Mission Made For Two (11 page)

Thinking of Diaz hurting Sierra made him physically ill.  He wouldn’t let that happen. 

Shit! She had him tied up into such a tight
knot,
he was having trouble thinking of anything else. 
So many years of keeping his emotions in check.
 
Of keeping his personal feelings out of his missions.
 

Of working alone.

All to be blown to hell by a feisty, smart-mouth…extremely incredible woman.
  He still had images in his head of being in that South American warehouse, hearing her voice,
then
looking into those chocolate brown eyes.  Feeling the tenderness in her touch as
she’d massaged the feeling back into his arms, then
examined him and helped him to his feet
.

She was full of spit and fire
, but beneath was a woman.  One who felt things, but fought like hell to hide it
and didn’t like to admit weakness
.
  Not even a simple fear of snakes.
 

Diaz’s limo pulled in front of the estate.  Jake grabbed his binoculars.  Sierra stepped out.
Her newly colored
and cut
blond hair pulled into a low ponytail.
She wore a fitted red dress that bared a considerable amount of her gorgeou
s legs. 

Red.
 
She
had
to pick red. 
Waving the cape in front of the bull.

His gut clenched.  Hell, they’d better work fast.  If she managed to hold Diaz off even a day, she’d be lucky.

And no way was that bastard getting to her.

~***~

Sierra proceeded
up the steps to
Diaz’s house.
 
A short, burly guard met her at the door and allowed her entrance. She didn’t recognize him from last night
as one of the body guards, but he apparently
knew who she was
.
He took her overnight bag from her. 
“
Señor
Diaz is in his office.  I’ll show you.” 

She smiled
and
hitched her purse
farther up on her shoulder
.  The
two-inch
heels of her
s
andals clicked against the tile
floor
as she stepped into the foyer.
She took note of the floor plan on her trek. 

A hallway just to the left of the door
way, a staircase beside that.
 
All
if it feeding into a large room
with
floor to ceiling windows all the way across the front.
  Diaz’s house sat on a point, so the ocean surrounded three fourths of it.  The view out the windows was of the rolling ocean waves. 
Several sofas and chairs
were arranged in the center of the room around an enormous rug.

Another ha
llway was on the other side. The guard turned left and
stopped outside the
first door
they came to
.  Sierra looked
across the hall
.  The portrait of Diaz
,
Jake had told her about
,
hung on the wall.  Her fingers
itched to break into the safe
and see what he hid
and be done with this charade
. 

She heard Diaz’s voice through the office door. 
He was talking to someone
in Spanish
and he didn’t sound happy. 
“¿
Dónde
está
él
?”

The guard pushed the
door open. Diaz looked up, his dark eyes narrow, but he nodded and motioned her in. 
She’d laid the groundwork last night
, asking him to teach her a few phrases in Spanish, so he assumed she couldn’t understand anything he said
.  Perfect.

Sierra settled on a soft chair in the corner of the office and examined her manicured fingernails.

His words told her he was looking for Jake. 
Still pissed that he’d gotten away.

Sierra had to force herself to appear uninterested. 
Especially when
she heard
Diaz
’s next words.
  He’d
just arranged a pickup of some children from an orphanage in Paraguay for Wednesday.  The image of the little girl in the picture Michael
Toraz
had shown her and Daniel popped into her head.  The child’s sad brown eyes had told their own story.

Diaz
ended his call with an order to find Jake
and stood. 

Jake would be
thrilled
to know how pissed off Diaz was that he’d gotten away.
 

Sierra smiled and stood to greet him.  He took her hands.  “I’m sorry to have to do business.  But some things can’t wait.”

She waived her hand at him.  “That’s okay. 
I completely understand
.
”

“Did you sleep well last night?”

Images of her heated encounter with Jake assaulted her.  She’d hardly slept at all after he’d left.  “
Quite well, thanks.
You?”

His eyes darkened.  “Not so well.  I had visions of you in my head.”
  He lifted her hand and kissed her palm.

Sierra had to push down the wave of nausea at his words.
 
She bit her bottom lip.  “I wouldn’t have pegged you as a romantic, Dominic.”

He chuckled. “You must bring out that side of me.  Shall we have l
unch before we go snorkeling
?
 
Something light of course.
”

She nodded. “That sounds lovely
.”

He held his arm out
.  Taking it
,
she continued her mental inventory of the house.  They turned
right.  There was a closed door directly
beside Diaz’s office.  The hallway wasn’t long and she realized it joined up with a hallway running the backside of the house and
then to the one she’d passed just inside the front door
. 

One of the doors was
open and she noticed a bed. 
Quarters for the guards most likely.

