Her Cowboy Protector (21 page)

Niall snorted. "I don't think that will be a problem. Hell, we'll be lucky if they don't arrest her for decking one of those agents. She's hot about being used as bait."

"I don't blame her." Carlos exhaled loudly. "I'm probably going to ground soon. I've got this guns-for-drugs deal that we've been setting up with the ATF and my guys at the DEA. Once it's done, I'll probably be pulled. We don't know where the leak is or who's at risk. It's tense in the field offices."

"I can imagine." Niall concern for Carlos skyrocketed. "You'll let us know before you disappear." It wasn't a question. Niall was giving him an order.

"I wouldn't do that to Cruz. She's been through enough. I don't want her wondering if I'm alive or dead."

"Good."

"Where are you going next?"

"No idea," Niall admitted. "I've got some places scoped out. I'd considered running up north, maybe to Lubbock or Amarillo, but if we're going west toward Midland, I might just keep driving that way."

"Not El Paso, Niall. Stay clear of there. It's too close to Juarez. What about down south? Fredericksburg, maybe? It's nice there. You could find a B&B. Get some real food."

Niall's mouth twitched with amusement. "You moonlighting as a travel agent now?"

Carlos chortled on the end of the phone. "No, güero, I'm just thinking of my sister. I don't like the idea of her roughing it in shitty motels and spending a lot of time cooped up in a truck. It's not good for her. She deserves something nice, especially with the baby almost here."

Niall understood the guilt in Carlos's voice. He often felt the same way. "Then I'll take her down to Fredericksburg for a few days. Maybe we'll hop around the Hill Country for a while."

Another cell phone rang in the background on Carlos's end. He swore with frustration. "Look, man, I've got to go. I'll get in touch this evening about this Midland thing. Be safe. Tell Cruz I miss her and love her."

"I will, Carlos."

The line went dead. Niall lowered the phone and stared at it for a few seconds before setting it aside. He studied the information he'd jotted down and decided not to wake Cruz just yet. She needed to sleep. He'd noticed the way she was moving slower and looking a bit bigger up front. That baby growing inside her coupled with all the running and stress was taking its toll on her. If anything went wrong with the pregnancy, he'd never forgive himself. Niall made a mental note to find a doctor at their next stop. She needed a checkup.

He switched off the lamp and slid back down beside Cruz. Rolling onto his side, he molded his body to her back and draped an arm over her waist. His hand rested on her belly where Felix seemed to be asleep. Cruz had tossed and turned and fought with the pillow sandwiched between her knees for most of the night. When she wasn't trying to sleep, she'd been darting in and out of the bathroom or pouring antacids into her palm. Niall felt sorry for her but he'd quickly learned not to tell her that. Apparently a tired Cruz was a very cranky one.

Niall didn't fall back asleep. Instead he mulled over the possibilities of what the next few weeks might bring. If the trap with Jolene failed—and it very likely would—they'd have to make a decision. Either they would keep running or go back home and fight on their own turf. More and more, the latter looked more appealing to Niall.

Facts were facts. Cruz would go into labor at some point. She needed to be near a hospital. Once Felix arrived, they couldn't drag him all over Texas. It wasn't safe. No, at some point, Niall was going to have to make some tough choices.

He tried to think like The Scorpion, to put himself in that man's mindset. If he were tracking Cruz, when would he strike? And where?

The man had waited eight months already. He'd put tails on her to keep her safe, presumably. It was the baby El Alacrán wanted. For some reason, no doubt a sick and twisted one, he wanted Cruz's son. Until that baby came, Cruz was useless to him. He'd have snatched her up earlier if the opposite was true. No, until the baby came, Cruz was safe.

And with Jolene out of the picture, the ranch was safe again. He'd have to make some changes around the place, build up the perimeter and install a better alarm, but it was safe. Cruz would be in sight at all times. They could make it work. It would buy Niall some time to put together a better plan.

More importantly, back in Eldorado, Niall knew who belonged there and who didn't. Out here on the run every man was suspect. It was exhausting to constantly profile and study. He was starting to get a bit jumpy.

