Page 22 of Wicked Ambition

“Archer is interesting,” Oz said.

“Archer is a pain in the ass,” the captain growled.

“What do we know about him?”

“Not enough. Searches for his background hit a wall.”

“Shit.” That meant he’d likely worked in intelligence in the past. Nothing Oz heard about the man suggested Special Forces, another career where searches hit dead ends.

“Enough about Archer. The important thing is finding Ms. Desmond. If she can give us intel about an arms deal, it mighthelp us end Torres’s empire. A sale to Ivanov would be large enough for the boss to consider handling it personally.”

Oz didn’t think they’d get that lucky. Torres was a slippery son of a bitch, and this was the third time they’d been sent to Puerto Jardin to stop his arms dealing. The problem was the man seldom left his compound, not even for big arms deals, but maybe things had changed. His second in command went down on their previous op and there were questions on how much trust he had in his remaining lieutenants.

Oz kept it to himself. The captain knew all this already. “Baggs was here before you came in and he met Ayla. He offered to help. If you okay it, we can start looking for Iona as soon as he gets back.”

“That works. Baggs isn’t tied up on anything. You two look for Iona and I’ll babysit Ayla while you search.”

The gasp from the hallway had Oz stiffening. There was only one person who would react this way. Ayla.

Ayla woke disoriented.The cotton-candy pink walls jarred her back to reality. She was in Puerto Jardin. Sitting up, she looked around but couldn’t see Oz anywhere.

She checked the time. It hadn’t even been twenty minutes since she fell asleep. Ayla expected to be out longer than that, especially given how exhausted she’d become when Oz had shown her the guest room. Despite the nap, her emotions felt like they were all over the place. She hated not having complete control of herself.

“Hello?” she called out, but she heard nothing, not even the sound of someone moving around. Standing, she went to the door, opened it, and stuck her head into the hallway, checkingboth directions. It was empty. As much as she wanted to hide out in the bedroom, she couldn’t. Her sister needed help.

The upper floor was dead silent. Ayla headed for the stairs. This house was as bad as she remembered, but better this ramshackle mess than being at risk from the mob. Even in her own head, that sounded dramatic, but it was the truth. The Russian mafia actually wanted her twin.

She crept down the stairs, but they seemed sturdy, without as much as a creak. The room at the bottom was also empty. There was a TV, so she called it the family room. Ayla turned the way she was familiar with, toward the dining room. No one was there and Oz wasn’t in the kitchen either.

That left the part of the house she hadn’t seen yet. She walked through the family room and headed down the opposite hallway. A low murmur of male voices told her she was on the right track. She couldn’t make out the words, but she knew one of them was Oz.

Ayla slowed as she got closer, uncertain if she should interrupt. But she was near enough now to hear what was being said.

“Baggs was here before you came in, and he met Ayla. He offered to help. If you okay it, we can start looking for Iona as soon as he gets back.”

Ozwasgoing to help her. Her relief was short-lived.

“That works. Baggs isn’t tied up on anything. You two look for Iona and I’ll babysit Ayla while you search.”

Babysit?

She stalked the remaining distance and entered what distinctly was an office. “What do you mean babysit?” she demanded, hands on her hips. She glared at both men, but especially at Oz. She’d trusted him.

“Ayla,” Oz said as he stood to face her, “the Russian mafia wants your sister, and they can’t tell you apart. You’re not safe outside these walls.”

His tone of voice stoked her temper. “No one can tell us apart, and I understand there’s a risk, but don’t you get it? Iona isn’t only my sister, she’s my twin. We’ve always been a team, and we always will be a team. If the situation were reversed, Io wouldn’t be cowering inside this ugly-ass house. She’d be out looking for me. I refuse to do less for my sister than she would do for me.”

The two men glanced at each other, and Ayla knew they believed she was being unreasonable. Did they think she wanted to be running around Trujillo, trying to avoid anyone who appeared to be a criminal?

“I’m the best chance of finding Io.” She looked at the Asian man who remained seated. He appeared to be in charge. “You don’t know her. Oz and his friend don’t know her. I do. I know her better than anyone else.”

That didn’t seem to sway the men.

Ayla wished she could walk out of this house and look for her sister without trying to win over Oz and this man he called BD. Unfortunately, she wasn’t prepared to handle the situation outside these walls. She needed their help, like it or not.

Inspiration struck. “You said maybe Io overheard something about an arms deal. You said you wanted to find out what she knows. That means there’s a finite period before the sale happens. If it takes you too long to locate her, you don’t get the information you need in time to do—” Ayla waved a hand— “whatever.”

Now BD stood, standing shoulder to shoulder with Oz. “We’d lose time if you’re searching. We’d have to disguise you. That means shopping for a wig, buying clothes you normally wouldn’t wear, different makeup, everything.”

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