Absolution Read online

“They’re not federales. I’m guessing the actual policia are dead somewhere in the building.” They entered the staircase, and he halted. “Right here. You better not look.”

  The men had been shot in the head. Joseph cringed at the carnage and continued on, releasing Eva’s hand to grab his phone from his pocket. He hit the speed dial button and waited for an answer.

  “Oh, my God. Those poor men.”

  He glanced at her to see if she was okay. Her gaze darted between him and the dead men. She turned white followed by an odd shade of green. Lurching to the trashcan, she threw up. He couldn’t blame her. Two men with their brains sprayed over the place never looked pretty.

  Hugo answered, and Joseph pulled his attention from Eva retching into the garbage. “Your officers have been murdered. There must be a mole on the inside. For Eva’s safety, I’m taking her somewhere even you don’t know. I’ll contact you as soon as it’s safe. Expect my call.”

  He hung up the cell without waiting for an answer and stepped to Eva’s side to rub her back.

  Wet and clammy looking, she raised her head and stumbled back. This time, she averted her eyes from the corpses. “I’m sorry.”

  “It’s okay. No one likes to see stuff like this.” He motioned to the side with his head and then chucked his phone into the trash.

  “Your phone!”

  “GPS. Give me your phone.”

  She pulled it out of her purse, and he threw it with his.

  “Hey, I need that. It’s got everything in it. Calendar, numbers, schedules.”

  “Which will do you little good if you’re dead. Let’s go.” Grabbing her hand, he led her down the stairs. He held his clothes in the crook of his arm and rested his hand on his gun. No chance in hell would he allow himself to be taken off guard again. Thirteen shots remained in his pistol plus the extra magazine he kept on him at all times. “I’ll buy you a new phone when this is done.”

  “No, you’re right. I’m being silly.” She followed him without speaking.

  He left her in the shadows to do a quick surveillance of the streets. A drunken man stumbled down the sidewalk, singing at the top of his lungs. Joseph tightened his grip on his pistol, bracing for shots to be fired, but the man belched and then continued on his way. Joseph led her to the parking lot. Salsa music drifted out a nearby window, and three children ran by, giggling and holding hands.

  Joseph’s gaze darted nonstop, looking for any threats lurking in the darkness. When they arrived at his nondescript Ford Focus, he unlocked the door. “Get in.”

  “When did you bring your car here?” Eva asked as she slid inside.

  He shut her door, stalked to the driver’s side, and climbed in. “I left it here earlier then came looking for you.”

  “Awfully cocky of you to take a chance at guessing I’d let you come home with me.”

  “No chance or guessing about it.”

  She scoffed. “Where are we going?”

  “Fiesta Inn.” Joseph pulled away from the curb but didn’t remove his fingers from the butt of his pistol. As he wove and bobbed through traffic, he kept checking the mirror for a tail. “Grab the hat in the backseat and put it on. I don’t want anyone being able to describe you.”

  She reached back, retrieving the baseball cap. Scrunching her nose, she shoved it on her head. After the thirty-minute drive—which should have taken fifteen—they entered the hotel.

  Three women sat behind the wood and cream granite receptionist area, and Joseph approached them with a smile. He checked to ensure Eva kept the baseball cap low over her eyes and remained close by but not in clear sight, either.

  “Hola. Querríamos un cuarto superior, a fines de un pasillo en el segundo piso, por favor.”

  The receptionist smiled and began the booking. Joseph peeked over his shoulder again, jaw stiff and hand hovering next to his lower back where his pistol remained holstered and hidden. When a man walked in, he cursed and stepped closer to Eva. The hotel patron didn’t even glance their way but instead walked straight to the elevator and out of sight.

  Once he had paid for the suite, Joseph led Eva up a flight of stairs to the second floor and to the room at the end of the hallway. Next to them stood the custodial closet, so if he heard anyone sneaking around outside, he’d know they came either to clean or to cause trouble. Much less traffic than, say, the first room on the hallway.

