Page 6

Ayla was oddly bereft when Oz left her. Uneasy, too. The heat between them made her uncomfortable, but his absence underlined one fact. He made her feel safe.

Before leaving Los Angeles, she intended to locate Io by herself. She should be determined to do the same now. She’d unpack, come up with a plan, and everything would be fine.

Setting her jaw, she lifted the crossbody bag she wore over her head, but a knock at the door stopped her. Her heart beat a little faster. It had to be Oz.

He must have gotten to the elevator, realized he forgot to issue some additional warnings and came back to give her more advice. When she noticed she was smiling, Ayla sobered her expression, turned the lock, and opened the door.

It wasn’t Oz.

She tried to close the door.

Two men pushed forward. Her strength was no match for theirs and she couldn’t shut it. The room was small. She had no way of evading them.

Ayla opened her mouth to scream. Before sound emerged, one of them grabbed her, using his hand to muffle the noise. Her cry for help became a whimper. She tried to bite his fingers, but his hold was so tight she couldn’t open her jaw.

“Be quiet, Iona,” the man ordered. He spoke English with an Eastern European accent.

He thought she was her twin. What kind of trouble was Io in?

Ayla fought, struggling against the man’s grip. She was here to help her sister, and she wasn’t letting anyone stop her.

He released her.

Shock rendered her immobile for a moment. Had her feeble effort—? A grunt from behind made her whirl. Oz was there. One of the men was on the floor, unmoving. Now he fought the other.

The creep drew a knife.

Ayla backed up. One step and the mattress was at the backs of her legs. It would be too easy for the jerk to put that blade to her throat and use her against Oz.

She wouldn’t allow that to happen.

Carefully, she worked her way between the suitcase and the bed. Now she was cornered with the window behind her, the bed to her left, and a wall to her right. But it gave her another few feet of distance.

The man seemed skilled with the knife. At least to her eyes. He held the blade with confidence.

Oz stood far too close. She wanted to tell him to be careful, but Ayla remained mute. He couldn’t afford her distracting him, but why didn’t he draw his gun and shoot the creep? Her breathing was shaky, but so were her legs. Adrenaline. Again. Damn it.

The trembling worsened as she watched Oz jump away from the knife as the man tried to take a slice out of him. She swallowed her gasp.

With a speed that shocked her, Oz moved. There was a strike to the man’s throat, followed immediately by another to his forearm. The knife fell to the carpet, but instead of giving up, the creep charged.

More strikes. Oz used his elbow to deliver a blow to the man’s head, followed by a flurry of action that left Ayla’s mouth hanging open. Martial arts. Before she could gather her wits, the creep was on the floor. Out cold. Oz held the knife as he knelt with one knee on the attacker.

“Stay where you are,” he ordered as he stood.

Ayla nodded, words beyond her capability at the moment. She realized her mouth was still agape and closed it as he walked into the bathroom.

Oz returned in no time with what looked like a cord.

“What?” she asked, unable to do more than gesture helplessly.

He understood what she was asking. “There was a retractable clothesline in the bathroom. I helped myself to some of it.”

She nodded again, but he wasn’t paying attention. Stupidly, she stared as Oz tied up the two men. Ayla tried to shake herself out of her stupor. Iona wouldn’t stand and watch. She’d be helping Oz secure the men. Or at least phoning for help.

Except Oz had reminded her earlier that authorities in Puerto Jardin couldn’t be relied upon. Calling for help might get Oz in trouble, not her attackers.

“You’re all right?” he finally asked after both men were tied and gagged.

“Yes.” Her voice came out like a croak.

“We need to move then, before dumb and dumber wake up.”

Ayla managed another nod, but she felt frozen as if her feet weighed a ton each.

“Okay, Pollita, snap out of it.” Oz stood close to her and Ayla wasn’t sure when he’d crossed the room to where she stood. “I’m not kidding about needing to move. These guys might be bozos, but the next team won’t be. We don’t have much time to get clear.”

He grabbed her suitcase and herded her toward the door.

“You’re taking my suitcase?” Ayla sounded vague even to her own ears, but she couldn’t pop out of her fugue state.

“I don’t want to risk them searching it and finding something that gives them too much information. Where are the keycards for the room?”

Ayla reached into the pocket of her trousers and passed him the folder. They made it to the door, but Oz stopped her from opening it.

“Hang on. I need to check the hallway first.”

Nodding as if she understood what he was talking about, Ayla waited.

She continued to shake, but she couldn’t stop that either.

Maybe Io was right. Her life was too predictable, too boring if she was knocked this far off kilter by— She stopped short.

Two men had invaded her room, one had grabbed her, and she had no idea what their intentions were.

Her reactions were normal. Her sister likely taking this in stride? That was the abnormal reaction.

Her chin came up. She was the ordinary one, and there was nothing wrong with it.

“Ayla,” Oz said, voice firm, “Focus. I know you’re rattled. I know you’re dealing with one hell of an aftermath, but we are still in danger. And you being a zombie isn’t helping the situation. You can have a reaction later. Right now, I need your help. Understood?”

“We’re still in danger?” Her gaze seemed to sharpen. “How much danger?”

“A lot.” He didn’t look as if he were joking. “Come on.” He led her out into the hallway and steered her to the left.

After checking the vestibule around the elevators, he guided her to a doorway. Stairs.

The world came into more focus. “It’s too risky to use the elevator?”

“Yes. Hang onto the railing and be careful, but go as fast as you can.”

