Marie, Laura - Miss: Senorita and the Soldado [The Miss Series 2] (BookStrand Publishing Romance) (19 page)

He gently touched her chin, tilting it towards him with his hand.

She looked straight up into his eyes.

“I don’t want you to be afraid of me ever. You can trust me, Elloisa. I will do you no harm.”

She was silent a moment as if thinking about his statement.

“Not intentionally you won’t. I’m fine, really,” she said on the defensive then turned away and walked out of the kitchen.

Gustavo watched her go. He wanted to follow her, take her into his arms, and show her, prove to her that he was telling the truth.

This was the worst assignment he had ever been on. He was attracted to Elloisa, was growing more and more affectionate towards her every day. He was becoming protective, angrier and angrier at Armando and what he had put Elloisa through.

If he ever came to face to face with Armando Sintorez, he would kill him slowly being sure to cause the piece of shit as much torture and pain as he had caused Elloisa and her family.

They spent the days going over emergency plans of action. She had impressed him with her ability to quickly pick up on clues and little details he left for her. As feminine and sexy as she was, Elloisa faced danger, obstacles, and difficult tasks with determination and courage. Whether she believed it or not, she was a soldier.

Chapter 13

“What took you so long to contact me?” Armando asked with anger apparent in his voice. This idiot should know better than to piss a man like him off. Obviously the agent was worried about blowing his cover.

There was no doubt where the agent’s loyalty lay. Sintorez, didn’t trust easily and this agent had yet to prove his loyalty to Armando.

“It wasn’t safe until now.”

“Where are Elloisa Givani and her family?” Armando asked.

“Jerry, Teressa, and Mathew Givani are in a safe house in New Jersey right on the border. Jack and Salvatore are still in New York and close to the main office. They’re aware of everything involved with the case.”

“And my Elloisa?”

“I have no idea. Only one agent has been assigned to her, and so far I have no idea who he is reporting to or where they could possibly be.”

“Why is that? How can that be? You’re an agent. You should be able to find out. You’re disappointing me. You don’t want to disappoint me.” Armando strengthened his tone and the agent got the message.

“We can get to the parents and brother easily. I could set up whatever you want. If you want them dead…”

“No! I want to make Elloisa suffer, and by merely harming them, I can do that. If I kill them, then she will get even angrier, and she knows too much. Now, who is this agent she is with? Are they always alone?” Armando couldn’t help but think about Elloisa with another man. The agent, whoever he was, would more than likely be attracted to her. What man in his right mind wouldn’t be?

“They are always alone and I’m afraid you know who the agent is.”

“What do you mean?”

“He was in Mexico at your compound. He went by the name Miguel Martinez. He’s really Agent Gustavo Montoya.”

Armando was furious but silent.

“He’s a dead man. I think I’ll take care of him personally when the time comes. Put a good scare into the Givani family. I want Elloisa shaking and begging for forgiveness when she comes back to me.”

Armando hung up the phone, and the agent began preparations.

Armando leaned back in the chair behind his desk and thought about the agent.

He more than likely was excited that such a well-known and notorious man like Armando Sintorez would trust him to handle such an important strategic action. Never mind the fact that Sintorez paid a hell of a lot more than the agency did. Little did that imbecile know that he was as good as dead once Armando got his Elloisa and returned to Mexico.

His head throbbed. The conversation with the agent aggravated him.

He caressed the lump on the back of his head. Luckily, he had recovered from the concussion. All he could think about as he rested in bed was how Elloisa had tricked him. She was stronger than he gave her credit for. While he recovered and Ramos and his men searched for her, he thought about what had made her change. Initially, upon bringing her to Mexico, she had shown such commitment and love for him as no other woman ever had. His Elloisa was passionate, not coy. He had gotten her to forget her family and New York and solely focus on him. She had become his everything until Ramos began to abuse his own woman. But Armando knew she had to learn her place. He could not show the men that his woman had control over his emotions. Nor could he give her power over him when he had spent so many years trying to prove that he was a ruthless killer.

He leaned back in his chair and sighed as he looked at her picture on the wall. It was a lovely portrait of Elloisa in the gardens. When she returned to him he would punish her for what she did and she would know that she could never leave again. Besides, her family would be dead, so there was nothing to go back to the States for.

Now, to find out about Gustavo Montoya. That should be pretty simple.

* * * *

“How well do you think Elloisa is doing, Jerry?” Teressa asked her husband as she sat on the couch in the living room.

“Probably as well as we are. I know she’ll be safe with Gustavo. He’s an excellent agent, and I wouldn’t trust anyone else with her life.”

“I think Dad is right, Mom. Gustavo has quite the reputation, and he and Elloisa seemed to hit it off real well,” Mathew added.

“I noticed that. Maybe she’ll trust him enough to give him all the information she knows and he can help bring down Sintorez and his gang,” Jerry added, and then they heard the back door open.

“Fire!”
they heard Agent Ramirez yell from the kitchen, and Agent Thomas ran through the living room.

“The shed outside is going up in flames. You all stay right here. Don’t go outside. We’ve already called the fire department,” he told them then went towards the back door.

“Come over here next to me, Teressa,” Jerry ordered, and both she and Mathew started walking across the living room.

Something came crashing through the front window. It exploded and the fire spread everywhere, including all over Teressa.

“Mom!” Mathew screamed then grabbed the throw blanket that was on the couch. His father ripped off his shirt, and they covered their mother with it then rolled her body across the floor. They were patting the fire out that was engulfing her body. She was screaming then suddenly went silent as the last flames were put out.

Ramirez came in with a fire extinguisher. Jerry hadn’t even realized that he was on fire as well. His hands were injured, but his concern was Teressa.

“Get an ambulance quickly!” Jerry yelled and he could hear the sirens in the distance.

