This is my J&C adaptation of Susan Sizemore’s novel, "His Last Best Hope" Muchas gracias to Nish and Lea for their help with Spanish vocabulary!

"Well?" Chloe gestured towards the door where Leanita had exited only moments earlier. "Isn’t that what you were haggling with her about? When she said she wanted to give you more, and you said you didn’t need any more money for me?"

Jax strode over to the bed so quickly it took Chloe by surprise and she shrank back against the pillow. He put a hand to her forehead and then pulled it away, shaking his head. "Well, I can’t tell if you’ve got a fever or not, but I think Leanita’s wrong." He put his hands on his hips indignantly. "You must be DELIRIOUS if you think I would do that to you!"

Chloe’s brow furrowed with confusion. "Then what were you talking about? And what do you mean, Leanita’s wrong?"

"Si, Pantera," a voice purred from the doorway. Jax spun to find Leanita pushing the door open with her foot as she balanced a tray with a bowl of steaming something. "I thought you knew by now that Leanita is NEVER wrong," she crooned, bumping his hip with hers suggestively as she passed him on the way to Chloe’s bed.

Jax deftly took the tray from Leanita, but not before lightly caressing her behind as he did. "Muchas gracias, succulentita," he murmured huskily. He inhaled the piquant odor rising with the steam from the bowl. "Smells just as magnifico as always."

Leanita glanced once at Chloe, who was watching the interchange from her bed avidly. Sensing jealousy in the air, the madam gave Jax a coy smile, batting her eyelashes. "Are you sure there is nothing else I can get for you, Pantera?" She ran a hand up his chest, deliberately slipping it inside his shirt to caress his nipples. With his hands occupied holding the tray, he couldn’t help his body’s involuntary response to her attentions. "Nothing else at ALL?" As Leanita continued to caress Jax’s bare chest, his breathing became ragged and he leaned towards her, his lips seeking her ruby red ones.

Chloe was surprised to find herself torn by the scene between Jax and the red-haired temptress that he seemed to find so appealing. Part of Chloe was praying that Jax would respond to Leanita’s overtures. Perhaps if he was otherwise occupied, she could find a way out of the brothel, back to the pier, and away from this nightmare. And yet part of her was boiling at the sight of Jax caressing another woman. {What’s wrong with you, Chloe? Why do you care that he seems to find her attractive? Why does it matter that your Jax would want to take another woman to bed?} She gave herself a mental shake. {What did you just call him? YOUR Jax? Are you losing your mind?}

Finally, Chloe’s voice broke the heat that was sizzling between Jax’s eyes and Leanita’s. "Why don’t you two kids just get a room and take this out of here?" she suggested brightly. When both Jax and Leanita looked at her, she was sitting upright in the bed with her arms folded.

When he realized what was happening, a smug smile drew the corners of Jax’s mouth up. He broke away from Leanita and walked slowly towards the bed, still holding the tray. "Now Chloe, you know I would never do that and leave you all alone," he smiled. A quick glance over his shoulder told him that Leanita had busied herself at the other end of the room behind the screen. After setting the tray down on the bedside table, he turned to Chloe and leaned down next to her, supporting his weight by setting his hands on either side of her body. "Jealousy looks good on you, wapa," he purred.

When Jax trailed his lips up to Chloe’s neck from her shoulder, he told himself that it was only to keep up the charade. That he was doing something that Pantera would do – flit from one woman to the next without a second thought. He felt her body shiver beneath him as she tried to pull out of his loose embrace. "I am NOT jealous!" she hissed angrily.

Jax lifted his head to bring his lips within inches of hers. "Of course you’re not," he replied in a husky voice. Chloe could feel his breath on her mouth, and she told herself that the dizziness was a remnant of her empty stomach. "And I’m the president of the United States."

When Leanita finished cleaning up the corner of the room and turned back to the bed, her eyes smoldered. But then, they widened with an idea and she cleared her voice, drawing Jax away from his captive. "Perhaps," she whispered in a sexy voice, "you would like me to find us a room – por tres. Quizas?"

Jax gave Leanita a lewd grin until the meaning of the phrase penetrated Chloe’s consciousness. Her eyes widened and she sat up straighter. "The three of us!! Are you sick? What kind of perverted sl*t do you thi…..mphrffff……."

Chloe never finished the sentence. As soon as her tirade started, Jax leaned over to the tray and broke off a chunk of the bread that Leanita had provided with the soup. He shoved it in Chloe’s mouth with a smile. "Now Chloe, I know you’re hungry," he oozed, sitting down next to her on the bed. "But let’s try to remember our manners and eat in a ladylike fashion, shall we?"

