“Maybe.” It was the most likely scenario Zy could see, but Trees obviously disliked not knowing.

  That made two of them. “So no one has heard from Laila?”

  One-Mile shook his head. “But she has my number. When I left Florida, I made sure she knew how to contact me.”

  But if she didn’t take her phone when she fled, how could she? “Unless you hear from her, we need to come up with a plan. If Laila escaped, every hour she and baby Jorge are floating out there without help or resources is another hour they’re likely to be scooped up by the remnants of Emilo Montilla’s gang—if they haven’t been already. Do we know who’s running the show now that Walker put bullets in his head?”

  “I made a few friends while I spent a month down there, trying to off the son of a bitch.”

  That sounded unlikely. One-Mile wasn’t usually nice enough to make friends with anyone, but Zy bit anyway. “And?”

  “I’ve heard that some underlings inside Emilo’s compound are trying to seize power…but there’s also gossip that his father intends to take over and oust anyone who gets in his way.”

  That made sense. Emilo had been like a gator—lazing on the shore, enjoying the sun, and sinking his teeth into anyone who wandered too close, especially if they dared to question his authority. But he’d been small-time compared to his father. Geraldo Montilla was a legend for his predatory ruthlessness. The man was pure shark.

  Zy’s guess? Geraldo had given the splinter faction to his son, mostly so Emilo would have something to do, because he’d known his only son lacked the balls to run the larger Tierra Caliente organization. But now that his son was gone? No way would the narcotics king turn over any part of his organization to Emilo’s lackeys. “Makes sense. Do we know where Valeria is holed up?”

  “No,” Trees answered. “I have a number to call, probably a burner phone. When we get to the Orlando area, I’m supposed to arrange a meet point.”

  “And we’re certain she still hasn’t heard from her sister?”

  “Yeah, but she says she keeps getting calls from an unfamiliar number. She’s been afraid to answer it, but I told her she should next time her phone rings.”

  “Good call.” Maybe Laila had found another phone. “Keep me posted.”

  As the others nodded and stepped toward their desks, a phone buzzed. Zy searched for the source of the sound and zeroed in on One-Mile, who pulled his device from his pocket.

  “Walker.” The sniper listened to the frantic, high-pitched voice on the other end, then frowned. “Wait. Wait! I don’t speak Spanish.” He pulled the phone from his ear and glanced at the others. “Who the fuck speaks Spanish?”

  Tension gripped Zy. He didn’t, but he was more focused on the caller. “Who is it?”

  “Laila, but she’s crying and too upset to speak English, so I can’t understand a fucking word she’s saying. Brea will have my balls if I don’t help a woman who obviously needs it.”

  Walker didn’t care about staying on the good side of many people, but he’d do whatever it took to keep the pretty, pregnant preacher’s daughter happy.

  “I do. I’ll talk to her.” Kane held out his hand.

  “Thank fuck.” Walker pressed the phone to his ear again. “I’m going to give you to another guy. He’s one of us, so he’ll help keep you safe.” He slid the device into the new guy’s palm.

  “Find out where she is,” Zy murmured.

  Kane raised the phone with a nod. “Bueno?”

  Zy held his breath as the former small-town sheriff exchanged rapid-fire Spanish with the woman. He glanced across the room to see Tessa organizing her desk with a gusto that told him she needed something to do or she would go crazy. If she was this upset about her friend’s abduction, he couldn’t imagine what all the Edgington men were going through, not to mention the rest of her family.

  That gave Zy an idea—one he’d put into motion as soon as Kane finished talking to Laila.

  He and the other operators watched, waiting impatiently until the new guy finally ended the call.

  “Well?” Zy prompted.

  “Laila escaped—with one of her assailants’ phones. She’s got Valeria’s son with her. They ran to a women’s shelter. She didn’t know where else to go.”

  The move had been pretty resourceful on her part. The shelter’s management wouldn’t ask too many questions, and if cartel thugs showed up, the police would be called. “She needs to dump the phone.”

