Lily's Outlaw (Once a Marine, Always a Marine Book 2) Read Online Free

the door to his office. “Send for Pedro. I want a word with him.”
    He’d put Pedro in charge of taking the girl, getting the information and killing her. Now she was running loose with at least one man who knew how to handle himself. The rich gringo was proving efficient, at least, and would have new coordinates on the woman soon.
    Ten minutes later, Pedro shuffled slowly into his office, head down. He knew he fucked up and Ramon was not known as a man who forgave mistakes.
    “Tell me everything.”
    “Por favor, Ramon. How can I make this up to you?”
    Pedro Vasquez wasn’t a smart man, but he knew how to take orders. His deep brown eyes were alive with fear as he twisted a white cowboy hat around and around in his hands. He relayed exactly what happened in the warehouse, leaving out nothing.
    Two unknown men. One shooter and one on the ground. That was interesting.
    “I am disappointed, Pedro.”
    “Please, give me the chance to make it up to you.”
    “Of course.” Ramon smiled and nodded. “I am not an unreasonable man.”
    “Gracias, gracias, El Jefe.” He bowed several times, keeping his eyes downcast.
    “In English, Pedro.”
    “Thank you, sir.” He shook his head. “Sometimes I forget the words.”
    Ramon came around the desk and shook hands with the man, noticing his shoulders had relaxed and the fear was beginning to leave his face. “All my men need to be fluent. Try not to forget.”
    Turning him toward the door, he walked Pedro out into the outer room.
    While his back was turned, Ramon pulled the chrome plated pistol from the holster under his jacket. When it was pointed at the back of the man’s head, he called out, “One more thing, Pedro.”
    Pedro turned and Ramon saw understanding dawn just as he shot him in the face.

Chapter 3

    “Time to go.”
    Lily woke up groggy. It felt like she’d been asleep for only a couple of minutes. Her eyes hurt, her brain was fuzzy, and her borrowed shirt had ridden up so that her panties were showing.
    Nice.
    Jesse had everything packed up in the magical-Marine-backpack-of-wonders and he stood over her holding her shoes and the canteen. She sat up and pulled her shirt back down to cover herself decently.
    “Take a quick drink because we have to move.”
    He never even acted like he noticed her half-naked state. It was confusing. Especially after the quick hot stare he’d given her before. Shrugging off useless speculation, she shoved her feet into the sandals, took a long drink and stood up. Instantly dizzy, she swayed and would have fallen if Jesse hadn’t reached out and grabbed her arms.
    “Oops.”
    “Take it easy. You got a couple hours sleep, but you could use a solid night of it.”
    “I’m okay now, the room just went spinny for a moment.”
    “Then follow me and watch your step. The other side of this tunnel is older and there’s loose shale.”
    Jesse went up to check out the area before calling her up and out into the night. The air was so much fresher out of the cave and it had cooled off significantly as night had fallen. Thousands of stars were out and it was profoundly quiet.
    Making sure to step where Jesse stepped, she avoided cactus in her toes. The moon cast shadows on the big saguaro cacti, making odd shapes on the desert floor. They were at an open clearing before she realized he’d stopped. She bumped into his backpack.
    “Sorry.”
    He looked back at her and grinned. “No worries.” He pointed at a large flat rock. “Sit there and relax, our ride is on the way.”
    “How do you know?”
    “I can hear it.”
    Even straining, she couldn’t hear anything. Just some crickets and what sounded like coyotes off in the distance. She shook her head. “I don’t hear a thing.”
    “You will.”
    It started off as an echo on the canyon walls, but then she heard it. A thump, thump sound that was unmistakable as helicopter blades. Jesse dug into his backpack and pulled out five flares. Lighting them one by one, he outlined