Hunt Them Down(14)
“Do you hear what I’m saying, Hector?”
“I’ve already seen to it. Don’t worry, Valentina, I won’t let him testify against you.” Her cousin’s voice was surprisingly shrill for such an imposing man. “Right after we’re done here, I’m flying to Miami to oversee the operation. There will be no mistakes.”
The Black Tosca nodded. When it came to human resources, Hector was her greatest asset. The rank and file respected him, and her enemies feared him. It was his ruthlessness and his efficiency at eliminating her enemies that had propelled him to her side, not their family bond.
“I want the whole Garcia family gone and their operations shut down, at least until we’ve replaced them with people loyal to us.”
“That might be difficult,” Hector said. “Tony Garcia is well protected.”
“Maybe, but his daughter isn’t. Do whatever it takes, Hector. I don’t care. Just get the job done.”
CHAPTER TEN
Pompano Beach, Florida
Cole Egan’s lungs were burning as he sprinted the last quarter mile to his house. Egan embraced the pain. Thanks to Ranger school and countless missions in shitholes all over the world, it was a feeling he recognized well.
He was drenched in sweat by the time he reached the front door. In the kitchen he grabbed a bottle of water from the pantry and an apple from the fridge. He started the coffee machine and made his way to the master bedroom. Katherine was still sound asleep. He was fascinated by the way the early morning sun shined off her white, soft-as-silk skin. He stood for several minutes, watching her sleep before he silently walked to the en suite to shave and shower.
Katherine Egan knew her husband was staring at her. She couldn’t even hear him breathe, but she felt his presence. It had always amazed her—and maybe scared her a bit too—how he could remain perfectly still for so long. A couple years ago, while catching a movie at the theater, she’d noticed that he hadn’t moved once during the entire film. When she’d confronted him about it, he’d told her he had fallen asleep, which she’d known wasn’t true.
They had met five years ago in Mexico City during a dental expo. Bonding over too many drinks in the lobby bar of the hotel hosting the conference, they had quickly gone from business contacts to lovers. She didn’t remember if it was the wine or his rugged good looks and amazing physique, but bringing a complete stranger to her hotel room had been the craziest thing she had ever done. On the second night, he had invited her to his lush bachelor pad in Mexico City. Sharing a bottle of Dom Pérignon on the large balcony with the mind-blowing views had been so romantic that she still got goosebumps thinking about it. On that night, it hadn’t been the wine that had gotten to her—it had been his thick mop of golden hair and his eyes, so deep and blue but also full of secrets. They had made love in his sumptuous bedroom, tenderly at first and then with full abandon. Exhausted but utterly fulfilled, they had fallen asleep tangled in each other’s arms.
Over the course of the conference, she’d learned that Cole had been in the army and had served three tours in Afghanistan and Iraq. He was now a distributor of high-tech dental equipment and owned, in addition to his bachelor pad in Mexico City, a beautiful and very expensive house in Pompano Beach right on Lake Santa Barbara. She had moved in with him a week after the conference and never looked back, though a part of her wondered where the money to buy the house had come from. Dental reps earned a good living, but certainly not enough to afford a house like that.
One night, lying in bed next to him, she questioned him about it.
“You never asked me to contribute even a penny to the mortgage, baby—why’s that?”
“You’re my wife. What’s mine is yours.”
She had hoped he’d reveal a bit more, but he had remained silent. Cole didn’t share much about his past, at least not voluntarily. She didn’t mind. Everyone had secrets, right? And who knew, maybe his parents had left him a bit of money before they passed?
But even to her, it didn’t ring true. An aura of mystery hovered over Cole, but one she actually found attractive. He was a kind man with a sharp edge. She had always been attracted to bad boys anyway. And seriously, how bad could he really be?
Egan dried himself and combed his hair back. The next few days would be busy. He had clients to meet in Mexico tomorrow night and wasn’t sure when he’d be able to swing back to Florida to spend a couple days with Katherine before leaving again. Truth was, in his line of work, he never was quite sure if he’d actually be back. He had made his fair share of enemies over the years, and the very real possibility of never seeing his wife again made him feel queasy.
He pushed the negative thoughts aside and stepped out of the en suite, wearing only a white towel around his waist. His wife was standing next to their bed, waiting for him, naked. She held her belly in that proud and protective gesture only pregnant women could do. Her breasts were larger now, rounder and fuller. Her sheer beauty mesmerized him.
Even though the studies Egan had read about pregnancy implied that most women had reduced sexual desire and activity during the early weeks of a pregnancy, this didn’t hold true for Katherine. On the contrary, it was as if her pregnancy hormones had supercharged her libido.
She took tentative steps toward him and placed her hands on his bare chest, her fingers running along the raised scar tissue crisscrossing his abdomen. His pulse spiked.