Page 33 of Corrupted Deception

She opened her mouth then slammed it shut and shook her head. “You really need to work on your people skills. Flies and honey and all that shit, you know?”

Her eyes grazed over my face again, and her brow furrowed. “What happened to you?”

I found it fascinating that I could generally read people so easily, but she was like a blank canvas, a thousand amorphous puzzle pieces.

I shrugged, fighting a smile. “I needed to blow off some steam.”

Something flared in her eyes as I spoke, but it was quickly gone.

"I like the whole Picasso look you’ve got going on,” she said, waving a hand in front of my face, “but have you thought about giving yoga a shot? I mean, think about it—less bruises, more flexibility.”

My lips twitched. “I’ll take it under advisement. But you haven’t answered my question, Charlotte.”

She looked around at the passing cars, then back to me, pointedly silent.

“We can stand on the side of the road all night,tempesta.”

“Don’t call me that,” she snapped.

She sighed, her eyes caught up in thought, but of course, I had no idea what she was thinking.

“I’m pursuing a lead, Cielo. Miguel Silva took Cade, but I don’t know where he’s keeping him, and I can’t exactly walk right up to him and ask him. I have reason to believe there are people here who know where he’s being held. And as I recall, I’m ‘on a time limit,” she said, rolling her eyes. “So, now that I’ve given you far more information than you ever would have given me, I’d appreciate it if you let me get back to doing what I need to do.”

“You plan on pursuing this lead the same way you went after the last one?” I asked, remembering what I’d walked in on in Marín’s hotel room. The thought of her lips on another man, his hands on her body… No, that wasn’t happening.

“Well, I thought about putting out a giant mousetrap, but I was fresh out of cheese.”

I grabbed hold of her hand and jerked her toward me, close, but not quite touching.

She smelled like she was made to be devoured.

“Spell it out for me, Charlotte, before I find a better use for that insolent mouth. Who’s the lead, and what’s the plan?”

“You can’t be serious,” she said, half-heartedly trying to pull her hand out of my grip. She might have been able to keep a good poker face, but her body was giving her away, swaying toward me ever so slightly.

“You can either spell it out for me, or I can throw you over my shoulder and call it a night. Up to you.”

She stared at where our hands were connected, hers almost entirely enveloped by mine, just the tips of her crimson fingernails peeking out.

“Has anyone ever told you you’re about as agreeable as a rattlesnake?” she seethed.

I shook my head. “Not twice.”

She rolled her eyes. The woman wasn’t afraid of me, not in the same way most people feared me. I wondered if she would be if she knew the things I’d done.

“I have a great deal of experience,tempesta.So, if I’m offering to help you, take it.”

She looked at me, lips pressed together. I was fully expecting a fight, so when she nodded her head, it took me by complete surprise.

“If you want to play wingman, be my guest, butI’mMaverick here, Cielo,” she said, her eyes boring into mine.

“Whatever you say,tempesta.”

She rolled her eyes like she wasn’t buying it for a second as she pulled her hand free, and this time, I let her.

“I received a quasi-cryptic email, and I was able to trace it back to territory here that’s been infiltrated by a cartel known asLos Cazadores Sangrientos,” she explained, idly rubbing the hand I’d been holding with the tips of her fingers. “I scanned flights and found Luis Mendoza, a lieutenant, and his sons—Gustavo and Carlos—took a round-trip flight to Maracay. The younger son, Carlos, frequents the Euphoria nightclub, and the rumor is that what the father knows, the son knows. I also learned that Carlos has a thing for classy women and cognac.”

“And you already have a hotel room booked near the club and a syringe or two of your paralytic and ecstasy,” I finished for her.

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