Chloe’s eyes shot fire at Jax as she struggled to chew and swallow the doughy gag. She tried to put her hands up to her mouth to remove it but Jax caught her wrists in his hands as he smiled back at Leanita. "Why don’t you leave us alone for a few minutes, hermosa?"

Leanita’s disappointment was clearly written on her face but then she smiled at Jax. "Bueno, Pantera." She slowly walked to the door, her hips undulating the entire time in one last invitation. When she reached the door, she turned back to the couple on the bed. "But I will still keep our favorite room available……." She gave Chloe a look of pure disgust. "……in the event you prefer a more……creative and willing partner."

Chloe’s furious shriek was muffled by the bread that was still in her mouth. Leanita had just disappeared from view when Chloe broke free of Jax’s hold, grabbed a pillow from the bed, and flung it at the door. Jax looked from Chloe to the door and back to Chloe again. "What the bloody h*ll is the matter with you, woman?" he hissed in desperation. Jax reached for her flailing arms and finally managed to grab her wrists again, holding them tightly. "Haven’t you ever read all the books about how female hostages are supposed to act? How you’re supposed to cower in fear and follow my every command to the letter?"

Chloe fumed silently. {He couldn’t know, Chloe. He couldn’t possibly realize just how close to the truth that wh*re came……how it just rubbed salt in an angry, open wound…….} Involuntarily, her mind drifted back to a conversation with Ned only weeks earlier.

Jax’s voice brought her back to the present. "Chloe? Did you hear me?"

She chewed up the last remnants of the bread, gulping loudly as she swallowed. "Well, I don’t think any of those swashbuckling kidnappers ever almost suffocated their victims with bread!"

Jax shook his head and let go of her wrists to run his hand through his hair. "See now, you shouldn’t be talking to me like that either!" He shook his head. "You didn’t talk to me like that on the Isabella last night. It’s only since we’ve been here……" His eyes narrowed. "I should have known," he growled, rising to his feet. "It’s all HER fault."

Chloe frowned. "Her? Her who?"

Jax sighed and put his hands on his hips. "Leanita. She’s the nerviest, most arrogant, self-confident……"

"Ohhhh, sure!" Chloe folded her arms and interrupted Jax as she shook her own head. "Isn’t that JUST like a man!"

"What?"

"To blame it on a woman!" Chloe gestured towards the door. "If a man doesn’t want to admit to his own faults, he blames it on the nearest woman!"

The events of the past few minutes became crystal clear to Jax. His voice was so gentle it completely took Chloe by surprise. "Is that what *he* did?"

She swallowed her gasp. "He who?"

Jax walked slowly back to the bed and picked up her left hand. "The man whose ring you wear."

Chloe jerked the hand away. "Wore. Past tense."

"He hurt you badly." {And why does that make you so angry, man? Why should you care about her? You’re never going to see her again once you get her to Padre Tomas. She’s not that important to you.}

Chloe fought the rising contradictory feelings that were rolling over her in waves. How could this man be so ruthless one minute and so sensitive the next? "It’s a long story and I don’t want to talk about it." She sniffed just a little and then crossed her arms again. "But I’m still not afraid of you."

Jax managed to suppress the grin that teased at the corners of his mouth. He suddenly pulled his knife from the scabbard at his hip and held it up in the sunlight, admiring the blade. "You should be, Chloe." Then he looked down at her with a wicked smile. "You should be VERY afraid." She inhaled sharply but then, in the wink of an eye, Jax flashed the blade of the knife to whack off another chunk of bread and then hand it to her. "Here."

Chloe congratulated herself for keeping her hand from shaking as she took the bread. "Thank you."

Jax re-sheathed the knife and then sat on the bed next to her. "You really should eat some of that bread first before the soup."

"Why?"

He reached out and stirred the bowl of soup, releasing more of its spicy fragrance to tease at her empty stomach. "Because most of the natives are accustomed to the way things are cooked around here, Chloe." Jax looked back into her eyes as he held up a spoonful of soup. His other hand was cupped beneath the spoon to catch any drips. "But I doubt there’s a Pepcid to be found anywhere within a hundred miles of Montserrat." He blew on the soup and then held the spoon to her lips. "You needed something to line your stomach first."

