In less than a dozen steps, he was on her, wrapping one arm around her small waist to still her and the now-crying boy. With his free hand, he covered her mouth, cutting off the scream he knew was coming.

  She thrashed like a feral cat, clawing and hissing, throwing her elbow and launching her knees wherever she thought she might land a blow. Still, he didn’t release her—until she bit his finger hard enough to draw blood.

  “Shit…” He shook the digit as she tried to lurch from his grip before grabbing her tighter. “Laila, stop.”

  She glared over her shoulder, hazel eyes shooting fire. “Stay away from my nephew. Let me go.”

  Her whole body trembled—lips, chin, hands. She was hauntingly beautiful—and absolutely terrified.

  Time to try another tactic.

  Trees released her and held up both hands. “I’m not going to hurt you. I’m only here to help.”

  “I have heard that before.” She turned to him, scrambling back. “And I will not give you the chance to prove yourself a liar.”

  Her nephew began to cry, and she soothed the dark-eyed boy with soft, reassuring sounds. Her motherly instinct was strong. Clearly, she would protect Jorge at all costs. But she was running on adrenaline. It wouldn’t last. She looked exhausted. When had she last slept? Or eaten?

  Trees closed in slowly, hands still raised. “Let me help you, little one.”

  Laila turned even warier as he inched closer. If she was over five feet tall and more than a hundred pounds, it wasn’t by much. Since his height alone must be imposing to her, he did his best to appear harmless.

  Suddenly, she pulled a blade from her pocket, lunged on her tiptoes, and shoved the sharp edge against his neck. “You will not touch me again. You will not separate me from my sister. If you are capable of taking us to a new safe house and keeping us hidden—and I have my doubts—we will all go together. I will not budge until I see her.”

  Did she really think she could call the shots wielding a knife best suited for spreading butter? He’d been stabbed with far worse.

  Trees stared impassively, considering the gentlest way to end her rebellion. “I already said you could have two minutes with your sister. Threatening me isn’t necessary, Laila.”

  “Because I can trust you? Ha!” Her smile glinted like the blade at his throat. “I trust Walker. You are not him. I do not know where you have hidden my sister, but you will tell me now. And when I leave to find her, you will not stop me.”

  Trees seized her wrist. It didn’t take much effort to shove the blade away, spin her around, and fold her arm behind her back, forcing the knife from her hand. As it clattered to the asphalt, he stepped on the blade and clasped his free hand around her throat. “Because I won’t hurt you. You don’t need to fight me.”

  She trembled, breaths harsh, as she clutched her nephew. He could practically feel her concocting ways to escape.

  “Laila!” Valeria peeked out from the minivan where Kane stood sentry at the open door.

  Gasping, Laila whipped her gaze around. “Are you all right?”

  “Of course. Do not be afraid. These men are helping.”

  Laila looked unmoved. “We do not need them.”

  How did she figure that? Neither sister had been able to escape the Tierra Caliente compound without EM Security. In the harrowing hours since Emilo’s dregs had broken into their Orlando house, Valeria had been more concerned with finding her son and her sister than protecting herself. It was a miracle she hadn’t fallen into enemy hands. And how did Laila imagine she would get away on her own? Who did she think would save her if she was found?

  “You called Walker,” Trees reminded her. “You knew you needed help.”

  She struggled in his grip, holding the fussing boy even closer. “I knew he could help me find Valeria. And if mauling me is how you intend to ‘help’ me, I will do without. Let me see my sister.”

  Trees tried not to lose his patience. “We need you to cooperate.”

  “Please…” Valeria begged.

  “We have less than two minutes to be gone,” Trees reminded. “Time is ticking.”

  She tried to shrug him off, scowling when she failed. “After I see my sister, we will talk.”

  Trees had a feeling she’d already made up her mind, but he released her, hovering close in warning.

  She darted for Valeria, who would have sprinted across the alley to meet her halfway if Kane hadn’t stopped her.