  Joseph opened the door, did a quick once-over of the layout, and shooed Eva inside. Twisting the deadbolt behind him, he pressed his ear against the cool metal to listen for any suspicious activity before following Eva. The carpet was a navy blue color, the walls one of those shades of white—ecru maybe?—and a king-size bed rested in the middle of the room, along with a desk. No couch, no roll-up cots. Just like he wanted.

  By nightfall, he would be between those sheets with Eva.

  ***

  “There’s only one bed.” Eva turned to Joseph, eyebrow raised. “We need another one.”

  “You might feel the need for two. I don’t.” He looked out the window, closed the blinds tight, and hopped onto the mattress. “Mmm…soft. Come try it out.” He patted a spot two inches away from him.

  Is this how Eve felt when Satan offered her an apple? Just one bite, my dear. She shook her head. “No, thanks. I’ll stand.” Her stomach rumbled, and she flushed.

  “Hungry? Here’s dinner.” He gestured toward the tray on the nightstand holding someone’s room service they’d grabbed off the cart they’d passed earlier—dropping a few dollars in its place. “Taco or burrito?”

  She chose the taco and sat down at the desk across from him, unwrapping the paper from her taco. He remained quiet for a while, but she kept stealing glances at him while she ate. He looked even more handsome than she remembered. It seemed unfair for a man to appear so hot even while stuffing his mouth. His biceps tightened every time he raised his arms. As he took his last bite, she sighed at the muscles bulging in front of her.

  “Enjoying yourself?” He grinned and stretched.

  “Hmm? Oh, yes, it’s very good.” Her cheeks heated, and she jumped up, tossing her half-eaten taco in the trash. She regretted her impulsive act before the food hit the plastic bag. It had to be one of the best tacos she’d had in months.

  “I meant your entertainment. Not your dinner. I couldn’t help but notice you staring at me. Like what you see, pumpkin?” He flexed his arms.

  She glared.

  He burst out laughing.

  “I told you not to call me that. I don’t like it.”

  “You didn’t mind it before.”

  “Before you cheated on me, you mean?”

  His eyes narrowed, and she bit her lip. Why did she bring up the topic she’d hoped to avoid? She tensed and waited for the explanations and excuses to begin anew. Instead, he surprised her by shrugging and facing away. She breathed a sigh of relief but groaned when she saw the bottle of wine he’d grabbed from behind him.

  “No, thanks. I need all my brains around you.”

  “Suit yourself.” He strode across the room and set the bottle on the bureau to retrieve two plastic cups. “But I know you well enough to know you’d love some. It will help you relax.”

  “That’s what I’m scared of,” she muttered.

  He chuckled and turned earnest green eyes on her. “In all honesty, you should have some. You saw a lot of gore tonight. Things most people never have to see. And someone tried to kill you. Twice.” He filled both the cups and walked toward her with one held out. “A drink will help soothe your nerves. Trust me.”

  As she took the glass, her gaze never left his. He held his wine up, and she clinked hers to his, ignoring the fact they were plastic.

  “To new beginnings,” he whispered.

  She scrunched up her nose. “And to not forgetting past wrongs.” She raised a salute to him and chugged the contents. When she finished, she met his stare and flushed. “What? I’m following your advice.”

  “By all means, continue to do so. H
ere, have another.” Giving her his still-full cup, he rushed across the room to grab the bottle. Returning, Joseph poured her another full glass.

  She looked at both the cups in her hands. “What? You have nerves of steel and don’t need help?”

  “I’m on duty. Remember?”

  She stuffed a cup back in his hands and marched away. “Oh. Right. I forgot. You’re babysitting me.” She plopped on the bed and leaned back on one arm, sipping her beverage. The alcohol already made her brain a little fuzzy. She didn’t often drink wine, and when she did, she sipped it with dinner. Giggling at his confused expression, she swallowed the rest of her drink, held out the empty glass, and smiled. “This is good.”

  “Maybe you should cool it a bit,” he suggested but nevertheless approached with the bottle. “It would suck to be hanging over the toilet all night.”

  “Nah. I’ll be fine,” she assured him. He poured her more wine, but stopped when it hit the halfway mark. “Don’t think I’m too tipsy to notice you only gave me half.”

