Sweat broke out on her forehead as she struggled to turn herself around in the tight space. Her breath echoed loud and her heart raced. Finally, Alex managed to get herself turned around so her head was facing where the taillight was, or where she thought it was. Fingers scrabbling, she tore at the carpet in that corner, desperate to get beneath it to where the tail light was.
Her mind kept looping back to Hunter. Was he still at the house? Was he okay?
At last the carpet came free and out popped the emergency lever. It must’ve gotten hidden behind the carpet somehow. Alex felt a strange urge to shout a woohoo at her good luck, but stopped herself. The last thing she needed now was to draw the sex boss’s suspicions. Surprise would be key to her getting away from him. She clutched the neon green plastic lever in her damp palm and forced her rapid breath to calm. Her best bet to get out of here without breaking something would be to wait until the car stopped at a light then make a mad dash for freedom. Except she had no idea where they were or if they’d stop anytime soon.
Thankfully, she didn’t have to wait long. The sound of the tires bumping along slowed and gradually other noises drifted in—Latin pop music, shouts in Spanish and a faint odor of spices and fried corn. El Pueblo. They must be near the old historic monument and marketplace. That made sense, since the safe house Hunter had taken her to was close by. Alex guessed they’d been driving for maybe twenty minutes, which would put it at around ten-thirty, maybe eleven at the latest. The place should be crawling with people. If she got the trunk open and climbed out, she could get lost in the crowds and hopefully get away. Get back to Hunter.
The car’s brakes gave a grumpy squeak as the vehicle halted.
Her chest squeezed, her pulse tripped. This was it. Now or never.
Alex closed her eyes and pulled hard on the lever in her hand, praying she’d have enough time to get out before the light changed. Like a Jack in the Box on steroids, the trunk lid flew open and she acted on pure impulse, fumbling out of the back of the car and blindly racing away. The sun was so bright after the total darkness of the trunk that she really couldn’t see anything. Even if she could, her eyes were watering so badly it probably looked like she was crying uncontrollably. Still, Alex made her way toward the blurry, colorful shapes moving in front of her, the pavement warm on her feet through the socks. She clutched the too big sweatpants with one hand to hoist them up so she wouldn’t trip. Alex spoke minimal Spanish, enough to get by, and recognized the whispered comments of the people she passed—vieja loca, crazy lady. At least no one seemed to recognize her. She could only imagine what a mess she looked right about now, but at least she was out. Free.
Shouts issued from behind her and Alex stumbled. Oh, God. He’d seen her. The boss was after her. Running forward, she managed to duck behind a vendor cart selling tacky souvenirs to the tourists. Her vision cleared and she spotted the sex boss about twenty-five feet away, scanning the area. He had his cell phone to his ear and looked pissed as hell.
Hunter. She needed to get back to the safe house and see if he was all right. Warn him that the sex boss was still looking for them. And Bea? Oh, God. What would happen to Bea now? No way would those slaves be arriving tonight as planned, at least not at the safe house. Maybe at the club though. They’d have to find a place to stash them until the boss found a new place to hold them, right? And they were too valuable to send back. He wouldn’t want to risk exposure or losing his cash investment. Alex had spent more than enough time at Club Xcite to know money ruled in the seedy underbelly of LA’s human sex trafficking rings. Wealth would buy you just about anything in this town.
Finally, the sex boss stalked away back toward the car that still idled at the curb. Alex watched from around the corner of the cart as he slammed the trunk shut and climbed back into the vehicle, still on his phone. She didn’t breathe again until he’d pulled away in a screech of tires, horns honking behind him as he cut off several cars.
Right. Okay.
Alex straightened and adjusted her ill-fitting clothes as best she could. She gave the cart vendor a tentative smile then asked the woman in broken Spanish if she had a cell ph
one Alex could use to make a call. When she’d been abducted, she and Hunter had been ready to share a nice breakfast. One he’d cooked for her after they’d spent the night making love together. It was so sweet and nice and made her heart ache with the need to see him all the more.
