Crazy Enough

Crazy Enough: Chapter 2

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Chapter 2

Watching the stopped truck through his binoculars, Alex saw Miss Brooks and the older man talking. They seemed to be arguing, and Alex made a mental note of the registration plates on the truck. He checked his watch again...and growled. If he didn't head back now, he'd miss his extraction.

A rather nasty curse escaped his mouth. But even if he got back to base and sent out a search for Cortney Brooks and the man driving that truck, Alex couldn't be sure they wouldn't leak out vital information on today's events before they were taken into custody. He was too damn close to nailing Espinoza to let one beautiful hellcat photographer spook that bastard again.

She sure was a fiery thing...and a smartass, saying those things to him earlier. His fingers twitched, recalling how soft the skin of her breast had been, and his body responded to the memory...that one and the one of her leopard-print panties.

Jesus...he'd not been with a woman in too damn long, if a pair of underpants got him excited. Never mind the fact that she beat the snot out of him.

This was supposed to be an easy job. Twelve hours max. But it never happened that way. Alex had been trained to be prepared for the worse...but encountering a nosy female with too much information? The last time that happened, he nearly lost a few limbs. His commander always said Alex was too soft on the females.

Observe and report. Those were his orders, and Alex intended to fulfill his duties. Miss Brooks warranted more observation. He needed to know what all she knew, and how she knew about the meeting. Who was her informant? The man with her? Someone else? Someone they were going to meet?

When the truck started down the dirt road again, Alex made his way down to inspect the tire tracks. They would be easy enough to follow, if they stayed on this road. A memory scan told him that there were no paved roads in this area for several miles, but there were a few small townships to the north, near the city of Chihuahua. And it looked as if they were heading in that direction. Alex gritted his teeth and followed the tracks, praying he didn't drop from exhaustion before he reached Miss Brooks.

Alex crossed almost ten miles of desert to get to a small, isolated village. He scanned the area quickly and found the red pick-up parked outside the largest house near the church. Watching from the shadows of a small shed, Alex saw Miss Brooks and the man's family through the open windows at the back of the house. His gut told him to be very cautious. Miss Brooks knew her way around an armed man, and the other one had a hard, seasoned look to him. Then there was the family, another woman and five children. Preservation and protection ran deep in this part of the world, and Alex owned no illusions. They would shoot first.

Alex knew couldn't interrogate her in the house, and he couldn't risk losing more time on this mission. He knew her name and where she was...he'd have to let Captain Mans decide the next step with Miss Brooks. Alex waited until the family finished dinner and watched the blonde woman leave the room. Alex's eyes perked for another light to come on. He waited...and waited...and there. Right next to where he crouched, a section of the house separate from the main rooms.

Cortney Brooks stopped in front of the large window, a double shuttered opening, and threw open both sides. She peered out, gazing up at the moon and fanning herself as if hot. The night was stuffy, he mused.