His blue eyes were so blue that Alana felt as if she could fall into them and never want to come back out.Yes, she could see how she’d fallen so quickly for this man.He was every woman’s dream come true—he was handsome, he could dance, he was kind to old women, and he’d taken on a drug cartel to save his woman.Her breath caught in her throat.
His woman.
How ironic was it that she was trying to get out of the marriage most women would love to be in?Hell, she couldn’t hold him to the vows, knowing they’d been spoken while shit-faced drunk.He’d said it himself that he wouldn’t have married her had he been sober.
After all she’d learned about Chase, the thought of annulling their marriage didn’t hold the same appeal as it had a few hours earlier.To be fair, she had to.No man should marry when he was drunk.She’d been stone-cold sober when she’d considered marrying Vance, and that decision had been stupider than marrying a complete stranger after several rounds of tequila shots.
No matter.The marriage would be annulled before they left Cabo San Lucas.Ifthey left in one piece.First, they had to get past the midnight deadline with Delgado, a badass affiliated with one of the most violent cartels in Mexico.
Chapter7
Chase usheredAlana along the beach to the next big resort, rather than walking along the street where they could be targeted in a drive-by shooting.Once at the resort, they asked the concierge to call a cab.
Within minutes, the cab arrived.Chase bundled Alana inside, and they were whisked away, heading back to their resort compound several blocks away.
“What’s your plan, Mr.Flannigan?”Alana asked as soon as the cab pulled away from the curb.
“I’m not sure yet.I want to convene with Trevor and Carson to see if they have some ideas as to how to handle a confrontation with the cartel.”
“Should we go to the American Consulate or something?”she asked.“Do they even have a consulate here in Cabo?”
He rested his back against the seat and scraped a hand over his face.“I don’t know.But I can’t see that being much help, unless we want to hole up in their building.”His eyes narrowed.“Actually, that might be a good idea.While I’m dealing with Delgado, you could be safe in the consulate, if they have one here.”
“Nope.”Alana crossed her arms over her chest.“I’m not hiding in some government building, while you’re taking one for the team, namely for me.”
Chase frowned.“He’s not after you so much as me, and I can’t have you tagging along to this event.It’s not a conga line with a bunch of drunks.These cartels mean business.They shoot first and ask questions later, if at all.”
“If you’re going,” she poked a thumb at her chest, “I’m going.”
No way was Chase taking her to the confrontation with Delgado.“If you’re there, you put me at greater risk.I can’t defend myself if I’m worried about you.They might take you hostage and use you to manipulate me.”
“Then I’ll come in disguise.I’ll be a regular tourist in the right place at the wrong time.”
Before she finished talking, he was already shaking his head.“You know they’re armed with machine guns.They’ve been known to shoot innocent tourists on the beach with those kinds of weapons.”
“I don’t care.”She lifted her chin.“I’m just as much responsible for this situation as you are.”She threw back her shoulders.“I’m going, even if I have to disguise myself as a dog and bark for treats.”
Chase pressed his lips into a thin line.He admired the fact that she felt just as compelled to confront Delgado as he did, and she was fearless in her desire to help, but he couldn’t have her anywhere near when this shit went down.If he wanted to even the odds a little, he had to come up with a plan to surprise the cartel thug.With only three SEALs, they didn’t stand a chance against even a third of the cartel members in the Cabo area.Yeah, they were highly trained combatants, but ten or twenty-to-one odds were impossible.“We’ll discuss it later,” he said, though he had no intention of backing down and allowing her to accompany them to La Casa Loca that night.
Back at the hotel, Chase hustled Alana into the lobby and to the elevator, keeping her close to him, should Delgado or one of his men be lurking nearby, waiting for Chase and Alana to show up.They made it into the elevator with no problems along the way.
On their floor, Alana stepped out of the elevator beside Chase and looked both ways.“Which room?Mine or yours?”
Chase stepped past her.“Yours.I’ve texted Trevor.He said he’ll be here shortly.”
“Hopefully, Gina will know where Carson is,” Alana said.
Chase nodded.“I could use all the firepower I can get.We can ask him if he has any weapons.I really don’t want to go in empty-handed, if that’s the path we choose.”
“You might be out of luck on the weapons.I’m sure neither you nor your buddy got through customs carrying pistols, automatic rifles and machine guns.Plus, I have no idea what Carson brought across the border.”
“True.But I have the Ka-Bar knife I packed in my checked bag, and I’ll bet Trevor didn’t leave home without his.”
Alana shook her head.“Knives against automatic weapons…?I’m not feeling really good about this.You don’t have any high-powered friends in this part of Mexico, do you?Maybe a connection with an opposing cartel or something?”
Chase blew out a long breath.“Afraid not.”He wondered if they still had time to call in a favor from his new boss, Hank Patterson.“Let me get on the phone and see if I can get any assistance in this matter.”
“We don’t have a lot of time.”Alana shot a glance at her watch.“It’s just past noon.We have less than eleven hours until midnight.We could use a miracle right about now.”
