Page 61 of Colombian Chemistry

I kissed her fat, pouty bottom lip. “Me neither. But Knox will be waiting. And the Jungle Kings are no doubt still scouring every inch of this city for you.”

“Fine. I’ll get dressed.” She sighed, then rolled up to standing.

I took a moment to appreciate every curve and contour of her naked body before forcing myself to stand too. We got dressed and came out of the room. Hector greeted us with a shit-eating grin.

“Good morning, amantes,” he teased. “I take it you two found the spare bedroom comfortable?”

“Yes, Hector,” I said, warning him not to tease us when I saw the pink flush bloom across Irene’s cheeks.

She’d finally let down her guard and let herself go, and the last thing I needed was for her to feel ashamed. Luckily, he caught my stern look and stopped the waggling eyebrows quickly.

“I have a friend who is picking you up to take you to the airstrip. He’s outside. Small, yellow car. His name is Antonio.”

“A friend?” I asked. “Why aren’t you taking us?”

“I lost my license.” He sucked the air through his teeth then lifted his two fingers to his lips like he was smoking a joint. “I may have had a couple driving under the influence issues.”

“And he’s trustworthy? This friend?”

“Oh yes,” Hector answered with certainty. “He’s helped me out many times before. I told him who you are so he knows who to look for, and the password he’ll give you to confirm it’s him is ‘enchilada.’

I grumbled under my breath, not comfortable with a stranger giving us a lift, but it was the only option we had unless I wanted to heist a car... which I thoroughly contemplated. But on the off chance we got busted, we’d get handed straight into the arms of the Jungle Kings instead of being taken to jail.

“Fine. I suppose we don’t have a choice.”

“Thank you for letting us stay here, Hector,” Irene said. She walked over and placed a kiss on his cheek. This time it was Hector’s turn to blush.

“You’re very welcome, Irene. Anytime you need anything, you know where to find me.”

She gave him a brief hug and then returned to my side. I grabbed the bag filled with guns, money, and survival supplies and walked to the door.

“After I get her safely away, I’ll be back. I’m gonna need a lift to Cartagena,” I said.

“I’ll get working on it. See you in a couple hours,” Hector responded.

Irene and I went down the stairs, and I saw a man leaning against a small, beat-up yellow car, just like Hector had described.

“Your name?” I asked as we approached.

“Antonio,” he answered correctly.

“Password?”

He stomped out his cigarette beneath his shoe. “Enchilada.”

I eyed him up cautiously, but seeing no sign of weapons bulging from his body, I opened the door for Irene to climb in. We both slid into the torn-up back seat, and I had to duck my head to fit.

“Could this car be any smaller?” I complained to her.

“One of the perks of being short.” She grinned and gestured to the headroom above her.

Antonio started the car and headed toward the airstrip. I glanced at my watch. We would be right on time.

He zipped in and out of traffic as we made our way out of town and finally found ourselves out of the bustling city.

“It’s not far,” I said to Irene.

I caught Antonio’s quick gaze in the rearview mirror. The flash of fear in his eyes warned me something wasn’t right. I instinctively reached for my gun, but Antonio slammed on the brakes, sending me flying forward into the front seat. He jammed the car into park, yanked out the keys, and launched out of it, running screaming toward the trees with his hands up in the air.