Midnight Rescue: A Killer Instincts Novel (31 page)

Her hands started to shake. She decided there was no point in denying it. “You’re right. I saw them,” she admitted. “But you’re making a very big assumption in
thinking I’m going to lead some commando rescue tonight.”

“But you will. You and Morgan have probably planned it to the last detail.” He clucked his tongue. “I’m looking forward to seeing both of you, in fact.”

“It won’t happen,” she lied. “I’m not even in the country.”

“Save the horseshit for someone who’ll buy it. Blanco’s silly auction is scheduled for this evening, which means you’re in Bogotá. I know you, luv. You wouldn’t have been able to stay away.”

Frustration bubbled in her stomach, hot and relentless. No. She couldn’t let this bastard ruin everything. She should’ve expected this, especially after he’d told her he was back at Blanco’s compound, but they’d been banking on the element of surprise, catching Blanco’s men—Devlin included—unawares. Now everything had changed. Devlin had figured out her true intentions.

God, why hadn’t she found a way to continue distracting him?

The rescue would fail. There was no chance of success as long as Devlin remained in the equation. For all she knew, he’d already informed his boss about the impending assault. Abby’s brain kicked into high gear, working over the new information. She needed to take Devlin out of the equation. Isolate him from the other variables.

“Did you tell Blanco about this rescue you think is going to happen?” she asked slowly.

“Not yet.” Devlin sounded smug. “I wanted the pleasure of making you squirm first.”

She bit the inside of her cheek, an idea forming. “I have a proposition for you.”

His laughter echoed in her ear. “I can’t wait to hear it.”

Sinking down on the bed, Abby reached up to rub one aching temple. “Don’t tell Blanco about your suspicions, Devlin.”

She could practically see him grinning on the other end. “Keep my own employer in the dark? Why in heavens would I do that?”

“Because if you don’t, you’ll never get me.”

A pause. “I don’t follow, luv.”

“We both know you don’t give a rat’s ass about Blanco or his auction. I’m the one you want. Well, you can have me.”

“And I will. Tonight.”

“No.” Her lips tightened. “Because I won’t be part of the rescue team.”

It killed her to say it. It
killed
her. But there was no other choice. She had to lure Devlin away from the compound. If he remained on the scene, the entire mission would go to hell.

“I don’t believe you,” he finally said, but his confidence seemed to have faltered. “You’ll come.”

“No, I won’t. I do want to save those girls—you were right about that—but do you know what I want even more than that?”

His voice became wary. “What?”

“To make you suffer.” A callous laugh slipped out of her mouth. “It drives you crazy, doesn’t it, Devlin? Knowing I’m so close but you can’t touch me. And I bet it drives you even crazier knowing that I got captured on purpose, that everything you did to me, I
allowed
.”

She could hear his anger vibrating through the extension. “You couldn’t break me,” she finished, “and now you won’t even get the chance to try.”

“You’re lying,” he muttered. “You won’t abandon those silly children. You’ll try to save them.”

“Morgan’s team will save them,” she said, correcting him. “I trust them to do it. But me? I’ll disappear, Devlin. Tonight. And you’ll never find me. Unless…” She trailed off seductively.

“Unless what?” he demanded.

“You make a choice. Me or those
silly
girls.” She closed her eyes, forcing herself to continue. “Morgan and his men will ambush your employer’s compound. You will say nothing to Blanco about it. And in reward, I’ll come to you.”

“Isn’t that sweet, sacrificing yourself for those children.”

She ignored the mocking tone. “You have a decision to make, Devlin. Either you stay at the compound and try to stop the rescue—in which case I’ll be long gone. Or you forget about the rescue and meet me instead. It’s a fair trade, don’t you think? You get me; Morgan gets the girls.”

He went quiet. She waited.

This was too risky. She knew that. Even if Devlin agreed to meet her, he might still tell Blanco about the rescue attempt. But Kane and the others were pros. They could pull it off even without the element of surprise. They would have a better chance, though, if Devlin were off the compound. The man was unpredictable. A sadistic asshole who would get great joy from killing every last man on Morgan’s team should anything go wrong.

