Vengeance (SSU Trilogy Book 1) (28 page)

Freeing Niko to go after Alvarez.

The muscles at the back of his neck twitched, letting him know he was being watched. He moved alongside a parked van and saw in the side mirror the image of a man slipping into the shadow of a building half a block behind him.

Shit.

There was no telling if the man belonged to Alvarez or one of the other criminals Niko had pissed off during his tenure in Acapulco. Either way, it meant trouble he didn’t have time for. He detoured down the next street and his tail followed. Okay, time to get serious and shake the man loose. There was no way he was leading his pursuer back to Jenna.

The soft scuff of a shoe a few yards behind him had him glancing at the reflection in a car window. Two men in jeans and black t-shirts were swaggering toward him, confident he hadn’t noticed their approach.

He scanned the street ahead of him, looking for places to hide and avenues of escape. This was a mostly residential neighborhood and there was no one else walking the block. So his pursuers had no reason not to attack.

He slipped his hand into his jacket pocket, opened his cell phone and by feel sent a quick 9-1-1 text to Rafe. Then he let his hands hang loosely by his sides and transferred his weight to the balls of his feet.

Chapter 21

The sound of claws on pavement signaled the start of the attack. Shit, where’d the dog come from? Before he could dodge, the animal plowed into his back. He rolled, grunting in pain as a paw dug into his wounded arm. Then he was flat on his back with one hundred plus pounds of Rottweiler sitting on his belly, marinating his neck with drool.

Shadows moved out from the shade of trees and telephone poles and resolved into five lean, muscled men. Great. There were more of them.

The men formed a circle around him. Switchblades snicked open and knives were pulled from sheaths. The leader stepped forward and laid a hand on the nape of the dog. “Stand down, Rosalie,” he ordered in a husky, broken voice. The dog whimpered, but backed up and planted her rump on the pavement.

Niko stared up into the hate-filled eyes of Chale Romero. The last time he’d seen the man, Chale had been on the ground in an alley near the waterfront, gasping for breath after Niko had nearly crushed his windpipe.

The man’s network of informers had obviously improved if he’d learned Niko was back in town so quickly.

“It wasn’t wise of you to return to Acapulco,” Chale informed him. “Get up so I can fight you like a man.”

Right. And after he’d whipped Chale’s sorry ass, the other four men would jump him. He didn’t think so. He wasn’t going to fucking die and leave Jenna.

Niko tucked his shoulder and rolled into the dog, using his hands to push her into her master. Snapping blindly in outrage, her teeth sank into Chale’s leg. While Chale fought to free himself, Niko continued rolling until he was safely underneath a sedan parked at the curb. He paused for a moment, sucked in a deep breath to steady himself against the pain in his arm, then rolled out the other side and dashed down the sidewalk.

A knife clattered to the asphalt beside him. Chale’s gang had an old-fashioned preference for knives. They claimed that close-contact fighting was the only honorable way and rarely carried guns.

Niko, however, didn’t care about honoring the old ways. He dove behind a low stone wall on someone’s front lawn and pulled out his automatic. Two men sprinted into firing range, the dog charging behind them. The men he shot, but he didn’t want to hurt the dog. She was just following her training.

Still, his finger tightened on the trigger as powerful legs carried the dog closer. Just as Niko raised the weapon to fire, Chale gave a piercing whistle and the Rottweiler ground to a halt. The dog quivered, but held her position, feral eyes focused on Niko. Her low, angry growls carried across the tense silence.

In jarring counterpoint, the playful tinkling of bells suddenly floated down the street. A moment later, an ice cream truck careened around the corner. The truck rocked side to side as it sped toward them, in danger of tipping over at any moment.

Chale raised his knife, but before he could throw, an automatic weapon discharged from the ice cream truck, spraying the area around Chale with bullets. Two of the men fell.

Red exploded out of Chale’s shoulder. He staggered, but stayed upright. With a final glare in Niko’s direction, he whistled for the Rottweiler and fled with his men, leaving the wounded behind.

The ice cream truck rocked to a stop in front of Niko’s hiding place, bells still tinkling.

Niko stood up as Rafe poked his head out the door. “What the hell is this?” Niko pointed to the truck.