  “She turned off location services, but yeah, the longer she holds on to it the more of a liability it becomes. She’s concerned that she’ll be without any way to contact her sister once she trashes the device.”

  “Where did you two leave things? Did she tell you where to find her?”

  “No. She wanted to know about Valeria. Laila was panicked because she’s been calling her sister, who hasn’t picked up.”

  That explained the unknown calls to Valeria’s number.

  “I assured her Valeria is fine and suggested she try calling her sister again. I also told her it wasn’t a good idea for them to hook back up until we roll into town. I hope she listens.” Kane shrugged. “By the end of the call, she seemed calmer…but still not thinking clearly enough to devise a plan, so she said she’d leave that to us. Let’s put our heads together, gentlemen.”

  “Get started,” Zy said. “I need to give Tessa something to do before she goes crazy. Back in two.”

  The others started a low-voiced discussion that Zy tuned out as he approached Tessa, who’d wrapped her arms around herself, trying not to cry. He’d tell her to go home, but sending her there to stew alone would be worse.

  “Why don’t you pick up some things to feed Kimber’s family and take them to her house? Otherwise, Deke will be trying to feed the kids when he’s really distraught and should be out looking for his wife…”

  She frowned. “Don’t you need me to make arrangements for Trees and Kane to travel wherever they’re going?”

  “They’re big boys who know how to work a website. What they can’t do is comfort Kimber’s family in any way that’s remotely compassionate or helpful. You can.”

  “What about you and One-Mile? If you need anything—”

  “We’ll handle it. Just take care of her family. You know, make sure they have enough food for dinner, give them comfort or a shoulder…”

  “Of course. I can do that.”

  “Call me if you run into any issues.”

  She grabbed her purse and her car keys. “I will. Let me know if you need anything, and I’ll come back.”

  He should let her go now. He shouldn’t get any closer to her or let himself fall any deeper. But he couldn’t stand her leaving without touching her. “Are you okay?”

  “I’m rattled. I guess I always thought that friends, family, and employees were too far removed from the danger you guys deal with all the time.”

  Zy shook his head. “Why do you think Cutter and Josiah were both so quick to get out once they realized they were getting married?”

  “It just never occurred to me.” She shook her head. “That probably sounds stupid, but…”

  “No.” Naive, maybe. But Zy couldn’t blame Tessa. She’d never put herself in the path of danger for an objective designed to keep others safe. She answered phones. She coordinated supplies. She kept the office running smoothly. Despite the bosses’ suspicions, there was no reason she would know about this shit. “You shouldn’t have to think about this, especially given everything else you’ve been dealing with.”

  Like her father’s recent passing and her ex-boyfriend’s threats.

  She sighed. “I’ll be back.”

  As she turned to leave, he wrapped his fingers around her arm. It was the kind of incidental contact he often had with people. But no one else made him burn and shudder with desire the way he did every time he touched her. It was fucking inconvenient to want Tessa so much right now, but this just proved that nothing—not time, conflict, barriers, or tragedy—could put a dent in his need for her.

  “Hey, did you, um…by chance, talk to Joaquin this morning about anything?”

  The little furrow between her brows told him no. “He messaged me, saying he wanted to meet, but then everything happened and…”

  Zy wasn’t surprised, but he was bitterly disappointed. Despite this morning’s shit show, he wanted Tessa so fucking bad he could almost taste her. “Once you have, we’ll talk.”

  Later that day, Tessa hit the Send button on her email back to Joaquin. Her hand shook.

  It was done. She had officially agreed to the new—and better—terms of their updated contract.

  One without the clause that had kept her and Zy apart for ten agonizing months.

  She swallowed as she stood, still half-dazed. She’d always thought one of them would have to leave their job before they could explore their feelings. Of course, she was happy the bosses had removed the barriers between them. And yes, she was impatient to be alone with Zy. Obviously, he’d known this was coming.

