Page 84 of Stealth Mission

“For what?”

“Little something for me. Little something for you.”

I drop my hands to my hips. “Do I have any choice in this?”

“You want to live to see Marianna again?”

“Fucking asshole.”

This time when he laughs, he gets up and smacks me on the back. “We make good team.”

“I’m not on your fucking team.”

He starts back down the trail. “You are now.”

I snatch my rifle off the rock, grab my pack and start down the trail behind him.

That’s when a glint of light catches my eye.

He sees it too, because he curses. “Fucking hell, that girl.”

I take off at a run. “Good thing I put a tracker on her truck.”

Shaking his head, he wags a finger at me. “She finds this out, you’re screwed..”

“Like I’m not already?”

Chapter Twenty-Nine

It’s hard to keep my mind right as I park next to the curb. This isn’t the time to be distracted. DonAzule Agave has to be the priority.

Tucking Gingersnap’s keys into my purse, I climb out of the driver’s seat, and draw a steadying breath.

I pat the hood. “Good girl, today.”

She ran like a dream.

No yucky smell. No chugging.

Weirdly normal.

As I make my way to Banco de Karma, my mind spirals again. So much has happened since I was last here.

A brush of fabric against my bare arm makes me jump.

“I’m so sorry.”

“Let me get that for you,” I say when I realize I’m totally blocking the entrance because I am daydreaming about a man that makes me burn hot and see red in alternating seconds.

“Oh no worry. You looked lost in thought. I hope it was good,” Ms. Pelletier says with a giggle. “You were frowning and smiling at the same time.”

Ah. Yes. That’s exactly how I feel. She’s very observant. But I already know this about the sweet former school teacher that’s about to celebrate her one hundredth birthday.

She bustles into the bank with surprising speed. A blur of yellow and bright blue. Something’s got a pep in her step today. I need to borrow some of that.

Breathe, Marianna.

I approach the desk at the right of the lobby with my nerves bouncing like ping pong balls. “Hi, Annie. I’ve got an appointment to see the president.”

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