“Oh my God, Teressa. Please, Teressa…Please keep breathing,” Jerry exclaimed, and both he and Mathew were coughing from the smoke.

“Let’s get her outside, Dad. Hurry!” Mathew yelled, and they quickly lifted Teressa and brought her outside.

* * * *

Three houses over, the agent and his accomplice watched, waiting for the Givani family to emerge unscathed. The mother seemed to be right in the line of fire. Oh well…not exactly what he had planned, but as long as she survived, then Armando would be all right with it.

Quickly they disappeared from the area.

As soon as they were at a safe distance he made the call.

“The job is done.”

“Did anyone get hurt?”

“No one is dead,” the agent replied then heard the click on the other end.

* * * *

Gustavo and Elloisa finished eating dinner. Elloisa was getting ready for bed while Gustavo finished taking a shower.

He got dressed in a pair of blue jeans and a T-shirt.

He just started to pull on a pair of socks when his cell phone rang.

He quickly flipped it open. It was line three. The line that connected directly to John Falcon.

“Yeah!” Gustavo said into the phone.

“We’ve got a situation, Gus. Someone got to Jerry, Teressa, and Mathew.”

“What? How? Are they all right?”

“There was a fire, an explosion, and Teressa is in the hospital. She has second-degree burns. She’s unconscious, but the doctors say she’ll make it. Mathew and Jerry have first- and second-degree burns on their hands, and both are suffering from smoke inhalation. So are Ramirez and Thomas.”

“How the hell did Sintorez find them? What am I going to tell Elloisa? She’ll want to come back.”

“She can’t come back. Not now. Sintorez obviously has men in the area. You need to keep her safe. I’ll do what I can to connect her with her family over the phone. Keep an eye out and prepare to leave on a moment’s notice if necessary.”

“Keep me posted, John,” Gustavo said then hung up the phone.

He ran his fingers through his damp hair. This wasn’t going to be easy for Elloisa.

* * * *

Elloisa prepared for bed and put on a pair of light-beige pajama pants and a black tank top. She was pulling the decorative pillows off the bed when she heard a knock on her door.

“Come in,” she stated, and Gustavo entered.

“Hey, this protective custody stuff is pretty good. I’m glad that your friend let you use the place…” Elloisa stopped talking and stared at Gustavo.

His face was once again like ice, which Elloisa knew meant something bad had happened.

“What is it?” she asked as she dropped the pillow on the rug and moved towards him.

Gustavo stood still in the doorway.

“There’s been a fire at the safe house where the agents are holding your family.”

“No! Oh, God, no!” she screamed and covered her mouth with her hands. Gustavo moved forward.

“Everyone is alive, Elloisa. They’re safe.”

“What happened?”

Gustavo began to explain, and with each detail, Elloisa became angrier and angrier then scared.

She lashed out at Gustavo.

“I want to leave! I want to see them. I have to see my mother!” she yelled as she tried to push past Gustavo.

He blocked her path. “No! You can’t leave.”

She started banging her hands against his chest. Gustavo grabbed her wrists.

“Please, Elloisa, calm down. You can’t leave here. You know you can’t. He wants to frighten you.”

“It’s working,” she cried as she pushed all her weight against Gustavo. Her head was against his chest, the tears were flowing, and Gustavo moved her towards the bed.

“Sit down, Elloisa. Calm down, please. I know you’re scared, but they’re alive,” he told her as he knelt down on the floor in front of her then pulled her to him.

He embraced her as she cried. Elloisa wrapped her arms around Gustavo’s neck and pulled her body against him.

Even kneeling, he was tall. She was lost in the comfort of his arms, his embrace. And she wasn’t sure how long Gustavo held her. Somehow the anger and upset slowly disintegrated, and she was beginning to settle down.

Elloisa let go of Gustavo’s neck.

They were staring into one another’s eyes, and Elloisa was frightened for a whole new reason as Gustavo cupped her chin in his hand.

Her cheeks were damp, and her heart was racing. She moistened her lips, and Gustavo just stared.

“You’ll be safe with me. I won’t let him get you,” Gustavo whispered and a tear rolled down her cheek.

Gustavo released her chin and wiped the tear away with his thumb then held Elloisa’s face with both hands.

“Don’t be afraid of me. Never be afraid of me, Elloisa.”

He cautiously inched closer then gently placed his lips over hers, kissing her softly.

Elloisa embraced the kiss and seemed to be lost in the moment and the sensations she felt.

* * * *

Gustavo pulled her closer, and Elloisa wrapped her arms around his neck.

He wanted to use his power, his strength, and his embrace to destroy her fear.

Gustavo slowly started to rise, but his lips never parted from Elloisa’s. He kissed her deeply while he moved her farther onto the bed.

His body lay halfway on top of hers, and all he did was hold her hair and her head in his hands while they volleyed for control with one another’s tongues.

Gustavo was breathing heavy, and he could feel Elloisa’s breasts against his chest.

She wasn’t wearing anything under the tank top, and he assumed the same went for under her pajama pants. The thought aroused him further. It had been so long for him. Way too long to be without a woman’s body.

He was hard against her. He wanted this woman, and he wondered if it was for all the right reasons. He thought of Armando and what he may have done to her. He didn’t want Elloisa to fear his touch or feel controlled. It had to be too soon for her. This had to be a mistake.

* * * *

Elloisa fell deeper under his spell. Her body craved more as she moved her hips against Gustavo’s. She had been attracted to him from the start, whether she wanted to face that fact or not. He was her hero. He signified every woman’s military man fantasy from his camouflage pants and military T’s to his combat boots, muscles, and extensive use of firearms. Her whole body throbbed with need and anticipation. As he released her lips, she tilted her head back to catch her breath.