  She played with a lock of her hair and scooted until she leaned back against the pillows. His gaze followed her movements, his eyes darkening to an emerald green when he sat on the edge of the bed.

  “I wouldn’t dream of underestimating your abilities.” He put the bottle on the floor and took a sip of wine. “Tell me what you’ve been up to the past month or so. Your father said he asked you to go home to America, but you refused.”

  She shrugged. “My kids at the school need me. Most of their parents are too busy struggling to survive to raise them, so I’m all they’ve got. Who knows how long it would take to find a replacement for me?”

  “Your father plans on leaving town next week when his mission is finished. I’m sure he plans on you accompanying him.”

  “He can plan all he wants. I’m not going anywhere.” She couldn’t leave her kids and her apartment, the place she and Joseph had shared. She couldn’t leave her friends, her co-workers, and the life she’d built. She couldn’t leave….

  Him.

  The realization hit her like a ton of bricks, but she had to acknowledge the truth behind the thought. She’d been able to ignore her lingering attraction for him because he had been gone. But now that she’d seen him again, touched him, she had a feeling he wouldn’t disappear from her mind. He’d more than likely be in her head non-stop.

  “Why won’t you leave here? I’m sure there are some kids in America who need you as well.” His voice washed over her, low and soothing. He set his glass on the floor—still half full—and shifted closer. “There are ways to help which won’t endanger your life.”

  “Says the ATF agent,” she drawled.

  He smiled. “I’m different. I’m not you.”

  “Again with the double standards.” She shook her head and finished her wine, slamming the empty cup on the side table.

  She scooted a bit farther from him, and he took in her movements but didn’t show disappointment or even anger. He looked amused, if anything. Time to wipe the smirk off his face.

  “Anyway, besides working, I’ve been having fun with my friends. Going out at night. Picking up a few hot men to bring home. You know. The usual.”

  He growled and grabbed her ankle to drag her over to him. She ended up flat on her back with him braced over her. The wine made her head spin before she could focus on his face. She giggled.

  “You think it’s funny to torture me, to taunt me with the men you’ve screwed?” His breathing grew heavier, his anger increasing. “I spent the last few weeks trying to straighten things out between us, and you jumped on top of the next available dick. It’s disgusting.”

  She pushed his shoulders, but he captured her hands and pinned them to the mattress.

  “Disgusting? I’m disgusting? Excuse me, but you’re the one who betrayed me. And then you come here and insult me, insinuate I’ve done something to wrong you? You’re ridiculous in your arrogance!” She struggled against his hold, but he didn’t budge. “Get off of me!”

  “No. You won’t listen to what happened, but now you have to, because you’re stuck.”

  “No, let me go! I don’t want to know your reasons. It doesn’t matter.”

  “The hell it doesn’t! You’ll listen to me, and you’ll listen well. I’m not going to repeat it again. Everything started when I found out my friend from the war died. The same one who saved my life in Iraq. So I, stupidly, went out to get a drink with my—”

  “I didn’t bring any men home,” she blurted.

  He sucked in a breath. “What?”

  Confusion shot through her, followed by anger. She didn’t know why she’d interrupted him. All she knew was she sure as heck didn’t want to hear his stupid excuses.

  “I’m trying to talk to you here, and you just interrupt me with a random statement?” He choked on his words, eyes widening. “Wait, you mean you didn’t move on? Didn’t sleep with anyone else?”

  “No one else seemed good enough to replace you,” she whispered. His eyes widened, and his penis hardened against her belly. “No one will ever be better than you.”

  He groaned and leaned down to plunder her mouth, his tongue sweeping inside without any resistance. His hands still pressed hers to the mattress, and she fought to pull them free, eager to touch him. But he tightened his grip and ripped his mouth from hers. “No. I’m in charge tonight, pumpkin. You’re mine.”

  She couldn’t help but feel his statement held two meanings, yet she chose to ignore the innuendo for the moment. She instead focused on the hot trail his mouth traced down her neck, knowing she should fight his embrace, knowing there must be at least a dozen reasons why she should stop kissing him back. But suddenly, she couldn’t remember them.

