Page 38 of Temptation and Treachery
“I’ll be fine.” Rio had drummed in the fact she shouldn’t offer information if she wasn’t asked a direct question. Not much different than what she’d done all her life.
The woman laid a key card on the counter. An image of her last hotel check-in filtered through her mind. She’d still been trying to figure out what to do with the second card when he’d stepped up.
“Room six. Take the hall to your left. The room is at the end, by the exit.”
“Thank you.” She walked down the quiet hall, chanting don’t come out to herself with every other step. As luck would have it, she made it all the way to the exit and nobody left their room. Kari, dressed in similar jeans and top, waited by the glass door, pretending to text. The key handoff was quick, without either one of them making eye contact. Kari went into the hotel while Celeste ducked into the car with Gatlin, lying down on the backseat.
“You okay back there? You looked a little unsteady.”
“Did you see his driving?” They lurched forward. Celeste braced herself for another wild ride.
“The driving around here takes nerves of steel.”
To say the least.
“Sending the message,” he said with finality.
She crossed her fingers, replaying the text to herself. I’m safe. Checked into La Caverna to shower and rest. Please bring me some clothes when you come by.
“’Kay, done. Keep your head down. I’ll let you know when we’re clear.” He shifted gears and they continued at a normal pace for several miles.
“You can sit up now.”
“Okay.” Pushing herself up, she watched the Saltillo suburb rush by. Most of the storefronts and the passing city buses screamed last century. Some quaint and old-fashioned while others just looked old.
Gatlin slowed the car as they neared a roundabout with one of those huge statues of some important person in Mexico’s history. To the right sat the Flamenco, a Spanish-style, two-story hotel resembling a villa. They pulled into the drive, going around back to park away from the building. She reached for the door.
“Stop,” Gatlin barked. Celeste froze, not knowing what was wrong. “Study your surroundings before you put yourself in danger.”
Her eyes went huge. “You think I might still be in danger?”
“Consider that the person we’re hunting might have a hired gun.”
“Someone else could be out there,” she whispered. The weight of possibility landed squarely on her shoulders. The world felt huge around her, leaving her to sit there like a little speck with a giant red X on her chest.
Gatlin waited while she glanced around. “What do you see?”
This was like a scene out of a movie. The seasoned cop training a rookie to find the thing that didn’t belong. She straightened, feeling the pressure to succeed. “Um, a half-empty parking lot. Mostly cars, two SUVs, and a delivery truck. Heavy traffic on the main street. A man selling fruit.” She peered through a line of trees planted down the center of a boulevard. “There’s a couple on a bench by the bus stop.”
“And?”
Whathad she missed?
“Did you see anyone sitting nearby?”
“I didn’t—” She craned her neck, looking at the vehicles to her right.
“Too obvious, Snow White.”
Celeste cringed, shrinking back against the seat. Amateur move, she had to live up to her role. She tried again, twisting in place. “I’m going to pretend to talk to you, and look around.” Nothing next to them. One more, then another. Yes! “There’s someone in a bronze car, on the phone.”
“Be specific. Male or female? Give a description. Even a general description is better than nothing.”
“Four spots to the left. Older bronze Taurus, I think, parked away from the building. Person with short hair, possible male, on a phone.”
“Better.” Gatlin gave her a thumbs-up. “The call could be a cover while sending information or checking the surroundings.”
She nodded. It made sense. How many times had she seen characters on a TV show do the same thing?
