Operation London (24 page)

Finally Magdalene's pretty jade eyes lit up and she nodded excitedly
. Lucia's broken voice came in over the speakers.

"....but it's more than what happened in school
. Now he might be in serious trouble. It's getting worse and I don't know who to go to!" Lucia cried, sobbing excitedly.

"Calm down, Lucia," Reynolds said, obviously trying to keep the very personal discussion discreet
. "I can't help you if you don't give me a little more information."
"He's gonna get in trouble!  Just like with that girl in high school, remember?" she moaned.

There was silence on the recording for a long moment.

"Of course I remember. That poor girl is still in an asylum..."

"She was a lying bitch!" Lucia screamed
. It sounded like something was being pushed into the computer, papers were being thrown, metal hit against wood with a deafening clang.

"Alright, stop!  Lucia just stop for a second!"

Ava raised an eyebrow at Magdalene who was chewing on her lip in agitated silence.

"You think she was the only one he hurt?  He hurt a lot of people
. But that's because he hurts inside himself," Lucia whispered.

Under the table Miguel reached over to squeeze Ava's hand, already slippery with perspiration
.

"Alright, Lucia
. I told you I would help......" Reynolds rushed.

"Now
. You want to help now that I brought up what you're all too afraid to hear about Angel. The thing that will make everyone think he's an animal."  Her breathing was labored.

"What do you want me to hear, Lucia?" he asked, his voice strung taunt as a bow.

"Nothing at all. I'm the only one who can ever know Angel. I'm the only one who will be able to protect him," she said determinedly. Her voice was strong again, all hesitance and fear pushed to the background. "I'll remember that you weren't there for us."
"Lucia, darling, sit down!  You're jumping to conclusions!  You're putting words in my mouth...." Reynolds pleaded as his voice followed the solid click of her heels on the tiles of the school hallway.

The tape rolled on in silence, stretching its web of quiet over the four shaken friends.

"What did that sick asshole do?" Cormac braved, shaking his dark head and clenching his fists in front of his body.

"We can't jump to conclusions," Ava said quickly, fighting to keep her terror at bay.

"You can't afford to overlook any possible conclusion," Miguel growled, pushing away from the table with a jerk and heading out to the porch.

Ava hurried to follow him, knowing that he was angry from fear and love.

"Miguel, I know this is hard for you....." she began.

"Hard?" he asked bitterly, choking the word out
. She was silent, waiting to hear what he would say. "I watched the television footage from prison that showed my best friends in the world being burnt to a crisp with their women and children screaming around them. That was hard, because it was a tragedy. We didn't see it coming."  He gripped the porch railing, his knuckles white and bulging. "It isn't hard to watch this happen to you. It's hell, Ava."

"Miguel, I know what I'm doing," she said firmly.

"No you don't!  I can't pretend anymore!" he shouted. "I can't make believe that this is all OK!  I love you, Ava!"

The words startled them both into shocked silence for a mere second
. Miguel broke the spell by grabbing her to his body, running his hands over her possessively and taking her hungrily in his mouth.

"I love you, Ava
. I've loved you since the moment I laid eyes on you. I'll kill Angel if he comes near you," he breathed.

Ava's head was spinning, her gray eyes fell to slits
. She loved him. She knew it, was as sure of it as she was sure that she was breathing. That was all she could focus on for now.

"I love you, Miguel," she whispered, nestling against his chest.

"I'll kill him for you," he said steadily, pressing his lips to her silky hair.

Ava pulled away and looked straight into his eyes.

"No you won't," she said softly.

"Yes I will because I care......"

"No you won't," she cut in. "Because you earned a new life, and without this life there is no chance for the two of us."

Miguel paused, his face hardening into the lines of defeat she knew would come.

I can't live with you in prison. And this town won't forgive your record twice. Angel's a powerful man, and you need to let me handle this for as long as is possible."

Miguel closed his eyes, images of the flaming apartment pasted in his mind
. He remembered the stink and filth of prison, the long, lonely days and longer, terrifying nights. His fists and a nasty attitude had kept him safe from the inmates, and his gifted lawyer had given him the only shred of hope that he would one day join the free world again.

Could he go back?  Could he give up dancing and bartending, long cool nights under the stars and driving fast in his jeep?  Opening his eyes to Ava's sweet face he knew he could in a second if it meant keeping her safe
.

His involvement would keep her safe, but what would the price be in the end?  Her
misery, her guilt?  The thoughts rushed through his mind, banging against one another, creating a chaos he had no control over.

"I will do whatever it takes to keep you safe, Ava
. That has always been my vow."   He took a long time before he finished his statement. "But I will trust you and your team to do what you need to do to rescue Marie and avoid Angel."

He loved her
. He trusted her. It was all she needed to know.

"Can you take this time to go to Mexico?  Or is this all for me, too?" she asked, a half smile curving on her lips.

"I can take the time. Plus that, I wouldn't want to leave my new husband stranded alone," he joked gamely, trying to make light about one of the most threatening positions he had ever been in.

Back in the house, Magdalene and Cormac were already plotting entrances to Angel's tightly secured villa in Mexico, gauging the type and extent of technology they would have access to and going over different game plans and strategies.

"There's a wall built around his villa. How are we planning to move in?" Ava asked.

"He has an ocean view, which means he had to make structural compensation under the earth
. There have to be a network of tunnels on the west side of his home that will allow us to tunnel in," Cormac said, spreading a blue print of the home on the table. "My hunch has to be right. Look at all the strange excess space under the kitchen area."

