Chapter 5

Chapter Five

San Isidro, Puerto Jardin

27 Months Earlier

FINN STEPPED INTO THE SHOWER, closed his eyes, and lifted his face to the tepid spray. The only thing weaker than the water pressure was the pre-dawn light, but San Isidro was more a village than a town, and he was lucky there was an inn. It was about ninety minutes from Trujillo but it felt more remote. He'd been surprised there was another guest staying here, but—

"Shit," he muttered, opening his eyes.

The door didn't have a lock, and he'd forgotten to put the occupied sign on the communal bathroom's doorknob. After a brief debate, he decided not to get out of the shower. It was barely light outside, and there was only one other person at the inn. And it wasn't as if a sign—or a lock, for that matter—would stop the men he was concerned about.

The water sputtered, and Finn reached for the shampoo. Damn, he wanted a haircut. His hair was past his shoulders now and getting to be a pain in the ass, but Tom Finley wouldn't bother with that. Same with getting his beard trimmed, and for better or worse, he was Finley until this op was finished.

San Isidro was in Alfonso Ramos' backyard. Finn had expected to find the village as basically an adjunct of the drug lord's property, but it didn't appear to be the case. In fact, the place seemed to be a neutral zone, and Finn had been warned several times not to cause trouble. He suspected the innkeeper was a former member of the presidential brigade—he had the Special Forces vibe. Finn rinsed his hair and reached for the soap.

Coming here was a risk, but it had been five days since his meeting with Silva, and Finn had heard nothing. After a discussion with his captain and the chief, the decision was made to prod Torres by letting him think Finn was trying to do an end-run around him and sell arms to Ramos directly. It could prompt Torres or Silva to make a decision.

Or get Finn killed.

Torres' men had followed him here. He'd made sure of that. He didn't know where they'd spent the night since they didn't check into the inn, but they were nearby. Today, he'd find someone who worked for Ramos and make it appear as if he were trying to finagle a meeting with the boss.

He turned off the water, stepped out of the shower, reached for the towel, and dried off. He'd hardly gotten it knotted at his waist when the doorknob rattled. A split second later, the door opened. There wasn't time to grab his weapon from the back of the toilet.

Finn charged the interloper.

His brain registered who it was an instant before he would have slammed her into the wall. He couldn't pull up or stop, but he put his arms around her, letting his forearms take the brunt of the impact. His elbow sent the door crashing closed. As his chest came into contact with her breasts, she gasped. It had nothing to do with arousal—Finn knew it—but the sound stroked over him like a caress. It didn't help that she placed her hands against his chest to brace herself.

It only took an instant to register a few things. She wasn't wearing a bra underneath the T-shirt she had on, her shorts were loose, revealing a whole lot of long leg, and her feet were bare. Her dark hair was braided, but it was messy, and her blue eyes were sleepy beneath her shocked expression.

"What the hell are you doing here?" he demanded, voice low and harsh.

He didn't know her name. He didn't know jack shit about her because Pruitt hadn't been able to find anything yet. Finn didn't like it. Pru was the best at digging up intel.

She blinked, pushed herself back from his chest, and then her chin came up. "I was going to use the bathroom. Why the hell didn't you put out the occupied sign?" Her tone mimicked his.

Finn nearly grinned but fought off the urge. "I meant, why are you in San Isidro?"

"I always stay at the inn when I'm in the area. Why are you here? There isn't any fighting in the vicinity." Her eyes narrowed. "If you bring trouble to this town, I will make your life a living hell, and don't think I can't."

Her hands bunched into fists, but because she remained braced against his chest, her fingers ran over his skin on the way. He managed to stop the shudder, but he couldn't prevent the blood from flowing toward his cock. Shit, he had nowhere to hide, not with only a towel on. He recalled how she made him forget about his mission almost entirely, and muttered, "You've already made my life a living hell."

"Good." She smiled.

Fuck, she was gorgeous. Heat swamped him.

Before he could think better of it, Finn tugged her closer, and her eyes widened as his erection pressed into her. He wasn't the only one turned on. Her nipples were hard. Slowly, he lowered his mouth to hers, giving her time to say no, but her lips parted, her gaze locked on his.

The first brush of his lips over hers was a question.

He raised his head and studied her face. What he saw there had him diving back for more. She met him kiss for kiss. Damn, he didn't intimidate her a bit, and he loved it. Since he didn't have to worry about scaring her, Finn took off the brakes.

Deepening the kiss, he ran his hands under her T-shirt and stroked the smooth, bare skin of her back. Her fingers spasmed against his chest, digging in for a moment before sliding up to his shoulders and around his neck. With her nails, she teased his nape, and Finn shuddered. That quickly, that easily, desire careened out of control.

Finn ran a hand down her side, over her hip, and down until he reached her knee. He lifted until he could hook her leg around his hip. His cock pressed into her, and she gasped. He hesitated, but she didn't jerk free.

He was a nanosecond away from tugging her shorts and panties aside when there was a sharp rap on the door. Finn straightened abruptly and released her leg.

"Zofia, you are okay?"

She cleared her throat softly. "Sí, Tio Luis. The door slipped from my grasp. I'm sorry I woke you."

The innkeeper's hesitation was palpable even through the solid wood door. "You are certain you are well?" he asked.

Her pause was infinitesimal. "I'm certain."

Finn closed his eyes in relief. He didn't need any complications, and good old Tio Luis could make it difficult for Finn to do his job.

It took a moment for the man to leave. Only then did she push against his chest. Finn took a step backward. At least the interruption had gotten rid of his hard-on and given him a chance to reclaim his control. He never should have kissed her .

"Zofia?" he asked softly. Instead of answering, she glared at him, and his lips curved. "You don't look or act like a Zofia."

"What does a Zofia act like?" There was a testy note in her voice, and she crossed her arms over her chest, a scowl on her face.

Finn found himself falling back under her spell. He needed to fucking shake himself out of this. "A Zofia would be smart enough not to challenge a man like me," he growled.

"A Zofia might be too timid to face you down, but you don't scare me." She reached for the knob and opened the door. "Most people call me Zo."

"I'm taking that as an invitation to use your nickname."

"Don't. Zo rhymes with no ." She stepped out of the bathroom and closed the door behind her with a soft snick.

"Zo," he repeated almost under his breath as his lips curved. Not Zoe. Yeah, she definitely wasn't a Zoe, but Zo? That did fit her.

His smile disappeared as two things occurred to him almost simultaneously. First, she'd lied to protect him because Tio Luis wouldn't have shrugged off what was happening between his two guests. And secondly, he knew her first name now, he knew she had ties to San Isidro, and Finn would have to pass the information on to Pruitt so he could investigate her.

Yeah, she'd protected him, and he was going to betray her.