Marie, Laura - Miss: Senorita and the Soldado [The Miss Series 2] (BookStrand Publishing Romance) (8 page)

“You can shoot Ramos from here. Why aren’t you doing it?”

“That’s not why I’m here,” Gustavo replied.

Gustavo showed no emotion. He didn’t let his eye off the scope or his finger off the trigger. She stared at the muscles in his forearms, the intensity of his face as he looked through the scope. He was a trained killer, a sniper, and she was this close to him. Her insides coiled up at the show of his power and concentration.

“Please save him. He was just trying to help me,” she whispered.

Gustavo stayed focused as he spoke to her, his words harsh and meant to cause pain. He didn’t even turn away from the scope or lighten his grip on the firearm.

“His death will be on your hands. You knew the consequences, yet you chose to involve the priest.”

“How dare you say that to me! Father Zipotto knew the risks. He insisted…You could save him right now but…”

“Shut up! Ramos and Father Zipotto are not my responsibility. You are. Now shut up and stay still. We may have to make a run for the border.”

“On foot? Are you crazy? They have Jeeps and it’s multiple miles across treacherous land. Never mind the border patrols.”

Gustavo stayed silent, and Elloisa clenched her fists. She wondered why every man she had ever been initially attracted to was on a power trip. Did she subconsciously have a death wish or an inner desire to be treated with disrepute?

Ramos still hadn’t killed Father Zipotto, and Armando’s men were dragging him towards the convent.
Perhaps the fact that he is a priest will keep him alive?

* * * *

Elloisa lay still, her teeth trembled, and her own heartbeat seemed to echo under the tarp and against the sides of the truck.

She tried her hardest to hear Gustavo’s but finally gave up, coming to the conclusion that he must be heartless.

Finally Ramos emerged alone from the convent.

He gave a few orders with his hands, and seconds later, the Jeeps scattered in all directions.

Two of them headed straight for Elloisa and Gustavo.

“Get ready and stay close,” he whispered, and the serious tone of Gustavo’s voice sent shivers through her body. Her mouth became dry and she feared the outcome.

She looked him over as best she could since they were mere inches apart. She felt the heat of his thigh against her thigh as they lay side by side on their bellies. He was military. He knew how to put together a sniper rifle in seconds, and he had worked inside Armando’s factory. Then it hit her. He was an undercover agent and most likely worked for the DEA. Her belly clenched, and fear and regret filled her heart. Her dead family instantly came to mind.

She could hear the roar of the engines and peeked out through the small hole. The two Jeeps moved closer and then one took a quick turn to the right. The other Jeep contained three men, all heavily armed and on guard. One of the men sat high in the back and held an automatic rifle of some sort. The other two were armed as well. This wasn’t good.

They each got out of the Jeep and walked closer to the small house and covered truck. They were sweeping the area, looking for Elloisa.

Gustavo’s backpack was back in place, and Elloisa pulled on her backpack as well.

Gustavo remained still. Elloisa felt the eerie silence, and when she swallowed as quietly as she could, even that sounded loud. She clenched her eyes tight, trying to hold in the tears and the sob that was growing deep inside her. She didn’t want to go back to Armando. She didn’t want to die.

Elloisa was shaking, her breathing rapid.
Pull the trigger damn it! What is he waiting for?

Pop…Pop…Pop.

Elloisa jumped at the sound, and Gustavo pushed open the tarp.

He grabbed Elloisa from the truck. She lost her balance, nearly falling to the ground, but Gustavo held her by the waist as she regained her balance. She immediately looked around them, wondering where the three men disappeared to.

She got her answer when she saw all three men dead. One was slumped over on the steering wheel of the Jeep. The other two were on the ground.

The other Jeep kept on going, its driver never seeing what had happened.

“Hop in!” he yelled as he lifted and shoved the dead soldier out of the driver’s seat and jumped behind the wheel of the Jeep.

Elloisa stared at the three dead men. None of them were Ramos. She swallowed hard as she attempted to step over one of the bodies.

“We’re taking their Jeep?” she questioned as she got into the passenger side.

“You’d rather walk across that desert now that I took out three of Sintorez’s men?” he stated sarcastically and as if it was the stupidest question. Rolling her eyes, she held on as the Jeep jerked forward and Gustavo sped towards the border.

* * * *

Her heart louder against her chest the closer they came to the border and the farther away from Armando they went.

There were two long hills before them, and once they made it past the border patrol station, they were in the clear.

Gustavo seemed to be steering the Jeep closer toward the left and away from the main border entrance. Why didn’t he want to go closer to the border patrol station on the Mexico side?

“Gustavo, why are we going this way? It’s too far to the left and the fencing.”

He was silent as he drove, looking around in all directions then glancing at a small device he held in his right hand.

She wondered what it was but then figured he was an agent and probably had lots of crazy toys. He did kind of remind her of some sort of secret agent. He seemed more like a combination of James Bond and Rambo. The thought made her belly quiver, as well as a few other spots. She swallowed hard.

“What’s that?” Elloisa saw a small light to the right of where they were driving.

Immediately, Gustavo turned off the headlights and stepped on the gas.

“Are you crazy! How will you see?” She grabbed on to whatever she could as fear gripped her insides.

Gustavo picked up speed. Her body rocked around up and out of the seat and nearly out of the Jeep, but she held the roll bars in a death grip.

I’m going to die, I’m going to die. Oh my God, he’s freaking nuts!

“It’s nothing but empty desert, and if we follow this route, we’ll eventually see lights and the border station.”