"Might be a wine cellar," Ava pointed out
. "Wouldn't any eating area be pretty heavily populated?"

"Yes, but I'm anticipating that," Cormac grinned
. "That's why we have these." He held up two very gaudy chokers.

"Ugh, what are they?" Magdalene asked, running her hand lightly over her own tasteful necklace of knotted pink freshwater pearls
. That sequined and lace concoction was appalling.

"I made them myself," Cormac said with obvious pride
. "Each one has a tiny video feed in the pendant. Anywhere you point your neck, we pick up live surveillance."

"Couldn't you have consulted someone with taste before you put those together?" Magdalene wailed
. Ava scowled at her to avoid hurting Cormac's feelings. He seemed nonplussed.

"That's excellent Cormac
. What do we have as far as a time frame is concerned?"

"We're in Mexico for only three days
. That's a day to set up and look, a day to wait for cover of night, and a day to get Marie and get her away from that bastard!" Magdalene answered.

"Excellent
. Our plane leaves tomorrow at six AM, so everyone should go home and get some rest," Ava said. "We're going to get her and bring her home."

"Absolutely," Cormac said, kissing Ava on the cheek.

"No doubt in my mind," Magdalene put in, hugging her close.

They pulled away and Ava was left with Miguel again.

"So how did your day go?" she asked a little awkwardly.

"I got approved for the loan," he said, smiling with that amazing, sexy mouth of his.

"Oh Miguel!  I'm so happy for you!  We have to celebrate!" she cried.

"When we get back from Mexico we will," he said
. "Tonight, you need to get some sleep. We have a lot to get done tomorrow."

"Where are you sleeping?" she asked coyly, kissing his neck.

He leaned his head back, a groan escaping his lips as her hot tongue smoothed over his skin.

"Where do you want me to sleep, Ava?" he asked huskily.

"In my bed. But I can't promise you'll sleep," she said, her lips moving sweetly against his ear.

He picked her up and carried her into the living room, throwing her onto the couch with an uncontrollable need
. Pressing on top of her, his pushed his hands under her silky top, beneath the lace of her bra where he found her smooth breasts. He fondled her as she moved her hands from his chest down, unbuttoning his shirt and un-zippering his pants. Already hard, he could barely wait to be inside of her and they had just begun.

She assaulted his mouth with wild kisses, as her hands slid beneath his boxer shorts to squeeze and knead his very shapely butt
. Her nails gently raked his back as he took a nipple into his mouth and began working it softly between his lips and teeth.

Arching her back, Ava pressed into his mouth, encouraging him to taste and suckle her freely
. He pulled away suddenly, trying to pull her shirt over her head.

"I need to see you naked," he said, his words sending shivers down her spine.

She wiggled from underneath him, stood in front of him and put her hands on her hips. "There are three words you can say that would make me do whatever you ask," she said saucily.

He tilted his head back and smiled
. "Hmm. More now please?"

She shook her head impishly, her golden hair swinging around her face.

"I don't know. Maybe 'can you, Ava?'"  he asked as she lifted her shirt a few inches and moved her hips seductively.

"Nope!" she laughed.

He sat up and grabbed her hands, his brown eyes washed in complete seriousness. "What about, I love you?"

"That would be the three," she said.

"Then, I love you, Ava London. And I'd love to love you naked."  His shirt was unbuttoned down to his seriously alluring washboard abs. His brown eyes had that lazy, dreamy look she couldn't get enough of and his hands were absolutely itching to grab her and pull her towards him.

She picked up the remote and flipped on her CD player
. Her father had recently sent a CD of Cuban music that he had been so excited about. The beats always made her feel like dancing. She ran her fingers up through her hair and shook her hips from side to side along with the beat. Once she had established her tempo, she began to pull up playfully at the hem of her shirt, throwing Miguel flirty smiles as she showed off a little skin.

"Where did you learn this from?" he asked.

"Oh, I don't remember," she said, spinning around and shaking her bottom in his face. "I've had a few jobs that I just forgot to mention, I guess."  She peeked over one shoulder, winking slowly, then drew her shirt up over her head.

Miguel drew in his breath at the sight of her long, silky hair falling over her slim back
. Moving to the rhythm, Ava hooked her fingers into the belt loops of her pants and rolled her hips back and forth. She undid the zipper and button, whirled around and peeled them off, kicking them at Miguel, baring her incredibly long, caramel legs. He gave a long, low whistle and laughed with amazement. He knew he could consider himself lucky if he met a woman this sexy once in a lifetime.

She shimmied low to the ground, running her hands up her thighs and over her knees before pulling her palms up over her stomach and under her breasts
. Miguel was transfixed as she swayed before him in a lacy black bra and underwear set. He reached out to touch her, but she backed away, shaking her head at him as the tempo increased and she shook her butt in time to the music. Working her fingers up between her breasts, she undid the clasp that held her bra on, letting her voluptuous globes fall out of their confines.

Wearing nothing but her tiny black underwear, Ava danced over to Miguel, shaking her head in time to the music
. She danced until she was nearly on top of him, but never touched his body. He could smell the warm, sweet honey of her hair and feel the heat of her body as she rocked it in front of his eyes. Turning her back to him again, she lowered herself onto his lap and grinded into him as the man on the CD sang about his love for long nights with sweet women.

Ava sang along, low and sultry in Spanish.

"You speak Spanish?" he asked, dumbfounded.