Intimate Enemies (10 page)

Nothing pissed her off more than someone telling her what to do because they thought they knew better. Even if they did. “So this is all one big favor? Mario being good to my family—whatever that means. You taking care of me—like I believe that for a second. Seriously? That’s the best you can do?”

His lips thinned. He sat back, tapped his fingers on the top of the bench seat. Sat forward, crossed his forearms on the Formica. “There is real danger here. Real risk. That harbor is the hottest territory within a hundred miles along the coast in each direction. These gangs are not screwing around. They’ll wipe out anyone who is a remote threat, so you asking questions of Mario or anyone else down at the docks puts not only your own life in danger but theirs as well.”

“Why?” She couldn’t keep her growing frustration from her voice. “Because I want to know what happened to our boat?”

“Because you are a damn spectacle. Because by simply showing up, you become the only thing any man with eyes can see. The only thing any man with a brain can think about. And the only thing any man with a mouth can talk about. Here, it’s
never
good to be the topic of conversation.

“That harbor signifies power and money to these gangs. More money than any of them could ever dream of seeing in their lifetime in any other way. Anyone showing the slightest interest in
any
activity down there may as well paint a target on their back. They have a zero tolerance policy when it comes to questions and these guys don’t play games. They’re out for territory and notoriety, and they’ll do anything to get it.
Anything
. Just watch the news, if you don’t believe me. The bigger splash they can make trying to gain that limelight, the better. And, honey, let’s face it, you’re pretty splashy.”

Rio had slowly leaned forward as he spoke, his voice low and vehement, gaze direct and serious. Cassie couldn’t miss the heat drilling into her body from that stare, the sizzle of fear crawling along her skin from his words. Even if she hadn’t understood the intensity of the danger surrounding her, she couldn’t have missed this obvious message. But she did watch the news. She also read the papers and international magazines, followed the Internet and investigative journalists, watched special reports and documentaries. What he was telling her was true. And in hindsight, she agreed, she probably shouldn’t have gone to the marina alone. And she would be more careful in the future, but she’d be damned if she’d let this man believe he had any sway over her actions.

“You’re just full of annoying mixed messages,” she said, voice light, careless. “If you’re trying to scare me back to San Diego, you can stop wasting your energy now. It’s not working.”

“For as many brains as you must have to be a doctor, you’re not thinking very smart. I’m not
trying
to scare you. I’m giving you the facts. These men think nothing of torturing, dismembering, and slaughtering. They have no value. No honor. They murder in sweeping waves. Women and children mean nothing to them.”

“Don’t you dare insinuate that I’m stupid.” She lowered her voice in warning. “Just because I’m not doing what you want or doing things the way you would do them does not make me wrong or stupid. Don’t say that again. Ever.”

“I did not say—” He stopped himself, obviously realizing he did, in fact, come razor close to saying exactly that. He sat back, jaw tight. “I didn’t mean it like that.”

Somehow, that didn’t appease her. “I am very aware of what’s happening here. I’m not interfering with their drug running. I’m not in their path. I’m not competition, not a threat. There is no reason they would target me. I plan to stay off their radar.”

“Okay, I get it,” he said. “You’re just seriously naïve.”

Her temper boiled. “And you’re seriously pissing me off.”

“Did you really not see those guys drooling over you as you walked back from the marina?”

She thought back to her short walk and realized she hadn’t noticed anything. Her mind had been on Rio before she’d gotten on the phone with Natalie.

“Sorry, handsome.” She forced a tight smile, unwilling to show her unease. “You gave up the right to be jealous last night.”

“There are at least five different gangs in a six-block radius out there, Cassie. Two of which have big backing from larger gangs in other parts of Mexico. I can guarantee you are the sweetest thing they’ve set eyes on in months. Half the population of Ensenada already knows you’re here, knows why you’re here, and probably knows your damned net worth by now.” His fingers curled into his palms. “Do you realize what a prime kidnapping target you are?”

A niggling fear she’d been trying to suppress for weeks snuck back in. Natalie’s husband, Mike, had warned her of the exact same thing. Oddly enough, in nearly the exact same words and tone.

