Caught in the Act (16 page)

They didn’t lie there together, basking in the glory of great sex. Adam was polite enough to lift his considerable weight off her. He withdrew from her carefully and went to the bathroom to dispose of the condom.

Kari’s languid satisfaction disappeared with him. She became aware of how she must look, her legs splayed wide and her skirt hiked up to her waist. The back door was unlocked. Anyone could walk in.

She tugged her skirt down and grabbed her sweater, wrapping it around her naked torso. What had she just done?

She didn’t even know Adam. This wasn’t the beginning of a beautiful relationship. It was a mindless fuck on the floor. With a stranger who would arrest her in a heartbeat if he discovered her secret.

Feeling queasy, she awaited his return.

* * *

After her shift was over, Maria slipped out of her work smock and snuck up to the second floor, keeping her eyes peeled for Armando.

She didn’t think anyone had seen her hide Agent Foster. Chuy had been busy with Sonia, and then he’d taken care of some customers. It was business as usual at the Hotel del Oro.

Moving quickly, she used her card key and slipped inside the damaged room, undetected. Her stowaway wasn’t on the bed, where she’d left him. Had he wandered off, or been discovered by another staff member?

Pulse racing, she locked the door behind her and entered the room, searching for him. The bathroom door was open. She peeked in.

He was sprawled out on the floor by the toilet.

“Dios mio,”
she said, covering her mouth with one hand. “Are you sick?”

His eyelids fluttered and his head lolled to the side. He was obviously ill. His T-shirt was damp with sweat, his face wan. Wincing in sympathy, she rifled through her purse. She’d bought a Coke at the vending machine, hoping a bit of caffeine would wake him up. Maybe she should have purchased some crackers to settle his stomach, too.

“Drink this,” she said, cracking the top open.

With her assistance, he sat up to take a drink. When the liquid stayed down, she gave him a little more. “Feeling better?”

He settled against her shoulder, drifting off.

“Oh no,” she said, putting the Coke aside. “You can’t
stay here all night. We have to get you up and walking again.”

His eyes opened, bleary and unfocused. “Let Armando kill me.”

“You don’t mean that,” she said, but he was already asleep again. She disentangled herself from him and stood, pacing the bathroom. What was she going to do? She had to get him out of here before they were caught.

Although she didn’t have any experience with drug addicts, she knew of two ways to sober men up. The first was with food, which he might not be able to handle. The second tactic involved cold water.

She tapped her chin, considering the shower stall. He was already dirty.

“You need a bath,” she said, eyeing his soiled shirt with distaste. When he didn’t protest, she knelt to untie his ratty tennis shoes. The socks underneath were clean, oddly enough. She stripped them away, revealing his long, narrow feet. He had nice-looking feet, for a man. She frowned at the thought, shaking her head.

When she tried to unfasten his belt buckle, he roused, locking his hand around her wrist. “What are you doing?”

“Taking your pants off.”

He blinked at her a few times. “I can’t … perform.”

“Good.”

His head rested back on the floor and he let her continue, staying half alert. His boxer shorts were blue pinstriped and looked new, like his socks. She tugged his jeans down his legs and folded them.

“Don’t search my pockets.”

“Okay,” she said easily. “Sit up.”

Groaning, he managed to lift his upper body off the
floor, and she pulled his damp T-shirt over his head. Although his skin was clammy with perspiration, he didn’t stink. She’d sat next to men on the bus who smelled worse.

He was also more fit than she’d imagined. His arms were well defined, his stomach muscles etched into hard flesh.

Glancing away from him, she studied the shower area. There was no tub, and he might not be able to stay upright on his own. She’d have to get in with him. “Look away,” she warned, taking off her jeans.

He averted his eyes, obedient.

She unbuttoned her shirt and set it aside, making a neat stack. In her plain cotton panties and serviceable white bra, she didn’t make a seductive picture. And he was too loaded to care.

“Into the shower,” she said, helping him stand. He was cooperative but clumsy. It took every ounce of strength she possessed to get him into the stall, and she felt very awkward, pressing her naked skin against his.

Panting with effort, she reached behind him to turn on the faucet. Cold water hit his back, shocking him fully awake. “Hey!”

“Stay still,” she said, hugging him around the waist. “I’m helping you.”

He endured the icy spray for a moment, but it didn’t have the desired effect. Although they were both soaked, and shivering from cold, he wasn’t in his right mind. His hands wandered over her slippery skin, cupping her bottom. He obviously didn’t understand what she was trying to wake him up for.

“Stop that,” she said, slapping his hands away.

He had the wherewithal to turn the water off, and the
nerve to stare at her dripping body, zeroing in on her wet underwear. The white fabric was now transparent, revealing her nipples and the dark triangle between her legs.

Maria realized that she’d succeeded in rousing him, but not the way she’d intended. “Let’s go,” she muttered, urging him to step out of the shower. He was harder to manage now, trying to grope her again and almost losing his balance on the linoleum floor. When she finally got him to the bed, he gave up on pawing her and passed out cold.

She sat at the edge of the mattress, filled with frustration. He’d asked her not to go through his pockets, but she had no choice. Storming across the room, she searched his jeans. He had a bag of drugs, a wad of cash, and a cell phone.

She turned on the phone, dialing Kari’s number.

“Hello?”

Maria let out a slow breath, relieved. “How did it go?”

“I can’t talk right now,” she said.

“Are you at the store?”

“Yes.”

“Is your sister there?”

“No.”

Maria moistened her lips, wondering what had happened. “I’m going to be late.”

“Why?” Kari’s tone changed from melancholy to alarmed. “Are you okay?”

“Yes, I’m fine. Everything is fine. I’ll be home in a few hours.”