Rafe grinned. “Pretty spiffy, huh? My rental car was blocked in at the hotel and there weren’t any taxis. The American entrepreneur driving this baby was only too happy to lend me his truck, providing I pay for the ice cream.”

“Where’s Jenna?” Niko demanded as he climbed into the passenger seat.

Rafe settled behind the wheel and put the truck in reverse. “I left her back at the hotel.”

“Shit. I told you to watch her, not leave her alone. She’ll be long gone by now.”

“Relax, big bro. The last thing on her mind is escape.” Rafe reached over from the driver’s seat and punched Niko on the arm.

“Hey!”

“That’s for leaving her alone with me. All morning she was doing a fine impression of a glacier. I think I’ve got frostbite on strategic parts of my body. Then I got your call and instant thaw. But don’t think you’re off the hook with her,” Rafe added. “She was working up a good head of steam before I left. I think she’s going to kill you when she finds out you’ve reopened your wound. Not to mention the lovely scrapes on your face.”

Niko scowled. “Still—”

“Trust me, she’s not going anywhere. She’s setting up triage for you while she waits for Dr. Perez.”

Rafe flung the truck around a corner and Niko snatched at the door frame to stop himself from being thrown from his seat.

“Jesus, Rafe, you trying to kill me? Slow down already.”

“Huh? So, who were those guys?” Rafe asked.

“Just some local thugs I crossed paths with when I worked for Alvarez. This was a personal attack. Nothing to do with the other matter.”

Rafe shot him a glance, but thankfully didn’t press for details.

“By the way,” Rafe said. “I got a call from your pilot friend. His plane was sabotaged. It could take days to get the necessary parts to make the repairs.”

“Ah, hell.” He didn’t want Jenna on a commercial flight because it was too unprotected, and all the other pilots he trusted were booked.

Niko supported his injured arm with his right hand as the truck jolted across a pothole. “Jenna must be psyched.”

Rafe made a sound of agreement and swerved the truck around a double-parked taxi. “You can make it up to the suite if I drop you off? I need to return the truck.”

Niko nodded.

The truck skidded to a stop in front of the hotel and Niko climbed out, hissing slightly as he jarred his wounded arm. The doorman didn’t bat an eye at Niko’s bloody, dirty appearance, but Niko felt all eyes on him as he walked slowly across the lobby.

Just as Rafe had promised, Jenna and Dr. Perez were waiting for him in the suite. From her seat on the couch, Jenna took one look at him, pursed her lips, then glanced away. He saw a brief flash of worry in her eyes and it made him feel like hell.

Yet as she silently handed Dr. Perez supplies, her expression was cool and distant, any concern buried under icy calm. Hyperaware of her displeasure, Niko tried to catch her eye, but she avoided looking at him.

“Hey!” The prick of a needle in his arm jerked his attention back to the doctor. “What the hell did you just give me?”

Dr. Perez stuck another needle in him before he answered. “The first shot was another dose of antibiotics. This is a sedative. If you don’t rest, you’re never going to heal.”

“Dammit, doc—” He had to be conscious in case his contacts needed to reach him.

The doctor ignored him, giving Jenna a list of instructions. She nodded somberly, then shot Niko a warning glare. He held up his hands. “Yeah, fine, I’ll be good.”

Not like he had a choice. The doc had obviously injected him with some heavy duty meds. He was feeling woozy already.

Jenna showed the doctor to the door and Niko fully expected her to light into him when she returned. Instead, she picked up the packets of pain pills Perez had left behind and put them in her pocket.

He watched her, trying to gauge her mood, but she seemed content to pretend he wasn’t in the room. Which probably meant he was in a shitload of trouble.

#

Jenna wanted to scream at Niko. He’d staggered through the door with fresh blood on his face and staining the arm of his long sleeved t-shirt. His mouth had been thin as a thread, his eyes dark with pain. This was the second time in the past twenty-four hours he’d been at the end of his reserves.

She tried to tell herself she didn’t care what happened to him as long as he helped her find Kai. Tried to tell herself she was still furious with him for planning to send her back to Ryker.

It didn’t work.

She wanted Niko strong and unhurt. Not because he was the only person who could help her free Kai, but because she liked him and…dammit…cared about him.

