Laila ached to give him more than pleasure in return, to prove that she trusted him, to tell him how unshackling that felt, and to convey how much she loved it.
His heart thundered against hers as he crashed into her over and over, his bed rattling and shaking. His body tensed, then he roared and flooded her womb, shuddering from head to toe. She clutched him against her with every shred of energy she had left, praying this moment would never end.
Laila had never felt closer to another human being in her life.
His expression was full of gravity, something solemn and steadfast she had never seen. Had he fallen in love with her?
She stared back, blinking and feeling tears burn her sleepless eyes. Trees brushed damp strands of her hair from her face. He said nothing. No words were necessary between them. Or maybe, like her, he simply didn’t want to spoil the moment.
The outside world had no such compunction.
An alarm suddenly blared from his phone and echoed across the house from some unseen corner, spoiling their paradise.
He jackknifed up, cursing and scrambling for his phone, in full warrior mode. “Get dressed.”
She sat up, clutching the sheet. “What is it?”
“The perimeter around my property has just been breached.”
Her heart lodged in her throat. Had she been discovered again? “Is it Victor? If he learns that you killed Hector, he will come after you with a vengeance.”
“He doesn’t have to come after me. I’m looking for him. And I won’t let him get away.” Trees stared at his device, then sighed. “But it’s not Victor. It’s my goddamn bosses. Put some clothes on. This is going to get ugly.”
Laila couldn’t pretend she didn’t know why. They had decided to use her as bait in a hostage exchange—her for their sister. It scared her, but if such a ploy ensured her family stayed alive, of course she would do it.
Trees hopped into his jeans and boots. He dragged on a tight black tee, slipped on a gun holster that crisscrossed his wide back, then grabbed a pair of semiautomatics from his nightstand. “Don’t leave this room until I tell you.”
“They came to talk to me.”
He shot her a glance full of protective fury. “They’ll have to come through me first.”
Then he was gone.
Worry washed through her. She loved that Trees wanted to protect her…but he could not. She’d risk everything, even her life, to keep her sister and her nephew safe.
Laila heard beeping as Trees turned off the alarm, followed by the slam of the front door. Barney barked. As she scrambled into her bra and underwear, an engine rumbled up, then cut off. Car doors closed. Since she had nothing else to wear, she tossed on her tank and shorts. As she secured the final button, she caught sight of herself in the mirror above Trees’s dresser and winced.
Her hair was tousled, her lips were swollen, her cheeks were still rosy from arousal, and her neck patchy and red with obvious whisker burns. She looked like a woman who’d had a lot of sex. And with every step, the friction of the flesh between her legs protested.
Still, if Trees wanted her again, she would say yes.
The front door opened, and she heard the timbre of deep voices as they entered the house. Taking a bracing breath, Laila let herself out of the bedroom and faced the men.
Predictably Trees looked furious that she hadn’t stayed put. The other three—all big and dangerous, complete with steely demeanors—stared at her, taking her in from head to toe.
None of them said a word, but their disapproving gazes settled on Trees.
They knew what the two of them had been doing, and they were definitely not happy.
Finally, the oldest approached. He had blond hair, a sharp gaze, a chiseled jaw, and a whiplike mien. “Hi, Laila. You may not remember me. I was there during your extraction. I’m Hunter Edgington.”
When he stuck out his hand, she took it reluctantly, trying to avoid Trees’s disapproving gaze. “I remember. And I know why you have come.”
“Straight to the point, huh? Then let’s talk,” said the one with dark hair and the same blue eyes gleaming in his hard face. “I’m Logan, Hunter’s younger brother.”
“Yes.” She remembered.
“And I’m Joaquin Muñoz,” said the big one at the end, who offered his hand next.
She heard a hint of an accent in his tone. “Se habla Español?”
A little smile tugged at his mouth. “Yeah, I speak Spanish, but it’s not great.”
Too bad. She would have liked to ask some questions of the man without Trees objecting, but like everything else, she would have to get her answers the hard way. “I understand.”
“Laila, I told you to stay put until I came for you,” Trees reminded. His voice sounded even, but she was too connected to him not to feel his worry. No, his panic.
He also knew why the trio had come.
“Would you like me to make everyone coffee?” she offered to avoid answering him directly.
Hunter shook his head. “It’s not necessary.”
“They won’t be staying that long since they weren’t invited,” Trees snarled.
The older brother cleared his throat. “Laila, why don’t you sit? We’d like to talk to you, show you some pictures, get your thoughts.”
Logan pulled out a chair at the kitchen table for her.
As she crossed the room to them, Trees seized her arm. “Don’t do this.”
She glanced up, wishing she could comfort him with her touch. “I have to.”
Then she sat. The other three did the same.
Trees stood at the head of the table, arms crossed over his wide chest, glaring at the men he worked for. “This is bullshit. You came onto my property uninvited and unannounced to take away any sense of safety I’ve managed to give Laila. You have no idea what she’s been through and—”
“That’s enough.” Hunter spoke quietly but with such menace, Laila flinched.
“Fuck you. You’re not risking her death to get your sister back.”
“Right now, we just want to ask her a few questions. We’ve spoken to Valeria, but since Laila was in the Tierra Caliente compound a few months ago, her information is fresher.”
“I will help however I can.” She wanted them to know that. Not because she owed them. Her sister paid them handsomely with the money she had taken from her late husband before fleeing. She would help them because it helped her family. Then, as far as she was concerned, she would be happy never to see EM Security again.
With the exception of Trees.
But what came next for them, if anything, was unclear.
“We hoped you would say that.” Logan whipped out a tablet from a backpack she hadn’t noticed earlier. He turned it on and swiped a few times. “This picture and the next couple are the best we have of the three bodies dumped in our parking lot two days ago. We haven’t been able to identify them. Neither have police. Your sister didn’t recognize them. There’s not a lot left to identify, so brace yourself.”
They had no idea the kinds of things she had seen in Emilo Montilla’s compound. Whatever they had to show her should not be any shock. “All right.”
The younger Edgington brother glided the tablet across the table to her. “Have you seen these guys before? Can you shed any light about why their corpses might have been dumped near our office?”