Chloe caught her breath at the intimate nature of Jax’s action. As her eyes locked with Jax’s and she sipped from the spoon in his hand, she couldn’t help but think of what Ned would say if he could see her now.

{"It’s been a very eventful day, darling. After running from those murderers, my kidnapper was kind enough to bring me to a whorehouse when I fainted from hunger. The ambiance was wonderfully romantic as he used his overgrown switchblade to carve the bread and then fed me by hand. You should really see if you can get reservations here sometime…..I’m sure Alexis would feel right at home………."}

Chloe was so absorbed in her vengeful thoughts that the full brunt of the spices hit her at once. Her eyes watered and she started coughing but Jax was there immediately to offer her a drink of water. When she raised her eyes to meet his, he winked at her. "Can’t say I didn’t warn you!"

She grimaced but then after another swallow of water, she looked back over towards the bowl. "Could I have a little more?" She sank back onto the pillow sheepishly. "I guess I didn’t realize just how hungry I was until now."

Jax grinned and brought the tray to rest in her lap as he broke off another chunk of bread for himself. Chloe continued to spoon up the soup but was aware the entire time that Jax was watching her. When she looked up at him again, he tore the piece of bread he was holding in half. He held up the dainty chunk to her lips and she wordlessly opened her mouth to receive it like a baby bird.

{You’re doing it again, man! Stop letting those eyes pull you in……don’t let those lips make you wonder how soft they would feel if you kissed her……} When Jax’s thumb inadvertently dragged over Chloe’s lower lip as he fed her the bread, he had to stifle the groan that he felt rumbling up his chest. Suddenly, his cheeks colored and he rose from the bed to look out the window. "We should get going as soon as possible. Siesta time is almost over." He pointed out the window as he turned back to Chloe. "The friend I was taking you to is only a few hundred feet from here……"

Chloe nodded briskly and then looked over towards an interior door in the room. "Could I just ……use the facilities? Before we go?"

Jax grabbed the remainder of the bread off the tray with a swipe of his hand and strode towards the door. "I’ll be waiting right outside." He was about to open the door when he turned back to Chloe. "And don’t get any bright ideas, Chloe." He nodded towards the window. "It’s about a three story drop from that window, and there aren’t a lot of good trauma centers around here if you break your neck."

Before Chloe could reply, Jax was out the door. She took a shaky breath but then realized that Jax was a man of his word. If she wanted to have enough time to splash some water on her face and answer nature’s call, she’d better not waste these precious minutes trying to figure out her conflicting emotions or this enigma of a man.

Fifteen minutes later, Chloe opened the door of the room to find Jax waiting for her in the hallway. He lifted an eyebrow in silent question, and Chloe just nodded. When he reached down to take her hand, Chloe was surprised to find that it somehow felt right. He pulled her close to him and they made their way down a shadowy hallway towards a staircase.

The noise from the tavern grew louder as they descended. They passed another landing on the stairs and Chloe briefly caught a glimpse of a woman wearing a silk wrapper of some sort being groped by a tall, dark man. When they turned a corner on the steps, smoke and loud laughter told them that they had almost reached the main floor.

Jax gripped Chloe’s hand more tightly. "Just hold onto my hand and stay close. Nobody will question you if they think you’re with me." He felt her body press up against his in response and fought the heat that rushed to places south of his waist.

Jax and Chloe were about halfway through the dimly lit tavern when she heard someone call his name. They both turned in the direction of the speaker, and Chloe felt Jax’s body tense as a petite, buxom blonde came rushing towards him. "Pantera! You are back!"

When the blonde reached Jax, she threw her arms around his neck and pressed her lush bosom against his chest. "Azulita!" He barely had time to sputter her name before he was thrown off balance and let go of Chloe’s hand.

Azulita pulled away only enough to slide her hands down his chest towards his belt. "You are happy to see me, too, no?" She gave a wicked chuckle as her hands moved even further down his body. "Azulita can FEEL how happy you are to see me!"

Even in the dark tavern, Chloe could see Jax blush. Then suddenly, she realized what a fool she had been. This was the perfect opportunity, and she was wasting precious time. Chloe never heard Jax swear beneath his breath or saw him try to escape Azulita’s embrace. She took off running for the front door of the tavern.

The sunlight and heat hit Chloe in the face like a ton of bricks. Putting her hand to her forehead to shade her eyes, she only hesitated a split second before dashing off again. She had no idea where she was going, but she figured that her best cover was to find a place with a lot of people. Even if they were loyal to El Pantera, she could try to disappear in the midst of the throng.

