Relentless (Benson Security 2)

“I’m staying.” His tone told her he was immovable

Julia knew there was no point in arguing. Arguing with Joe never got her anywhere. It was better just to do what she had to and deal with the consequences later. Or, hopefully, never. That was why she’d been so underhanded at London airport. It was either that or do everything the man wanted her to do.

“Can you get me out today?” Patricia asked Ed.

He shook his head. “Tomorrow at the earliest. You okay in here for another night?”

“I’ll manage.” She looked at Julia. “Can you give me some cash, darling? The food they provide is abominable, but there’s a delightful woman from Thailand who’s here on a drug charge, and she’s selling the most amazing green curry.”

Julia couldn’t even begin to get her head around the fact that the Peruvian prison system seemed to involve its inmates setting up businesses to survive. She dug around in her oversized messenger bag, came out with her wallet and handed over a couple of hundred dollars.

“Is that enough?”

“More than enough, especially if Ed here can get me out tomorrow.” The light in Patricia’s eyes faded as she turned sombre. “I need to get out of here. I need to find Alice.”

Ed consulted his notes. “That’s your friend who’s gone missing?”

“We’ve been best friends since childhood. And now I don’t know where she is or what’s happened to her.”

“Don’t worry.” Joe’s confidence rang out through his words. “We’ll find her. But first we need to get you out of here.”

“And that’s where I come in.” Ed motioned to the laconic guard and had a tense discussion with him in Spanish. When he was finished, he turned back to them. “Patricia and I are going to have a private meeting. We’ll get this sorted. You two need to leave. I’ll call with updates.”

Joe nodded. Julia hesitated. It felt wrong to go back to her luxury hotel when her gran was behind bars.

Patricia seemed to read her mind, and her face softened. “It’s okay, darling. You go have a good night’s sleep and we’ll catch up properly tomorrow.”

A hand pressed against the small of her back. “I’ll take care of her,” Joe told her gran.

“See that you do,” Patricia ordered.

“Love you, Gran,” Julia whispered as Joe led her from the room.

“Love you too, sweetie.” The words followed them out.

Julia looked over her shoulder at her gran and actually wished she was in the cell with her, rather than going to her doom with Joe. Okay, maybe not doom, but she was sure she was better equipped to deal with prison than she was to deal with the sexy American beside her.

The oppressive heat of Lima, which always seemed to press down on the city like a heavy blanket, hit them as soon as they walked out of the prison gates. Joe looked down at Julia and wondered when she’d last had something to drink. The dry heat of the desert city meant that dehydration could sneak up on a person. As they looked out at the dust-covered highway, crowded with cars and trucks, Joe reached into his day pack for a bottle of water. He unscrewed the cap and handed it to Julia.

As usual, she didn’t look him in the eye when she spoke. “I’m not thirsty.”

“Take it.” He pressed it into her hand. “This type of heat can fool you into thinking you aren’t thirsty, but you need to keep your fluids up. Drink regularly, even if you don’t feel like it.”

She eyed the bottle with suspicion, and Joe knew exactly what the problem was; he’d seen her do this with everything she’d consumed over the past few months. “I bought it at the airport and only just opened it. It was sealed properly and I haven’t drunk out of the bottle. It’s safe.”

Her cheeks turned the same shade of pink as those luscious lips of hers, which made Joe’s chest tighten. For some reason, Julia thought her quirks were a sign she was deficient in some way—a belief he hoped to divest her of before the trip was over. There was nothing wrong with Julia Collins. Nothing at all.

A fact Ed seemed to have noticed when he’d looked at her. Ed’s reaction to Julia had made him bristle. He’d warned his old friend about Julia being painfully shy and not to force her to interact. He hadn’t warned him about the impact Julia could have on a man.

Joe knew exactly how Ed felt. Seeing Julia for the first time was like a sucker punch. She was one of those rare treasures, a beautiful woman who had absolutely no idea that was what she was. Ed’s gaze had taken in the shapeless beige dress, flat sports sandals and the large messenger bag Julia wore across her body like a shield, before resting on her makeup-free face. Her features were perfection. Creamy, smooth skin, a tiny upturned nose, wide amber eyes with lashes so thick it was hard to believe they were real. Pronounced cheekbones made her look even more exotic, but it was her full, peach-coloured lips that made a man’s

thoughts turn darker. Julia Collins had the mouth of a temptress.

“What hotel are we in?” Joe dragged his mind out of the dark, sensual places it always seemed to find when he was around Julia.

“I’m in the Sheraton in the city centre.”

He smiled at the emphasis and the subtle rebuke it was intended to be. “I’ll have someone pick up your bags and bring them to our new hotel.”