  Her question was…why had the trio of hard-asses they worked for suddenly relented? Zy had appealed to them multiple times, always to have his requests fall on deaf ears. Why had they suddenly changed their minds?

  Maybe it didn’t matter. Maybe she should stop questioning this new development and start enjoying it.

  Maybe…but something tugged at her.

  As she went through the day, she tried to focus on Kimber’s family. She spent the rest of the morning shopping and cooking, then all afternoon with Kimber’s sisters-in-law, Kata and Tara, as well as their kids. Joaquin’s wife, Bailey, stopped in, showing her hint of a baby bump, looking as rattled as the rest of the women. Tessa had tossed an early dinner in the oven, played with the children, and offered a shoulder to anyone who needed it…at least until Deke had come in and shooed her out so he could get everyone into hiding.

  Tessa didn’t blame him. Even now, she felt the urge to head for her daughter’s daycare and hug Hallie breathless. Instead, she settled for calling to check in on her almost one-year-old, then heading back to the office to see if she could lend a hand. And yes, to see Zy. According to Joaquin’s email, the whole staff had received a new contract with similar terms, since it had been revised to “reflect the direction in which the current owners felt best for their business.”

  So…after keeping her and Zy artificially apart since the day they’d taken over the team from the colonel, they suddenly didn’t care if she and Zy started hanging out? Dating? Having sex? Falling in love?

  With a frown, she entered the office only to find Trees and Kane had already caught their flights to wherever they were headed. Zy and One-Mile were holed up in the conference room, on speakerphone with someone. She couldn’t hear the conversation, just muffled voices and the occasional curse.

  When she peeked in to ask if they needed anything, Zy rose and walked out, shutting the door behind him before insisting that he and One-Mile were all good and to go home. He’d talk to her later.

  Did that mean she’d see him tomorrow…or tonight?

  Tessa still wasn’t sure as she picked Hallie up from daycare and drove back to her duplex. Not while she fixed dinner, bathed her daughter, sipped a glass of wine, half watched the news, and stared at the clock. Not while she read her baby a story and wrestled the fuss-bucket into her crib. Not while she paced her living room before deciding just shy of nine o’clock that a shower might help calm her and clear her head.

  More than once, she picked up her phone to call Zy…before ultimately putting it down. Maybe he was still with One-Mile, organizing some rescue operation. Maybe he was helping the others look for Kimber. Or maybe he was thinking about what this change in their contracts meant for them. But there was no way this wasn’t on his mind.

  Between this worry and her concern for Kimber, Tessa had no idea how she would ever sleep tonight.

  A sudden, firm knock on her front door had her whirling around. Her breath caught. Her heart stopped.

  With her stomach twisting in anticipation, she flipped on the porch light and peeked out the peephole. Today had proven that anyone associated with EM Security in any way needed to be careful. But as she’d suspected—and hoped—Zy stood in the circle of murky light on her porch, in a white tank, a black jacket, and faded jeans.

  He looked like a man on a mission.

  With her heart thumping, she eased the door open, not caring that her face was bare, that her hair was twisted in a messy bun, or that she was wearing plain green cotton pajamas without a stitch underneath. She was just happy to see him.

  “Zy. What are you doing here?” Her question was silly. That wasn’t what she’d meant to ask, but she was so damn nervous. She knew precisely why he was here. Unless something had happened? “It’s getting late. Is everything okay?”

  “Did you really think that, after today, I wouldn’t come?”

  “No.”

  “Is Hallie asleep?”

  “She fought some, but I got her down about thirty minutes ago.”

  He nodded. “Good. Can I come in?”

  Tessa hesitated. She’d yearned to be with Zy for lonely, seemingly endless months, ever since she’d lost her heart to him. She wanted him so badly right now she could cry. But if they crossed this line from friends to lovers, it would change everything. “I don’t know if that’s a good idea.”

  “Did you get a new contract today?”

  Slowly, she nodded. “Joaquin emailed it to me.”

  “Did you sign?”

