Dylan strode out of the bathroom in his boxers, his face clean-shaven, his hair wet, phone to his ear. But it was the gravity of his expression that caught her eye—and made her adrenaline spike. “Copy that. We’re on our way.”
He nodded when he saw her and reached for his trousers. “You’re ready. Good.”
“What is it?”
“The Agency put an asset into play for Cobra.” Dylan jerked his T-shirt over his head, reached for his firearm and holster. “A guy in a blue Chevy Aveo is going to stop out front. He’s driving us to San Cristóbal. From there, we make our way to Colombia. He believes you’re a nun, so I guess you get to beHermana Maríaagain.”
“Oh. