Penny feigned preoccupation with the softness of Rafe’s hair while silently screaming at him for playing too damn hard to get. This was their opening, their chance to get on the inside. But his face was a blank slate as he slid his hands to her hips and gently guided her off his lap.
Rafe gave his head a faint, disappointed shake. “I’m truly sorry to hear that, Se?or Fuentes. I really am. But I can’t go into business with a man who can’t see beyond his own challenges—and for you that would be the Honduran government and the American Drug Enforcement Administration.”
Their imminent departure startled the older man to his feet. Lips curled into a snarl, he looked five seconds away from bursting the bulging blood vessel at his temple. “To whom do you think you are talking? Some inconsequential street urchin?”
Rafe tucked an arm around her waist and stated blandly, “I thought I was speaking to a savvy businessman, one who understood that you’re the one in need of a new avenue to export your product. I may be fairly new to this game, Se?or Fuentes, but I assure you that I didn’t start yesterday. Money is negotiable. My reputation is not. Before putting it on the line, I need to make sure the benefits far outweigh the risks. If you can’t agree to those terms, then we’re done here.”
Penny hissed under her breath as he led them away from the table, “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
Rafe mumbled back, “Wait for it. Three, two…”
Six steps from the table, one of Diego’s seven-foot watchdogs blocked their exit.
Fuentes slowly approached. Penny didn’t know what was worse, the man’s sickening smile or his blank, cool stare.
“While I do not agree initially to those measures,” Fuentes said, addressing Rafe, “I would like to extend to you an invitation to my home. Maybe we can search for a viable solution and build a partnership that would appease us both. A few days, so that we can reach an agreement.”
Diego’s dark, soulless eyes settled on Penny. “And I insist that you bring your beautiful se?orita. It has been far too long since a striking, vivacious woman has graced the grounds. My only stipulation is that your security stays behind. As you pointed out, I am a man in need of keeping many secrets and the location of my home is one of them. I’ll have one of my men meet you at my private airstrip and they’ll escort you the rest of the way.”
Rafe stayed silent for so long Penny nearly pinched him. Finally, he accepted Diego’s hand. “Name the meeting time and we’d be pleased to join you.”
CHAPTER SEVEN
Rafe enjoyed a good silent moment. He far preferred it to incessant ramblings and incoherent speeches, which is why it took him off guard when ten minutes into his and Penny’s drive toward the city’s posh tourist district, he felt ready to burst from his skin.
Curses. Mutters. Mumbles. Even the mother of all rants. He didn’t care which avenue Penny chose to take, he just needed to have some kind of clue as to what was going through her mind. But it didn’t look like that was about to happen. From the driver’s seat of their rented luxury car, Chase glanced back, no doubt coming to the same damn conclusion.
Thirty minutes later, they pulled up to the hotel where Rafael Manuel and the lovely Nell Hanlan spent their nights while on vacation. Through the lobby and the elevator ride up to the penthouse suite, Rafe kept an eye on the stiff set of Penny’s shoulders while ignoring the growing tension in his own.
They were supposed to set up a meet, get the intel they needed, and then coordinate the takedown of the entire Fuentes organization with every available government agency. End of operation. Game over. Bad guy in fucking jail. None of them had seen this shift in the plan.
When they finally entered the suite, the looming silence shattered with Trey charging across the room like a bulldozer.
“What the hell were you thinking, Ortega?” Trey demanded. By the look on his face, he’d been brewing a foul mood probably since Rafe and Penny had left the club. “Do you seriously think I’m going to allow you to sweep Penn into that psycho’s lair with a fucking army much less with no one as backup? What shit have you been smoking?”
Rafe kept his head cool. “In case you misheard, it wasn’t exactly my idea.”
“But you fucking agreed!”
“Allow him?” Penny’s gentle tone froze all five men to their spots. Instead of shrinking as she kicked off her heels, her stature grew. She glanced pointedly at each of them before landing on Trey, and never once raised her voice. “If Rafe had insisted on bringing any kind of security, it would’ve made it look like he had something to hide.”
“Yeah, but he didn’t need to agree to letting you tag along,” Trey argued.
She shrugged. “Fuentes likes women. Isn’t that why we thought sending me into the club with Rafe was a good idea to begin with? We got his attention. We got in. I’m not going to question why, and having been after this guy for months, neither should you.”