Chapter 24

Emersyn sat in the briefing at noon, her stomach rumbling. The all-hands meeting had been going on for hours, the higher-ups discussing new security procedures with the staff. The other analysts had flashed her worried looks as one of the Special Agents had recounted his confrontation with a cartel member over the weekend. The agent had exchanged gunfire with the man who'd shown up at his home. While the thug had been wounded, he'd also been able to escape.

"What did he look like?" Emersyn asked. "The former second-in-command under Antonio Lopez is the man my boyfriend saw prowling around my apartment parking lot," she explained, flushing slightly as she called Aaron her boyfriend. "That man is the new head of the Sinaloa Cartel here in Oahu."

"And we don't have an ID on the guy yet," Rick added. "We have several photos of him with Antonio Lopez on prior occasions, but right now we don't have a name to match the face."

As the Special Agent rattled off descriptive details, Emersyn's heart raced. She swallowed nervously, eyeing the room. "Yes, that's him. It's the same man who was at my apartment on Friday night."

"He's wounded," the agent said, his eyes hard. "There's a damn good chance the cartel won't keep targeting DEA employees given they know we'll shoot back. Alejandro Lopez is thousands of miles away. The Sinaloa Cartel here in Hawaii can say they sought revenge. They're not going to continue targeting us in a fight they can't win."

Emersyn worried her lip. That was no doubt true for the agents, but what about her and the other analysts? Their names had been tied to the drug bust as well.

The meeting continued for thirty more minutes, with many questions from the employees. She wasn't feeling much better about the situation after they were dismissed knowing an agent had been shot at outside his own home. Maybe that one cartel member had been wounded, but what about the others? Would she be safe when they had her name, address, and photograph?

"I'm gonna grab lunch," Rick said as he moved past the cubicles. "We'll be briefing on the boat interdicted on its way between the islands later. The Coast Guard seized hundreds of pounds of narcotics."

"Okay. See you then." She sat at her cubicle for a beat, realizing she hadn't packed lunch. Staying at Aaron's place had many benefits, but he didn't have all the food she liked. They'd talked about doing a grocery run over the weekend but had made do with what was already in his fridge and pantry. She'd been a bit jittery about going out anyway, and spending the weekend beneath his sheets, slowly making love and forgetting about the rest of the world hadn't been a hardship.

There was a small café downstairs that served sandwiches and premade salads, so Emersyn decided to grab that for today. She didn't have her car and could've walked to a nearby restaurant, but that didn't seem like the best plan given all that had happened over the weekend. While she hoped the targeting of DEA employees would be over soon, given the fact a cartel member had been wounded, she wasn't sure if that was really the end. Her name and photo would always be out there, a fact that made her shudder.

Emersyn took the elevator down to the lobby, crossing the space to the little café. A janitor walked by, wheeling a big garbage can, and she jumped back in surprise as he almost bumped into her. "Sorry, ma'am," he said, his eyes on her intense from beneath his low baseball cap.

"No problem," she said, quickly hurrying away. She felt the man watching, unease winding its way through her. While she didn't recognize him, she didn't know most people here. No one would get in or out without credentials, so it's not like he was some random guy who'd wandered in off the street.

Emersyn placed her order, deciding to go sit in the sunshine to eat lunch. The courtyard of her building was pretty, with palm trees and fragrant flowers. There were several picnic tables as well as benches beneath the trees. Emersyn sat in a shady spot, pulling out her cell. While she couldn't bring it into her secure vault, they had tiny storage lockers downstairs where she could keep it for the day. Normally, she left it in her vehicle, but Aaron had driven her to work in his big truck.

She'd flushed as he'd taken her hand that morning, helping her up into the passenger seat. He'd leaned over to buckle her in, telling her that one day he wanted to pile the bed of his truck with pillows and blankets and make love to her under the stars. Aaron had taken her in multiple positions this weekend, easily maneuvering her as he wanted in bed. Emersyn found she loved his assertiveness. Aaron all gruff and alpha as he made love to her, telling her when to come, somehow made all her girly parts explode.

A bird chirping drew her attention, and her head swiveled to the left. Emersyn took a bite of her sandwich, watching as the janitor from earlier wheeled his trashcan to the receptacle outside. She continued eating as he fiddled with the bags, seeming to take his time. The group at the picnic table got up to leave shortly afterward, tossing their trash away. Looking down at her phone again, she sent Aaron a quick text.

Emersyn: Lunch break. Been in briefings all morning. I'll fill you in later. Miss you. xoxo

Aaron: Miss you, too, honey. I'll pick you up at seventeen hundred.

Aaron: Can't wait to see my good girl. ;)

She blushed furiously, Aaron knowing exactly what it did when he called her that. There was just something about her big, muscled guy pleasuring her with his deep voice calling her his good girl that made her even hotter for him. He'd order her to come, and then as she was crying out in ecstasy, clinging to him, his deep voice would murmur in her ear.

Emersyn: Maybe if you play your cards right, sailor. ;)

She'd told him that once before, the night of their very first date. Aaron clearly remembered as well.

Aaron: Seemed to work out pretty well the first time. :) Be safe.

She slid her phone into the pocket of her suit jacket, finishing the last bites of her sandwich. Emersyn rose from the bench, surprised that the janitor was still over by the trashcan. She hesitated, and he gestured for her to come over. "Toss it in here before I change the bag," he told her. Figuring she might as well, Emersyn crossed toward him, throwing her plastic sandwich container away.

A light breeze rustled the palm trees, and for a second, she was sad she needed to go back inside on such a beautiful, sunny day. Emersyn brushed the crumbs off her hands, turning away, then gasped in shock as the janitor suddenly grabbed her. She was lifted off the ground when a sickeningly sweet cloth was suddenly held over her face.

"No, no," she protested, fighting his hold. The man was too much bigger than her. Stronger. As she tried to turn her head away to gulp in some fresh air, everything suddenly went dark.