“Watch yourself down there girl. These guys don’t fuck around. Considering your net worth, you’re a prime kidnapping target.”

“What does all this have to do with you paying off Mario?” she asked. “If you were so worried about my safety, why weren’t you following me back up the street?”

“I can’t be everywhere at once,” he said. “I paid Mario to keep his ears open and call me if he hears your name mentioned. Security at the estate is my job. You’ve just made it crystal clear who owns that estate, who finances that estate, and who funds my paycheck—thanks so much for pointing that out, by the way. The fact that I’ve put your security first shouldn’t be a shock.”

“Quite the conscientious employee. Is that what you were doing last night? Is that what you were doing at the funerals? Being…conscientious?”

“No.” His denial came clear and sharp. “But it’s what I need to be. It’s better for both of us.”

His frustration faded into a cool, even mask. Her teeth clenched. She didn’t want this man; she wanted the one underneath. She wanted the one who had held her tight at the cemetery, cradling her head against his shoulder as she’d fisted the crisp white shirt beneath his blazer. The one who’d whispered,
“Hold on to me. Just hold on. It’ll pass, I promise.”

But it hadn’t passed, and being here only reopened the wound. Maybe if she’d had someone to hold on to these last few months, someone like Rio… Maybe if she hadn’t immersed herself in work, pulled away from friends or the leisure activities she loved so much… Maybe then she’d have started to heal.

“Speak for yourself.” The bite in her tone had vanished with the influx of pain. “I’m plenty capable of deciding what’s best for me.”

Like lusting after Saul’s most loyal employee. Yep, stellar idea.

“Look,” he said, “if you’re really going to be staying here, working here, we need to make a different arrangement.”

“Gee.” She dropped her chin into her hand and made no effort to curb the sarcasm in her voice. “I can’t wait to hear this.”

“It would be a good idea for me to hang around. Come into the clinic with you during the day. Go with you when you…do whatever it is you’re going to do while you’re here.”

Laughter bubbled out of her mouth. “You’re not serious.”

“I’m very serious.”

She sat back, crossed her arms. “Just twelve hours ago, you said— ”

“That was different.” His gaze dropped to the table. When he looked at her again, his gaze held the same apology she’d seen last night. “About that—”

“I swear to God, if you make one regretful remark, I’ll have every lock at the estate changed within an hour.”

“I don’t regret that.” His words snapped with resentment. He stopped, took a moment, then continued in a more even but still frustrated tone. “I regret…this. These…circumstances.”

This was the closest they’d come to honesty since she’d seen him again. And she almost believed he was truly unhappy about turning her away last night. The conflicting signals she was getting from her head and her heart were making her crazy. Even worse, for the first time in years, her heart was winning.

She pulled in a slow breath and purposely softened her voice when she said, “Then change them.”

Six

Cassie’s hands fisted as she waited for Rio’s response.

“I can’t,” he said.

Anger and pain flashed, but she played it off like it didn’t hurt. “You won’t. Big difference. But, whatever. Plenty of fish in the sea and all that.”

Someone walked up to the table. “Cassie Christo?”

She focused on the man standing nearby. A big man. Well over six feet and two hundred pounds. His shaved head had been inked with an intricate snake design. His dark goatee was threaded with gray, his face an elaborate pattern of folds and creases.

Cassie’s shoulders tensed. She instinctively leaned away.

Rio slid from the booth and put himself between the man and the table. She couldn’t see Rio’s face, but the set of his shoulders, the curl of his fists, and his wide stance screamed,
Don’t even think about it.
A trickle of security warmed her.

“You’ve got no business with her, Caesar,” Rio said, his voice filled with darkness. “If you’re smart, you won’t come around her again.”

“Whoa.” The man stepped back, hands up. “I don’t want no trouble with you, Rio. I’m here to see Señorita Christo.”

Caesar?
Oh, shit. Caesar.

“The hell you—”

“Rio.” Cassie reached out and touched his forearm. He jerked his head toward her, mouth tight. “I asked Caesar to come. We do have business.”

His expression shifted to disbelief. “You don’t know what you’re dealing with.”

