her honest need for him was the sexiest thing he’d ever heard. It made him realize how much he needed her, and not just physically. He knew they both still had secrets, but right now, those secrets didn’t matter.