Diego glanced back up at Luis. “You know what happens if you fail.”
Luis gave a grim nod. Then he grabbed for the photo and hurried toward the door.
“Your daughter...” Diego called after him softly. “She’s six now, isn’t she?”
Luis’s shoulders stiffened. “Sí.” More growl than anything else.
“I’ll have to make sure to send her an extra-special gift to celebrate her next birthday.”
Luis glanced back. Ah, there it was. The fear. Flashing in the man’s dark eyes. “Not necessary.” His Spanish accent thickened with the broken rasp of his voice. “You’ve done enough for her. For me.”
Diego’s gaze fell to the rough scars on Luis’s throat, then after a moment, he looked back up into the other man’s eyes. Let the tension stretch. Then he smiled. “She’s such a pretty little girl. So delicate. But then, children are always so fragile, aren’t they?”
Luis li
fted the photo. “Do you want him dead?”
Now the man was showing the proper motivation. Diego considered his question, then nodded. “Once you have Juliana in your custody, kill the agent. Do it in front of her.” The better to break her.
Luis’s fingers whitened around the photo. “Sí.”
Diego watched him walk away, satisfaction filling him. His resources were nearly limitless. With Diego’s power behind him, there would be no stopping Luis. Money could motivate anyone. The right targets taken out—the right information gained, and Luis could attack.
If someone else was trying to kill Juliana, then they’d just offer more to keep her alive. An insurance policy. Diego liked to have backup plans in place.
And as for the SEAL, they wouldn’t need others to kill him. Luis could send out near-instant checks on Quinn, find any property he had. Find his friends, his family.
Hunt the bastard.
Then kill him.
Luis might be a good father, but he was an even better killer.
Especially when the man was properly motivated...
Logan Quinn was already dead; the fool just didn’t know it.
Chapter Five
“It wasn’t Guerrero.”
Juliana blinked at the rough words and tried to push away the heavy darkness of sleep that covered her. She blinked a few more times, letting her eyes adjust to the faint light.
Where am I?
She glanced around. Saw the old, gleaming wood. Felt the lumpy couch beneath her.
Met Logan’s bright stare.
The cabin.
The memories flooded back. Fire. Death. A nightmare that she wouldn’t be waking up from anytime soon.
She pulled the blanket closer. “What? What are you talking about?”
He sat on the couch, his legs brushing her thighs. The move made her too aware of him, but then, she always felt too aware when he was close.
And he expected me to sleep in that bed upstairs? Oh, no. She wasn’t up for that kind of punishment. Too much pleasure. Too much pain waited up there.