She followed his instructions because she didn’t know what else to do. Her brain was losing its fog, but this wasn’t the time to ask him questions. The bottom line was she felt safe with Oz. He’d rescued her from the gang, and he’d returned to save her from the creeps. She could trust him.

When Ayla reached the end of the stairs and faced a metal door with a push bar, she looked back at Oz and waited.

“Don’t move until I give you the all-clear,” he said, setting down her suitcase. He passed her, went to the door, and cracked it open. After a moment, he slipped outside. Her heart pounded faster, but he was back in less than a minute. “We’re going. Stay with me.”

Ayla nodded again, but he was retrieving her suitcase, and she wasn’t sure he noticed. When he walked out the door, she kept her eyes glued to Oz’s broad back and followed him as ordered.

Every time her shaking increased, she reminded herself that they were still in danger.

She didn’t need Oz to tell her that. The way he scanned their surroundings, the way he made certain she stuck close to him, and the way he glowered at anyone who dared to get too close to them made it clear she needed to keep it together.

She had questions, so many questions, but she remained quiet. Oz was too edgy to risk distracting him, and despite all the reasons she shouldn’t, Ayla trusted him absolutely when it came to her safety.

It didn’t take her long to realize he had taken another circuitous route.

This one was far more elaborate and thorough than the one he’d used to bring her to the hotel.

That must mean Oz viewed the danger from the men who’d invaded her hotel room as greater than the gang members.

Who were those men? Why did they want her twin?

Sure, Io liked adventure, but her sister wasn’t stupid. She didn’t take unnecessary risks.

Oz walked into an open-air market. Vendors were everywhere, some with large, covered shops, others with small stalls with tarps to protect their merchandise.

There were fruits and vegetables, fish and meat, spices, blankets, clothing, anything someone might want.

And Ayla knew— knew —her sister had come through here.

She saw flashes: Io buying fruit from a large shop. The woman weighing her purchase wore a teal smock to protect her clothing.

Io stopping at a food trailer to buy a sandwich and coffee. She’d sat at a table in front of it and did some people-watching.

Io helping a nun pick up the package of spice she’d dropped.

Io—

“Ayla, focus,” Oz commanded. “I need you to keep up.”

Only then did she realize she’d stopped walking in the middle of the market. “Sorry. I got distracted.”

“Pollita—” He stopped short and shook his head. Then Oz took her hand and tugged her into motion. He didn’t release her.

She looked around, deliberately shutting out the echoes of her sister.

That she’d been here days ago meant nothing.

Io wasn’t here now. But a few minutes later, when she spotted the food trailer with tables in front of it, it took all her willpower not to come to a halt and gawk. This was where Io had eaten lunch.

There was no feeling of fear, so Ayla was fairly confident Iona hadn’t run into trouble during her visit here. So where had things gone off the rails?

Oz brought her through a gate and out of the market. The area here was placid. A rusted-out produce truck sat half-parked on the sidewalk with empty vegetable pallet boxes stacked next to it, blocking the street.

“How much longer are we going to meander?” she asked quietly as they squeezed past the truck.

He glanced over at her. “Until I’m a hundred and ten percent sure our tail is clear.”

Ayla risked another question. “Who were those men?”

“That’s part of the discussion we’re going to have once I get you somewhere safe.” Oz gave her a look she couldn’t read. “Yeah, we’re definitely having a long conversation.”

Her frown was wasted because he faced forward again as they cleared the truck. They could talk all he wanted. She didn’t know anything, and if he thought she did, he would be sorely disappointed. Ayla perked up. Oz was the one with the information. A conversation meant she would get some answers.

Her feet were hurting before he brought her into a ramshackle neighborhood. He turned up the sidewalk that led to a house where the first level was painted pink and the second level was butter yellow. Overgrown plants encroached on the walkway.

Oz didn’t take her to the front door. They went around to the kitchen entrance. He released her hand to punch in a code, and Ayla immediately missed the warmth of his skin.

He gestured for her to enter and closed the door behind them. She stared at the kitchen. It was…horrible. A shoddy patching job couldn’t hide the dirt and cracks on the walls. Two mismatched shades of green clashed on the cabinets, and a tiny bistro table dominated an entire corner.

The tiles of the backsplash looked as if they were about to fall off the wall if anyone so much as breathed heavily. Dishes were sitting in a drainer, so at least someone had attempted to clean. Sort of.

Ayla looked up at Oz. “This place is—” She stopped short, gestured helplessly, and struggled to come up with a word to describe it.

“It looks worse than it is,” Oz said. “The important thing is that it’s safe.”

She cast him a dubious look. “Maybe. If you don’t eat anything cooked in this kitchen.”

Oz shook his head, opened his mouth, and then shut it again. When he spoke, it was on a different topic. “Do you know who those men were who entered your room today?”

Ayla shook her head. “I have no idea, but you know who they are. Tell me.”

She watched him debate, and when he answered, Oz kept a close watch on her face. “They work for Yaromir Ivanov.”

“Who is that?”

He grimaced. “You really don’t know, do you?”

“Should I?”

“Since they tried to grab you…” He let his voice drift off. She waited and after a moment Oz said, “Ivanov is a Russian crime boss.”

Ayla felt the blood drain from her face. She forced herself to breathe deeply until the fear passed.

“You know why they’re interested in you, don’t you?” Oz’s gaze was intent.

“Sort of.”

“Pollita—” Oz growled.

She interrupted him. “One of the men called me Iona.”

“Your sister. They want your twin.”