Instead of focusing on her mission, she was spending too much time worrying about, and nursing, Niko.

But she couldn’t allow herself to be distracted. Or, worse, allow herself to care so much for Niko that she put his life above getting Kai. Her duty to avenge her family came first.

“Jenna?”

She shook her head and pointed toward the bedroom, refusing to look at Niko. If he didn’t get out of her sight soon, she’d end up doing something stupid like throwing herself into his arms and crying. Because when Rafe had received the emergency call and bolted from the couch, she’d been terrified that Alvarez had killed Niko. And she was ridiculously relieved he was alive.

Jenna started as Niko’s fingers stroked her cheek. She thought he’d gone into the bedroom.

“You were really worried about me, weren’t you?” His voice was tinged with awe.

She thought about denying it, but didn’t want to lie to him. Not about this. She nodded slowly. Opened her mouth and tried to speak, but only a croak came out.

He brushed a feather-light kiss on her forehead. “Thank you. But just for the record, I’m damn hard to kill.”

She quirked up the corner of her mouth to let him know she appreciated his attempt to ease her mind. And as she stared into his eyes, she realized for the first time how fundamentally different they were.

Because she saw no concern in his eyes for the pain he was suffering. If asked to rush out the door this moment and fight again, he’d do it without thought.

And this was the life he wanted.

While she…

Jenna looked away, her tongue touching the cyanide cap on her tooth. She endured the threat of danger because vengeance was worth any risk. And because she knew that on the day she confronted Kai, all her pain would disappear.

But to choose to spend her life constantly in danger? No.

How would she able to live with herself? She’d grown to hate the hard, unemotional woman she’d become. Maybe that was why her emotions kept resurfacing. Because maybe Niko was right. Maybe deep down there was still some of her pre-attack self left.

Shaken by the realization, she started straightening the pillows on the sofa.

Only a few more days, she told herself. Then it will be over.

“Jenna?”

Oh, God, please don’t let Niko guess where her thoughts had been. She shook her head. Finally managed a weak, “Go to bed.” She pointed again to the bedroom.

“Yes, ma’am.” Niko saluted and shuffled into the room.

Part of her wanted to tuck him in, but she was much too vulnerable right now. If she touched him…

The bedroom door closed, leaving her alone.

She sank to the sofa, head in her hands. Fighting to put her world back on the simple track it had moved on before she’d met Niko. A life with one purpose…and no regrets.

Chapter 22

Niko awoke to a dark bedroom and the dull throb of a headache. He moved his arm. There was only a twinge of pain, easily ignored.

He turned on the light, slipped into a loose shirt and pants, and stepped into the sitting room. The television was on. Rafe sat at one end of the couch. Jenna was curled up at the other end. An empty bag of popcorn sat between them.

The scene was so cozy and domestic, Niko felt his throat close around a pang of some unfamiliar emotion. Rafe would be a good match for Jenna. He was an honest, solid man she could depend on. Rafe had never gone so deep undercover he’d been in danger of losing himself. Each time Niko walked down another street in the underbelly of this town he felt the darkness claim a little bit more of his soul.

He wanted to protect Jenna from the man he’d been. The man he was once again becoming in order to save his aunt.

Jenna’s exterior toughness hid a caring heart. She needed someone to shelter her. To make her trust and laugh again. Someone who would be there to hold her through the nightmares that woke her every night.

Rafe was good with emotional stuff. Unlike Niko, who still had nightmares of his own.

So it made no sense that he wanted to throw his brother out of the suite. Or that, instead of telling Jenna he was going back out onto Acapulco’s seedy streets tonight, he opened his mouth and said, “I’m hungry. How about we head over to El Mirador, grab some dinner and watch the final show of the cliff divers?”

The quick interest on Jenna’s face morphed into disappointment. “No. We have to look for Kai. You said it yourself that we don’t have much time to save him.”

“I’ve already put the word out that I want his location. After the show I’ll go out again. Until then, we need to eat.”

Rafe stood up. “No. It’s too dangerous. Jesus, Niko, those men tried to kill you this afternoon. If you’re not safe on the streets, what do you think they’ll do to Jenna if they realize she’s connected to you? Isn’t that the reason you’re sending her home?”