Kari insisted on coming to the hotel to check up on her. Maria convinced her not to. They ended the call,
each worried about the other. Feeling anxious, Maria washed Agent Foster’s shirt in the sink and hung it up to dry.

Then she perched at the edge of the bed, propped her elbows on her knees, and rested her chin in her hands.

It was going to be a long night.

11

Adam couldn’t meet his eyes in the mirror.

He’d crossed the line. Twice now, he’d let Kari go when he should have detained her. Breaking procedure, he’d followed her for a week. He’d come here to drill her for information and ended up … drilling her.

He’d jeopardized his entire career, for what? Five hot minutes.

And he still didn’t know what game she was playing. It was likely that a shipment of drugs had been smuggled over the border in another vehicle at the same time Kari came through. He could have sworn by the way she acted at the border that she was doing something illegal. Guilt and fear and anxiety radiated from her. Even while he was on top of her, she’d been keyed up. She’d fucked him like her life depended on it.

He should go home, regroup. Figure out what the hell he was trying to accomplish on this after-hours mission, besides getting her off.

Luckily, Adam had plenty of experience with leaving women right after sex. He knew how to sidestep awkward
scenes and messy entanglements. He always had an excuse ready for parting ways.

Avoiding his reflection, he walked out of the bathroom.

To his surprise, Kari wasn’t curled up on the mats, drowsy from satiation. She was standing with her back to him, talking on her cell phone.

She’d tugged her skirt down and thrown the sweater over her shoulders, but she hadn’t bothered to put on a bra or shirt. Her panties were lying on the floor where he’d left them.

This must be an important fucking phone call.

Don’t ask who it is
.

Rule number one for getting out fast was no personal questions. Adam waited for her to hang up, unaccountably annoyed. The fact that she was on her cell should have made leaving her easier. Instead, it felt like an insult. Hadn’t he been good enough? Was she so bored and restless that she had to get up and check her messages?

Kari ended the call and turned to him, giving him an apologetic look. “That was Maria,” she explained. “Sorry.”

Oh, it was
Maria
. His attitude shifted from cagey withdrawal to seething outrage in an instant. Her body was still flushed from the pleasure he’d given her, and she had the nerve to mention her other “lover”? This was total bullshit. She was toying with him, trying to make him jealous—and it was working.

Don’t react
.

“Let’s get something straight,” he said, ignoring the rules of disengagement. “I know goddamned well that you’re not sleeping with your roommate, so you can
drop the lesbian act. We just proved without a doubt that you play for my team.”

Color rose to her cheeks. “I’m sorry,” she said again. “I’ve never done this before.”

Adam glanced at the lacy scrap of panties on the floor, arching a brow. “That’s hard to believe,
bella
.”

Her mouth made a thin line and she snatched up her undergarments, setting them aside. “Not with a stranger, I mean.”

A
stranger
. He raked a hand through his hair, disturbed by that characterization. The truth was that he knew her better than any of the women he’d been with in recent memory. They’d had more meaningful conversations, spent more time together.

“Have you?” she asked.

“Have I what?”

“Slept with a stranger before.”

“Yes,” he said, knowing the blunt admission wouldn’t make her feel better.

“What do you say afterward?”

“It depends if I want to see her again.”

She hugged the sweater around her naked torso, uncomfortable. “I can’t get involved with anyone right now.”

Adam clenched his hands into fists. He’d never been on the receiving end of a brush-off before and it didn’t feel very good. Maybe this was payback for all the women he’d used and discarded in Penelope’s wake. “Let me give you some tips on how to handle this, for future reference. Never say you can’t get involved. What you mean is that you want anonymous sex but would rather have it with someone else. No man wants to hear
that. Instead, say you had a nice time, kiss him goodbye, and don’t call back.”

Her eyes darkened at his harsh tone, but she didn’t speak. The sweater at her shoulders slipped down a little, its latticework fabric revealing more than it concealed. A pert nipple peeped through the spaces, the rosy tip framed by soft knit.

With some difficulty, Adam returned his gaze to her face. “I’d also recommend putting on some clothes. The only thing I can think about while you’re like that is fucking you again.” Turning his back on her, he strode toward the door.

She followed, catching hold of his arm. “Wait.”

He paused, impatient.

“Answer one question before you go,” she said, lowering her voice. “Are you with Moreno?”

Adam looked down at her slender hand. “Moreno?”

“Carlos Moreno. My sister’s boyfriend.”

“I know who he is.”

“Are you part of his crew?”

He’d never been so insulted by a postcoital interrogation. He could handle questions about his marital status, his general health, and even his sexual history. His professional integrity hadn’t been an issue with women.

Then again, he hadn’t slept with a drug smuggler before.

“No,” he said, removing her hand from his person. “I’m not part of Moreno’s crew. I’d quit the department before I accepted a bribe. I don’t expect you to believe that, because liars are notoriously skeptical, so I’ll spell it out for you in a convincing way.”

She recoiled at his fierce expression, shrinking back a step. Her wary eyes cut him to the quick. If she thought
he would join a criminal organization or hurt a woman physically, she didn’t know him at all.

“Three years ago I was about to marry my longtime girlfriend,” he said in a flat voice. “We met in junior college and decided to get engaged right after graduation. I’d just been stationed at the San Ysidro port of entry. She had dual citizenship and a promising career as a reporter for a bilingual newspaper.”

Kari waited for him to continue, her face pale.

“She was covering a story on drug violence, interviewing a couple of lowlifes at the Coyote Café in downtown Tijuana. Shots were fired between Moreno’s crew and members of La Familia, a rival cartel. One of the bullets hit her in the neck, grazing her carotid artery. She bled to death while the crowd scattered.”