Page 13 of For the Love of Animals

“Congratulations, querida. Now you’ve got a murder to plan, and I’ve got a suit to buy.”

CHAPTER 6 - CARMEN

I PUT MY coffee down on Nate’s table. We’d regrouped in his rented apartment the next morning, Tuesday, seeing as I lived on-base. I couldn’t exactly invite him to stay with me because Captain P would lose his shit if he found out I was colluding with a foreign agent.

Although now he’d let his guard down a little, there was a hint of a Spanish accent behind the smooth American one. Who was this man?

“Where are you from?” I asked.

“Virginia.”

“Where did you grow up?”

“Miami. Little Havana.”

“You’re Cuban?”

“My mother’s Cuban.”

His tone didn’t invite further questions, but I’d managed to glean a snippet of information at least.

Dali sat at my side, and I scratched her head. The bathroom still smelled bad from yesterday, and while we were at the range, she’d chewed up a towel and one of Nate’s favourite sneakers. Now he was barefoot, and every so often, he glared over at her and muttered something about South Koreans having the right idea. Well, he shouldn’t have left his shoes in the bathroom, should he?

“We should buy her some toys,” I said.

“No, we should buy her a bed. She spent all night trying to climb into mine.”

Dammit, Carmen, don’t get jealous of a dog.

“Okay, a bed and some toys. And a leash and a collar.”

“Why don’t we buy the whole pet store? Can we do some work now?”

Fine. Work. I gave Dali one last pat before I leaned forwards on my elbows.

“According to our sources, Lozano’s retreated to his main compound on the edge of town and hired a dozen more ex-soldiers into the paramilitary group that provides his security.”

“Two dozen,” Nate said, glancing up from his laptop. “He also had to replace the ones who died in the explosion. Plus he’s upgraded perimeter security to include extra cameras and motion detectors.”

“How do you know that?”

“My sources.”

“What sources?”

He just raised one annoying eyebrow.

“We’re supposed to be working together.”

“No, you’re supposed to be coming up with a plan, and I’ll help with the execution. That’s what sidekicks do.”

Yes, I understood the theory. The problem was, in all the plans anyone else came up with, I was always the one stuck half a mile away with a rifle, and I hadn’t done much actual planning myself. While I’d done months and months of training in the military, there was a big difference between jungle warfare or anti-terror raids and the precision removal of one highly protected individual. Especially when I’d agreed to work with an arrogant American who’d spent the morning sulking because he didn’t get his own way yesterday.

And worse, according to our researchers, Lozano had holed up behind a ten-foot-high wall topped with glass shards, and after the security breach at his weekend home, his security team was trigger-happy. A delivery driver had narrowly avoided losing his head when he couldn’t locate the paperwork fast enough. Lozano hadn’t been spotted outside since, and my gut said he’d stay safely in his reinforced bunker until the weekend. A near-death experience would be enough to rattle anyone, even a drug lord, and besides, he probably had to interview for el antílope’s replacement. How did one go about recruiting a man like that? Did potential applicants submit résumés?

Nate cleared his throat, still staring at me.

“Carmen?”

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