Earlier, he'd been sure the room service waiter was too interested in Cruz. Something about him was off and it made Niall twitchy. The last thing he needed was to mistake some innocent guy for El Alacrán. A stint in the local clink wasn't going to do Cruz any good.

Niall settled his mind.
We’re going home
.

Carlos was going to be furious. Of course, Niall thought grimly, Carlos was going to be even more pissed off when he found out just how close he'd gotten with Cruz during this assignment. Niall figured there was a hellacious ass-kicking in his future. He'd take his lumps. Cruz was worth it.

She stirred, and he gently caressed her bare arm. She inhaled deeply and settled right back down. Niall smiled and grazed his lips over her shoulder. Knowing Cruz felt secure in his arms filled him with the still unfamiliar sensation of happiness. Warmed by her reaction, he cuddled closer and inhaled the sweet scent of her shampoo and conditioner. He closed his eyes and enjoyed her body heat and closeness.

Images of their wild session on the couch blazed through his mind. God, that had been something else! He couldn't remember ever being that desperate for another woman. One kiss and his cock had been aching something fierce. Cruz left him smoldering and hot. He wondered if it was just the newness of everything or if it was just her and the effect she'd always have on him.

Niall put money on the last choice. This thing with Cruz was so different than any other he'd shared with another woman. From the beginning, the connection had been so deep and so strong. She got under his skin and wasn't afraid to push and scrape and annoy until she got the answers she wanted. Cruz was the kind of woman who could keep him in line and emotionally honest.

For too long, he'd buried his real feelings and put on a mask of fake emotions. That shit didn't fly with Cruz. She wanted the real Niall, the flawed and scarred man he tried to hide from everyone else. With Cruz he didn't feel so vulnerable showing that side. She wouldn't use the truth against him. No, she wanted to use it to help him.

He probably should have found that terrifying. Niall didn’t want to delve deeper into his screwed up psyche. He really didn't want to go back to therapy either. But he really wanted to be the best man he could be for Cruz and Felix. He had to put forth some effort. She deserved that from him. If she could overcome the hellish experience of being assaulted and raped, he could open up to her and be the man she needed.

"Niall?"

His eyes flew open. He hadn't realized she was awake. "Yeah, sugar?"

"My leg is cramping. The top one," she clarified, pain coloring her voice.

Niall sat up and slid down to the end of the bed. He carefully lifted her leg and stroked the length. His fingers encountered knotted muscle along her calf and lower thigh. He started to massage with both hands. "How's this?"

"Harder," she urged. "Oh, yeah," she breathed. "Just like that."

Niall's body reacted to her breathy replies. Try as he might, he couldn't convince his cock that this was just a leg massage and nothing more. He concentrated on relieving her discomfort and ignored his throbbing erection.

"Niall?" Cruz said sometime later. She'd relaxed in his hands, her leg resting easily in his hands. "My leg doesn't ache anymore."

"No?" He was sure she heard the disappointment in his voice. He liked having his hands on her soft skin. "Maybe your other leg needs a massage?"

"Well," she said slowly and with a hint of a smile in her voice, "I do have an ache you could help me with but it's not down there."

"No?" Now he was the one smiling. He guided her leg back to the mattress and tossed aside the pillow she'd used for support during the night. Shifting on the bed, he dropped his lips to her knee. "Is it here?"

She giggled and rolled completely onto her back. "Nope."

"Hmmm," he hummed thoughtfully. His lips traveled up her thigh. "Maybe here?"

"Getting warmer," she whispered, and her fingertips brushed his cheek.

Niall spread her thighs and brushed his lips side to side over her sex. "How about here?"

She inhaled a shuddery breath. "So close."

He delved into her pussy and elicited a moan of pure pleasure from her throat. His tongue swirled around her clit, the pink berry swelling with arousal as he flicked it to life. Cruz responded so beautifully. Her pants and groans made his cock swell. Giving her pleasure filled him with a rather macho sense of pride. The sound of her hands slapping the bed and the feel of her toes curling against his ribs as he lapped at her clit and thrust his fingers inside her hot, wet channel spurred him onward.

Niall wanted her to shatter against his mouth. He wanted her screaming and shaking as she came. He attacked her clit with his tongue, drawing tight circles over the bud and sucking it between his lips. Cruz shouted his name and climaxed. He continued to lick her right through the orgasm, his pace slowing and pressure easing up until she sagged, limp and boneless, onto the bed.