  The sisters reunited beside the van and threw their arms around each other, enfolding Jorge between them. Valeria sobbed as she peppered her son’s head with kisses and thanked God. Laila clung to them both, stroking her sister’s dark hair over and over, tears streaming in thanks that Valeria was alive and unharmed.

  Their bond was deep, unmistakable, and moving.

  Together, he and Kane closed around them, both to stop the sisters from fleeing and to block any prying eyes. Trees exchanged a glance with the other operative. In Kane’s expression, he saw their shared knowledge that the women had only survived a difficult and cruel world because they had each other.

  “Are you all right?” Laila murmured.

  “Yes. How did you escape the house?” Valeria cradled her son, feverishly kissing his little head.

  Laila explained her scuffle with the two intruders and her getaway through the neighbor’s yard. She was both clever and resourceful—something Trees should probably keep in mind.

  Valeria looked horrified. “Are you certain it was Victor?”

  Hate burned in Laila’s expression. “If anyone knows that bastard—”

  “It is you.” Valeria’s pity told Trees that Victor had hurt Laila in the past. “How did you get away from him when he had a gun pointed at you and Jorge?”

  Just what Trees wanted to know, but—

  “Ladies, here and now isn’t the time for this conversation. Talk later on the phone.” Kane took the words out of his mouth as he nudged Valeria and Jorge toward the van.

  Laila held fast. “You should have fled the area once you realized our house had been compromised. That was our agreement.”

  Valeria shook her head and swiped at her tears. “I could not leave you and Jorge to fend for yourselves.”

  “She refused to go anywhere without you,” Kane confirmed.

  “I would not leave you behind, either,” Laila vowed. “Ever.”

  Trees had never had family willing to go to the mat for him. Not that they didn’t love him; they simply hadn’t had time. They’d been too busy surviving. His dad had worked constantly to feed the ten mouths in their house, and his mother had been continually overwhelmed by his seven younger siblings. As the oldest, if he’d had problems, he had been expected to handle them.

  “It’s time to go. We’re too pinned in and vulnerable here. If the cartel finds you and fires their weapons…” Trees glanced meaningfully at Jorge.

  Valeria clutched her son tighter. “You are right. We must leave.”

  “I am coming with you,” Laila insisted.

  Trees shook his head. “It’s too risky.”

  She ignored him. “We were apart for nearly two years, hermana. No more.”

  “Just while we travel. Just for a short time. Once we reach our destination safely, we will be together as a family. No one will separate us again.” Valeria squeezed her sister’s hand. “Please…”

  Laila scowled, then sighed in frustration. “Fine. Only while we travel.” She turned and glared his way. “Tell me now. When will I see her again? Where?”

  “I can’t say for sure.” There were too many variables, too many plans left to make.

  “You cannot or you will not?” She pinned Valeria with a displeased stare. “You hear this nonsense, yes? How do you know this is not a trap?”

  “It is not,” her sister promised. “They will get us to safety. Trust them.” When Laila huffed like pigs would fly first, Valeria tried again. “Trust me.”

  “You’ll see her soon,” Kane swore. “And you’ll still be in the States. That’s all we can say now.”

  “It will be fine,” Valeria reassured her sister.

  “Will it? They are strangers. Men. Twice they have relocated us. Both times, the cartel has discovered us. Think about it, Valeria. They must be the reason our location has been compromised.”

  As much as Trees hated Laila’s mistrust, he understood it.

  An older woman who probably ran the shelter emerged from the back door, standing just inside the dim light. “I’m sorry, but you must leave. We can’t attract any negative attention when we have so many women in need here.”

  “Sorry. Of course.” Trees nodded, then turned to the sisters. “Let’s head out.”

  Valeria gripped her sister’s hand and sent her a brave smile. “Go with him. We will talk soon.”

  Laila’s expression made it clear she wasn’t in favor of this plan. “You still have your phone, yes?”

  “I do. What happened to yours? I assumed it was charging when Victor and his henchman broke in, but then I found it broken…”

  “They smashed it.”

  “I’ll get you a new one at our first stop,” Trees promised. “Let’s clear the alley.”

