Page 56 of Vaquero
Chapter Twenty-Two
Finally, Julio had the woman he cared for, limp, but back in his arms where he wanted her. He was sure Meg had merely fainted from the heat and lack of sleep. She hadn’t been hit because they hadn’t been shot at. And she wasn’t bleeding. Only sweating. Like him, she’d been on the run for too many hours. They needed more than a few stolen moments of downtime to recuperate. But more than sleep, Julio desperately needed what he held now. The slight, warm weight of her body against his chest. The scent of her skin in his nose. Her trusting him enough to have passed out.
Like a greedy child at Christmas, he lifted her up from where she’d straddled the branch, and settled her crossways, her legs together, her rump on his thighs. With just that simple protective act of caring for his woman again, his lonely heart took wing. Memories of having once been a faithful, loving husband rolled over him. His eyes blurred with the sudden tenderness leaking out of his soul.
He’d thought he’d found true love before with Bianca. Now he questioned everything about their whirlwind marriage, their short engagement, but mostly, her faithlessness when he’d deployed. Her insistence they have a baby right away, even with their lousy debt ratio.
Everything back then had happened so fast. Too fast. He’d been charmed by the blonde beauty who’d fallen for him. Him, the humble son of Mexican jewelry thieves. He hadn’t told her about his parents, though. That was his first sin. He should’ve been honest. He should’ve made certain Bianca knew exactly what she was getting into before they’d eloped and tied the knot. But he’d been a naïve younger man back then. A fool. He’d truly believed love would conquer all. Turned out, love held no such magic.
She discovered that lie herself when she’d Googled him and found headlines and mugshots instead of headshots on social networks. But hindsight only provided clarity, not forgiveness. No. He could see now that the diamonds she’d loved and the few plastic surgeries she’d convinced him she needed, were his penance for that starry-eyed error.
But Meg was everything Bianca was not. Tough. Sweet. A fighter and lover rolled into one. It’d been so long since he’d held an honest woman, much less one so fierce and sweet. With Meg safely ensconced in the crook of his injured arm, he ran his free hand over her head and righted her bandana, keeping her head covered. She’d been shy about her shorn hair. He wouldn’t betray her now.
“Damn, she’s a pistol. She finally pass out?” Hotrod asked quietly.
“Yes,” Julio answered, glancing over his shoulder at hiscompadre. “Are you sure we ended the attack? So soon? I thought it’d take longer.”
Hotrod held a sturdy pair of binocs to his eyes, gazing across the pit. “I’m as surprised as you. Thought Asshat would’ve brought a bigger army with him. Guess not. Either he was an idiot or we’re just that good.”
But beingjust that goodwasn’t good enough for Julio. They needed boots on the ground, someone to walk over there and visually confirm their suspicions. Julio just didn’t want to let Meg go. She’d gone still and silent. Without that bulky sarape, he could see her chest barely lift with every breath. He wanted to hold her until she woke, then taste her lips again. Her neck. Her breasts. And straddling this wide-as-a-horse tree branch with a hard-on was—hard.
The slightest buzz vibrated from Hotrod’s tree, then “Thank fuck!” he exclaimed into his sat phone. “Good to hear your shitty voice, CB. Yeah. Can do. You bet. Give me five. Look to the south. We’ll be there.” Then to Julio he asked, “Wake her up. We’re moving.”
Julio shook his head. “She’s not going anywhere. I’ll stay here until she comes to.”
“Yeah, okay. See if you can get her to drink something once she snaps out of it. I’ll hook up with our mighty leader. Be ready to travel when I get back. Here. Catch.” He tossed his binocs across the distance between the trees. “Keep frosty, Juarez. You see anyone on my six, you end him, hear?”
Julio caught the binocs one-handed. “Copy that. Don’t die,” he said, like he needed another pair of binocs or to be told to keep his head on a swivel.
“Don’t plan to,” Hotrod replied, as, with a growly, “Hmmpf,” he slid off the branch and stuck a three-point landing below. From the ground, he looked up at Julio, offered a quick two-fingered salute, then fast-tracked into the forest.
Meg whimpered, bringing Julio’s attention back around. What a breathtaking sight. Lush lashes curled at the tops of her pale cheeks, fluttering like butterfly wings as she awoke. Her green eyes widened when she realized where she was and who had hold of her. Both her hands went instantly to her head, her lips pinched with regret while she searched for her bandana.
“Your cover is secure, Corporal Duncan,” he told her quickly.
She blinked up at him. Her fingertips fluttered over her bandana as her cheeks flushed pink. “I… I… Thank you. I passed out?”
He’d missed his chance to kiss her. “We are both very tired. A body can only go so long without rest before it shuts down.”
“But you weren’t the one who fainted, were you? No, it had to be me.” Exasperation edged her tone, but she made no effort to move. “We didn’t lose because of me, did we?”
He wanted to smile. “No, ma’am.”
“Oh, good. Did we win? We must have. I don’t hear gunshots.”
“Yes, we won. We did what we set out to do. We gave Doctor Hazelton time to do her job, and we couldn’t have done it without you. Every rocket you fired was a direct hit. Charlie and Doctor Hazelton already have the radioactive isotopes safely stored. They’re climbing out of the pit right now. Hotrod just left to join them. Once we get back to the Blackhawk, we’ll be home free.”
A contented breath sighed out of her.“Dulce Madre de Dios!”
For the first time in what felt like forever, Julio felt a genuine smile pinching his cheeks. His stiff lips nearly curved. “Are you mocking me, Senorita?”
She grinned up at him, her eyes bright, full of mischief, life, and sass again. “I never mock, Special Agent Juarez. I incorporate. If I like what I hear, I adopt and adapt. I make what I like mine. Sayings and prayers. Curse words, too. So watch out.”
Mine.Out of everything she’d said, that one word stood out like a shining star. A tiny burst of hope bubbled up inside Julio’s chest. What would it be like to belong to Meg? To be hers? Only hers. To come home to her smiling face at night. To finally rest in her arms at the end of secret, deadly missions.
Like an idiot, his mouth asked, “Does that include people?”
Her tongue made a quick pass over her bottom lip, and for the first time in his successful, covert career, Julio faltered. He couldn’t stop himself. His strong sense of duty took a backseat to the desire her wet lips had just created. One more kiss. That was all he wanted. What harm could a single, stolen kiss do?
