Page 25 of Rogue Voice

“I have money,” she said. “Money my father left me. Money my uncle doesn’t know about.”

Something hard sat in the pit of Rogue’s stomach.Of course she has money.Drug money.

“Your uncle’s already agreed to pay me a lot of money, sweetheart,” Rogue drawled.

Bea looked uncertain for a moment but forced herself to keep going. Like a poker player, going all in.

“I will give you everything I’ve got.”

“Really? Everything you’ve got?” Rogue smirked. “You won't keep a bit for yourself?”

Her look changed to one of horror. “No. I don’t want any of it. I just … I can’t stay here.”

Rogue’s mind was going a mile a minute. She wanted outnow, of all times, and came tohim, of all people, for help.

Rogue thought he’d done a good job getting Cruz to trust him, but he wasn’t stupid either. Cruz hadn’t gotten to where he was by trusting people. Maybe this had been Cruz’s plan all along, and he’d been waiting for just the right occasion to trip Rogue up. Rogue hated to think that she would have gone alongwith this, but he’d seen the level of control Cruz exerted over her. It wasn’t altogether impossible.

And Rogue couldn’t risk the mission.

Bea’s body shook like a leaf. Rogue looked down and regretted it immediately. He wasn’t going to forget the sight of those puckered nipples.

He took off his jacket and pulled it over her shoulders.

“You’re shaking,” he said.And distracting me.

“Please,” she repeated.

“What’s going on? You need more entertainment than this life affords you?”

Bea looked down. For an instant, she looked ashamed—and guilty as hell. Tears filled her eyes, causing Rogue physical pain. Fuck, but he hated to see her cry.

The tears never fell. Bea blinked them away, clenching her small hands into fists so tightly, Rogue knew her nails would be digging into her palms.

“I understand what you must think of me. But if I stay here, I won’t survive.”

A weight the size of Ayers Rock settled in the pit of Rogue’s stomach. “You think your life is in danger?”

She didn’t reply but seemed to huddle deeper inside his jacket. “Please. Nobody will know you helped me,” she begged.

Rogue examined her. If she was lying, she was amazing—a world-class actress.No, he finally decided.She’s not lying. She’s really that naïve. She thinks she can run away, and that her uncle would let her go.

He shook his head. This was crazy. He was putting the whole op at risk just by listening to her.

Still, another part of him realized this might be the chance he’d been looking for. Hell, after what he’d seen the last few days, he didn’t think he could live with himself if he left her here. And this might kill two birds with one stone. He could stayuntil just before the DEA was set to strike, then bring her with him when he left. She could start a new life. Away from here. Somewhere safe. Rogue wanted to make that happen for her.

He wanted a lot more if he were honest with himself. He wanted to take her clothes off and see what her nipples looked like in the moonlight. He wanted to touch her, to watch her come apart under his touch.

But even more, he wanted to know she was safe—that she wasn’t afraid. If she was telling the truth, there was still a chance he could get her to safety without compromising the entire operation. If she was lying, if this had been engineered by Emiliano to test where Rogue’s loyalties lay, then his answer would damn him. As simple as that.

Are you willing to bet everything—to bet your life—on the hope that she’s telling the truth?

The answer came to him quickly enough.

Yes.

But there were still questions he needed answers to. He took a quick drag from the cigarette and flicked the ash from the tip. “Why now? Why me?”

She hesitated for an instant, then the words came out in a rush. “Because I know Oscar Aguilar, and I’d rather die than be with him.”

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