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“What is it?”
“Well, I don’t have the whole picture exactly. I’m severely limited in what I’m allowed to know, but what Idoknow is that when Arturo took over the family business from my grandfather, he ran it into the ground. He made one bad decision after another. If it weren’t for Esteban basically buying him out, there’s a really good chance my father would be six feet under by now.”
“And that’s why he’s so intent on marrying you off? To settle that debt?”
“Bingo,” Willow grumbles around her glass of sparkling water.
“And what about the Marrones?” I ask. “Do you know anything about this war?”
She shrugs. “All I know is they’re dangerous. People you don’t want to mess with. My family has had beef with them for ages.”
“What kind of beef?”
“Alliances gone wrong… Backstabbing, stealing, a little bit of torture thrown in there somewhere. You know, fun stuff. Their numbers rival the Allegras and the Becerra Cartel combined. If there really is a war brewing, we might see some pretty hefty losses.”
Willow polishes off her meal, licking hungrily at her lips. I give her my plate, more than happy to see her dig in without a second thought.
“I’m going to need more information than that,” I say.
“We could always break into my father’s office,” she replies a little too casually. “He’s got all sorts of top-secret documents in that safe of his.”
“He has a safe?”
“Oh, yeah. I broke into it and grabbed a bunch of cash before I ran away to Vegas. I know the combination. Of course, there’s a very good chance he changed it, but it’s worth a shot, right?”
I nod, but that doesn’t stop the concern from crawling up the back of my neck. “There aren’t any cameras inside his office,” I point out. “I’ve only been in there once, but without eyes on the room, there’s no telling if he’s set up traps or if he has a guard on watch while he’s away.”
Willow shrugs. “He might have someone posted on the door, but that’s where I come in.”
“How do you mean?”
“The guards aren’t allowed to touch me. I’ll use myself as a distraction while you sneak in and open the safe. Grab whatever you can. We’ll put everything back before my father returns from his trip.”
I smirk at her, amused as hell. “You’re a sneaky little minx.”
Willow beams. “I’m not atotaldamsel in distress.”
“I knew that the moment you pointed a gun at my head.”
“Are you ever going to let that go?”
“What can I say? You left a very distinct first impression.”
“And don’t you forget it,” she teases.
“Finish your dinner,” I say with a light chuckle. “And then we’ll break into your father’s office.”
“Do we get to use a cool mission name?”
“A mission name?” I echo.
“You know. Like in the spy movies.” She snaps her fingers, a delighted sparkle in her eyes. “I hereby dub this operationOperation Free Bird.”
I roll my eyes, but there isn’t any heat behind it. “Remind me to sneak you a spy novel next time.”
She grins. “I’d like that very much.”
* * *