She started to call for an Uber then realized she had no money. Well, guess the walk might do her good anyway. Give her time to think, as long as she didn’t run into the sex boss on the way and get taken hostage again. It wasn’t far, only a couple of miles. She usually ran five miles a day with her trainer. And yeah, she had no shoes, but as long as she kept to paved areas and side streets, she should be fine. Alex clicked the phone off and handed it back to the woman, thanking her again for her help. “Muchas gracias.”
The woman nodded slowly, eyeballing Alex’s outfit with trepidation.
With as much dignity as she could muster, Alex squared her shoulders and headed for the side street lining the marketplace. No way was she heading out in front again, just in case the sex boss was still cruising around trying to find her. She slinked through the crowds and disappeared down an alleyway behind a small chapel, saying a silent prayer Hunter was still at the safe house and that she wasn’t too late to salvage something from this disaster of a mission.
14
Hunter tested the ropes around his wrists, binding his arms to the chair the thugs had him tied to in the kitchen of the safe house. His ankles were bound too, the knots snug, but nothing he couldn’t break out of if he’d had the incentive and opportunity. For now, he stayed put—partly because he needed time to formulate a plan to find out where that asshole sex boss had taken Alex, and partly because he felt it was his penance.
He’d been such a fucking idiot, losing his concentration like that. But when he’d seen that filthy piece of shit’s hands on Alex, hauling her out the door, Hunter had lost it. Plain and simple. A searing, uncontrollable anger had welled inside him at the thought of anyone mistreating his woman and he’d gone ballistic.
His thoughts snagged.
My woman?
Yeah, okay. The sex with Alex had been pretty damned amazing. Incredible even. He’d never given up control like that to another person and fuck if it wasn’t freeing as hell. Until Alex, he’d never realized how tightly wound his need for control was during his daily work. The fact he could give that up and let someone else be in charge in the bedroom turned him on more than anything else ever had before.
And no, he hadn’t given much thought to what would happen between him and Alex after this mission was over. He lived and worked in Virginia. Her career depended on staying in L.A. Long distance relationships were always a struggle. Then again, he wasn’t even sure Alex wanted any kind of thing with him beyond their one night of incredible sex. Maybe to her it had just been a simple hook up. Nothing more.
His chest ached at the thought of leaving her behind once all this mess was done, walking away and never seeing her again, never smelling her sweet, lemony scent, never tasting the salt of her skin, never hearing her cry out his name as she came apart in his arms.
He cared for her, way more than was wise at this point. Hunter wasn’t exactly ready to call it love yet, but the warmth in his gut and the tingle in his blood felt like more than mere like or want. It felt deeper, stronger. He longed to know all about her, to share all about himself with her. More than just what they’d already told each other. He wanted her to meet his parents. Wanted to meet her family too. Wanted to just relax and be together for a while to see if they were truly compatible, truly meant to be together without the adrenaline rush and distractions of this case pushing them closer. And if she was the one then…
Dammit. Damn it all straight to hell and back.
Frustrated, he growled and struggled against the ropes again, loosening them a tad more. These thugs were morons. Couldn’t even tie a decent knot for fuck’s sake. If they’d been on his SEAL team, he’d have kicked their asses into shape right quick. For now though, all he could do was sit there and glower at the guard across from him, who was currently too busy texting on his phone to pay Hunter much attention. The other guard, the one he’d smashed in the face earlier, was still in the living room, sitting on the couch with a bag of frozen peas on his eye. It was the one leaning against the kitchen counters who’d struck Hunter over the head with a frying pan on the front porch as he’d stood there yelling after the car that Alex was locked inside of drove away. Yep. That had been an idiot move all around on his part.
With a resigned sigh, Hunter rolled his stiff neck and stared out through the open kitchen to the curtained windows in the living room beyond. A shadow passed in front of them and he frowned. Was someone out there? He’d not had a chance to message Loki for backup before all hell had broken loose earlier, so it couldn’t be that.
Pounding sounded on the front door and his heart stumbled.
Alex?