Targeted

“Quit struggling, little puta,” the man on top of her growled in a Spanish accent. His knee dug into her back. She tried to struggle, but his weight proved too much.

“Hey!” another male voice sounded somewhere nearby.

Hope jumped inside her for a brief moment. Maybe someone was coming to help her. She tried to shout, but the man was pressing her into the concrete and it hurt to even breathe.

“Be careful with her, stupid. The boss doesn’t want her hurt,” the other voice whispered in a similar accent.

Something cold and metal snapped around her wrists before she was hauled to her feet. Pain ripped through her arms at the awkward jerking motion. “Help!” A scream so loud it burned her throat tore free. “Somebody help—”

The man who’d pulled her to her feet—a dark-haired man with black eyes that looked like empty pools and a vicious scar running down his face—backhanded her. Pain stung her cheek, but before she could scream again the man shoved something wet over her face. She tried to struggle, but everything in her vision turned fuzzy as her world tilted on its axis.

Chapter 10

Burn phone: prepaid disposable phone.

Ronald jumped in his chair as his cell phone buzzed across his desk. He answered immediately. “Ronald here.”

“Who is the man with Sophie Moreno?” Vargas snapped, his voice heated.

“I don’t know.” Clearly he wasn’t with Keane Flight as he’d said or Vargas would have known. Ronald had already betrayed her enough with his silence; he didn’t want to add more. Besides, Sophie had told Ronald she’d ditched Jack—or whoever he really was. Had she lied to him?

“My men have been unable to track her and I know she has a partner. Do not lie to me. Are you helping her?”

“No!”

“Has she contacted you?”

Ronald loosened his tie. He assumed Miguel was always watching him, so he decided to go for honesty this time. “Yes.”

“What did she say?”

“Just that someone tried to kill her and she doesn’t know why. She’s scared and on the run. She doesn’t know who’s after her, which is exactly what I told you. She’s not involved in this. You need to leave her alone.” His admission wouldn’t hurt Sophie. It was the only thing that eased his conscience.

“What about the man she’s with?”

“I have no idea who he really is. She told me she ditched him.” But now Ronald had a feeling she hadn’t. Vargas was far too interested in her, so he must have a reason.

Vargas waited for a beat of silence. It seemed to stretch out for an eternity. “She was at the hangar on Sunday night. My men saw a woman running from the building and they were able to get a license plate number when she fled. She could have taken pictures of them or my product. I don’t know what she has, but she will be silenced.”

Ronald massaged his temple as terror rippled through him. Sophie had been at the hangar? By herself? It was a miracle she hadn’t been caught by one of Vargas’s men. It was probably what she’d wanted to talk to him about—and he’d blown her off. If she’d truly been at Keane’s hangar, then there was nothing he could say that would keep Miguel from tracking her. Ronald’s only hope was that he could warn Sophie before she did something stupid. Like come back to Miami.

Miguel continued. “If she contacts you, I want you to set up a meeting with her. I need to find out who this man is. With Keane in a coma, this guy might be trying to take over our operation.”

Our? Ronald bit back a snort. He hadn’t even thought that the man with Sophie could be trying to take over Vargas’s operation. He couldn’t deal with another monster. He cleared his throat. “She might not even call me again.”

“She will and once you set it up, we will intercept her.”

“And if she doesn’t?”

Miguel made an angry sound. “Don’t try my patience. When she contacts you, you will let me know. If I find you lied to me, well, I don’t need to remind you what a beautiful daughter you have.”

It was as if invisible fingers tightened around Ronald’s neck as he fought to breathe.

Miguel continued. “Many of my men have expressed a deep interest in . . . getting to know her better. So far she has been unharmed, but if you fail me . . .”

“I won’t.” The words came out as a strangled whisper. Miguel’s not so subtle threat made his stomach heave. His family had been through enough. If he could just get his daughter back, he’d turn himself in, go to jail, whatever it took. He simply wanted his family safe. He’d have called the cops long ago if he had any clue where she was being held. She’d been kidnapped in another country, so the local cops were no good to him anyway. He literally had no one to turn to. Not if he ever wanted to see his daughter again.

“Good. I will call you this evening with further instructions. I’ll be in town in a couple days. If you use good sense, you will have your daughter back by this weekend.”

Miguel disconnected and Ronald laid his head on his desk. Would this nightmare never end?

•   •   •

As Jack stared at the popcorn ceiling, his watch alarm went off. Sleep had been an elusive fantasy once again. Sophie’s words had echoed through his tired brain all night, rattling around with no mercy. “If you change your mind, I’m right here.”

He sat on the edge of the bed and nearly choked when he saw her. He’d forced himself to avoid looking at her the past few hours, but a small stream of sunlight pierced the room through the opening in the curtain. The beam ran across her chest, illuminating the fact that her sheet was dangerously close to exposing her breasts. Breasts he’d kissed, licked, massaged . . . Damn it.

Control yourself.

Careful not to wake her, he grasped her sheet by the edge and pulled it a few inches higher. When his knuckles brushed against her soft skin, he froze for a moment until he found the will to move away. With a silent groan he grabbed a change of clothes and his shaving kit and headed to the bathroom. A cold shower was exactly what he needed.

The icy blast of water was the perfect shock. As the jets massaged his tired shoulders, vicious memories of the last time he’d seen Sophie played in his head, reminding him that if she knew who he really was, she’d run far and fast in the other direction.

He tried to shake the memory, but suddenly he was eighteen again and swimming in guilt over the fact that he hadn’t been there to protect the girl he’d cared about more than anyone.

“Damn it,” Jack muttered as memories of the last time he’d seen her assailed him. He clenched the bar of soap, his nails leaving half-moon indentations. He’d been doing fine for years, keeping all this shit at bay.

Being around her was just going to bring up stuff that should stay dead and buried. Just like the person he used to be. Sam was dead. He’d supposedly died in Afghanistan many years ago. Something he’d never needed to remind himself of until now. Making the choice to officially “die” had been the easiest thing he’d ever done. He’d had no one and had liked the fast-paced lifestyle. Not being able to admit his true identity to Sophie was the first time he’d ever experienced regret over his decision.

He twisted the shower knob to off, then grabbed a towel and wrapped it around his waist. They needed to get on the road soon, and though he hated waking her, time was their enemy.

After shaving and brushing his teeth, he eased the bathroom door open. Wearing only a towel, Sophie looked up from the small table where she was going through the clothes he’d gotten for her.

A faint smile touched her lips when their eyes locked. “Thanks for getting these. The thought of wearing that