Free Deliciously Dangerous by Karen Anders Page B

at all. It had to do with the pain and agony they would have had to endure, knowing they had lost their only son. He wouldn’t have been able to participate in this plan to take down Fuentes if they had lived.
    “Any luck with your contacts?” he asked, effectively changing the painful subject.
    “Yes, I think so. I’m waiting for a couple of calls. A guy in Rome who I think will have some of what you need—namely the surface-to-air missiles—and I havea guy in London who should be able to deliver on the other required items.”
    “Excellent. Fuentes will be calling tomorrow for an update on his order. It’d be good to be able to tell him we’re moving forward.”
    “What is he like?”
    “Fuentes? A freaking little girl in a grown man’s body. When he doesn’t get his way, he has these tantrums that are ridiculous to watch. How he ever built an empire is a mystery to me.”
    “Do you think there will be a possibility of more deals once you’ve supplied what he’s asking for?”
    Not if Jammer had any say in the matter. But he had a role to play here and he knew how to play it well. “Of course. Drug dealers always need weapons for the movement of their product. It’s a fact of life.”
    “Will the Ghost be at the meeting with Fuentes?”
    “Yes, he’s going to make a rare appearance. Fuentes wants the transfer to happen in person. So my boss is committed.” The Ghost would be there, all right, but Fuentes wasn’t going to see it coming, and that gave Jammer great satisfaction.
    “How about you let me go all the way on this deal? I’ll make it worth your while.”
    “Gina, Fuentes is an animal and I don’t trust him at all. I think it would be best if you stayed out of it.”
    “Jammer, come on. I could make some really good contacts and boost my business. You wouldn’t deny me that, would you? Look at all the help I’m giving you. If it wasn’t for me, you wouldn’t have been able to fill Fuentes’s order.”
    “That is true. I would have been royally fucked.”
    “Right, and not in a good way.”
    “Let me think about it.”
    “I’m not a fragile piece of glass, you know. I can take care of myself in this business. Miyagi caught me off guard, but it won’t happen again.”
    Jammer cupped her face and met her blue eyes. “That threat has been neutralized. I made sure of it. I will do anything for you, Gina, but have a care when it comes to Fuentes. He’s ruthless and heartless. He doesn’t have any concern for human life. He takes it without impunity.”
    “Sounds like you have firsthand knowledge.”
    Jammer let her go and turned away. “I do, and that’s not something I will discuss.”
    This time she took his face in her hands. “Did you lose people close to you at the hands of Fuentes?”
    The guilt twisted like a knife inside him, and he squeezed his eyes shut against the pain. He tried to pull away but she wouldn’t go. He sighed. “Don’t ask me any more questions about Fuentes. It’s time to check on dinner.”
    He felt her gaze on him, but ignored her, capturing her around the waist and setting her on her feet.
    He could sense the tension in the air around him, snapping with electricity. When she touched his arm, he jolted as if he had received a shock.
    “I’m very, very sorry.”
    “It was my fault,” he whispered, the anguish almost palpable.
    Without another word, she followed him into the house.
    The smell in the kitchen made his mouth water. There were only five minutes left on the timer, so he grabbed two plates, trying to let what had happened outside slide off him as he’d done in the past. He wished she hadn’t been there to witness his weak moment, but her sympathy had touched him in a place so deep he’d thought it was out of reach.
    He placed rolls on each plate and quickly put together the ingredients for a salad.
    When the timer went off he served the salad and then remembered the wine.
    “Let me go down and get a bottle.”
    “In the