Diaz turned right and she found herself inside an industrial sized kitchen.  A woman busied herself at the counter, chopping vegetables.

“Luisa,
we’ll be eating on the
veranda
,” Diaz said.

The woman
nodded.  Diaz continued through the
bright airy kitchen and
a set of French doors out onto a tiled veranda.

“Your house is beautiful, Dominic.”
 
Which at least was a true statement.
  It was not only beautiful, but had a breathtaking view. 

He pulled a cushioned wicker chair out from the table for her to sit.  “Thank you.  This is my favorite place in the world.”

He’d no more settled into a chair himself, then Luisa, carrying a tray, walked out and set two glasses in front of them.

“I asked Luisa to make iced tea
for us.  I
thought you might enjoy a touch of America.  H
ope
it’s to your liking.”  He lifted
his gla
ss. “We will have wine from my private stock tonight.”

Sierra smiled
and sipped some of the drink
.  “This is perfect.
  You are very thoughtful.”

“
I try
.  Last night you said you were from Chicago.”  His left eyebrow hitched up.  “But I don’t think you ever said where you live now.”

Setting her glass on the table, she ran her finger around the rim, watching the condensation
run down the sides.  “I’ve lived in New York the last three
years.”  She’d pulled one of her alter egos for this mission. One she knew would stand up under intense scrutiny
.
Even pictures of Lea
h
would show a green-eyed blond.
No doubt, Diaz would have one of his goons run a check on her while they were out snorkeling.  “Before that, I lived in Texas. Dallas.”

“A woman who likes the big city?”

She shook her head. “Hardly, but I’m an account executive for a large firm.  They move me around as needed.  I much prefer a setting like this.”

“Yes, it’s quite tranquil here.”  Diaz chuckled.  “I also don’t believe you told me your last name.”

She met his gaze.  “I thought men liked mystery.”

Luisa came back out with her tray filled again. 
This time with salads, silverware and linen napkins.
  She didn’t linger, but retreated with her head down.

“I do like mystery.  But I don’t like to be at a disadvantage.” 
His
lips quirked.
“You know my last name.”

“Touché,” she said and smiled.  “
Tanner
.”

“Well, Lea
h
Tanner
, it is a pleasure to get to know you.”  He picked up his fork.  “Eat. Enjoy my hospitality.”

Sierra
did as instructed, knowing his hospitality wasn’t ever given without expecting something in return. 

She didn’t think he was going to
appreciate
what she planned to
give him.
    

~
***~

Ensconced in
a guest room next door to Diaz’s room,
Sierra slipped into her bikini
.  After she tied the strings of the little black triangle top, she opened a concealed compartment in her bag and removed the communication equipment.
She slipped the small receiver and transmitter in her ear.

“
You there?”

Jake
’s deep voice answered,
“Off shore fishing.”

Hearing his voice sent a thrill through her.  Now that she’d experienced the potent affect of his touch, things would never be the same. 
“Sounds fun.
  We’re getting
ready to go snorkeling off the beach. 
With any luck, I’ll get a chance to snoop tonight.”

“You better do it quick.  I don’t think you’ll be able to keep Diaz at bay indefinitely.
 
Especially the way your dressing.
”
  His dry tone came across loud and clear.

She chuckled. 
Just wait until Jake got a load of her bikini. 
“If I can find what I need
tonight, I’ll be out
.  Oh, and
did you hear
Diaz ordering someo
n
e to find you?
 
He’s still pretty ticked that you got away.”

Jake grunted.  “
Yeah, I heard
.”

“And he was arranging a pickup of more children from an orphanage in Peru
for Wednesday
. I think you should call Trent
and let him know.”

“
Already did
.
  I’ll be
waiting when you’re ready to go snooping
.”

“Ten-four.”

Sierra removed the earpiec
e
and hid it back inside the compartment
.  After
pulling on
a tee shirt and shorts, she
slid
her feet
into a pair of
white flip flops
. 

Opening
the door,
she stepped
into the hall.  Diaz walked out
dressed in swim trunks
, his bronze chest bare.
  H
e was muscular, yet nothing lik
e the cut edges of Jake’s physique
.
  He
looked at her and smiled.
  “Are you ready,
querido
?”

“Can’t wait.”

He walked to her and stopped.  The da
rkening look in his eyes was her only warning
before he tugged her against him and took her mouth in a heated kiss that totally nauseated
h
er.

She forced herself to respond
instead of gagging
.  Luckily, he wasn’t intent on dragging it o
ut.  He released her and stroked
her cheek.  If she was
an ordinary tourist
and didn’t know what a slime he was
, she might be charmed.  Inst
ead she’d like to punch him in the nose.