Page 31

Oz wiped the remaining shaving cream from his face and studied his reflection in the bathroom mirror. He had one nick near his chin, but otherwise, he did pretty well. And because of the beard disaster he’d had recently, the skin wasn’t that much lighter than his tanned face.

The next problem was his hair. He couldn’t cut it, but he combed it back into a queue at the base of his neck, put the elastic on it, and dropped it between his T-shirt and his fatigue shirt.

As far as disguises went, it was dicey, but it was something.

He didn’t want Ayla identified because of his appearance.

He cleaned up the area around the sink, tossed the disposable razor in the trash, and left the bathroom.

Ayla was sitting up in bed, leaning back against the pillows propped against the ledge behind her.

She was eating crackers but still looked green around the gills.

Oz crossed the room and sat on the side, facing her. “Hey, Pollita, how are you feeling?”

“Horrible.” Her voice was raspy, and she sounded miserable. “The crackers aren’t doing much to help this morning.”

Cupping her head, he ran his thumb across her cheek. “I’m sorry.”

Ayla tried for a smile. “Senora Alvarez said morning sickness means a healthy baby. The way I’ve been feeling, our little one is going to set some kind of record.”

“You’re fine otherwise? It’s only morning sickness?”

She turned her head far enough to kiss the palm of his hand before she said, “Only the queasiness. You need to stop worrying about last night. You didn’t hurt me.”

He couldn’t help being concerned. His number one priority was to keep his woman and their baby safe. Before he could think of how to respond, Ayla said, “Could you get me some water, please? I’d get it myself, but if I stand up, I’m afraid?—”

“I’m on it, Pollita, hold on.”

Being careful not to jostle the bed as he stood, Oz headed for the bottles of water on the table.

They didn’t have a fridge, so they were room temperature, but that had to be the best thing for her stomach.

He hoped. Because they seriously needed to get moving and he couldn’t roust Ayla, not when she was worried about hurling if she stood up.

She was nibbling another cracker when he returned. Oz handed her the water but stopped before she could reach for it. “Here, let me loosen the cap for you.”

“Thank you,” she said as she took it from him. Putting the cracker down on top of the sheets, she sipped the water. Watching the careful way she drank drove home how nauseated she actually was.

Oz snuck a peek at the time. It was early.

They had hours before checkout. He didn’t have to hustle his pregnant woman out of bed and risk her puking.

Not yet, anyway. The longer they stayed here, the greater the risk.

But even if she was able to stand right now, she still needed to shower and get dressed.

They were definitely more than an hour away from leaving.

No sooner did he have the thought than Ayla apologized again.

“What for?”

“I’m holding us up. I know you want us moving. Give me a few more minutes and then I’ll try getting out of bed.”

“We’re okay,” Oz said. It was probably the truth. “We can spare a little more time.”

She took another sip of water before Ayla gave him a look. “Oz, you shaved. Do you think I don’t know that means you’re worried?”

“We talked about disguises.”

“It’s more than that. You told me that you didn’t want to stay in one place too long. You want us out of here. Like I said, just give me a couple more minutes. I can shower and dress quickly.”

“Pollita, as green as you look right now, fast movement is not—” His phone vibrated, interrupting him, and Oz reached for it.

“Is that Baggs? Did he find Io?”

He glanced at messages. “No, it’s KW. He talked to the Mother Superior about your sister and wants to know when we can meet.” It wasn’t exactly true. Oz was going to tell KW they needed a meeting. That would keep Ayla out of trouble for a while longer.

“Now!” Ayla closed the water and put the bottle and the crackers on the ledge behind her, threw back the blankets and got to her feet.

He had a moment to admire her in nothing except one of his T-shirts before her eyes got big.

Putting her hand over her mouth, she ran into the bathroom, throwing the door closed behind her.

The sounds coming from the bathroom showed he’d been right about her needing to move slowly. Oz took a step in that direction, wanting to help in any way he could, but his phone vibrated again.

Baggs had finished searching the brothels and there was no sign of Iona Desmond.

When Ayla had said her sister was drugged, Oz had feared the worst. Of course, that was assuming his Pollita really could pick up her twin’s state of mind.

