Damian (The Caine Brothers #3) by Margaret Madigan Page A

door to find out if there’s a guerilla army in the front yard?”
    “There might not be. They might all be out in the back.”
    Elena scooted backward and gestured for him to open the door. “Be my guest, hotshot.”

CHAPTER 7
    Elena watched as Damian sat on his haunches rubbing his chin, trying to magic up a plan C. Even in the midst of a drug lord’s compound in the middle of a Colombian jungle she could appreciate the man. The fact that Damian’s team had been the one called in to rescue her—and that she had him with her now—bolstered her confidence. Having him by her side made her feel like she could do anything. That said a lot.
    But as much as she loved a good rush, they didn’t really have the time to vet a plan. It was time to fly by the seat of their pants.
    When it came down to it, she really had no idea where Ramos had gone, but it made sense that he’d connect her father to an attempted rescue and rage would send him to Cartagena to take his anger out on the senator. She’d learned to depend on her instincts in the field, and they told her she was right about Ramos.
    She took a deep breath and compartmentalized. She couldn’t worry about her father. Damian’s team would go after him. They’d save him. Right now, she and Damian needed to save themselves.
    “Garage, maybe?” she asked.
    “And go where? It’s not like there’s a super highway nearby we can hop on. The secondary extraction site is downriver a ways, so we have to head that way.”
    “We’ll need a distraction for that, otherwise they’ll just follow us. Plus, how are we going to get down to the river? We can’t just run. They’ll mow us down.”
    Her nerves were strung too tight to sit there and debate with him. Who knew when the guerillas would burst through the kitchen or the front door, and there could still be men in the house. Not to mention that the cover of night offered them some advantage, but dawn approached quickly. It wouldn’t be long before the sun laid everything bare.
    She stood and headed through the empty living room and paused at the doorway into the dining room, peeking in but finding nobody there.
    “Hey,” Damian said, catching up. “You can’t just take off without me.”
    Elena put a finger to her lips, urging him to shush, which only earned her a pissed off SEAL. She tried not to laugh, but she really liked poking this particular bear. It got her all kinds of worked up.
    Granted, it really wasn’t the best time to be thinking about how stupid sexy Damian was, and how much she enjoyed yanking his chain, or wishing she could get in his pants again. If she had half a brain she’d knuckle down and take the situation seriously. It could very well mean her life.
    But she’d never experienced a more surreal mission. The whole thing had her skimming the edge of unhinged. The only thing missing was maniacal laughter.
    “This way,” she said, leading him down a hall past the library and Ramos’ office.
    “This is a bad idea, Elena,” Damian whispered from behind her. “You can’t just go off half-cocked and assume you know what you’re doing.”
    “Excuse me?” She asked, spinning to face him. “You didn’t offer any better ideas.”
    “Look, between the two of us, I’m more experienced at rescue and extraction. Why don’t you just let me do my job?”
    “I’m stepping on your delicate toes, am I?”
    She turned to resume her search, not interested in his hurt feelings. If the layout of the mansion had any logic to it, the garage should be somewhere at the end of this corridor.
    “I’m trained for this. I know what I’m doing. It’s literally why I’m here.”
    “So I’m just supposed to sit back and be the damsel in distress? Let you rescue me?”
    “Would that be so hard for you?”
    “Yes. It would. Now stop being such a Neanderthal and let’s get out of here.”
    He grumbled something under his breath, but she only caught, “…fucking women…” which made her