  Kane nodded and urged Valeria and her son into the van. “The longer we stand here, the less safe we are.”

  Valeria turned back to brush one last kiss on her sister’s cheek. “Call me.”

  Laila held her sister tight and pressed her forehead to her nephew’s for a long, silent moment. Then Valeria sat, and Kane slid the van door shut. Laila froze, worry and tears pooling in her eyes.

  Her face told him she was wondering if she would ever see them alive again.

  “Stay safe and in touch,” Kane said to Trees as he hopped in the driver’s seat, locked the vehicle, and pulled away, slowly rolling down the alley with his lights off until he turned onto the road and disappeared from sight.

  The shelter manager nodded their way, casting Laila a regretful glance before disappearing inside, the snick of the lock loud in the otherwise empty alley.

  Now they were alone. Trees saw the exact moment Laila realized that, too. Her breaths turned rough. Every line of her body went taut. She scanned the alley nervously. Resolution crossed her face.

  Fuck, she was going to run again.

  Laila slid the diaper bag she’d forgotten to give her sister off her shoulder and tossed it in his face.

  Trees batted it away and cinched his hands around her waist. She was so damn small his fingertips nearly touched. Her ribs poked his palms. Unfortunately, he was also fucking aware of her pert tits spilling above the neckline of her soft khaki tank.

  “Do not touch me,” she hissed.

  “Don’t run.” Trees lifted her off her feet.

  Laila snarled, resisting him with more pounding fists and flailing feet. He understood. Even if her sister had been the boss’s wife, life with a cartel had likely been brutal. She was in fight-or-flight mode. She didn’t know him at all, and she had no reason to trust him. It would take time for her to learn that he would do anything to keep her safe.

  His first order of business was to make sure she learned.

  Trees banded his arms around her and carried her, kicking and writhing, to the nearby RV, bag in tow. She fought until he backed her against the side of the vehicle, pinning her in place with his body, and tangled his fingers around a fistful of her hair. With a growl, he forced her to look at him. “I know you don’t trust me. But the way I see this, your choices are me or Victor. I’m the lesser of the two evils.”

  “I can survive on my own.”

  Maybe, but her sister wasn’t willing to take that chance. Neither should she.

  As he held tight, the smell of fear poured off of her. What the hell? Was she actually as afraid of him as she was of Ramos? “I’ve been paid to get you to safety and I’m going to do my job. Nothing will happen to you. Get in.”

  Thanks to his long wingspan, he could hold her immobile against the RV and still open the door. When he urged her toward the opening, she scratched and fought again, kicking and jabbing him while gripping the doorframe.

  At the far end of the alley, a dark sedan breezed by…then backed up, paused, and turned down the winding lane, headlights blinding them. Sure, the driver might be lost. But he might also be hunting Laila and her family.

  “Get the fuck inside.” He shoved her through the door, then followed, locking it behind him as he tossed the diaper bag aside. “Stay down.”

  With one hand, he withdrew his SIG from his shoulder holster. With the other, he pushed her to the floor. He crouched beside her as a sleek black Mercedes pulled alongside them so slowly it set his teeth on edge. The tinted windows of the car made it impossible to see inside.

  Whoever it was, they were looking for something. Or someone.

  Beside him, Laila trembled. Horrible things had happened to her, and he’d dig into that later. All he could do now was assure her she was perfectly safe with him and try to earn her trust.

  “Can you tell if that’s him?” he asked.

  She lifted huge, dilated eyes toward the windshield. “I-I am not sure.”

  But the terror in her expression said there was a good chance.

  They were pinned in this fucking alley. He needed to maneuver the RV out of here and get on the road, but he didn’t dare leave Laila to her own devices. He wouldn’t put it past her to hurl herself out of a moving vehicle to get away from whoever was in that sedan—and him.

  The black car crawled past the RV. He half expected the vehicle to stop, block them in, and come out with guns blazing. But finally, they cruised to the far end of the alley, then turned out of sight.

  If that was Victor and his cohort, he and Laila had caught a break. Time to get the fuck out of Dodge.

