Page 8 of V-Day

“Yeah,” she agreed. She hefted the rifle. “I’d offer to help you with your suicide mission, only, well…you know how it goes.”

“You have your orders,” he finished and nodded. “This must be a one-man thing, anyway.”

She held out her hand. “It was good to meet you, Nicolás Escobedo.”

He looked at the hand, then at her. “Sorry, but you’re a part of the family now, so…” He hugged her. It was brief, but warm. Then he let her go.

Parris felt dazed and realized she was grinning stupidly.

“Good to meet you, too, Parris,” he told her. He glanced at his watch. “I have to be in the city by tomorrow noon, so…”

“What happens at tomorrow noon?” Parris asked.

“If General Peña has his way, the Vistarian Loyalist Army will march up to the gates of the Palace with American and Mexican forces at their back. I want to get there before they tear Serrano’s head from his body.”

“You want to see it?”

“I want to do it myself,” Nick said, his tone flat.

Parris shivered.

*

“WE SEPARATED, AS NICK WASheading south-west, while we were moving directly in-land,” Captain Graves finished up. “It was a surprise when I came upon your trail, Chloe. You were moving west-north-west. I would have moved on, only Rockman, our tracker, spotted Insurrecto traces trailing you. That made it imperative we followthem, to find out what they were up to.”

Chloe shivered. “I had no idea. I couldn’t hear anything. I didn’t see anyone.”

“You weren’t supposed to,” Cristián murmured, his gaze on the Captain. “If youhadseen anyone, you wouldn’t have come near this place.”

Chloe sighed. “Not in a million,” she agreed.

One of Captain Graves’ men came and bent over her shoulder and murmured in her ear. She murmured back.

He glanced at Chloe and Cristián and nodded, then moved away.

Graves got to her feet. “I have a call to take. Excuse me.”

She moved away, looking small compared to the soldier beside her. Her red hair glinted gold in the rays of the early morning sun.

“She is nothing like I thought Adán Caballero would be drawn to,” Chloe murmured.

“She isexactlyhis type,” Cristián said. “Steel spine, no bullshit.”

Chloe did not understand the sour note in his voice. She shifted on the dirt to face him. “Okay, explain it to me.”

His gaze shifted to her face, then away. “Explain what?”

“You knew I would come to find you or you wouldn’t have put the sentries out there to wait for when I showed up. Now you’re acting like…like you wish I wasn’t here.”

“Whyareyou here?” he demanded, his gaze coming back to her face once more.

“You have to ask?” she whispered, hurt.

His eyes! They were clear and sharp and mesmerizing, in person. She had liked them before. Now they were even better. They weren’t black. They were a dozen shades lighter than black, a gray color which was neither light nor dark, but enticingly different.

“Cristián!” someone shouted. “Do we have time for breakfast?”

Cristián gave a soft curse under his breath. “Yes!” he shouted back. “Coffee, too.”