  “Zy…”

  “Did you?” He wouldn’t stop, wouldn’t rest, and wouldn’t give up until she answered.

  Tessa gave in. “Yes.”

  “So did I, first thing this morning. The restrictions keeping us apart are gone.”

  “They are, but—”

  “There are no more buts, Tessa.”

  “How did you know?”

  “The bosses told me.”

  “Why?” She couldn’t think of a single reason they would have told Zy they’d presented her with a revised agreement that no longer precluded her from having any non-work contact of a sexual nature with him.

  “Because when they changed mine, I asked about yours. You know the reason.”

  “I do.”

  He wanted her every bit as badly as she wanted him. At the thought, heat flashed through her, making her aware of her peaking nipples and the sharpening ache between her legs.

  “Can you think of a single reason I can’t come in, strip you down, and make love to you? Tell me right now.”

  His demand made the heat clawing up her body rush to her cheeks. Her heart thudded even harder. “Did you mean what you said on Christmas Eve?” Do you love me?

  She needed to know. If she didn’t have Hallie to think about, it wouldn’t matter if Zy only wanted to take her to bed for the night to scratch the itch he’d been fighting all these months. She would risk using her body to tempt him into opening his heart to her. But she had too much responsibility to throw caution to the wind now.

  “Every word,” he vowed.

  Tessa dragged in a shaky breath and studied his face. He meant that.

  God, she loved him so much.

  She hadn’t told him yet. She’d been afraid the admission would set fire to the powder keg of desire between them. She’d also been terrified he would break her heart.

  She stepped back and opened the door wider. “Then there’s no reason at all. Come in.”

  Her breathy answer seemed to still the air and stopped time between them.

  A visible shudder wracked Zy’s body. “Do you want me?”

  “I always have.”

  “I’ve wanted you, too, baby.” Something needy and tormented twisted Zy’s face as he stepped over the threshold, kicked the door shut, locked it, then took her shoulders, dragging her against every hard inch of him. “So fucking bad I can’t stand another second of not touching you.”

  Zy stood in Tessa’s little foyer, gripping her tight against him. His lungs worked hard, breath sawing in and out, as he searched her face.

  “I can’t stand it, either.” She slid her palms up his chest to clutch his shoulders. Her eyes burned hot as she trembled in his arms. “Kiss me.”

  “Fuck, yes.”

  He took her face in his hands. Tessa’s lush lips were mere inches from his, and all he could think about was covering them with his own while he stripped off everything that shielded her body from his stare. He ached to carry her to bed, work every inch of his cock into her, and indulge in all the fantasies he’d had of her seemingly forever.

  Tonight. He’d give himself that long to drown in Tessa, in their pleasure. Then he’d have to focus on proving her innocence so the trio of paranoid fuck-bags they worked for didn’t fire her. Yes, he hated that tonight was only possible because they had forced his hand. But right now, he only cared that Tessa belonged to him.

  “Baby…” he breathed as he brought her closer and seized her nape, tilting her head to meet his descending mouth.

  Their lips connected. Finally. Right there in her tiny entryway, the impossible happened.

  She gasped. His body jolted. Everything stopped—breath, thoughts, heart, and time.

  Fuck, she was so soft. He was greedy to have all of her.

  Zy shoved her lips apart and surged into her mouth. She was warm and sweet like honey. He wanted to drown in her, die with her. Need soared. His cock turned to steel. His impatience climbed.

  Damn it, if he couldn’t keep it together now, how was he going to give Tessa the kind of ecstasy that ensured she’d never look at another man? Never want to leave him?

  His crumbling restraint shouldn’t shock him. Before he’d even walked through her door, this need had been a fever boiling his blood. But now that he’d laid his mouth on hers… Game over. Their kiss had torched his good sense and sent his best intentions up in flames. The way he burned for her was unlike anything he’d ever felt. The simple touch of her fingers clinging to his arms as her little whimpers filled the air was like kindling on a roaring blaze.