Shadow of Temptation (Asylums for Magical Threats #2.5) (2 page)

At first, Dylan said nothing. But when Jorge drew the shadowy mist tightly together in the shape of his arm and willed it solid, his friend finally said, “Holy shit, Jorge. We all know about elemental magic, but since when do superhero-type powers exist?”

He resisted a sigh and ignored his question. “Now that I’ve proven the reason I was kicked out, you’re going to tell me everything you know about Watkins’s upcoming target, and then get the fuck out of Mexico.”

Dylan kept staring at his arm. At this rate, he wouldn’t get any information. “Dylan, look at me.” At first, his former friend didn’t do anything. But after giving his old friend a shake, Dylan met his eyes and Jorge continued. “Tell me about the target.”

“Well, the rumor is that Watkins is targeting an elementary school.”

“I need more than a rumor.”

“I do the science stuff, and help with making the bombs. Watkins doesn’t tell me anything except how powerful he wants the explosive. I have to rely on rumors for what else is going on.”

In the past, everyone who had worked on an assignment had known all the details. Things must have changed in the last nine months. “How confident are you of this rumor?”

Dylan shrugged a shoulder. “Pretty confident. The two people who let it slip have worked in the planning stages in the past with Watkins. I see no reason for them to lie to me.”

Despite Dylan’s stupidity in staying with the Fed League, he was a lousy liar. That was the reason he’d been assigned the task of bomb maker. Jorge decided he was telling the truth. “So, when is this all supposed to happen?”

“The current target date is five days from now. The bomb should go off in the mid-morning.”

“And you didn’t think twice about this?”

Dylan’s face became serious. “You used to work with the Fed League too, Jorge. You know that if you don’t do what they ask, they find a way to make you do it. Making a bomb for some faceless kids is better than seeing my friends tortured in front of me.”

Usually the Fed League tortured family, but Dylan didn’t have any; his friends meant everything to him.

Jorge had forgotten about that, and he had a split second feeling of guilt for abandoning one of his closest friends. But then he remembered the debt he still owed Aislinn and Neena—the two co-leaders of DEFEND—and he focused. “Which is why heeding my warning and getting the hell away from here is all the better. Maybe you can convince some of your friends to go back to the States with you.”

“And what about you, Jorge? What’re you going to do?”

“I’m going to stop Watkins, no matter the cost.”

Dylan eyed him. “Well, if you make it out alive, you can find me in Houston under the alias Dylan Riker. If you buy me a few beers, maybe I’ll forgive you for leaving me.”

After his time with the Collector, Jorge had forgotten about friendship. He wanted to say he’d look his old friend up, but he wasn’t about to give him false hope. “If I somehow make it out of this alive, I’ll consider it. But I won’t make any promises.”

Dylan studied his face. “You may have ditched me without a word, but if you’re in serious trouble, then just ask for my help, and you’ve got it.”

Jorge released his friend and shook his head. “No. The best way you can help me is to give me the address of the next target and then get your ass out of here.”

As Dylan stared at him, Jorge started to feel uncomfortable. But just as he was about to repeat his request, Dylan spoke up. “All right. But if I hear that you finish this alive and don’t come see me, I’ll kick your ass.”

The corner of Jorge’s mouth ticked up. “I would say that you don’t stand a chance, but somehow I don’t think that would make a difference.”

Dylan grinned. “Good thing you realize that. Now, do you have something to write with or a phone to take notes? Here’s the address.”

As Jorge punched the address into his phone, it was almost as if the last nine months hadn’t happened.

Almost.

Chapter Two

Sabrina double-checked the dimensions of the school grounds’ back wall and decided that she had all the information she needed to file her first report. Knowing Watkins as she did, he would probably have her return later tonight to sneak inside the school and scout a location to stash the bomb, but she wasn’t going to do anything without his say-so. Disobedience would get her kicked off this case, and that was something she couldn’t afford.

As she made her way back into the flow of people on the sidewalk, she checked the time on her cell phone. She had two hours before she had to file her report. Perfect. That gave her enough time to visit her local contact and set things in motion.

Her contact, Yolanda, worked in a local restaurant and was the only person outside of the
Feiru
Liaison office in Mexico City who knew of Sabrina’s true purpose here in Merida. She had made it a habit to eat at the restaurant from her first days on this assignment. Watkins tended to keep an eye on his people, but there was nothing suspicious about going to her favorite restaurant for a late lunch.

Over the last year, Sabrina had passed information over to Yolanda, who would in turn hand it over to Sabrina’s boss inside the
Feiru
Liaison section of the Mexican central government. Like all stable governments around the world, certain humans were aware of the existence of the
Feiru
and their first-born children’s ability to control the elements. The primary function of the
Feiru
Liaison offices was to prevent worldwide paranoia, no matter the cost.

So far, thanks in large part to the Asylums for Magical Threats prison system, the
Feiru
had kept their elemental magic a secret from the general human population. Sabrina was one of the few privileged humans who knew about the
Feiru
, but she was also part of a growing number of
Feiru
liaison officers who wondered how much longer the secret of elemental magic would last, especially as discord continued to grow between the pro-AMT prison and anti-AMT prison factions amongst the
Feiru
.

And when—not if—the secret got out, Sabrina had no idea what would happen. Humans finding out that magic was real might cause worldwide chaos, or worse, persecution of those deemed “different” from them.

That was why it was imperative she finish this assignment and take down the Fed League. Fringe
Feiru
terrorist groups would only give humans more reason to hate and/or fear the
Feiru
.

