Page 71 of Secrets of the Six

"What do you want me to say? I just met the man a few days ago."

Carmen laughs but quickly clamps a hand over her mouth, her eyes darting between Cas and Ines. Those two are similar in so many ways, it's a wonder I never noticed it before. Both Cas and Ines are stubborn as hell, but if they're fighting on your side, they're relentless and loyal. I desperately want to believe Ines is truly an ally, but the small whispering voice in my head cautions me of her danger. True, she's potentially a loose end, but somehow, she feels like the missing piece to our puzzle. Our group grew from four to five when Carmen joined us, but I'm a fan of even numbers and thought we were one short. With Ines here to complete the circle, we feel whole.

Maybe I'm just an idiot.

"Some details wouldn't hurt." Cas' voice booms in the little room to which Olli grimaces.

"Cas, we talked about this," Olli politely chides. "Your voice carries and if it alerts those above us of our presence – "

"Apologies," Cas interjects, his brow furrowed though his attempts at smoothing those angry wrinkles doesn't go unnoticed. He takes a deep breath and glares at Ines. "Like I said, some details of your progress with Rogelio wouldn't hurt. We are, after all, partners in this endeavor."

"Partners, huh?" There's a levity in her tone that makes my heart stop. I'm not sure if she's being difficult with Cas because she sees she's getting a rise out of him – which is one of her favorite pastimes with me – or if she's mulling over how forthcoming she wants to be with the rest of us. Of course, she's the only one who will know if what she says is truly accurate, but I'm inclined to believe her, even if she's holding something back.

"Ok, partner," she tries the word as if to taste it, seeing if she likes it or not, before continuing. "Rogelio and I enjoyed a riveting evening at the opera tonight before he escorted me to Otero's and kissed me good night. Is that enough detail for you or shall I describe the kiss?"

"He kissed you?" The image of the Murrieta heir pawing at Ines boils my blood.

"How was the kiss?" Carmen's question swallows mine, a girlish curiosity feathering.

"Why does it matter how the kiss was?" Shaw asks, put off by her burst of unexpected excitement.

"I'm curious if the little rich boy knows how to kiss a woman like Ines." She elbows Ines beside her, and I can see the history of rapport between them spark to life.

Ines casts Carmen a rueful look, a silent conversation happening right before my eyes. Ines wiggles her eyebrows and bumps her hip against her childhood friend's. I'm on the edge of my seat awaiting her answer, but I can't help the swell in my chest seeing these two together. Ines and Carmen must have given the Brogratto hell during their partnership. It's a pity they've been separated this long – having searched for one another until they assumed their friend was dead. But beneath the church, I see them picking up right where they left off and I'm not sure if I should be happy for them or frightened for me. Maybe both.

"He kisses like he dances." Ines grabs Carmen by the waist and twirls with her. "Boring and lacking passion." They giggle when Ines tries to dip her. "I'm sure if we were married, he might bore me in other ways too."

"Apart from his sub-par kissing," Cas' voice brings the dancing girls back to the table, "what else do we know about him? About his relationship with his father?"

Ines sighs, her short-lived fun sufficiently snuffed out. "Rogelio's not interested in following in his father's footsteps. There's more he knows about his father's inner workings, but he's either not stupid enough to speak openly about it or it's all speculation with no concrete evidence to back up his suspicions. Inevitably, I'll convince him to tell me everything he knows. The pitiful thing is I do believe his feelings for me are genuine."

"Pity for him maybe," Cas leans over the coffin. "But excellent for us."

"He seemed quite taken with you at the opera," Olli adds, which feels like a punch to my gut.

My eyes fly across the coffin but find Ines is already watching me. There's an odd twinkle in her eye, like she's reliving the best part of her night at the opera, and it certainly doesn't include Rogelio Murrieta. My body heats, drinking her in, but there's a time and a place and here in front of my friends is not ideal.

I clear my throat and slide my sights to Olli. "We will need blueprints to the Murrieta estate if you can find any in the archives. I thought we’d have more time for Ines to infiltrate their inner circle before the Soberano’s jubilee, but with a secret execution and a possible prison mine to unearth, we might have to break into his home office.” The exact thing I was hoping to avoid.

"But the dogs," Olli whispers, reminding me of Murrieta's three war dogs, Narcissa, Socorro, and Beto. They're enormous mastiffs, retired from the armed forces. They have vicious dispositions and can smell a rat a mile away. It's not Severo's security that frightens me, but those mutts he calls pets.

"What dogs?" Ines asks.

"I'd describe them more as demons than pets, but to each their own," I say flippantly and Ines laughs. "What's so funny?"

"Are you afraid of dogs?"

"Those aren't dogs, they're – "

"You are!" She slaps a hand to her thigh, tickled. "The mighty Remus Kane is terrified of some dogs."

"Those dogs you mock me for fearing are retired war dogs. They were trained to rip through the flesh of men on the battlefield. They fear neither death nor pain, but they're certainly well versed in what the blood of men tastes like. So, yes, I have a right to fear them. Maybe you should too."

Suddenly her boisterous laughter stills to an eerie silence. All traces of joy fade from her face and my stomach sinks.

"Ines – "

"I'll keep that in mind," she cuts me off and I feel immediate regret for losing my temper. There's a thick tension lingering in the air and if I don't get out of this room and back to the surface I might lose my mind.