Page 32 of Wicked Ambition

The café sat in a pedestrian-only shopping district in Trujillo. Once, it had been high end. Now? About half the storefronts were empty, many of the buildings required repair, and all of them needed to be power washed. The asphalt blocks were cracked and uneven. It was Saturday, a major shopping day, but crowds were light and most stayed on the other side where the shops offered shade.

As he’d instructed, Ayla turned left. At least she wasn’t frightened enough to forget what he told her to do. It didn’t take long for her gait to go from a stroll to a brisk walk to a near run. Oz reclaimed her elbow. “Slow down, Pollita,” he said softly, worried she’d trip.

“Sorry.” She immediately moderated her pace.

The crowd picked up, but another scan showed most people wore jeans and T-shirts or khakis with polos. There were a few women in skirts and blouses or dresses, but there weren’t any other mercenaries around and he stood out in his camo pants and shirt. So much for the thought of using the congestion to disappear on the Russians.

They’d stick with Plan A.

“How are you holding up with this heat?” Oz asked.

Ayla glanced over at him, surprise on her face. He bit back a sigh. It wasn’t as if they could walk without talking. Couples chatted. He could see that all around them.

“The air’s pretty heavy, too,” he continued, glancing up at the sky. Oz spotted darker clouds off in the distance. “I think we’re going to get some rain. It won’t break the humidity. It’ll probably make it worse.”

“I guess,” she said.

Oz knew the weather wasn’t the most riveting topic of conversation, but Ayla was scared, and he needed somethingeasy for her. He also wanted something that wouldn’t distract him. The crowd thinned out again, and it was tough to monitor the Russians covertly.

The stanchions with the chains that prevented cars from driving down the walkway remained in the distance, but Oz wanted them to maintain a leisurely saunter.

If things went as he expected, and if Ayla stayed calm and did nothing else that looked suspicious, the Russians would break off the tail and return to their assignment. Oz estimated about ten more minutes of surveillance to make sure he and Ayla weren’t of interest to their boss.

As tense as Ayla was, boring Petrova’s men would be a challenge. Since she couldn’t manage a conversation, they’d have to try something else.

“We’re window shopping,” he said, voice low. “When we pass a store that’s occupied, and it has something a woman would be interested in, I want you to stop and look. If you see something you actually like, point it out to me.”

“What? Why?” She stumbled and Oz caught her elbow again. This time he continued to hold on to her.

“We’re trying to act normal. I want us to be boring.”

“Aren’t we already boring?”

“No, not yet.”

Ayla started walking faster again, and Oz tightened his hand on her arm. They were definitely not going to remain uninteresting if she couldn’t control her emotions better than she was doing now. Up ahead, he saw a shop with women’s clothing. He wasn’t surprised when Ayla didn’t slow, let alone stop. He drew her to a halt.

“Window shopping, remember? Take a look at the clothing.”

“Right. Sorry. I didn’t see what was in the window.”

Because she was scared. He got it, but Oz needed her to do better. Petrova’s men stopped a few stores down, looking in thewindow of another shop. If he remembered correctly, it was a sewing store. One side of his mouth quirked up. He hoped they enjoyed staring at sewing machines.

“Do you see anything you like, Pollita?” Nothing was business casual or even the style of her disguise, so it wasn’t a surprise when she shook her head.

“It’s all so…pink.” Her tone made her opinion of the color clear.

“I’ll take that as a no.” Resting his hand lightly on her back, he encouraged her to walk again. He immediately took her elbow so she’d moderate her pace.

He didn’t remind her again about her speed. If he brought it up, she’d apologize. She was in flight response and wanted to put distance between her and the threat. It was instinctual, not rational, and the only thing he could do to mitigate it was hang onto her.

He continued his visual sweep, but the crowds were becoming even sparser. “There’s a jewelry store coming up. Drag me over there and find something you like well enough to point it out to me.”

Ayla tensed even more, something he didn’t think was possible. Her stride became jerky, but she said, “Right.”

She followed orders, freeing her arm and taking his hand to pull him to the shop. So far, so good. As for the display, it wasn’t anything exciting. The jewelry was mass-produced stuff you could find anywhere in the world. When he caught sight of a tag that hadn’t been completely concealed, he determined it was also overpriced.

Ayla peered intently into the window but didn’t motion toward anything. They stood there long enough that the Russians were becoming restless.

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