Chloe’s lungs felt like they were going to explode by the time she turned a corner. She sprinted towards a nearby alley, which provided a blessed bonus – shade. With her back flat against the brick walls, Chloe tried to take deep breaths and stay calm, but she was still close enough to hear the angry shouts coming from the tavern.

{So what are you going to do now, Chloe? Was this really such a good idea?} Once she was breathing normally again, she tiptoed down towards the other end of the alley. Chloe peeked out towards the main street again and caught her breath. So far, her brilliant scheme had only brought her in a circle as she faced the front of the tavern again. She leaned against the wall again and tried desperately to think of what to do. {The American Embassy. That’s where you should go. But would they have one on a godforsaken island like this? And where would it be?} When Chloe risked another look back towards the tavern, she saw him. El Pantera. And he definitely wasn’t a happy camper.

Jax was standing in front of the tavern with his feet apart, his hands on his hips, his arms akimbo. Once he raked his fingers through his hair, but even at this distance, Chloe could see that he was furious. When some peasants when scurrying past him, Jax stopped them. It looked as though he was speaking to them in rapid Spanish, and Chloe caught her breath when the man turned to point over his shoulder in the direction which she had gone. Jax smiled and nodded towards them and then took off running.

Even though she was still winded and perspiring profusely, Chloe forced her feet to move. She waited until Jax disappeared around the far corner, and then she casually strolled back onto the street, trying to keep behind some of the displays of merchandise and in the shadows. Just about 100 feet beyond the opening of the alley, Chloe spied another side street to her left. She looked back and when Jax was nowhere to be seen, she crossed the main thoroughfare and sprinted towards the smaller shops of the crossing.

Chloe had never been a shopper in her life, but she found herself mingling with the other late afternoon browsers to avoid Jax. When she dared to look up and see if she was safe, she almost yelped aloud when she saw him coming out of the alley she had exited only minutes earlier. How would she ever be able to get away from him if he could keep up with her? She needed to put some distance between them, and fast.

She was about to consider pawning her silver fillings when she turned back to look at Jax. A scream formed in her throat and she had to clap her hand over her mouth to prevent its escape. He was still at the mouth of the alley, but he couldn’t see what Chloe could from her vantage point. The same men who had been following them earlier were about 20 yards behind Jax. He was so busy scanning the horizon for his blonde ex-captive that he never saw one of them raise a gun and aim it at his head.

Chloe bit her lower lip until she tasted blood. {Surely he’ll see them. He’s too experienced at this. The great El Pantera wouldn’t die from a bullet in the back of the head.} When the gunman closed one eye to refine his aim, Chloe clenched her fists until her fingernails bit into the flesh of her palm. {You can’t let him die, Chloe! Not after all he’s done for you!} She shook out her palms at her sides and shifted her weight anxiously, praying that Jax would sense danger and she wouldn’t be forced to make a decision. But when she saw him smile and stop a passing woman to ask about a blonde American stranger, she knew her prayers weren’t going to be answered.

She could almost see the gunman squeeze the trigger. Just as he was about to get off the shot, Chloe jumped out into the middle of the street. Remembering Jax’s strict instructions, she cupped her hands around her mouth. "PANTERA!!!" Everyone in the street turned around to see who the crazy woman was and why she was screaming at Jax. Jax’s eyes met hers and widened with anger until she screamed again. "BEHIND YOU!!!"

Chloe waited long enough to see Jax whirl and pull his pistol from the shoulder holster. She was already running in the opposite direction when gunfire erupted in the humid, late afternoon sun. The sound of the screams made Chloe put her hands over her ears as she prayed that Jax wasn’t one of the victims of the loud popping noises.

She ran like she had never run before in her life. Chloe didn’t pay attention to which way she went. The faint odor of salt water made her think that perhaps she was winding her way back to the docks. When it felt like her lungs were about to catch fire and her legs collapse beneath her, she finally made a quick left between two stucco buildings. Since the sounds of screaming and shooting had faded into a distant roar, Chloe decided it was safe enough to stop for a few minutes and get her bearings.

There was definitely more salt in the air, and more humidity. {Maybe that’s a good thing. Maybe even if I can’t find an American embassy, I can find a nice man who owns a fishing boat and wouldn’t mind taking me back to Miami.} Chloe raised her head and realized she could even hear the clanging of bells and the waves slapping against the wooden piers. She was hunched against the side of the building, her hands on her bent knees supporting her as she struggled to regain her strength.