She reached the small restaurant a few blocks from the central main plaza and went inside. The hostess greeted her with a smile. After Sabrina sat down at a table near the back of the room, she pretended to look at the menu until Yolanda came up and asked, “Do you want to hear about the specials today or will you have one of your usuals?”

Sabrina looked up at Yolanda. “I think I’ll just have my favorite light snack today before I go to work.”

Yolanda nodded. A “light snack before work” was code for Sabrina having important information to pass on with the bill. “I’ll make sure to put a rush on the order. Did you also want some Chaya juice?”

“Yes, thank you.” Sabrina said as she handed the menu over.

The waitress left and Sabrina tried to decide what she’d say in her message. She wanted a team of people she trusted, but getting her boss to agree to that was going to be difficult. Especially since one of those trusted colleagues—Karla Torres—always seemed to be on some kind of probation. But they had worked together on Sabrina’s previous assignment and Karla was one of the few people she trusted at her back.

There had been one man inside the Fed League she’d learned to trust nearly as much as Karla, but Sabrina had burned that bridge. It was for the best that she’d never see him again.

Thinking about his humor during their long runs on their days off, or how she’d been determined to beat him at least once in a swimming contest, made her heart ache. She’d always been careful to keep her true self separate from her cover ID, but she’d failed utterly with
him
.

Still, she’d done what she’d had to do to keep him safe. Dwelling on what she wished could’ve happened would just create more cracks in her delicate psyche. After this assignment was finished, Sabrina was going to take a long vacation and visit her sister down in her home country of Brazil, to re-discover who she truly was.

Her glass of green Chaya juice was placed in front of her and she mumbled her thanks, but the tanned hand around her glass didn’t move. She looked up and her heart skipped a beat. She had to be seeing things. There was no way he could be back in Merida, not with the out she’d given him.

But there was no mistaking the long, black hair pulled back from his face, the broad, powerful shoulders, or the scar running through his left eyebrow. The man she’d betrayed all those months ago was back.

She managed to get her voice working again and said, “Why are you here?”

Jorge Salazar sat down in the seat across from her and stared intently with an expression she couldn’t read.

Jorge hadn’t known what to expect when he saw Sabrina Ono face-to-face again, but as she stared at him from across the table with her almond-shaped, dark brown eyes, an unexpected mixture of lust and longing shot through his body.

At one time, even just the faintest hint of her scent would’ve gotten him hard as a rock.

But considering what she’d done to him nine months ago—in addition to the secret he’d learned about her since then—he never would’ve expected the sight of her smooth skin or her short, sleek black hair tucked behind her ears to send blood to his groin. Shit, he knew it had been a long time, but this was ridiculous. Hadn’t he spent months planning his revenge against this woman?

Remembering his imprisonment and sister’s torture sobered him up again. He had a job to do. The woman in front of him couldn’t be trusted and their past together wouldn’t get in the way, no matter what his dick might want.

Jorge raised an eyebrow in nonchalance. “You really want me to answer that here, in a crowded restaurant?”

She whispered, “You shouldn’t be here at all.”

“That’s what you had wanted, wasn’t it?” He leaned forward on his arms. “Too bad, because you have information I need, and you fucking owe me. Big time.”

Sabrina narrowed her eyes a second before returning to her practiced neutral expression. That was the bitch of working with someone who had the same training as you—they had all the same tricks.

She crossed her arms over her chest, and it took everything he had not to glance down at her breasts as she said, “Stop with the ‘I’m such a badass’ attitude. Tell me why you’re here, and make it quick, unless you want me to call in your little appearance to your former employer.”

“You go ahead and do that, backstabber, and I promise you’re not going to like what happens next.” He swore he saw something flash in her eyes—regret, maybe?—but he quickly brushed it aside. He pushed on. “I told you, I’m here to see you. I saw you scouting that school, and I want all the details.”

If she was surprised to learn he’d tailed her, she didn’t show it. “You know I can’t tell you that.”

He studied her for a second and couldn’t help but notice the circles under her eyes, or how her cheekbones were more pronounced than the last time he’d seen her. She clearly wasn’t taking care of herself. For a second, he wondered what was going on in her life, but then he clenched his fist and told himself that he didn’t care. No, make that he couldn’t care.

Remember, you need to succeed in order to protect Alejandra.

He leaned back in his chair. “Well, I’m not leaving you alone until you agree to answer some questions. We can either do it here, in full view of whoever might be watching. Or, I can go wait outside and you can wait a few minutes before joining me. Which way will it be, Ms. Saito?”

Sabrina tensed a second and Jorge knew he had her. She recovered quickly and whispered, “What did you call me?”

“Oh, I think you heard the first time. So, unless you want me to share your little secret with your superiors, you’re going to answer my questions.”

Sabrina was having a hard time keeping herself together. Jorge was good at reading people, and she didn’t want to give him any more fodder to use against her than was necessary. If she’d heard him correctly, she had a huge problem on her hands.

Saito was the alias last name she had used in her previous assignment down in Rio de Janeiro. How in the hell had he found out about it? And if he knew that, what else did he know?

Suddenly, the optimism she’d had about finishing this assignment and getting the hell out of Merida vanished. One word about using an alias, and her Fed League superiors—including Watkins—would toss her into a cold, dark room and torture the truth out of her. While she’d been trained to resist spilling secrets under torture, she had no desire to test it.

Everything she’d worked for, and all the deaths she’d caused over the last two years would be for nothing if Jorge made one call and shared her secret.