Page 49 of Wicked Intention

“Marianna Castillo was your roommate at UCLA,” Silva said, joining the conversation.

“Sí,” Zo said as dread settled low in her belly. If he learned that she’d come down here solely to look for Mari… “Her father was the Puerto Jardinese sponsor of the Huarona dig my parents co-sponsored. We were the same age and became friends.” She was certain they knew this. Girding herself, she asked, “You know Mari?”

A side of Silva’s mouth quirked up. “Marianna was a special friend. You must have kept in touch with her after she left her PhD program.”

She didn’t like the way he saidspecial, but Zo squashed her irritation. “We did, of course, but we didn’t talk as much as I would have liked.”

It wasn’t untrue—Mari was her best friend. Zo had loved sharing an apartment with her and being able to chat with her every day. That had ended on Mari’s return to Puerto Jardin.

Silva stared at her, and it took considerable will not to squirm. Or plaster herself against Finn’s side.

“Marianna never mentioned me?” Silva asked. His voice gave away nothing.

Zo had been expecting the question. Curving her lips slightly, she asked, “Should she have brought up your name? How long were the two of you friends?”

With a frown, Silva ignored her questions and countered with one of his own. “You didn’t meet her on your trips to Puerto Jardin?”

Finn pressed his thigh into hers, and Zo took it as a warning. She didn’t know what he was telling her to do, though, and decided to stick to the truth. “We got together for a few lunches, a bit of shopping, but my previous visits down here were for my job, and I had to return to Los Angeles promptly.”

She retrieved her coffee cup again, grateful to see her hand was steady as she took a sip.

“You were asking after her on this trip,” Silva said without inflection.

The ground here was so shaky that it would be a ten if the Richter Scale could measure it. Zo took a deep breath. She was better at shading the truth than telling outright lies, but she had to pull this off. “I came down to spend Christmas with my friends in San Isidro. Since I had time, I phoned Mari tosee if she wanted to have lunch, but she didn’t answer my calls. I grew concerned.”

Zo was grateful the sky had darkened to night, and that the patio lights cast shadows over their faces. She wouldn’t want to deal with this questioning from Silva and Torres if they had a clear view of her expressions.

“And you don’t know where she is?” Torres asked, taking over from his second-in-command.

“No, Señor Torres, I do not,” Zo said with complete truth. “Señor Silva, do you know how I can get in touch with Mari?”

Finn pressed his leg even harder against hers. The question might be audacious, but it would appear odd if she didn’t ask Silva about Marianna. Wouldn’t it?

Before Silva could reply, a shout interrupted their conversation. Gunfire erupted in the distance. Her breath caught in her chest.

The bodyguards moved, surrounding Torres and Silva. They were hustled toward the house. Zo stood, took a step to follow them, but a guard pushed her back. If she couldn’t go to the house, what should she do?

A thud returned her attention to the patio. A man was out cold on the flagstones, and Finn was armed. More gunfire. Closer this time.

Zo looked around, but there was nothing to use as a weapon except her spoon. She grabbed it off her dessert plate, licked it clean, and clenched her fist around it. If she went for the eyes, it would hurt.

“Stay down,” Finn ordered and pointed toward the ground.

He didn’t have to tell her twice. Zo dropped to her belly under the table, head down. She heard a whup-whup-whup sound. Helicopters. The noise intensified as they neared.

The patio went dark, and so did the house.

Deeprat-a-tats echoed through the night. The rotors grew louder and louder, as did the booms. Zo looked up. Thecopter was coming toward the patio, big guns blazing. She gripped her spoon tighter.

The automatic rifle fire on the ground neared their position.

“Move,” Finn ordered.

“Where?” She made it to her feet.

He pulled her to the fireplace and gestured toward the crescent-shaped crevice. “Get in there and stay quiet.”

“Finn?” The gap between the fireplace and the curved wall was large, but not big enough for him. He wouldn’t fit.

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