“Yes, that works for me. Do what you need to get rid of this fucker,” Gage stated while rubbing Hope’s arms. “Come on, Hope. Let me feed you.” Gage held her hand and escorted her Both of them had worked up a serious appetite for the day.
Twenty minutes later, they were eating their cold-cut sandwiches and sipping on some freshly made sweet tea when Bill entered the house. “Sorry, Gage. I don’t mean to interrupt, but the bull broke through the fence.”
“Shit. I’ll be back. I knew we should have fixed that small section before I came back in.” He’d left it alone becausehe wanted to check on Hope, and then Alex called him about the setup so he’d completely forgotten about it. He needed to remember that ranching didn’t have shortcuts.
Alex walked into the kitchen, stealing a glass of tea for himself. “We’ll be here. Don’t worry. I won’t let anything happen to her.”
“Thanks.” Gage grabbed Hope, lifting her from her seat with one hand around her waist, the other around the nape of her neck, and kissed her roughly before pulling away and walking out of the house.
Breathless, she stared in the direction of Gage’s exit from the kitchen. Hope had fallen hard and fast for her rescuer, and it scared her. She could lose him so easily if he got tired of the nonsense or if her father or Navarro got ahold of him. Would Navarro lose interest now that she gave away her virginity? She sure as hell prayed that he’d drop his plans for her. She refused to be with anyone else. Gage was it for her.
“Hope, are you okay?” Alex asked.
“I’m fine. Sorry. He’s distracting.” She smiled at Alex.
“Ha. It reminds me of the day he met you. We had to repeat our questions to him because he’d been thinking about the woman walking around the Market.”
“Ah, yes—when he thought I was stalking him.”
“Now we know that’s not the truth.” He tried to stop himself from laughing, but slowly his lips twisted up into a grin that evolved until he couldn’t hold back any longer. “Sorry,” he choked out, laughing. “I don’t know why I find that so funny.” He took another minute to get himself under control.
“I don’t see shit funny about this,” an officer said as he entered the house with a tool kit.
“Relax, Austin.”
“Whatever. I want both of these bastards long gone, but murder is illegal. So I take this shit seriously. We have to stay focused.” Hope’s eyes widened at his frustration. He had a real grudge against these guys, but she felt it was extremely personal for him.
“Hope, this is Detective Austin Brody—he’s with the FBI in San Antonio. Human trafficking is a federal offense. Where do you want me to set up?”
The whole situation was serious to her, but that didn’t mean she had to hold back her one source of happiness—Gage.
“We’ll take it down the hall.” Alex led the way, while Hope decided to make some coffee.
An hour later, Gage returned. Immediately, he hunted down Hope. He pushed the kitchen door open and startled Hope. She dropped the bowl full of chocolate onto the floor.
“I’m sorry, baby.” He bent down and scooped up the bowl while she grabbed a dish towel to clean up the mess on the gorgeous flooring. Once they had all of it picked up, and she asked, “How are you?”
“Could have done better, but we went with what I have for repairs. I’ll have to get more supplies tomorrow. You’re doing great, it seems.”
“We haven’t gotten started yet. I was trying to bake a cake when you came in. I needed to work with my hands or something. I don’t know how many times I’ve run them through my hair, waiting for them to be ready for me.”
“Don’t be nervous. You’re going to do just fine.”
Alex came back into the room. “Hey, we’re heading out. Our team will be listening in on the call. Once we’re in place, we’ll contact you. You can do this, Hope.”
Savage and two other officers left the house to join the SWAT team for the arrest. Alex had no intention of missing the look on Cummings’s face.
An hour later…
“Okay. We’re set up, Ms. Cummings. We’re setting your location to New York City.”
Hope rubbed her hands together. “Game on.”
Chapter Fourteen
A little shiver ran up Cummings’s spine as he pulled up to Navarro’s mansion. A lot weighed on his meeting with the man he let down. His bitch of a daughter had betrayed him and ran. Now he was in a world of hurt and it was all her fault. His eyes scanned the vicinity as he exited his vehicle. Guards stood around the perimeter of the walled-in home while another two guards manned the entrance. Cummings swallowed the lump in his throat and yet it still sat there, nearly choking him. Sweat beaded on his neck, but he mentally chastised the sun for it.
Navarro called the meeting two days before, but Cummings stalled, claiming to have to dispose of a body. Although Jimmy’s body had to be dealt with, he had nothing to do with it. He knew things could go south in a heartbeat. Cummings killed two of his men in forty-eight hours because of this.