Total pages in book: 51
Estimated words: 49215 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 246(@200wpm)___ 197(@250wpm)___ 164(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 49215 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 246(@200wpm)___ 197(@250wpm)___ 164(@300wpm)
His mouth twisted into a smile he couldn’t hide. “I didn’t think someone like you existed.”
I smiled back, and I finally got my kiss.
“Just don’t get too used to jungle action,” I mumbled against his lips. “I’m really looking forward to those mad long breakfasts in your pop’s backyard, you know.”
He hummed and squeezed me to him. “I’ll probably introduce you by date four.”
That worked for me. Four was a great number. We’d get one dinner date out, one home-cooked meal at his place or mine, then maybe a barbecue at Roe and Jake’s place. Then bam, breakfast and crossword puzzles.
We were drenched in sweat and panting like madmen by the time we reached his little jungle house. Well-hidden, maybe half a klick from the nearest dirt road, he had a one-bedroom crib, two concealed off-road vehicles, a diesel generator, and some much-needed supplies.
Every window was boarded shut, so I flicked on the light while Adrien shed his clothes.
“Are we safe here?” I asked, having a look around.
The place had everything we needed. Small kitchenette, mattress on the floor of the bedroom, pullout couch in the main room—oh, look. A portable toilet, bucket style. I hadn’t seen those since Afghanistan.
“Yes,” he answered. “We’re three hours away from Blanco territory. They steer clear of this area because of its proximity to an air force base ten miles south of here.”
Oh, that was good. The Colombian Air Force was badass too. I’d watched documentaries about their domestic ops.
“Okay, we have twenty-four hours,” Adrien said. “You try to activate the phone again. I’m gonna see what we can eat. When Marco’s men pick us up tomorrow night, we can’t afford a single error.”
Yeah, no, that was…yeah. Got it. No mistakes. We had suits and all the pizzazz that would make us look like we’d arrived in luxury. Rafael Delgado was a wealthy man.
“Can you tell me who to keep an eye on?” I asked. “Like, I don’t know, who are these people? Will we see Luca right away or…?”
I started stripping down too.
“I’ve only personally dealt with Marco and Enzo before,” he replied. He was digging through the cupboards. “The way these gatherings work is, there’s always a grand party. Every single night. We will see Luca but be nowhere near him at first. He’s ninety-three years old and shows no signs of slowing down. He’ll sit in his VIP area with those who are closest to him. No one ever sleeps around here.”
I remembered that much. Elliott and Reese had told me similar stories.
“I suppose the only thing that’s changed is that Luca likes to surround himself with family rather than prostitutes,” Adrien went on. “We’ll see both. But his restricted area is where the kids run around. He has countless grandkids and great-grandkids, and everyone lives on the property in the summer.”
I pursed my lips and left my clothes by the door. Down to boxer briefs and a tee, I trailed over to the couch with the satphone and my tool kit. “Sounds like human shields to me.”
“You catch on quick.” There was no sarcasm in his voice. “Tania, my partner, was horrified. She spent much more time around the family than I ever did, and she never saw Luca without a handful of kids nearby.”
Jesus Christ.
“So how’s that even gonna work?” I asked. “You told me you’ve been here a single time—”
“I lied.”
I sighed. Of course. He’d told me that in Italy, before we’d gotten all lovey-dovey.
“Half lied,” he corrected. “I’ve only attended a single party where everyone of importance attended, but I’ve been to Marco’s house outside Bogotá a few times. And I’ve been right here, assisting Tania with background support.”
Nevertheless…
I struggled to see how he could be confident. Once Carillo had agreed and asked Adrien to schedule a sit-down—and Adrien had received the invitation to Luca Blanco’s summer residence—he’d been so sure. Just because he’d been here once before?
“Are you hiding something from me?” I had to ask. “We’re going to this massive estate, where every other face we’ll see is a guard with militia training, and the boss you wanna kill surrounds himself with children.”
He dumped two MREs into a skillet, then turned around to face me. “No, I’m not hiding anything, sweetheart,” he murmured. “Do you remember the civilian woman I told you about?”
I scratched the side of my head and nodded slowly. Yeah, he was going to protect her or something.
“She’s the assistant chef at Luca’s estate,” he explained. “Tania grew very close to her. She’s a woman in mourning—she’s lost all her sons to the cartel. Mindless shootings over fucking nothing. So she spent years getting close, and she eventually got a job there.”
A mother on a revenge mission.
“You’re, what, gonna poison everyone’s dinner?”
He chuckled under his breath and turned around again. “She would’ve done that without our involvement years ago if Luca didn’t enjoy feeding his great-grandkids food from his plate. No—but she’s become part of his inner circle of staff that always travels with him, and she believes she can get me closer.”