Luring him away was her best bet, but that meant she’d need to find a way to handle Kane. If she told him that she was meeting Devlin, he’d never let her go alone. But if she lied, faked a headache or something equally
contrived, he’d know something was up. She’d fought tooth and nail with him to let her be part of the rescue, even if it meant simply waiting on a helicopter. No way would he believe she’d suddenly decided to sit it out.

“All right.”

Devlin’s harsh response jerked her from her thoughts. “All right?” she echoed.

“I choose you, luv.”

Relief soared through her. “And you won’t interfere with the rescue effort? You won’t tell Blanco that his auction might be in danger?”

“Do you honestly think I give a damn about Blanco’s auction?” Devlin said in a cavalier tone.

“I want your word.”

He laughed again. “Then you have it, my sweet Abby. I give you my word that Blanco will not know what hit him. To be honest, I’ve grown rather tired of the man. Perhaps he’ll have a run-in with Morgan’s rifle.”

He sounded sincere, but Abby didn’t trust the bastard. Not one bit. She’d done all she could, though. She would warn Morgan that the team might be expected, but she would not be on that chopper with them.

“Now, back to business,” Devlin chirped. “There’s a little mining town about two hours north of Bogotá. We’ll meet there.”

“Fine,” she agreed.

“There’s an abandoned emerald mine in the western foothills. I’ll expect you there at— When is that silly auction? Seven. Yes, we will meet at seven. If you don’t show, I pick up the phone and warn Blanco.”

“I’ll show,” she said in a low voice.

“Good.” He paused. “And I don’t need to remind you to come alone, do I? No backup, Abby.”

“Any backup I may have brought will be indisposed at that time,” she reminded him.

“Yes, I imagine so.” He chuckled. “You know, I find myself almost rooting for Morgan. I’ve always thought of him as a worthy adversary. Not as worthy as you, though.” His chuckle transformed into a hearty laugh. “I will kill you, luv. I hope you realize that.”

She offered a laugh of her own. “I’d like to see you try,
luv
.”

He hung up.

Shit
.

Abby drew an unsteady breath, hoping she hadn’t just made the biggest mistake of her life. But what other choice did she have? Devlin could not be at that compound when the rescue went down. His insane obsession with her would ruin everything, endanger not only Kane and his team but the lives of those innocent girls as well. The only way this mission had even the slightest chance of succeeding was if she distracted Devlin. If she killed him.

Exhaling slowly, she got to her feet. She had to go.

Now. Before he gets back, Abby.

Jeremy’s voice in her head. Sharp and confident as always.

Right. She needed to leave. It was only one o’clock. The mine was two hours away. If she left now, she’d get there at three, four hours ahead of Devlin. It meant being out in the open, exposed, for far too long, but there weren’t many other options available to her. She had to leave the safe house before Kane returned, or else he’d try to stop her.

Her mind raced as she worked over the details. She needed a vehicle. Weapons. A way out without the other men seeing her.

The sound of the front door opening caught her attention.
Frustration slammed into her when she heard Kane’s voice drifting from the living room.

Damn it.

Damn it.

Lucia’s hands trembled as she followed the unfamiliar guard into the familiar room. Her pupils were still struggling to adjust to the sunshine streaming in from the window. It felt like they’d been locked in that cold, dark bunker for months rather than days. Blinking, she looked around in surprise.

Mamá had brought her here before. This was where the staff went when their work was finished. The other girls looked confused as they glanced at the frayed couches and the small but tidy kitchen area.

“Where is this?” Valencia whispered, sounding uncertain.

“Quiet!” the guard snapped. He stalked around and did a head count, nodding stiffly when he confirmed they were all there. “If any of you make a sound…” He didn’t finish the rest of his sentence, simply lifted his scary-looking gun and waved it around before making a move for the door.

A burden lifted off Lucia’s chest as he closed the door. A lock clicked into place, and then they were alone.

She instinctively looked at Valencia, whose tanned arm was wrapped around Sylvie’s quivering shoulders. Consuela stuck close to Valencia, while Emiliana, Nita, and Gabrielle huddled together. The other six girls stood there with blank expressions, waiting for someone to take charge.

“My mamá works here,” Lucia said, her voice barely over a whisper.

“Do you think she’s here, in the house?” Valencia whispered back.

Lucia shrugged helplessly. “I don’t know.”

