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“Light as in not a lot of artillery?” I asked. “Or like no-luggage light? Because all I have is what I’m wearing.”
Carter probably had a closet of well-tailored suits waiting for him in every city around the globe. I’d bet money on it. Me? I’d have to do some last-minute shopping. And what was I supposed to wear to this kind of thing? Shit, I still couldn’t believe I was on a plane to Brazil for this undercover mission.
We were flying into Tabatinga, in the northwestern part of the state of Amazonas. From what we’d learned, the resort for the event was also on the border of both Peru and Colombia as well. That tri-border area was well-known for trafficking, which didn’t sit well with any of us, especially Wyatt.
“I’m having trouble finding someone at the airport to look the other way so we can offload weapons,” Carter let us know. “By the time Gray and our extract team arrives, I’ll hopefully have someone to help them out, though.”
“Of all places you can’t get help?” Oliver smirked.
“I have connections in the bigger cities,” Carter grumbled. He had family on his father’s side in Brazil, and the man was fluent in Portuguese among other languages, so this had to be more than a little frustrating for him. “But believe me, I’ll find a person. We’ll just be going undercover unarmed.”
“Pretty sure we can’t bring a rifle in with us anyway,” I stated the obvious.
“Plus,” Oliver said with a shit-eating grin, “there’s always utensils.”
“Seriously? Do you want him to throw you from the plane?” Mya jerked a thumb Carter’s way. “Or, maybe if I’m a good girl, Carter will let me throw you out.”
“Buttercup, you wouldn’t know how to be a good girl if your life depended on it,” Oliver murmured as if the rest of us weren’t even there, causing Mya’s cheeks to heat as he stared at her.
“Well,” Mason said, clearing his throat, “this trip is going to be the opposite of fun. And if we’re not careful, someone just might get killed.”
CHAPTER FOUR
CHARLOTTE
PALMA, SPAIN
My body was sore today. Even more than normal. I’d taken a group of tourists to the other side of Mallorca for a cave-diving adventure, and I’d been up since four in the morning. And in three hours, I had to report to job number two of three—tending bar. Summer was always my busiest season for work, but since I mostly survived off tips, I couldn’t complain. Busy was good. Just . . . exhausting.
Sitting in my tub, I grabbed my phone and opened the TikTok account I’d created to keep tabs on my sister. I only followed her and one other girl who made delicious meals. I promised myself one day I’d find time to make them. Just not today. Maybe tomorrow. Hell, it was always tomorrow. The thing was, the tomorrows kept happening, and all the promises to myself of things I’d do never did.
I smiled at the sight of my sister’s face in her post from an hour ago. Well, Lucy on TikTok was hardly Lucy in real life. I made her use filters to disguise her identity. I’d done as much begging to keep her offline as I possibly could, but my sister was even more stubborn than me, and I’d lost the battle. So, a fake name and filters that would conceal her identity had been the compromise. Plus, a virtual private network to hide her location. I never imagined she’d wind up with over a million followers, though. Then again, my sister had the kind of personality men and women gravitated toward, so I shouldn’t have been shocked.
I clicked play on her post, which she’d titled, Lucy’s Dating Advice Series, Part 7. This should be interesting. My sister was great at doling out words of wisdom, but not so great at following them herself.
“Hey, everyone, get ready with me while I talk about what not to do when it comes to dating,” my sister began while applying mascara. “Do not put the person you met five minutes ago on a pedestal, people. If you have, take them off and stand on it yourself. Use it to reach your own goals and dreams. No one should ever stand above you . . . you need to know your own worth.”
Less than a second later, the door flung open to my bathroom, startling me, and I almost dropped my phone into the tub.
“Was that my voice I just heard?” my sister asked, barreling into the room and heading straight to my closet.
“Yeah. I was listening to you steal the words I just gave you last week. You know, about a certain guy in your life and how you keep putting assholes who don’t deserve your time on a pedestal.”
When Lucy returned from my closet carrying one of my suitcases, I swapped my phone for a nearby towel.
“Where are you going, and why with my suitcase?”
“You mean, where are we going?” Lucy set the bag down, then squatted in front of the vanity and snatched my makeup bag from beneath the counter. “And also, you give great advice that the world should hear. Just because I don’t take it doesn’t mean someone else won’t.” She tossed me a saucy look over her shoulder and winked.
With her back to me again, I stood and wrapped the towel around my achy body. “I’m not going anywhere, and neither are you.”
Lucy pushed upright and spun around to face me, a determined look etched between her brows. “You’ve been bossing me around since I was fourteen. Running me all over the globe. It’s my turn to tell you where we’re going, and no questions asked this time.”
“I boss you around to keep you alive,” I reminded her while stepping out of the tub. “And like hell am I going somewhere no questions asked.”
My sister’s eyes softened as she wrinkled her nose, and I knew . . . I just knew what was going on.
She was running.