“The key word is ‘eventually.’ Oh my God!” Elloisa closed her eyes as the Jeep hit something but continued on its path. She held the metal, gripping anything for support and to remain inside the Jeep. Bump after bump, the Jeep bounced and creaked, making horrible sounds. The light to the right seemed to be approaching faster.

“Who could it be? Maybe border patrol or something?”

“Elloisa, there are bandits and scavengers all along this area. It’s a death trap for the unprepared.” He yelled over the roar of the engine as he continued to drive over the treacherous route they seemed to be stuck in.

Elloisa felt her stomach tighten into knots. Her chest ached and her insides fluttered. She was going to die. She was never going to make it home.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, they heard an engine roar. Then suddenly headlights appeared to the right of them. Gunfire filled the air, and bullets hit the side of the Jeep.

“Get down!” Gustavo yelled as he shoved her head over his lap.

He switched on the headlights and took off with the Jeep hopping and bobbing along the dusty desert.

Bullets echoed through the air. Some hit the windshield and the dashboard, but amazingly not her or Gustavo.

She held her head down and prayed to get out of this alive.

Her face rubbed against Gustavo’s camouflaged-covered, ironclad thighs. They were hard as steel, and her insides tightened. She was surely losing her ever-loving mind. Bullets flew around them, and she heard the ones that hit the dashboard directly next to her face. And here she was thinking about Gustavo’s body?

Suddenly, she felt the Jeep slow down and Gustavo hit the brakes.

Before she could question his sanity she heard the shots.
Bang, Bang, Bang, Bang!

The engine roared and the lights froze.

There was an eerie silence as Gustavo put the gun away, sat back in his seat, and resumed driving.

Slowly, she lifted her head from his lap. As she began to look behind her, Gustavo placed his hand on the back of her head and tilted it towards the front of the Jeep. “Look forward.”

It was obvious that he didn’t want her to see the damage. Elloisa was in shock. She had personally witnessed Gustavo’s intensity, capabilities, and training. From the time he whisked her away from the church, he had killed almost ten people in less than thirty minutes.

Chapter 5

Mathew looked around the room at his family. Once he received word from John that Elloisa had escaped the Sintorez estate on her own without the agent, he notified his family. They had begun to develop a plan to go looking for her based on covert information from informants. John Falco had been dead set against this. He felt it could be a trap now that Elloisa had escaped from Armando. He was right, of course. No one could be trusted at this point. John had CIs that said Armando’s guard Ramos was on the hunt. The last phone call they received at four o’clock this morning informed Mathew that there was a small village torn up and numerous bodies found dead, both there and outside the border. There was no sign of Elloisa or a body.

The sound of Mathew’s phone ringing brought everyone in the room to attention. He looked at his parents then answered the phone.

“Hello.”

“Mathew, I’ve got some news. Based on some intel, it seems our agent was able to track down Elloisa. It’s believed that they’re together.”

“Really? And this agent is good?”

“Real good. Considering that Sintorez sent Ramos out after her, she’ll need the agent’s help to escape detection and cross the border. But there is some bad news.”

“What’s that?”

“There’s a team of agents working on capturing Sintorez and monitoring his organization. They found out about the inside agent and about Elloisa. It was inevitable Mathew, but the good part is that they’ve pooled their resources and will be waiting by the border for them. The bad news is that a drug war is taking place mere miles from where our intel believes that Elloisa and the agent are.”

“What? What do you mean drug war?”

“Mathew, they could be caught in the middle of the biggest massacre in Mexican history. Right now, early reports are saying fifty or more victims.”

“Jesus, John! What is the Mexican government doing?”

“They sent the Mexican marines in, but the scene is bad.”

“John, do you think Elloisa is there? Could she be one of the victims?” Mathew swallowed hard at the thought, and his eyes filled up with tears. In the background, he heard his mother gasp. To get this close to having Elloisa back only for her to not make it here and die in a drug war was insane.

“I just don’t know. I wanted to be up front with you and let you know I’m on top of this. I will get you answers as soon as they come in.”

“I appreciate that, John.”

Mathew disconnected the call and took a deep breath. As he turned towards his family, he regretted having to tell them he didn’t know if Elloisa was dead or alive.

* * * *

Thirty minutes later, they approached the final stretch of Mexican land before the gates and border security check. They had traveled all night, and the sun was beginning to rise in the distance. She looked at Gustavo and his rugged appearance. His disguise was commendable. Even dirty and exhausted-looking, he was attractive. He glanced at her, and quickly, she looked ahead of them.

“Do you think there will be any more obstacles before the check-in booths? Josè mentioned some gangs that worked the border.”

“We’re driving a military Jeep and will be gaining enough attention.”

“A stolen military Jeep, and if that is a concern, then maybe we should ditch the Jeep and the guns before we cross?”

“I think it is in our best interest to keep the Jeep and guns as long as we can. We’re not heading across the border in a traditional manner. This is a smaller location and also a lot tougher to cross. Your papers look authentic. Whatever you paid for them was well worth it. Just relax a bit, and we’ll be there soon. It’s just over this next area. Why don’t you pull on the habit and get ready?”

A few minutes later, the fencing and gates came into view. In the distance behind the fencing were storefronts and numerous people.

“Let me do all the talking. You just look forward and don’t say a word.”

He stared at her a moment and smirked then shook his head.

“What?”

“Just clasp your hands on your lap and pretend you’re overheated and tired in that getup,” he told her.

“I don’t need to pretend. This is hell.”

Elloisa had no choice but to trust Gustavo’s judgment. He saved her life back there in the desert. He sure as hell wouldn’t steer her wrong now.

The guards looked mean and pompous. They eyed her and Gustavo from head to toe until some higher-up came out around the small booth. Elloisa did as Gustavo told her and remained quiet.