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As she walked down the steps to the garden, Lee got up from the sofa. “Miss Martin, feeling better?”
She turned. “Really, after last night, why don’t you just call me Maya?”
“All right.” He put out the butt in an ashtray. “Where are you going?”
“Plans have changed. I’m going back to San José with Tim.”
“He told us.” He regarded her with a raised brow, as if he wanted to say, ‘And?’
“I have to cancel my dives for the week and inform the resort.”
He took the automatic pistol that was lying on the table and clipped it into his body holster. “I’ll come with you.”
“I can manage.”
“It’s for your safety.”
“What is it with everyone? I can’t move with you or Cesar on my back. Why don’t you tell me what’s really going on?”
Lee didn’t reply. He stood quietly watching her, perhaps looking deeper than what he should. It was a damn good thing Cesar drove up the driveway at that moment, bringing the buggy to a stop in front of the veranda.
He jumped from the vehicle. “The sample is on its way.” He eyed Maya and Lee. “What’s going on?”
Maya whirled around and pressed her finger on Cesar’s chest. “Why don’t you tell me?”
Cesar exchanged a look with Lee.
“She wants to know why we’re always on her ass,” Lee said.
“Yes, she wants to know what you’re hiding,” Maya said.
Maybe if she pushed a bit more, they’d come clean, and she wouldn’t have to sneak bugs and devices into Tim’s house. What she really wanted was to be left alone, at least for an hour, so she could work.
“Wow.” Cesar planted his hands on his hips. “You’ve recovered well.”
There wasn’t menace in his words, only genuine surprise.
Her heart softened. Uttering a sigh, she said, “Thanks for last night. I’m sorry for scaring you.”
Cesar chuckled. “It’s not often that I’m scared shitless.”
“You’re a good friend.” She meant it. Besides her team, she had no friends. It was a pity Cesar would hate her soon.
“Don’t mention it,” he said with a puzzled expression.
“I’m going to the dive center to cancel my dives.”
A look of understanding came over Cesar’s face. He probably thought that was why she was upset.
“I was going with her,” Lee said, “when she started chewing my ass.”
Cesar laughed. “I’ll go. I’m used to being chewed out.”
Maya snorted as she walked past him. Great. How was she supposed to do her job now?
They walked along the beach in silence. When they got to the center, Maya stopped with her hands on her hips. “Listen, last night was intense. I just need a bit of space.”
Cesar lifted his hands in a compromising gesture, but a wounded look flashed in his eyes. “All right. I’ll wait on the beach.”
“It’s not you.”
“I know. You want to breathe.”
She’d hurt Cesar’s feelings, and she felt like shit about it, but she had to read those transcripts.
“Thanks.” She blew out a puff of air and walked to the center.
After unlocking the door, she sat down in front of the laptop at the desk and sent a cancellation note with an excuse to her clients. She called the resort and informed them she was sick, saying she’d let them know as soon as she could resume the diving. Then, keeping her tablet hidden from view in case Cesar surprised her, she opened it and scanned the transcripts.
Several target words from the call Tim had made that morning from his study jumped off the page. She opened the link and started reading. The arms were leaving on the following Thursday from Puerto Viejo, but it didn’t say from which port.
Keeping an eye on Cesar through the window, she fitted the phone earpiece and contacted Joss.
“Got new info?” Joss asked.
“The shipment leaves on Thursday from Puerto Viejo.”
“Good job. Can you sink it?”
“If you could see me right now, you’ll see me rolling my eyes.”
His laugh was deep. “How are things going in the lion’s den?”
“Good,” she lied. “I’ll be in the other den, in San José, for a few days.”
“What the fuck?”
“Calm down. I have a better chance of finding out where they’re shipping from once I’m in Tim’s residence. What did you find on the number I tracked?”
“We’ve pin-pointed the Mexican location.”
Through the window she saw Cesar straighten and move toward the center. “I’ve got to go. I’ll let you know if I find anything. Don’t fret if I don’t make contact for a few days.”
“Take care, Maya.”
She cut the line and pushed the tablet into a drawer just as Cesar walked through the door.
“You done yet?” he asked. “It’s boiling hot out there.”
“Go for a swim.”
“I hate water.”
She got up, took a bottle of water from the fridge, and threw it at him. “So does Tim. And Lee. Do all dhampirs have an aversion to water?”
“It would seem like it.”
“I’m done. I just have to put a notice on the door, and then we can go.”
