What Happens in Mexico...Stays in Mexico

Chapter Thirteen

Matt was furious.  The fact that another man had tried to manhandle his woman pushed him close to losing control.  It didn’t matter that Sierra used to belong to the moron in question.  Ignoring the gathering crowd, he reached down and jerked Frank up by the shirt collar.  “So, this the famous Frank Bingham.  You like hitting women, you sorry piece of shit?”

Frank said nothing.  He just gagged from the choking hold.  His hands came up to pluck at Matt’s.

“Matt, no!”  Sharra appeared beside him, her eyes filled with concern.  “Please.  He’s not worth it.”

He turned his head and looked at her.  His fury was overwhelming.  “He was going to hit you.”  He spoke very slowly as if she were someone of limited intelligence.  “That means I’m gonna have to kill him.”

She gasped and clutched at his arm.  “No!  You can’t.  Please, let’s just leave.  He means nothing to me.  Not any more.”

Her ex-fiancé let out a guttural snarl as he pushed away from Matt.  He glared at her.  “Bitch!”

Matt gave a feral grin and hit him again, this time right in the nose.  Blood spurted as Frank fell back to the ground.  “Say another word, you bastard and I’ll knock out each of your teeth.”

He watched as Sharra’ ex rolled around on the floor in the pool of his own blood.  It gave him a primal satisfaction to know that he’d put those marks on his rival’s face.  In fact, he wished he could have done more.  He couldn’t help but remember if he hadn’t talked Sharra into marrying him for real, she’d still belong to the asshole writhing on the ground.  What had she ever seen in him anyway?  Bingham wasn’t worthy of Sharra, that was for damn sure.

“Please, Matt,” Sharra’s voice cut through the fog of his anger.  “It’s over.  I’ll never have to see him again.  Please, can we go?”

Taking a deep breath, he battled back his rage.  Keeping his gaze on his fallen enemy, he put his arm around his new wife, giving her a little squeeze.  “You sure I can’t kill him?”

She frowned, but then relaxed when she saw he was kidding.  Her ex was safe…for the moment.  “No, love, you can’t kill him.”  Glancing down at the hapless Frank, she gave a loud sniff.  “At least not yet.  But I may change my mind if he comes near me a second time.”

Frank pulled out a white handkerchief and mopped at his bloody nose.  “Damb it, Sharra.  Ooo can’d mean dat.”

“I promise you, she does,” Matt growled menacingly.  “She’s my wife and I don’t take kindly to other men bothering her.”

“I’b ‘er finade.”

“Are you deaf?” Matt snarled.  “Or just stupid?  She married me which means you’re not anybody.  Not anymore.  Now, I’ll give you one more chance to get the hell out of here before I break something else.”

The other man narrowed his already swelling eyes.  It was difficult to hear him through the bloody handkerchief.  “I’ll call da polide.”

Matt laughed.  “Knock yourself out.  I can’t wait to hear you explain why you took a swing at another man’s wife.  Thing is, men down here are pretty possessive of their womenfolk.  Don’t think they’ll take kindly to you mistreating one.  Especially one as pretty as Sharra is.”

Frank shakily got to his feet.  His blood-soaked handkerchief over his nose made him look like a slightly deranged bank robber.  “Der is no deed.  I’b goig.”  He lifted his head and tried to look down his broken nose.  But the mess of his face ruined the haughty look.  “Ooo are ‘elcome to ‘er.  I neber ‘eally waded to marry ‘er.  Sees nod wurf ma timb or mondy.”

Cursing at the slight to his lady, Matt took a step closer.  He looked forward to putting some more bruises on the bastard, but Frank was already moving.  “Dis idnt ober, Sharra.  I probise ooo.”

Skipping backwards and almost slipping in his own blood, Frank turned and quickly ran toward the bathrooms, glancing back only to shake his fist once before disappearing from sight.

Sharra stared after him.  “I can’t believe that was Frank.  He’s never acted like that before.”

“He’s a worm,” was Matt’s surly response.

