Fiona. She was sobbing in the bathroom, and not the fake crying that most women did. The kind that meant they wanted someone to comfort them but wanted the man to initiate the effort so they gave a half-hearted attempt to be quiet.
No. Her cries were almost silent. If the room hadn’t been so quiet, he wouldn’t have noticed.
It seemed she wasn’t as emotionally distant from the day’s events as either of them liked to pretend.
On the other side of the door, Fiona turned on the water, the splashing water covering the sound of her sobs.
Angel let his head fall back again. He should go in there. Comfort her. But what could he say? Tony and Maria were dead, and nothing he said or did would change the past.
“This is what I meant by mistake,” he said to no one. Everything she did, everything she was, made her a distraction. The water stopped, and silence reigned again.
Angel rose, stretching, and peeked out the front window. People going to and from the market filled the streets along with cars that were comprised more of rust than metal. Children played. Men stood in groups, smoking cheap cigarettes and talking to each other.
No one glanced his way or did anything that appeared the least suspicious, but that meant nothing. Any one of them would sell Fiona out. They were poor and putting food on the table took precedence over a gringa with a supposed tape of Montoya killing a rebel leader.
The sound of gunshots reverberated in the room.
Montoya. They’d found the dummies. Damn, he’d hoped they’d have more time. It was at least thirty minutes until dark.
“It’s him!” Fiona barreled out of the bathroom, running into Angel.
“I know,” he said, taking a deep breath and controlling the sudden rush of adrenaline that surged through his blood. They had thirty seconds. Maybe.
There were shouts, and then the sound of doors splintering as Montoya’s men made their way down the hallway, checking the rooms.
Angel ran to the window that faced the alley and the fire escape. The window slid up on well-oiled tracks. He might not live in the room but he made sure he maintained it since there was no point in having an escape route that was ineffective.
“Climb up.” He stood aside, his weapon trained on the door.
To her credit, Fiona didn’t argue but clambered out onto the rickety metal steps and headed toward the roof.
Angel followed, sliding the window shut. Not that their escape would fool the thugs for long, but if he and Fiona made the roof before they arrived, the men might assume they’d gone down.
It was what most people would do.
Above him, Fiona climbed onto the roof, her booted feet disappearing over the edge. In the room below, he heard the door splinter. He pushed himself and in seconds joined Fiona on the roof.
The sound of breaking glass followed. In the dimming light, Fiona’s eyes widened. “What do we do?” she asked, her voice low and shaky.
“We jump.”
“Excuse me?”
There was no time to explain. Grabbing her arm, he hurried her to the far side of the building. The next building was five feet away. “Jump to the next roof.”
She leaned over the edge. “That’s a helluva drop.”
“Would you prefer a bullet?”
She paled but shook her head, walked back a few feet and barreled toward the edge. It’s just five feet, he told himself as she launched herself into the air and over the alley. She landed on the other side, feet solid on the flat, tarred surface. Facing him, she motioned for him to hurry.
Good girl.
He leapt and landed next to her. “Again,” he said, gesturing toward the next building.
“If they come up here, we’ll be sitting ducks on these flat roofs,” Fiona said.
“I know. So quit talking and get moving. Get to the next building, then we go down on the far side.”
She frowned but ran, clearing the five-foot span with ease, and headed across the roof without a glance back.
He hurried, not breaking stride and staying on her heels. They reached the ladder as a gunshot rent the air, ripping into the graveled tar paper a few inches from Angel’s feet. Fiona froze.
The goons were smarter than he thought, and he had the suspicion that in better light, they’d have hit him. “Hurry!” he shouted.
Fiona slid down the ladder, using her feet and hands on the outside edges to push inward on the rails and create a controlled fall.
Gravel peppered his legs, and Angel turned, firing back. There was a cry, and in the growing shadows, one of the men fell to the ground.
He hoped it hurt. A lot. Sticking his gun into the back of his pants, he slid down the ladder, as well, dropping the last few feet.
“What do we do?” Fiona asked, already edging toward the entrance to the alley and the crowds that offered some protective anonymity.
“We walk,” Angel said. Taking her arm, he pulled her close, and they entered the crowd. It took less than thirty seconds to realize his mistake. Fiona was close to six feet tall, making her stand out. Where was her hat? Her blond hair stood out like a beacon.
Men were already turning heads, gawking at her. They wouldn’t proposition her since she had him as an escort, but if Montoya’s men questioned anyone, there would be no doubt that they’d remember the exotic blonde.
Damn it. He walked faster
“What are you doing? Slow down.”
“You’re too damned pretty. I knew it would be a problem,” Angel muttered.
“Well, excuse me,” Fiona whispered. “It’s not like I do it on purpose. You want to complain? Take it up with my parents for giving me the good genes.”
He glanced at her, too worried and focused to give her points for being right. “We’ve got to cover your head,” he said. Entering the outdoor market, he worked his way in through the crowds. “Wait here,” he said, leaving Fiona in front of a booth crammed with spices and dried fruit.
“Wait?” Her eyes were dark in the dim lights, but her pale skin glowed. “Where are you going?”
“I need to buy a few things, and I do not want anyone to remember that I bought them for you.”
“Are you coming back?” she asked, clutching at his arm.
Under any other circumstances, he’d be insulted at the insinuation he would abandon someone under his protection, but the fear in her voice negated any insult. He gripped her shoulders and met her uneasy stare. “I am coming back. I promise.”
She swallowed and gave him a tight nod. “Okay. Just hurry.”