  “Stay here,” he commanded, stepping around her to grab his duffel from the seat of the small eat-in table.

  As he unzipped the bag, a crash on his right had him lurching around—just in time to see Laila shove frantically against the RV’s door.

  “Son of a bitch!” As he leapt for her, she twisted and tugged at the knob with shaking fingers, screeching at him with saucer-wide eyes. He enveloped her against his chest and growled in her ear. “Are you crazy?”

  “To want freedom? Put me down!”

  “Someone is out there, hunting you. You get that, right?” Frustration crept into his voice. He’d slept maybe a handful of hours in the last few days. And just for shits and giggles, his stomach had decided to growl, too.

  “I am the one who was nearly abducted last night. I got away from them without you. So why are you holding me against my will? And how does that make you different?”

  In her head, he wasn’t. She was fighting for her life.

  “Because I’ll never hurt you. I’m sorry I yelled. Quit panicking so we can get you out of this fucking tourist trap. It’s great that you escaped last night. You did good. But I’m the professional here. I’m taking over. You’re not making the demands, little one. Stop fighting me.”

  “Never.” She squirmed as she spit rapid-fire Spanish at him. Trees only knew every third word, but it was enough to know that he was better off not understanding.

  With a single lunge, he heaved her onto a seat in the little dining area, towering over and blocking her in with his body. He hoisted the duffel on the table and rifled through it, shoving what he needed into his pocket. Then he lifted Laila off the padded bench, stomped to the front of the RV, and dropped her into the passenger’s seat. “Don’t move.”

  Her eyes narrowed. “I will do as I please. You do not scare me.”

  “Bullshit. You’re terrified. And I’m going to prove there’s no reason to be—tomorrow. Tonight?” He fished the implement from his pocket, clutching the cold metal.

  Then he clipped a handcuff around her wrist.

  She gaped at the restraint before sending him an incredulous stare. “What are you—”

  “Doing?” He anchored the other cuff to the sturdy door handle. “Making sure you can’t escape.”

  Laila screeched a litany of curses in Spanish. Trees did his best to tune her out as he slid into the driver’s seat, started the RV, and pulled away. When he eased onto the road, he glanced over. “Want to know where we’re heading?”

  The little spitfire merely continued cursing him. Too bad that didn’t deter him from staring. Laila’s dark curls tumbled past her flushed cheeks and smooth olive shoulders. She flashed bare midriff above her minuscule tank, and her legs… They might not be long since she was a short little thing, but they were smooth and firm—and too easy to imagine wrapped around his hips as he plowed into her soft, sweet body.

  Dream on.

  She was too much for him—too petite, too young, too wary, too beautiful. And too off-limits. He especially couldn’t forget that.

  A few months back, his former teammate, Cutter Bryant, had been bodyguarding TV star Shealyn West in LA. He hadn’t merely stepped a toe over the client-bodyguard line. He’d stomped over it with unabashed glee, even being captured by paparazzi kissing the starlet into next year. The moment he’d been identified, all hell had broken loose. Hunter, Logan, and Joaquin had powwowed about firing him. They might have if Cutter hadn’t quit to marry his starlet and move halfway across the country.

  No, thanks. Trees wanted to keep his job. Not that Laila would have him anyway.

  Now if he could just stop imagining kissing his way up her neck while sliding the thin strap down her shoulder and exposing the lacy bra he’d glimpsed under her tank…

  Fuck, she was still cursing him, and he had a raging boner.

  Not helpful.

  Gritting his teeth, Trees stopped the RV at a stoplight. Streetlamps abounded, and neon signs gave off the kind of big-city illumination that ensured residents rarely saw the stars. When Laila turned to deliver another well-aimed curse, she caught sight of his erection tenting his jeans. Suddenly, her insult fell silent as she gaped at his overeager cock.

  “Sorry,” he muttered. Not that he could hide it. His shirt wasn’t long enough to cover his reaction, and he didn’t have a blanket handy to toss over his lap.

  She scrambled back in her seat, against the passenger door. “Stay away from me.”