Page 25 of Croatia Collateral

She nodded, her lips curling on the corners. “I have. I came with my family when I was a teen. We spent three days exploring the city. My father loved history and took us to what we called old places. We loved it, though. My parents would get frustrated when they lost track of us.”

“I can imagine. This city is bigger than I’d imagined, with many places for a child to get lost.”

Giva nodded. “We’d get caught up exploring and wander off. We always had a designated place to go if we got separated. Here in Dubrovnik, it was right here at the Minceta Tower. You could see it from most vantage points within Old Town.”

Dax stared down into the city, overwhelmed by the number of tourists crowding the streets and walking along the tops of the walls.

“If you had to place sentries around the city, where would you position them?” Giva asked.

“I’d start with the entrances. If I had the ability to put up cameras, I’d do it there. Otherwise, boots on the ground nearby and some on the walls above at points they can see down streets, not just looking out across the rooftops.”

Giva nodded. “The walls surrounding Old Town would have some good vantage points.” She tipped her chin toward a corner below where they stood. “See the man below us?”

Dax nodded. He’d noticed the man dressed in a black jacket and sunglasses. He stood with his hands in his pocket, staring intently down at the streets below. “Probably a sentry.” Dax shifted his gaze to take in more of the wall further away. “And the man at the next corner and the one I saw hovering over the entrance we came through. I bet there are more on the far side of the wall.” All three men he’d spotted wore black jackets and sunglasses.

Giva nodded and pushed away from the edge of the wall, lifting her cell phone to snap a picture of Dax.

He shook his head, his lips twisted. “We’re supposed to be tourists. Do a selfie.”

She came to stand beside him and held out her phone, aiming it at her and Dax. She snapped the photo and brought it up on the display.

Dax would have liked it better if she wasn’t wearing the wig and neither of them had on sunglasses. But they were together, and it was a great background picture.

Giva grimaced at the picture. “We should come back to Dubrovnik when we’re not on a mission. I don’t like myself as a blond.”

Dax chuckled. “So, you want to come back and get a picture of you without the wig?”

She shrugged. “I’m a trained combatant, but deep down, there’s a woman who likes pretty things and likes looking good.”

“You look amazing as a blonde and with your black hair.” He leaned close and kissed her. “I like that you’re tough as nails on the outside and soft and feminine on the inside. Beautiful inside and out.”

She wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned up to kiss him back.

His arms wound around her and crushed her to him, deepening the kiss.

“We’re inside the walls.” Fearghas’s voice filled Dax’s ears, startling him out of the kiss. “Evan and Sasha, comm check.”

Giva jerked away, blinking. “Sasha here.”

“Evan here,” Dax followed quickly.

“Location?” Fearghas asked.

“Highest point on the outer wall. Minceta Tower,” Dax responded, his arms falling to his sides.

“Heading into our sectors,” Fearghas said. “Any sightings?”

“Three men on the walls so far. Black jackets, sunglasses. One of them was positioned over the entrance closest to the harbor.”

“Saw that one,” Peter’s voice sounded in Dax’s ear. “Can you see much from where you are?”

“A lot of rooftops,” Giva said. “As you move along the wall, you can get some views of streets leading into the city center. Not enough.”

“Roger,” Fearghas said. “Heading in. Will report what I find.”

“Same,” Peter said.

“Descending into the city now.” Dax met Giva’s gaze.

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