  He kissed her nose before looking down at her in determination. “You’re going to listen to me without talking.”

  “No! I don’t want to hear this.” She squirmed, trying to break free. He’d planned his trap well, though. She couldn’t even wiggle a freaking leg. “Let me go!”

  “Eva. Listen. The night you found me, I went out drinking with my old unit. We got carried away because we were mourning David’s death. One of my buddies suggested we hit up a strip club. Since we were all drunk, we thought it sounded great.”

  “I don’t want to hear anymore! I’m sorry your friend died, but I’m failing to see how this excuses you cheating on me.”

  “Shh. Listen. We all got rowdy and came back to our apartment. One of the guys brought a stripper along. I started feeling really sick, so I went to lie down. I’d only had a few drinks. Enough to get buzzed but not thattrashed.” His eyes beseeched hers to believe him. To trust him.

  She laughed. She couldn’t help it. “So, I’m supposed to believe you were so drunk you didn’t notice a stripper crawling into your bed? Am I really so gullible?”

  “I’m not done yet.” He closed his eyes, seeming to search for the right words. “When I woke up, you were yelling at me, screaming at me to get the hell out, and there was a woman standing next to me. You threw my clothes at my face, and I hauled ass out of there without even really knowing what the hell had happened.”

  “Gee, I wonder why I did that,” she snapped, yanking on her wrists. How dare he hold her down and force her to listen to his miserable reasons for cheating on her? Asshole. “I swear to God if you don’t let me up, I’ll kill you.”

  “When I stumbled out of the building carrying my clothes since I wasn’t allowed to get dressed,” he continued without hesitation, “I realized I’d lost my wallet and watch. By the time I made it back to base, the puking started.”

  “Shut the hell up!” she shouted. Tears came to her eyes as she arched her back.

  He finally released her, rolling to the other side of the mattress. She lunged at him, knocking him off the bed.

  Tightening her fists, she leaned over the side of the bed and snarled, “You’re lying!”

  “No, I’m not.” He hopped back on his feet, grabbing her shoulders.
“I’m finally getting a chance to tell you the truth. She didn’t fuck me—she robbed me.”

  Against her wishes, images came into her mind, hitting her in the gut full force. The stripper sitting next to Joseph with his watch in her palm. The terrified look on her face as she shoved something into her purse. All along, she’d thought the woman panicked because she’d walked in on them. What if it had been more? What if she’d caught the bitch robbing him—and let her go?

  He had looked gaunt on the bed, his breathing shallow. She’d just assumed it was from the alcohol and sex.

  “And I’m supposed to believe that?” Her heart raced at the possibility he could be innocent. Could she even begin to imagine the scenario? “So you’re an innocent victim? You never touched her?”

  “It’s true. I’ve been told the same story from numerous witnesses. I never touched her. I shouldn’t have allowed a stripper in our home, it’s true, but that’s all I’m guilty of.”

  “So you’re telling me, after over a month of me believing you slept with another woman, you were faithful? You were simply mourning a man you cared for? Got carried away with booze? That’s it?”

  He nodded. “I didn’t touch her. I swear it. Now, we can move on. We’ve been given a second chance.”

  “Why didn’t you try harder?” she whispered. All this time she’d been picturing him as this…this monster. And he hadn’t bothered to tell her the truth? “You’ve had six weeks to tell me the real story.”

  “I tried. For three days, I was sick as hell. Puking my guts out. I had a bad reaction to the drug she slipped into my drink. I needed to be hospitalized for dehydration.”

  “Wait a second,” she said slowly. Sitting up on her haunches, she frowned. “That bitch drugged you?”

  “Yes.” He grabbed her hands, squeezing tight. “That’s why I wasn’t banging down your door right away. And then, when I tried, your—”

  “You didn’t try,” she said. Remembered pain echoed through her heart, and she closed her eyes as tears escaped. “You never tried. I waited. You didn’t come.”

  “Yes, I did. Every time I got within three feet of the place, or your school, your father had men waiting for me. I tried to fight through them,” he shrugged, “but even I can’t win a match against six guys. Especially not in those days right after.”