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Every member of our clan is trained to be precise and diligent in our duties, so the plan goes smoothly from the first stage. As soon as our car stops under the library windows, I exchange one last glance with Louis and Omero and leave the car. I don’t need to look back to know that both of them are gonna move to their places immediately after me.
“There you are! Am I supposed to wait for you all day?” Thomas greets me near the entrance of the library and rolls his eyes with his arms crossed on his chest. A perfect facade of a petulant younger brother.
“It’s not like you have anything better to do.” I clap his shoulder a few times and look at the college across the road. “Is that it?”
“Yeah. Fancy, huh?”
The usually empty ground in front of the main building is now bustling with colorful banners, stalls, and laughing students. There’s even some kind of a stage near the entrance. The weather is perfect for an outdoor event—the sun is bright and warm, but the green and yellow trees around the ground give just enough shade to keep it fresh and cool. I hum while my gaze darts over the crowd to assess the situation. I didn’t expect the charity fair to be such a popular event, but it seems that students do like it.
“They’re allowed to skip classes if they participate,” Thomas says as if reading my thoughts and shrugs, pushing his hands into his pockets. He does look like a careless freshman—and that’s good. It means no one’s gonna ask questions.
“Let’s go?”
Thomas doesn’t wait for me to answer and walks past me to the road, and I can’t help but frown as I turn to follow him. I don’t like being guided by someone younger and with lower status, but today, it’s crucial for our play. He is the one to introduce me to the college crowd—and hopefully, Jacinta.
As we cross the road and get closer to the charity fair, I study our surroundings from the corner of my eye. There are at least three Mexicans walking around and through the crowd, so I try to keep my gaze low, raise my scarf high, and not attract their attention. Thomas may be off their radars, butmyface they should know well enough.
“Hey, Rose! How’s it going?” Thomas loudly calls out all of a sudden, and I almost want to hiss at him to be quiet—but a girl walks over before I can do anything.
“Oh, hi, Thomas! I didn’t expect to see you here. Do you want to check our stall?”
“Ah, I’m not sure,” Thomas drawls with a smirk on his lips, and Rose giggles into her hand. Huh? Is it actually funny?
“Come on!” She swats his shoulder before eyeing me all of a sudden. “And you can bring your friend too.”
“He’s my brother.” Thomas grins and squeezes my shoulder, leaning on it. “Don’t you think we’re both very good-looking?”
God, I hate teenagers.
“You are shameless!” But Rose laughs with a high-pitched sound and shakes her hand before turning to me with an assessing look. “You’re right, though. Hi, I’m Rose.”
“Paul.” I reluctantly shake her hand. “Nice to meet you.”
Only when Rose turns around to guide us into the crowd do I realize that one of Jacinta’s guards is walking past me without batting an eye. Does it look like I’m with Rose? I glance at the Mexican over my shoulder and let go of the gun in my inner pocket. Whatever the reason is, it seems that our cover works.
I stay with Thomas and Rose for a while just to make it less obvious that I have no interest in the handmade bracelets she’s selling. But soon enough, Thomas notices another one of his classmates, and it gives us a perfect chance to split up.
“Stay here and find out where she is,” I murmur in a low voice and pointedly look at the gathering of Thomas’ classmates.
We haven’t seen a trace of Jacinta yet, and I don’t like it. She’s obviously here—otherwise, why would there be so much security? But I hate wasting time, especially when the chance that the Mexicans will recognize me grows with every passing second. Thomas nods, momentarily losing the facade of a teenager, and I let him go before turning in the other direction.
I hate crowded places, as they give me no space to fight or escape if danger arises, but I make my way deeper into the crowd and toward the stage. It makes my skin prickle with discomfort, and my whole body is taut and ready for an attack, but finding Jacinta is more important than any sense of safety right now.
I keep my hand on my gun through the fabric of my jacket and look at the face of every person coming my way. I wouldn’t be able to miss her, right?
My phone buzzes a few minutes later, and I immediately reach for it. What if it’s Thomas or Louis? What if they found her? I feel a rush of adrenaline when I see Louis’ name, but it turns out that he only sent me an update on his location. He’s at the table of a coffee shop, keeping an eye on the crowd. Good, but it’s not exactly what I—
“Oh, excuse me.”
Someone suddenly bumps into me from behind, and I almost drop my phone from the impact, cursing out loud. “Goddamnit, watch where you’re going!”
I turn around to teach that asshole some manners—and freeze. Shit. It’sher.
Jacinta stands in front of me with a stack of papers in her arms and a frown on her face. She avoids my gaze as if embarrassed by the encounter, but I can see that she’s annoyed too. Her lips are pursed, and her chocolate eyes are grim when she glances at me—and a rush of warmth runs through my body as soon as I meet her gaze. Oh god.
Thanks to whatever joke of destiny, Jacinta Escarra came right into my hands.
“You shouldn’t be standing like a dumbass in the middle of the crowd, then,” she mutters, low enough to pretend like she doesn’t want me to hear it, and I can’t help a chuckle. So she’s a character, huh? I should’ve figured.