She was still in shock over what she’d seen.  It was as if during the six months of her engagement Frank’s behavior had been a complete sham and now she was seeing him for what he really was.  “He was always such a perfect gentleman.  He never raised his voice or swore.  I thought he was safe.  That he’d never hurt me.”

Matt frowned and glanced towards the men’s bathroom.  “You sure we’re talking about the same guy?”

Thinking back over all the times she and Frank had been together she couldn’t help but wonder what else she’d missed.  “Obviously, I was wrong about him.  Very wrong.”  She shook herself and turned to Matt, gratitude in her eyes.  “Thank you for saving me.  Seems you’re making a habit of it.”

To her surprise he looked uncomfortable.  “It’s no big deal.”

“Hey!”  She put her arms around his waist and snuggled closer.  Being near her husband made her feel much better.  “I think it is.  No one has ever stood up for me before and you’ve done it twice now.”

He tensed.  “Twice?”

She kissed his chin.  “Duh!  Remember the bad guys in the jungle?  They chased us…you got us out?”

Relaxing visibly, he bent and kissed her nose.  “Oh, yeah.  I’d, ummm, forgotten the drug runners.”

“I’ll never forget it.”

“Well,” he said with a sexy grin, “you can thank me later.”  He waggled his eyebrows at her.  “Maybe when we’re a mile high?  ”

Sharra felt her cheeks get warm.  “You’ve got a one track mind.”

“Only about you, baby.”

Smiling, she glanced over at the bathrooms.  “I think I’ll wait and go on the plane.  I don’t want to run into him again.”

Matt nodded.  “Good choice.”  He gathered up the fallen bags and took her hand.  “Next stop, San Francisco.”

Giving him a sultry look, she gave his butt a squeeze.  “By way of the mile high club?’

His eyes went to pewter.  “You got it, honey!”

* * *

“Will Miss Sharra Roberts please pick up a white courtesy phone?”

The tinny announcement came only a few minutes before they were to board their plane.  Sharra’s tensed and her eyes widened as she looked at Matt.  “D-Do you think it’s Frank?”

Matt frowned.  “I can’t believe he’d be that stupid.”  He took her hand.  “But just in case, you want me to answer it?”

She glanced over at the phone on the wall.  “No.  He’s my problem.  I need to handle it.  But don’t get on board without me, okay?”

“Not on your life, sweetheart.  Where you go, I go.”  He kissed her palm lingeringly.  “And we always go so well together.”

Warmth touched her cheeks at the sexy banter.  Dropping a kiss on his grinning mouth, she rose and made her way to the row of telephones on the wall.  Going to the closest white phone, she lifted the receiver and gave the operator her name.  Then waited.  A moment later there was a burst of static.

“Senorita Roberts?”

An accented male voice spoke softly, and Sharra had to strain to hear him.  “Ummm, it’s Senora Sinclair now, but yes?”

“Perhaps, perhaps not.”  The man laughed.

She frowned at the odd comment, wondering if she was the victim of a crank call.  “Is there something I can do for you?”

“Oh yes, Senorita.”  He chuckled again.  “I think I have something that belongs to you.”

“Excuse me?”

There was a loud clattering on the phone.  A sudden spate of Spanish made her cringe and then she heard a deep masculine groan.  Her heart skipped a beat.  It couldn’t be…

“Sh…arra?”

Her heart stopped beating all together.  “Frank?”

“He..lp me…”

She almost dropped the phone, but then another voice came over the receiver.  “So, Senorita, you know this man?”

“Yes.”  She turned and looked back at where Matt stood.  He was gazing worriedly at his watch and then looking over at the entrance gate.  “What’s wrong with him?  Is he hurt?”

“You mean more than the broken nose your pretend marido gave him?”

“Pre…  What are you talking about?  Who are you?”

“Ahhh…  That is the million dollar question, is it not, Senorita?  Perhaps you will remember some of my men.”  He chuckled again, and she heard Frank’s whimper of pain in the background.  “You met them in the jungle, si?”

Terror traced down Sharra’s spine.  “You’re one of the drug runners!”

The chuckle turned into full blown laughter.  “Is that what Señor Sinclair told you?  Cómo divierte.  A true comedian he is.”