He had some major doubts on that score, but he was grateful Baggs had come up empty.

Having to tell his woman that her sister— Yeah, he was relieved not to have to go there.

When the shower turned on, he sent quick replies to his two teammates. Ayla was tougher than she looked, and as soon as she left the bathroom, she’d be prodding him to meet with KW and get his report. Winter better know they were meeting.

Oz thought about the way Ayla took charge the first time they made love yesterday, and his lips curved. Yeah, definitely tougher than she looked.

Finding somewhere to meet up with KW proved challenging. Oz didn’t want to take Ayla to the open-air market. With all the food, the chance of some aroma making her sick again was too great. For the same reason, he ruled out restaurants.

Returning to the coffee shop where they’d originally met KW was a risk, but it was the only option that made sense. Ayla wore her brunette wig and the rest of the disguise, but she appeared pale beneath her makeup.

KW was already there when they arrived, holding down the seat in the corner. Oz brought Ayla over and guided her to the far end of the sofa, close to the wall. “I’ll grab us some coffee. Did you want the same thing you had last time, Pollita?”

Ayla shook her head. “I don’t think my stomach will handle a pastry. If they have bottled water, that would be my preference.”

Nodding, Oz turned to KW. “I’m trusting you to keep her safe.”

Winter, that prick, smirked. “On it, dude. And don’t worry, I won’t brief her on what I learned until you get back.”

Scowling, Oz headed up front to order. There was a line, and he had time to get over his aggravation with KW before he headed back to where they were sitting with the tray.

Setting it down on the coffee table in front of the sofa, Oz handed Ayla her water.

“I grabbed a pionono for you in case you change your mind.”

Ayla looked apologetic. “I don’t think?—”

“It’s okay,” he said gently. Reluctantly, he took the ottoman seat on the other side of the coffee table.

KW didn’t appear as if he was going to move his ass, and it would call attention to their group if Oz jammed himself on the other side of Ayla.

“If you can’t eat it, I will, but you’re starting to worry me. You need more than crackers.”

“I know. My stomach will settle soon and then I’ll eat protein and vegetables. I promise.”

“Stomach bug?” KW asked. “Or did you forget to use bottled water?”

“Morning sickness,” Ayla said. “Although it doesn’t confine itself to the beginning of the day.”

Oz watched realization dawn and gave KW a threatening glare. He grinned anyway. “Things are beginning to get clearer.” He turned to Ayla. “I heard you work for the Paladin League.”

“Yes, in public relations.” She opened her water bottle and took a sip. It didn’t erase her pallor. His Pollita was suffering.

“In Los Angeles, right? That’s where you met the Wizard.”

Ayla nodded absently.

“KW,” Oz growled. It was a warning.

“What?” his teammate said, feigning innocence. “I didn’t realize you two knew each other before Puerto Jardin. Looks like Stony wasn’t the only one celebrating his wedding.”

“Dude, I suggest you shut the fuck up. Now.” Oz kept his voice low, but there was no way in hell he was going to sit by and let KW make Ayla feel self-conscious or uncomfortable.

“Copy that.” KW’s smirk returned. “Shutting the fuck up.”

His teammates were like brothers to him, but the downside to that closeness was that Winter could read him and figure things out.

He’d put Oz’s protectiveness together with Ayla living in Los Angeles—and the trip the team had made to LA for Stony’s wedding nearly eight weeks ago—and come up with the right answer.

The only reason she hadn’t turned bright red was she was too focused on her queasiness to register KW trying to stir things up. He glowered at his teammate anyway.

“Why don’t you give us a report on what Mother Teresita told you?” It was an order, not a request, despite how he’d phrased it.

“Yes, please,” Ayla said, becoming more attentive. “I need to know what she said about my sister.”

KW looked around, and although they’d already been talking softly, his voice became quieter. “You know about the brooch, right?”

“Yeah,” Oz said.

“What brooch?” Ayla asked at the same time.

His teammate met his gaze and Oz gave a small nod.

