Page 32 of Wicked Intention

“I’m staying away from Silva now.”

“That’s not good enough. What if you cross paths with him? What if the mercenary isn’t there to protect you this time? What then, mija?”

“The risk is small.”

Tia Izel began to shake her head before Zo finished speaking. “You are to give up the search for Marianna, and I’ll hear no argument from you about it.”

Chapter Twelve

Rio Blanco, Puerto Jardin

Present Day

FINN’S FRUSTRATION mounted. He was back on the outskirts of Rio Blanco, holed up in a safe house with his former team as they got ready for their mission. The sun was coming up, and while he knew he was lucky they were willing to take him along to Trujillo, he wanted to go now. Opening a drawer in the kitchen, he sifted through the contents before closing it again.

Everyone had something to handle. Except for him. Finn opened the next drawer. If he were still part of the team, he’d have things to do, too, things that might take his mind off his worry for Zo. That was a lie. She meant too much to him to stop thinking about the danger she was in, no matter how busy he kept himself.

Nothing useful in this drawer, either. He went to the next.Jackpot.He grabbed the scissors.

The cramped washroom off the kitchen barely hadenough room for a toilet, a sink, and a small mirror. Finn flipped on the light, grimaced at how dim it was, and raised the scissors to his head. The police and military would be looking for a man with light blond hair, but the sun had turned it that color. His natural shade was dark blond, and if he cut off a couple of inches, it would change his appearance. He wouldn’t pass close muster, but a brief glance? Yeah, in that case, he should be able to slip by without being recaptured.

As he continued to snip, his hair went from shaggy to short. Shorter than he’d worn it in years. Even in the Army, his hair had been long for undercover ops, but now it was above his ears. Finn grimaced, not liking the length, but it altered his appearance as much as the color change, and that could only help.

He finished the area of his head that he could see and moved the scissors to the back. Finn hesitated. This was dicey. He didn’t want to mess up and look like he had mange, but the light blond had to go. He grabbed a lock of hair, shifted the scissors, and cut.

Shit. Too much.

Finn tossed the hair in the sink with the rest and reached for another section.

“Whoa, dude! You’re going to put a divot in the back of your head.” Griff stood just outside the doorway to the bathroom.

Turning, he held the scissors out handle first to his buddy. “Here. You do it then.”

Raising his hands, Griff backed away. “I’m a medic, damn it, not a barber.”

“How long have you been waiting to say that?”

Griff smirked. “My whole life.”

“Can you help with this, or are you working?”

“I can help,” Griff said. “You realize, though, that thisdisguise is on par with putting on a pair of glasses and calling yourself Clark Kent, right?”

“It’s all I got.” And when he shifted his mannerisms and body language, it would help sell the small physical change.

Reluctantly, Griff reached for the scissors. “We might as well move this to the kitchen because there’s no way both of us are going to fit in this broom closet. Besides, the light is better there.”

Finn followed Griff to the kitchen and sat at the table. Slowly, Griff began to cut the hair on the back of Finn’s head.

After a long silence, Griff asked, “What are you going to do once we reach Trujillo?”

With a silent sigh, Finn said, “Get to San Isidro.”

“And?”

“And find Zo.”

“That’s not a plan, that’s a travel itinerary.”