Sharra caught Matt’s eye and frantically gestured him over.  “Please, stop all the riddles and tell me what you want”

“What I want?”  The man’s voice abruptly went cold.  “I shall tell you what I want, Senorita.  I want my merchandise back.”

One look at Sharra’s face and Matt knew something was wrong.  She’d gone horribly pale, and she was clutching the phone like it was a lifeline.  Grabbing their bags, he ran over to her.  “Babe?  What is it?”

She waved her hand, shushing him and leaning over, whispered in his ear.  “My God, Matt.  It’s the drug runner from the jungle.  But how did he know where we were?”

Matt swore inwardly as fear and anger iced his blood.  He’d been so fucking close.  Just a few more seconds and Sharra and the microfilm with the formula would have been out of the country.  He glanced around the small waiting area.  How the hell had they found him?

Sharra dragged him closer, and then turned the receiver so they both could hear.  Clearing her throat, she kept her eyes on Matt’s.  “What do you mean, you want your merchandise back?”

“I suggest,” the voice on the phone hissed out, “you ask the man you’re standing next to that.”

When her shocked eyes went to his, it was all Matt could do not to flinch.  Could things get any worse?  He forced himself to shake his head and look confused.  He hated lying to her, but if he couldn’t get Sharra on the plane soon, it would all be over.  “Hang up, honey.  It’s just a bad joke or something.  Let’s get the hell out of here.  The plane is going to leave.”

“Maldición.  So that is his stand,” the man on the phone snarled.  “Pretend he knows nothing when he is the one that stole from me.”

Her mouth dropped open.  “Matt?  He…what…?”

“Sharra, come on.  We have to go.”  He grabbed at her hand as if he was going to hang up the phone, but she jerked away. 

She kept her eyes on his as she spoke into the receiver.  “Explain what you mean.”

“You think we came after you in the jungle by chance?  No.  Señor Sinclair has something I want.  If he gives it to me, I will give you back your Frank.”

Matt’s stomach dropped to the ground.  Shit.  Things could be worse.  They had a hostage.  “He’s got Bingham?”

“Yes, Señor Sinclair.  I have the man you bloodied so thoroughly.  I must compliment you on the job.  But while you may not care what happens to him, I do believe the chica does.  Memories of the past, no?  Perhaps she even feels guilty that she took up with you instead of staying faithful to the man she was promised to.”

“Shut the fuck up,” Matt snarled.  “You leave my wife alone.”

“Your wife?”  The laughter came through loud and clear.  “Does she really believe you married her?”

He felt Sharra’s nails dig into his arm.  “Matt, what is he talking about?”

Shaking his head, this time he was the one to shush her.  “Leave Sharra out of this.  What the hell do you want?”

 “I told you, Señor.  I want my property.”

“And if I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about?”

There was another long tirade in Spanish.  Matt pretended not to listen to the filthy names and crude language.  “Sorry.  Don’t understand a word you’re saying.”

“Bastardo!  You think you can play with me?  I’m afraid you have made a bad enemy by displeasing me.  People who do that usually don’t live long.”

Matt gave a snort.  “I’m fucking terrified.”

The other man’s voice turned to ice.  “You should be.  No one crosses me, amigo.  As you can see, I have a very long reach.  And if Señor Bingham is found dead, you were the one who had the very public fight with him.  I do not think it will be hard to—how do you say it—pin the murder on you.  But I do not want to frighten Senorita Roberts.  At least not yet.  For now, let me make this very clear to both of you.  You have thirty minutes to bring me my merchandise or she will never have to worry about seeing her fiancé again.  I will kill Señor Bingham.”

END OF CHAPTER THIRTEEN

* Chapter One * Chapter Two * Chapter Three * Chapter Four * Chapter Five * Chapter Six * 

* Chapter Seven * Chapter Eight *  Chapter Nine *  Chapter Ten * Chapter Eleven *

* Chapter Twelve * Chapter Thirteen * Chapter Fourteen * Chapter Fifteen * Chapter Sixteen *

* Chapter Seventeen * Epilogue *