She’d been underestimated enough for one day. She stood and looked Rio in the eye. “First degree murder, ten years in prison, recently released. Yes, Rio, I do know what I’m dealing with. You can go back to the estate now.”

He turned toward her, leaned in, and spoke low. “What possible business could you have with someone like this?”

“Let’s call it…data mining.” She smiled. “Yeah, I like the sound of that.”

“Cassie, you don’t—”

“Please excuse us, Rio,” she said. “Oh, but first I have something for you.” She pulled the bug he’d planted in her phone from the pocket of her shorts and held it between her thumb and forefinger. “For you.” She put the bug in his palm and closed his fingers around it. “There is no possible way you could turn this into any illusion of safety or protection.”

Thoughts turned in the background of Rio’s shocked expression while he put the pieces together. And that only took ten seconds.

He pulled the collar of her jean jacket into his fist and dragged her close, tilted his face down to hers. Almost as if he were going to kiss her. Cassie swallowed. She craved the feel of his lips. More, she longed for the sweet connection they’d shared for that brief but perfect moment on the beach.

Only the look on his face was not the least bit romantic. “You little…”

She dropped her gaze to his mouth, let it linger for a moment, then met his eyes and lowered her voice to a velvety tone and covered his hand with hers. “Look, we both know we’re on opposite sides—of what, I haven’t figured out yet. But I will. Just remember, I learned all my deviant behavior from the master himself. Saul.”

That cooled his temper pretty quick. He dropped her jacket and straightened. Heat burned in his eyes and simmered in his voice when he asked, “How much of it was true?”

She knew exactly what he was talking about. Smiled a little dreamily. “Mmmm, the kissing part. You are quite…masterful…with that mouth. The rest…?” She shrugged. “You’ll never know, will you?”

His lips thinned. He turned away, put a hand to Caesar’s chest, and pushed the other man back several feet, then said something under his breath. Caesar argued in a low tone and gave Rio’s arm a shove, but Rio finished whatever he had to say. Only then did he release Caesar and exit the restaurant without looking back.

Cassie watched him go, her body blazing, her heart pounding. She skimmed his faded maroon T-shirt and the way it stretched across shoulders so wide the fabric draped loose at his waist. God, he looked edible—in that
brownie-fudge-Sunday-so-bad-for-you
way.

Another man stopped him on the street. He was about Rio’s age, his forearms covered with tattoos flowing together in swirls of color. The man had a well-trimmed beard and a tight crew cut.

“Sorry.” Caesar approached the table. “If I’d known Rio was going to be here, I’d have waited until he was gone.”

“Have a seat, Caesar.” Cassie gestured toward the seat Rio had vacated. “Why is that?”

“He doesn’t like me.” The man slid into the booth and set big, scarred hands on the table. After a glance over the other faces nearby, he said, “I used to run with a few
coyotes
, you know, back in the day. Rough ones. I didn’t know no better, was just a stupid kid. Do anything for cigarette money. Didn’t have nothing to do with what happened to his sister, you know? But guilt by association, I guess. Can’t say I blame him, but he can’t never see me without sayin’ somethin’.”

Cold flashed in Cassie’s stomach. “His sister? What happened to his sister?”

Caesar looked around again. His head sank lower. His eyes crept deeper beneath hooded brows. “Uh, nothin’. Nothin’. Doesn’t like nobody talkin’ ’bout it.” He tapped the table with his knuckles. “So what kind of information are you lookin’ for?”

Cassie had called Caesar several days before to arrange this meeting. She’d gotten his name from one of Mike’s coworkers, an ex-undercover cop who’d worked most of his assignments here in Mexico. She’d planned on asking Caesar to find the prostitutes Saul had brought to the estate. She wanted to question them, gain evidence of their business with Saul. Now, she wanted that and more.

“The job has changed scope,” she said. “I need more information than I thought.”

Caesar leaned back and draped his arm the length of the booth. “Great. Ex-con and all, it’s hard to find work.”

She explained the situation with the prostitutes, which Caesar didn’t object to. Then Cassie said, “And I want background information on Rio.”

Caesar’s fingers stopped tapping the top of the vinyl bench. His gaze stopped traveling around the diner. “I don’t need that kind of work.”