Total pages in book: 67
Estimated words: 63956 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 320(@200wpm)___ 256(@250wpm)___ 213(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 63956 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 320(@200wpm)___ 256(@250wpm)___ 213(@300wpm)
“I have no idea,” he admitted.
“Well, you haven’t given me an easy job. I’ll get on a flight tomorrow and see what I can do. In the meantime…”—he motioned toward the woman—“Martina, give me a pencil and a piece of paper!”
The woman set the items he wanted down on the table and then brushed her mouth against his before leaving them alone again.
Cade wrote down a series of numbers and the name of a bank on the paper. “I expect a down payment of two hundred thousand in my bank before I board the plane. The rest of the money is to be given to George until I get back.”
“I’ll see that it gets done,” Benedict promised, standing up with the paper in his hand.
“Montgomery?” Cade’s voice halted Benedict’s departure. “Which one?”
“Which one?” he asked in confusion.
“If I can only get one out alive, which one do you want it to be?” Cade gave a hard sigh yet stared at him pitilessly. “In other words, if I’m in hot water and both are drowning, and I can save only one, which one do you want me to save?”
Benedict felt his heart rip in two at the choice he was being asked to make. No parent ever wanted to make the decision the cold-hearted bastard was asking of him. Staring back at Reed’s unforgiving face, he felt his shoulders drop in defeat as he came to a decision he didn’t really want to make.
“Bailey. She couldn’t make it on her own. Jane’s a strong swimmer; she would stand a better chance of surviving.” Benedict left the bar with tears clogging his throat, restraining himself from going back inside and changing his answer. Jane was strong—she wouldn’t drown—and he was putting his faith in Cade Reed. George had said he was the best mercenary in the business.
He paused, sucking in a deep breath to calm himself.
Jane’s image came to mind—her sweet smile and how she was constantly trying to make everyone happy. It wouldn’t be as easy as Cade thought to leave his eldest daughter behind.
When he had divorced his first wife, he had thought it would be easy to leave; however, his love for Jane hadn’t disappeared or lessened with her absence. Instead, it had grown stronger. He had eventually caved in to his ex-wife’s vindictive demands just to spend an occasional weekend with Jane.
Benedict had to tell himself both of his daughters would survive; otherwise, he wouldn’t be able to board the plane home to a woman he had long ago stopped caring about.
He’d had Jane when he was eighteen and Bailey when he was twenty-one. He had stuck this marriage out because he wasn’t about to lose another daughter to divorce. With Bailey gone, his marriage was fast approaching the end.
The only way he was able to leave was knowing Cade wouldn’t have an easy time abandoning Jane.
His mouth quirked in the beginning of a smile. Cade was about to meet a woman hard to resist. In fact, Benedict found a new worry—that he might not be able to get her back from Cade once he realized how special she was.
Chapter 1
Jane hid behind one of the large SUVs that had been stolen at a roadblock and was now being used to either transport drugs or young women.
Her mouth tightened into a grim line. The men were nothing but rapists, using the women as sex slaves. They sickened Jane. The thought of her sister being married to one made her want to shake Bailey the minute she managed to find her. As she waited for the bus, her thoughts went back to how she had managed to get herself into a predicament that rivaled the night Sex Piston’s beauty shop had been robbed. At least that fiasco had been over in a matter of hours; this hare-brained scheme of hers seemed to be lasting forever.
When Bailey had told them she was going to Peñuela, she had tossed her parents’ and Jane’s warnings away, as if they hadn’t known what they were talking about. Now she was trapped, and Jane had foolishly sneaked in to attempt a rescue.
It hadn’t taken her long to regret her impetuous decision to try to save her sister. If she hadn’t managed to catch a few lucky breaks, she would have already returned to her small apartment in the safety of the town her father lived in.
About a week before, she entered Mexico and managed to latch on to John and Sandra Terrell, who were trying to get their son back—the son had come down on vacation and never returned. Instead, the parents had received a call demanding a ransom.
John was ex-military and was attempting to go into Mexico to save their son. Jane met them at the hotel where she was staying and joined them during dinner. When they found out why she was going to Mexico, they quickly tried to dissuade her. Seeing that she wasn’t going to give up, they attempted to help her by John including her in his plans. It was dangerous, but it just might work. At least it was better than what she had planned—heading straight to Peñuela and demanding to see Bailey.