Page 25 of Twin Deception

Turning away, lest she get any nosier and ask me what I was looking for or watching, I tried not to get more annoyed.

Isabelwasunavailable to me at the moment. I would not admit defeat and agree that I’d lost her for good.

My phone rang as I walked along the path. Seeing that it was Drago, I winced and answered. I was already pissed that Isabel had gotten away. I didn’t need any shit or attitude from him now.

“Hello?”

“What’s taking so long?” he asked as a gruff greeting.

“It’s been two days,” I replied drolly.

“Three, since it was originally for Louis.”

“Yeah, originally. You changed the contract, so the delivery is changed too.” That should’ve been obvious. But I internally cringed. I never took too long. Since Isabel was here in Acapulco, this should’ve been over with already.

If I hadn’t gotten carried away with wanting to soak up her exotic and alluring presence, maybe it would’ve been.

“What’s the hold up?”

Like I’d tell him that. I wasn’t answering that question because I’d be damned if I admitted I’d lost her.Temporarilylost her. And there was no way in hell I would ask him—or anyone else—for help or more intel. No one else would find her if I couldn’t. She was that good at going off the grid.

“We’re getting reports of her out and about.”

What the fuck? Where?I bit my tongue and didn’t ask, letting him assume I was on this.

“I just got a call that she was window shopping, in broad daylight. Even in the rain.”

I furrowed my brow, stopping short in the middle of the boardwalk.The rain?I looked up at the clear blue sky, feeling the familiar heat of the sunshine on my cheeks. It hadn’t so much as sprinkled since I’d landed here at the beginning of the week.What rain?

Dread filled a pit in my stomach.

If Drago was getting reports about Isabel being spotted somewhere it was raining, that had to mean she wasn’t here.

Fuck! Did she fly out of here without my notice?I didn’t see how. I had agents at the airport who always gave me tips, and I’d reached out to my guy about her being flagged on any flights.

Flying wasn’t the only way to leave the country. I wondered—worried—if she could have driven away.

“I’m working on it,” I replied. That line was a staple in my dialogue. It was both true and false in this case. I was workingon finding her again, but I wasn’t sure what I’d want to do once I did.

“Work faster. Fuck, you’re supposed to be the best of the best.”

Go to hell.

I hung up without another word and turned at the intersection to head further into the city. If he said she’d been spotted near the shopping district, I’d check out that area. His comment about the rain didn’t add up, but I had to go with what I could.

A couple of blocks over, I scanned the streets laden with tourists, vendors, and construction barricades. It didn’t matter where one was in the world. Construction sites were always a constant.

Nothing.

She wasn’t anywhere around here. I didn’t know what Drago was talking about or what these reports meant. Isabel wasn’t window shopping.

I spun in a one-eighty, scanning the opposite side of the multi-lane street. It was congested with traffic, both vehicular and pedestrian. With the cones and barricades circumventing the flow of honking cars, mopeds, and buses, my view was blocked of the other side of the street. No shops or boutiques lined that side—not that she’d be likely to peruse high-end fashion. She seemed too original and unique for designer items.

Hotels and convention centers stood opposite me, all modern and tall with glass and sharp edges in the architecture.

Smoking and jerking, a bus finally had the right of way to slog on down the road. Once it passed, I had a clear visual of the café on the other side of the street.

A direct line of sight to her.

---