{It’s not far, now. You should probably just keep going on that main street and it will lead to the docks.} Chloe took a deep, steady breath and was about to go back to the thoroughfare she had just left when she stopped. {I wonder if he got away. I wonder if they……} She shook her head briskly and rubbed her sweat-drenched face with her hands. {You’re losing grip, Chloe! What do you care about Jax? You warned him – that was more than he deserved. A man who lives like that takes a chance of dying like that every day.}

Chloe gritted her teeth with renewed determination and was about to sprint back out of the alley when she heard a noise. Suddenly losing her nerve, she retreated further into the alley. The noise came closer – definitely the sound of footsteps. She dashed farther down the alley, only to find that she had picked one of the only dead-end alleys in Montserrat for her brief R&R. After staring at the brick wall that prevented her escape and muttering words that would have made even Ned blush, Chloe turned around – and stared eye to eye with the source of the noise.

"Ehhhhhh, Tito!" There were two of them – sweaty, greasy, huge natives of the island. One of them winked at the other. "Ehhhh, la puta es muy flaca, no?"

The other man – Chloe assumed he must be Tito – replied in an equally guttural voice, "Si, Pedro!" He muttered some things in Spanish that Chloe couldn’t hear but they both laughed in a way that made her skin crawl. When Pedro started walking towards Chloe, she decided that the best defense was a good offense.

"Stay away!" She took her best shot at imitating every kung fu movie she had ever seen, jumping into a squat position and holding her hands flat to the sides. "I know karate!"

Pedro and Tito paused for just a moment, but then Tito spoke. "Si, little one," he drawled. Then he drew a switchblade from his belt in one swift move. "And I know knives!"

Chloe’s face completely lost color, no matter how flushed she was from the heat. The men laughed again and came even closer, Tito still brandishing his knife. "Please….." she finally cried. "Don’t……."

"ALTO!" When Chloe heard the loud command to stop come from the other end of the alley, she couldn’t believe her ears. The two men froze in place and slowly turned around. At the entrance to the alley – looking very much alive and *very* angry – was one El Pantera.

"Pantera!" Tito grinned. "De donde vienes?"

Jax walked slowly into the alley. His thumbs were hooked in the pockets of his jeans, his hips swinging slowly with tightly-controlled fury, but Chloe could have kissed his feet. "Leave, Tito!," he growled, nodding at the man with the knife. "I don’t feel like making small talk about where I’ve been."

Pedro looked at Jax, then Chloe, then back at Jax again. "Ahhhh, but we are not selfish, Pantera," he crooned. He gave Jax a lusty grin. "We can share la puta rubia, no?"

Jax’s hand moved so quickly that Chloe almost didn’t see it. She must have blinked in the split-second it took him to pull the knife from the scabbard with one hand and his gun from the holster with his other. "I said LEAVE!!!" he shouted again.

Just as quickly as Jax’s weapons had appeared, Tito and Pedro vanished from the alley. Chloe stared at the dust they left in their wake until she finally looked back at Jax. "Ja……." She stopped herself and swallowed hard. "Pantera," she whispered.

Jax sighed and shook his head in disdain as he put his gun back in his holster. "Chloe Morgan."

His voice was still cold and Chloe was suddenly very aware that he hadn’t re-sheathed the knife. "I…….I……." She stammered as he started walking towards her. "I thought that man back there was going to shoot you." She had to stop when her back hit the brick wall at the end of the alley.

Jax shrugged. "I shot him first." He slapped the knife against his thigh as he came even closer.

Chloe looked around desperately. "Jax!" He came to stand in front of her, so close that she could see the fine dusting of blonde chest hair where his shirt hung open. "Don’t……..don’t look at me like that!"

Jax slowly let his eyes travel up and down her form. They sparkled with heat, but Chloe couldn’t tell if it was from anger or lust. "Like what?"

"Like you’re……." She jumped when he suddenly slid the knife back into his scabbard. "Like you’re either going to kill me, or……."

Jax put his flat hands on the wall on either side of her shoulders, trapping her in the middle. She felt his chest pressed against her breasts and swore inwardly when her nipples tightened involuntarily. He grinned at her lazily. "Kill you, or…….what?"

Chloe swallowed again. His breath stirred her eyelashes. "…….kiss me," she finally managed to whisper.

Jax let out a long, slow breath. Then he smiled sexily at her and she felt her knees start to buckle. "I thought you’d never ask."

When he lowered his lips to hers, the heat of the tropical afternoon paled in comparison.

To be continued…….