Page 37 of Dangerous Liaisons

Chapter Twenty-Six

Jesse glanced over her shoulder as Cole pushed through the door of the Dan Carlton hotel, pulling her with him. She turned into the blast of cool air. No sign of a tail. Not that she had expected any. Lanton’s men had no need to tail her as long as she and Cole remained handcuffed.

Cole shifted his handcuffed hand behind his back, drawing Jesse closer. She started to jerk free, then caught sight of the concierges’ desk ahead on the right. She forced a smile and wrapped her free hand around Cole’s arm. Walking down Bogata’s promenade handcuffed to one another had drawn stares, but Cole had grinned at the one American couple bold enough to stare outright, and said, “Practical joke.”

She would definitely kick his ass for this stunt. She’d tried talking him into going to her hotel—that would have brought the ass kicking on quicker and assuaged her frustration—but he’d shaken his head and said, “You shouldn’t be staying in a dump like that.”

Cole stopped in front of the elevator. He reached to push the button with his handcuffed hand.

“Hmph.” She stumbled into his arm, then jerked back.

He looked down at her and rubbed the spot on her forehead that had struck his shoulder. “Sorry.”

Jesse pulled away as the elevator doors opened.

Cole took her hand in his. “Ready?”

You’d better ask yourself that, Tex, she thought, but only nodded.

Two minutes later, he slipped a key card into the door of his hotel room and they stepped inside. Jesse bit back the demand for the handcuff key and followed Cole to the queen sized bed. He sat down and she followed suit.

“You’ve been running for over two months,” he said. “It’s time to stop. I’ve got a stake in this. My men gave their lives for that mission, and the people they loved weren’t given any explanations for why they died.”

Jesse stared. She’d run a dozen scenarios through her head between the cantina and the hotel, had even wondered if Lanton had nerve to be at the hotel when they arrived, but none of the possibilities had included this. Cole gave her a soft smile and anger bubbled to the top when her insides gelled.

“You’re the only one who can make their sacrifice matter,” he added.

So this was how he planned on getting to her. Play on her sense of justice: Make sure the team’s sacrifice mattered. She wondered how many psychiatrists Lanton had consulted to get her profile down pat—she also wondered how she was going to get past the idea they were right.

Jesse stared into Cole’s blue eyes. Careful, she warned herself. You could end up dead in some South American hotel room or alley where no one knows—or cares—what happens to Amanda.

Cole shifted, his arm brushing hers, and she started as if singed.

“Talk to me, Jess,” he said.

She regarded him. “Sure, as soon as you unlock these cuffs.”

He reached into his front jeans pocket and pulled out the key. She grimaced inwardly. So close. He inserted the key into the lock and turned. The cuffs clicked open.

Jesse freed her hand, then scooted to the foot of the bed and leveled her gaze on him as she rubbed her wrist. “What do you want from me? You find me, decide I’m innocent, say you want to work together, then take me prisoner.”

Cole shook his head. “I’m not taking you prisoner. I’m just not letting you run off, guns blazing, getting yourself killed in the process.”

“I don’t run anywhere, guns blazing,” she retorted. “I’ve been doing this a long time and I’m still alive.”

“I know. But this time you’re running scared, and you think you’re alone.” He grasped her hand. His fingers were strong and warm, and she didn’t register the squeeze he gave until he said, “You’re not.”

Jesse yanked free. “You don’t know me.”

But he knew her better than she wanted to admit, knew she needed to know if she could have done more for his men…and Maria. She’d seen it before. A team member is lost and someone invariably takes on the responsibility for whatever went wrong. A child crosses the street and the parent is consumed with believing they should have somehow known better than to let their child go out that day. No doubt Cole had seen it too, and recognized the symptoms in her.

He gave her a patient look. “It’s been a long day. Why don’t you take a shower?”

She blinked at the sudden change in subject. Her gaze caught on his broad shoulders. She did need a long shower, along with a jet to whisk her to another continent, and a good bottle of tequila.

*****

Twenty minutes later, Jesse stood in the bathroom wrapped in a towel, examining the wounds on her leg. Shower water had softened the scabs to a pliable blemish. If she worked her cards right, Cole wouldn’t notice the scar. The time had come to change tactics. Lanton was using Cole to get to her. What prevented her from using herself to get to Cole? Her wet hair hung in thick locks across her shoulders. She tugged the towel down a fraction of an inch. Thank God for thick hair and perky breasts. She’d never had to use her body in her work—not the way she was about to—but there was a first time for everything.

She opened the bathroom door. “Cole,” Jesse called as she rounded the corner of the little hallway into the bedroom. She halted at finding the room empty.

Jesse whirled toward the door. A thrill raced through her. She was alone. She started for the bathroom where her clothes still lay on the floor, then faltered. Was this a trick? Was Cole hoping she’d get sloppy and lead them to…to what?

“What do you want?” she shouted at the empty room, hands fisted.

What did Lanton want? Jesse’s mind snapped clear. What did Cole want? If he and Lanton were in Perez’s pocket, why not just kill her? They were in Colombia. No one would know. She had to get out. If she didn’t get out now, she didn’t have a chance. She bolted for the bathroom.

The door clicked open and Jesse stopped at sight of Cole in the doorway. He froze, a package in hand, and she remembered she wore only a towel. Her heart rate jumped to a hundred and twenty miles an hour.

“I brought you some clothes.” Cole lifted the package an inch.