Ultimate Escape Read Free Page B

embarrassed enough at how she’d ogled his crotch, so she wouldn’t give in to temptation. She turned back to look out the window and leaned against the seat again.
    She hadn’t even left the airport, and this was officially the best trip ever.

4
    “ W hat did you find ?” Cruz asked Sam.
    “Nothing out of the ordinary,” Sam replied.
    “Stay close.”
    Cruz disconnected and called Ace, not taking his eyes off the woman as she strolled down the crowded street.
    “Ace, this isn’t adding up,” Cruz said when his old friend answered.
    “What?” he said.
    “I’ve had eyes on her since she landed, and I have eyes on her right now. I’ve never seen a trafficker do anything like this.”
    “Like what?”
    “She rode a shuttle from the airport, checked in, and now she’s walking down the street like she’s never been in a city before. This doesn’t feel like business to me.”
    “Maybe she’s never been here before. Even traffickers take vacations,” Ace said.
    “Ha-ha. But my gut’s telling me something is off,” Cruz said.
    “Well, maybe you should have a chat with her.”
    “Maybe I should. I’ll be back in touch.”
    Cruz disconnected and continued to trail behind the woman. He’d chosen not to mention the little interlude on the bus, but he knew it was part of the reason he was so unsettled. He was not unaccustomed to the appreciative female gaze, but that look… Scorching didn’t even begin to describe it. The naked lust in her eyes, the hungry gaze that had moved over his body almost reverently…
    Even knowing the purpose behind her visit hadn’t extinguished the flame that her eyes on him had sparked. And the way the blood had rushed from his head and centered in his cock had been undeniable.
    But it wasn’t just the lust that had gotten to him. That was a human response, nothing more, but behind it had been a softness, an openness and honesty in her gaze that he was more and more convinced was genuine. He saw it now as she walked down the street, face full of awe with each new thing she saw.
    Like he’d said, it just didn’t add up.
    Maybe a guy had put her up to this, a relative, a boyfriend, because he couldn’t wrap his head around the idea that this woman had any idea what she’d gotten into.
    But he’d get to the bottom of it soon enough.
    ••••
    Nola had left the hotel in search of food and to see more of the city. She wasn’t brave enough to venture too far, but the half block she’d come was mind-blowing. The crowds moved around her, the noise and movement of the city as vibrant as she’d seen from the bus. Of course, she had no idea what she was going to eat. The travel guides had warned to be selective with food vendors, so Nola was at something of a loss. But when she looked up and saw those familiar golden arches, she smiled and headed toward them.
    A nine-thousand-mile flight to eat at McDonald’s. Maybe not the most daring choice, but baby steps.
    An hour later, full of french fries and the best milkshake she’d ever had, Nola headed back to the hotel. When she entered the semidarkness of the cool hotel room, she perked, excited for a shower and then sleep. She could start sightseeing tomorrow, and was particularly looking forward to the tour of the Viet Cong tunnels and then the Ben Thanh Market.
    But something made her stop in the door frame.
    The room felt different, and she froze, hand still wrapped around the doorknob.
    Her body was still, but her mind raced with a thousand possibilities, each worse than the one before it, the terrible thoughts crowding her mind until she thought her head might explode with them. She could practically hear her mother’s admonition that she shouldn’t have come here. This trip had been exciting, fun, but now, as she looked at the enormous man who stood in the middle of her hotel room, Nola knew she was going to die.

5
    “ I don’t have much , but you’re welcome to it,” the woman said, her voice wavering but