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I leaned over to see several pictures of her from the gala posted online. One was from a fashion blog, and the rest from accounts looking for more information about her.

“Miami society is tight-knit. They’ll find you.”

She shook her head. “Okay, whatever. I’ll go get ready.”

As soon as she was gone, Marco jumped in. “Someone needs to go with her as her personal security.”

“I’ll go.” Cruz offered.

“No, you were at the gala,” Javier reminded him. “It has to be me or Derek, and it would be a good idea if we stick to one of us.”

“I’ll do it.” I was the obvious choice. Javier couldn’t be limited to one position like I could. He was far better at surveillance and managing plans than I was. My strengths were in the field, hand-to-hand combat and thinking on the fly. Like the rest of them, I was also a great shot.

I could keep Emilia safe. I’d done similar jobs before since I was the only one who could still pass for a college student or dress to look more mature. Blending unnoticed in the background was easy for me.

“Fine. Fix your hair and put on a black suit.” Javier turned to Marco. “Set up a car to pick them up from the marina and drive them for the day.”

Marco nodded and walked out as Javier faced Cruz.

“I want you out as backup. Stay away, and monitor who watches her.”

“Got it.”

He left, and Javier focused on me.

“Thanks for doing this. The longer I stay hidden, the better. We don’t want anyone figuring out she has more than just you around. Marco and I will stay back. I have a few leads I want to work on, and he’ll be on standby.”

“Sounds good.” I clapped him on the shoulder as I passed to go get dressed.

Emilia was in her bathroom, so I used the one in the hall before changing. Javier was right—my hair was unruly. That was fine for hanging out around here, but I needed to look professional and, hopefully, intimidating. I used some of Marco’s pomade to tame my thick dark hair into a style like his, then stepped back to examine the effect.

Cruz passed, and I called out to him. “Hey!”

He stepped back and eyed me. “What?”

“Should I shave?” I had a bit more than a five o’clock shadow and wasn’t sure what the bodyguard look was these days.

He tilted his head as if this took serious consideration. “Yes. She’s someone who would have clean-cut men working for her.”

“I won’t look like a baby face?” It was one of my biggest insecurities.

“Nah.” He pinched my cheeks before I could swat him away. “You lost your last bit of chub over the summer.”

I rolled my eyes and picked up my razor.

“So I’m just supposed to walk around and pretend to shop?” Emilia said into her com, the one she caved on because she didn’t want to be bored all day and wasn’t at risk of getting frisked walking into boutiques.

I stayed at the entrance of each store, making it clear I was with her and monitoring, but not shadowing her.

For those watching, we wanted to make it clear she had security, but not signal that there were any threats. She was wealthy and important enough to warrant a bodyguard, but with no enemies.

This was essentially the entire reason for our presence in Miami. She was doing most, if not all, the work upfront. The four of us played supporting roles as needed.

“You don’t have to pretend,” Javier replied. “You have a credit card specifically for this. Remember, you’re not Emilia, kick-ass assassin. You’re Millie, wealthy heir to billions.”

“Billions?” She chuckled quietly. “Why didn’t you mention that before?”

Immediately, she grabbed three hangers and held them up. “Excuse me, could you start a fitting room for me?”