Mindful of her earlier reaction to his crawling over her, Niall climbed over to the side of her and captured her mouth. She didn't shy away from kissing after such an intimate act. If anything she seemed even more turned on by the forbidden aspect of it. He nuzzled her neck and peppered kisses across her breasts. Her peaked nipples showed him just how aroused she was.

"On your knees," Niall urged and helped her into position. Cruz shivered as he kissed his way up and down her back and fondled that sweet little ass of hers. She moaned when he gathered her hair in his hand and gently tugged her head back. He cupped her face with the other hand and guided her mouth to his. Niall abandoned her hair and put a hand on her waist. With the other, he grasped his shaft and slid into place. One short, fast thrust later, and he was buried to the hilt in her impossibly tight pussy. "Cruz!"

He tried to be gentle with her, to take his time, but she shoved back against him and begged for him more. She wanted it rough and fast. He wasn't sure at first but the way she pushed back and swiveled her hips told him she was finding immense pleasure in their coupling. That slick sleeve squeezed his cock on every stroke. Cruz shifted her body weight to one hand and reached down to strum her clit. Niall gritted his teeth as he fought the building climax threatening to overtake him. He tried to think of anything and everything but just how good Cruz felt. Those sexy noises falling from her lips were nearly his undoing.

He recognized the change in her breathing and the way her body stiffened. A few seconds later, she exploded, her banshee shrieks probably waking up the entire floor of hotel guests. Niall didn't care. He'd just been given permission to seek his own release. Giving her everything she wanted, Niall pounded her pussy until he saw stars. He went rigid as his orgasm ripped through him. "Cruz!"

Unable to breathe and sure he'd sprained his neck, Niall fell forward against her back. His cheek smashed up against her shoulder. She reached back and stroked his side. Certain her arms couldn't support their weight, Niall fell off to the side. Cruz turned to face him and put her hand on his chest.

In the darkness, they panted and laughed and groped. The moment struck him as surprisingly surreal. Right now, at that very second, a cartel assassin plotted to kill and steal Cruz's baby. The Feds were ready to bust down that door and take them into custody. A dirty deputy had information that could sink a man they both loved dearly.

And yet they lay there enjoying the blissful joy of an early morning tryst. Niall didn't know if that made them crazy or stupid. He suspected it was something much simpler and possibly even more dangerous.

They were in love.

12
Chapter Twelve

Cruz couldn't remember ever being so tired or pissed off in her life. After spending a day answering the same questions over and over again with a group of DEA and FBI agents she wouldn't trust as far as she could throw them, she wanted nothing more than to crawl into bed and sleep. "How much longer, Niall?"

He glanced over at her. "Forty minutes. Twenty minutes to Eldorado and another twenty out to my place."

She still couldn't believe they were going home. Niall had laid out his reasoning as they drove around the Midland area to lose their painfully obvious DEA tail. She didn't like the plan one hundred percent but then neither did he. He was right though. This was their best option at the moment. All that running from hotel to hotel was going to kill her. She hadn't wanted to worry him but she was starting to feel the strain on her body. Niall's concern about her blood pressure may have been spot-on. She'd started noticing a lot of swelling in her feet and hands. Earlier, she'd had a blinding headache.

Of course, most of that could have easily been caused by the complete boneheads she'd been forced to deal with all day. Fury ignited low in her belly as the memories of their wasted day spun round and round in her head. Some grubby Fed who cared more about drugs and guns had drawn a huge, honking target right over her face.

Oh, they maintained that there had never been any okay for that kind of operation and that it had to be a rogue agent, but she wasn't buying it. Those bastards were going to pay for putting her and Felix and Carlos and Niall in so much danger. That shark of a lawyer Carlos had arranged was definitely up to the job. He had a reputation for nailing government agencies and big corporations.

She glanced at her purse and thought of the flash drive hidden in there. One look at the weasely agents assigned to questioning her and she'd known they definitely weren't the right men for the job. She'd decided to hold onto the drive and made no mention of what she and Niall had uncovered. For now, it remained a closely guarded secret.