Valencia led Sylvie to one of the couches and urged the girl to sit. Sylvie obeyed, curling into a little ball, her head propped against the armrest. Several of the others sat down too, but not Lucia.

“I don’t like this,” she whispered. “I think Señor Blanco is going to hurt us.”

“Is there a way out?”

The question came from Consuela. Lucia was quick to shake her head. “Only the door.”

“The man with the gun is out there,” Emiliana reminded them, her big blue eyes filling with tears.

“We can find a way,” Valencia said, her mouth grim. “We have to find—”

Voices sounded outside the door. The lock scraped open, and then a dour-faced woman with long black hair entered the room. She was rolling in a long metal rack. With dresses. There were see-through white dresses hanging on the rack.

Fear exploded in Lucia’s belly.

“Undress,” the woman said briskly.

The girls looked at one another, apprehensive.

The woman glanced at the guard, who promptly lifted his gun. “Undress!” he snapped.

Thirteen pairs of hands fumbled at their clothing.

“Hey,” Kane said as he entered the bedroom, his green eyes lighting up at the sight of her in a way that made Abby want to burst into tears.

Oh God, what was she going to do?

“Did Luke tell you about Inez?” Kane asked, oblivious
to her distress. He crossed the room and sat next to her on the bed, one muscular arm casually draping over her shoulder.

She nodded. “Inez managed to do it. The plan worked.”

“And now Trevor and Isabel have a shot to get out of there alive.” Kane’s lips curved into a frown. “I don’t like being in the dark about how many guards there’ll be or where they’ll be positioned. Once Trev and Isabel are in the compound, they won’t be able to contact us to let us know. Blanco will search them for transmitters.”

She tentatively touched his thigh. “You’re worried.”

“Yeah,” he admitted. “It bugs me that we won’t be able to communicate with them. We’re working under the assumption that they’ll be in position at eight thirty. If they aren’t, we’ll all be screwed.”

Not her, though. Of course, she could very well be dead by that time.

Kane took her hand and stroked the inside of her palm. “But let’s not think about any of that now.” A dimple appeared in his chin as he grinned. “We have some time before we need to leave. Wanna fool around?”

She laughed. “Are you serious?”

“Sure. It’s a good way to relax before all that adrenaline kicks in.”

Without waiting for a response, he flopped back on the bed, pulling her on top of him. Abby’s heart raced as he cradled her head and brought her closer for a soft kiss.

An idea floated into her mind.

No. No, she couldn’t.

“So what do you say?” Kane’s voice was light, teasing, and his lips met hers again, accompanied by a wicked tongue that he dragged over her bottom lip before thrusting it into her mouth.

She closed her eyes and kissed him back. Tried to keep herself in check and stop her mind from turning to mush the way her body seemed determined to do. Ignoring the tiny bursts of pleasure exploding inside her, she threaded her fingers through his hair, then ran them over his neck.

You have to, Abby.

God, Kane would never forgive her for this.

“Fuck, I love kissing you,” he muttered against her mouth, slowly caressing her back in a way that made her fingers tremble.

Steady hands, Abby.

Fuck you, Jeremy.

She dragged her fingers over the nape of Kane’s neck, guilt and sorrow combining in her stomach, making her insides burn.

Kane’s tongue slid into her mouth again at the same time she located the precise spot.

“I’m sorry,” she murmured.

“What—”

She applied just enough pressure on his carotid artery, eliciting a startled curse from his lips. A second later his green eyes glazed over and rolled back in his head. And then he went motionless.

Her throat was so tight, she could barely take a breath. Pain streaked through her body as she stared down at his still form. God. A knot of raw shame tangled in the pit of her stomach like a pretzel. It had been a risky move going for his neck. It took most martial arts experts years to use pressure points safely, but she’d been taught well. Aside from a bad headache, he’d be fine when he came to in a few hours. Angry as hell, but fine.

She inhaled slowly. Okay. She’d bought herself the time she needed. Better make good use of it.

Abby left the bedroom, shutting the door tightly behind her, then made her way to the doorway across the hall. She knocked softly.

D appeared almost instantly, despite the fact that he was supposed to be sleeping. She gazed past his broad shoulders, noticing Ethan sprawled on one of the twin beds, out like a light.