Only then did KW share what he knew. “Last year, while I was working at the convent, I discovered a jeweled brooch. I gave it to the Reverend Mother. It ended up being auctioned off to pay for renovations to the abbey. It was identified by Archer at the Paladin League as part of the Treasure of Trujillo.”

“That’s what my sister talked to the Mother Superior about?”

Nodding, Winter said, “Yeah, although Mother Teresita didn’t know that much about it. I’m the one who found it. Of course, I wouldn’t have trusted your sister enough to tell her anything, so…” He let his voice trail off and shrugged.

“So Io was better off getting partial information from the Mother Superior than no information at all from you.”

Another shrug from KW.

Oz reached for his coffee. “What else? There must be more than this.”

KW smirked, looking amused. No doubt because Oz had insisted on meeting. “Here’s where it gets more interesting. She asked Mother Teresita if she could do some research in the convent’s library.”

“You think she found something out and wanted to verify?”

“Yeah, it’s the only thing that makes sense, right? The Nerd is an archivist. She’s better at research than most other people, and she already went through all the documents in the convent from that time.”

“Would someone please fill me in?”

KW’s gesture made it clear this was Oz’s call. “You remember who the Nerd is?”

Ayla’s brows furrowed for a moment as she thought about it. “BD’s fiancée, right?”

“Right. She works as an archivist, and she reports to Archer. One of the locations where she did some research was the convent’s library. KW and I are assuming that if your twin asked to work in the library, too, that she discovered something.”

“Or that Archer asked her to either confirm some fact or to get more intel about something,” KW added.

“What kind of something?”

Oz shook his head. “That’s a question for Archer.”

“Call him. It might help us find Io.”

“Pollita, I don’t have his number.”

Ayla’s gaze went to KW.

“I can’t contact him either.”

Oz knew that wasn’t the truth. KW was going to work for Archer when his enlistment was up. There was no way he didn’t have a phone number. His teammate might be an occasional pain in the ass who liked to stir the pot, but he was backing Oz up.

Winter pointed toward the pionono. “Are either of you going to eat that?”

A quick glance at Ayla gave Oz the answer. “You can have it,” he said. As KW took the plate, Oz said, “BD has Archer’s number, and we need to stay away from him and the house.”

“What about Kyle? Can’t he ask BD for the number? Then we could meet him again and get it.”

KW froze, spoon in his mouth. He quickly finished his bite of pastry. “No. I’m being followed every time I leave the convent. Shaking these dudes isn’t easy. Just getting here today without being tailed took a while. We can’t meet again. It’s too risky for you.”

Ayla looked at him and raised her brows. Oz said, “The men following KW work for an arms dealer and they have the convent surrounded. He’s not lying about the risk.”

Both her hands clutched the water bottle. “If those men are surrounding the convent, would they have followed Io after she left last week?”

“It’s possible.” Not only possible, it was probable.

“And you’re just telling me now?” Ayla shook her head and her voice was a near whisper when she said, “They could have grabbed my sister.”

“I knew about the men around the convent, and I doubt they’re involved in Iona going missing.”

“You can’t be sure of that. The last time we know she was fine was when Kyle saw her last Wednesday, the day she missed her check-in with Archer.

How can you just assume those men had nothing to do with her disappearance?

” Her hands had such a tight grip on the water bottle, Oz was surprised the cap didn’t pop off.

“Baggs investigated the possibility. He didn’t find anything.” That didn’t seem to reassure Ayla. “Pollita, you know how serious Baggs is about finding Iona. You know he didn’t do a half-assed job of checking it out. He’s still out every night, searching. Trust me.”

“I do.” Ayla relaxed her grip on the bottle. “This is getting scarier and scarier. I didn’t think we’d still be looking for her five days after I arrived.”

“I know, Pollita. We’ll find her.”

Ayla’s eyes filled with tears, but none fell. “It just feels like you and I haven’t accomplished much. We should be farther along with the search.”

A shiver traveled down Oz’s spine. If Ayla figured out he was trying to keep her out of harm’s way while some of his team looked for her twin, she wouldn’t trust him anymore. He needed to be careful, or their relationship could crash and burn.