She shivered beside him. Probably cold, he thought, and scared. Sean wrapped one arm around her shoulder, pulling her stiff body against his. She didn’t want to be touched—he could feel the fear radiating from her. But she was so soft and small next to him, like a little rabbit. He wanted to squeeze her. Sean lifted her onto his lap, pulling her head to his chest.

“We’ll work something out,” he repeated softly, trying to calm her fears.

Beside him Del gave a snort of disgust.

“You can sit up front if you like,” Sean said, giving Del a pointed look. Del shook his head slowly, but leveraged his large frame up. He stood, bracing himself against the seatbacks as he moved forward and dropped down into the broad passenger-side chair.

Sean ignored him, turning back to his newfound treasure instead.

Her little ass was tight and warm against him, and he could feel himself swelling even larger. He closed his eyes, and his hands clutched her body almost spasmodically. Hot. Female. His.

She moaned and gave a whimper of protest.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be a better customer than Edgar Williams,” he said, not wanting to think about those fat hands touching her. It was better to imagine she wasn’t a whore, that she was his woman, and he could do whatever he wanted with her. Of course, he could do whatever he wanted with her, he reflected, so long as he paid her enough. Once upon a time, the thought might have bothered him, perhaps even disgusted him.

Now it just made him harder.

He knew they’d arrive at the airstrip soon, but he couldn’t help himself. He had to touch her. He grasped her small waist, lifting her and repositioning her so that she straddled his lap, facing him. He lifted his hips, pressing his erection up into the juncture of her thighs.

Damn, that was good.

She moaned once more, and he opened his eyes to look at her face.

Her eyes were large and brown in her face, pixie eyes, he thought with bitter bemusement. Not the kind of eyes you should find on a working girl. She had pale skin with a smattering of freckles across her nose, and she bit her lip nervously as she searched his face. The gesture drew his attention to her lips, and he studied them thoughtfully. They were full, slightly chapped. He imagined kissing them, knowing full well she’d probably bite him if he tried. At least he hoped she would. He liked a woman with a little spark.

She didn’t seem to have much fight left in her at the moment, but she’d sure given him a run for his money earlier. He’d actually thought for a moment that she might get away from him.

He wondered what she was thinking, and then decided he didn’t care. She was sexy as hell. He looked lower, and realized that if they had more light he’d probably be able to see right through her wet shirt. As it was, he could see the faint outline of her bra. It must be black, he realized, to stand out like that. He closed his eyes, imagining her rounded, pouty breasts draped in wisps of black lace. He groaned and rocked her forward over his cock.

He didn’t want to think about how many men she’d had; he wanted to think about the soft, warm spot between her legs. He wanted to thrust up into her so hard she screamed. He imagined doing it, and his hips bucked up at her again. The friction of their clothes rubbing felt almost painful to his sensitive flesh, but he couldn’t seem to stop himself. Grasping her hips firmly in his hands, he lifted her slightly and then rubbed her down the length of his cock. He did it again, repeating the motion until he thought he’d die.

Tension spiraled down toward his groin, building with each motion until he thought he might burst right out of his pants.

Or worse yet, burst in them.

He reached down, determined to free his length from the imprisoning cloth. She could touch him, wrap her fingers around him and massage him right there. It would be amazing, the most perfect sensation he could imagine.

Let her earn her keep; they all had to do their part.

But even as he wormed his hand between them, the van came to a stop and Del turned to look at him with a toothy, humorless grin.

“You’re lucky,” he said, “Valzar’s come up in the world. He’s got a private jet with a bedroom. I suggest you wait until you’re on board before doing anything else. We’re not out of the woods yet, you know.”

Sean nodded, knowing Del was right. He’d already wasted precious time hunting Williams; his deal for protection and cover from the CIA wasn’t worth a damn if he didn’t even make it out of the country. The locals were still trying to catch him. Hell, he was kind of surprised they weren’t waiting for him at the airstrip. For once, though, his luck seemed to be holding. The door on the side of the van slid open, and a dark-skinned man in a loose shirt and jeans smiled at him.

“I see you haven’t changed, amigo,” Valzar said in his soft, lightly accented voice. “Always a girl in tow.

Let’s board the plane—we’ve been waiting for you. It hasn’t occurred to your stupid gringo prison guards to shut down the airspace around here, but they’ll figure it out soon enough. Let’s leave before they think of it.”

Sean smiled, unexpectedly pleased to see Valzar. Damn, he’d missed the man.

“Out,” he said, pushing the woman off his lap and ahead of him as he jumped down onto the tarmac. In the distance he could see Valzar’s plane—small, sleek and fast.

“You’ve come up in the world, friend,” he said, giving the man a hug. The woman stood next to them awkwardly; he didn’t bother watching her. Del eyed her coldly, fingering his gun.

Valzar took his arm and started walking him toward the plane. Del followed, pushing the woman along beside them. His little bird wouldn’t get away while Del stood guard.

“You’re a lucky man, Sean,” Valzar said. “Deals like this one don’t come along very often. We all thought you were long lost.”

“I thought I might be, too,” Sean said. He’d been out of his prison cell less than four hours, but already it seemed like some kind of horrible dream.

He’d rather die than go back.

“How much do I owe you?” he asked, nodding toward the plane. “I know you must have paid them to help me escape, not to mention the tab for that little beauty.”

“When I heard that an opportunity was coming, I couldn’t resist,” Valzar said, shrugging with Latin elegance. “Don’t worry about the money. We’re partners, remember? You still have plenty of cash lying around, you know. I’ve been taking good care of it for you.”

“I didn’t expect that,” Sean said, shaking his head. “We always said that if one of us got caught, the other shouldn’t look back. That was the plan.”

“Fuck the plan,” Valzar said, grinning broadly. “I enjoyed tricking the gringo prison guards. It was worth it just to see their stupid pig faces on the television set while we waited. They still have no idea what hit them.”

“How many men escaped?” Sean asked.

“Couple hundred?” Valzar said, giving another fluid shrug. “They probably aren’t even sure that you’re gone yet. There’s still plenty of confusion at the prison. They’re rioting, you know.”

“How did you arrange that?’ Sean asked, almost afraid to hear the answer. Valzar had always been ruthless when it came to getting what he wanted.

“I didn’t have to,” Valzar said. “Our mutual friends took care of everything. All they want in return is some consideration down the line, which I was planning to give them anyway.”

Sean nodded, not wanting the details. The less he knew about CIA operations the better.

“How long will it take us to get out of U.S. airspace?” he asked. “Will that be a problem?”

“You’ve been in prison a long time, amigo,” Valzar said, flashing his playboy’s grin. “I guess you haven’t heard. I have diplomatic immunity now. This plane belongs to my government. If they try to stop us, they’ll create an international incident.”

Chapter Three

Sandra watched closely as the two men walked ahead of her, talking in what seemed like friendly enough tones. Del marched next to her, face sullen. Her eyes darted around, looking for ways to escape. The rain was falling harder now, and she wondered for a moment if it would be too dangerous for the plane to take off.

Of course not, she realized in disgust. These were men who weren’t afraid to commit murder and kidnapping. Why would they let the weather stop them?

Of course, the weather might serve her purpose. If she found just the right moment to break away, the darkness might provide enough cover to escape. She stole a look at Del, who seemed to be ignoring her.

Lightning flashed again, and a thunderclap hit so hard the very ground seemed to shake beneath their feet.

It was her shot.

She took off running as fast as she could, deliberately heading for the darkness along the side of the runway. There were no buildings there, only a few lonely-looking crop-dusters tethered with worn ropes.

Beyond them were trees and cover. If she could just make it that far she’d at least have a chance to escape.

She heard Del shouting behind her. It took him a couple seconds to register her escape, and then something made a cracking noise.

Shots.

Holy Mother, he was shooting his gun at her! She’d thought she was already going as fast she could run, but suddenly she found more speed. The noise cracked again, and then once more. She heard more shouts from behind, and then a thudding sound. Holes appeared in one of the planes ahead of her and she gulped, terrified. She made it past the first of the planes, ducking behind it and pausing for a moment to catch her breath and clutch her side.

Big mistake.

Her captor, the one they called Sean, was right behind her, all but plowing her over when he came barreling around the plane. She lurched away from him and took off again, ignoring the terrible stitch in her side. Why hadn’t she signed up for that aerobics class? She’d been meaning to do it for weeks now.

Mom had been right, laziness really would be the death of her.

The pavement beneath her feet abruptly disappeared, and her feet sank into sandy gravel. It threw her off and she fell forward, hard, hands hitting the ground with enough force to tear off the skin. She heard him coming. She crawled forward, trying to push herself to her feet. Moving was hard, she’d knocked the breath right out of her lungs when she fell.

He hit her with the force of a train, slamming her into the ground as he came down. He was hard, wet, angry, and for one moment she wondered if he’d kill her right on the spot. Instead he just held her there, panting hard and muttering under his breath.

“That was stupid, girl,” he said roughly. “Very stupid. You made me look bad in front of my friends and they aren’t the kind of people to forget something like that. Neither am I, for that matter. You’ll be sorry you did this.”

She had no doubt he told the truth. She was sorry already. Her legs were already cramping, and she knew she’d ache in the morning. If she survived to see the morning.

“I’ll do what you say,” she muttered quickly. “Please don’t kill me. All I want is to live. Please.”

“Oh, you’ll live,” he said, his voice rough. “After the hassle you’ve given me, I’ll be damned if I’ll let you go this easy. You owe me now.”

She didn’t respond to the patently illogical statement, knowing that arguing with him was foolish. If he said she was the problem, she’d accept responsibility. Whatever it took to keep him happy was good enough for her. He pushed himself up slowly and reached one hand down to her. She took it with resignation; she was beat. Whatever chances she might have to get away were over for the moment.

Now she needed to conserve her strength.

He pulled her to her feet and marched her along next to him, one hand wrapped firmly around her upper arm. It hurt and she knew she’d have bruises there the next day. Then again, she’ probably have bruises all over.

They walked in silence back through the parked planes. Del sat on the tarmac near the jet, clutching his jaw and giving her a look of such hatred that she shivered. How had he gotten hurt? The other man, Valzar, watched her with cool speculation in his eyes, as if she were some sort of strange and exotic bird he was considering eating.

She didn’t like that look at all.

Sean stayed silent, marching her past both of them toward the jet. She was freezing cold now, and covered in mud, but nobody seemed to notice or care. They reached the foot of a small flight of steps leading to the open hatch of the jet. Sean pushed her up ahead of him, and she stumbled. One of her shoes was gone, she realized. She was walking half barefoot through the rain and she hadn’t even noticed. Her toe throbbed, and she wondered if she were bleeding.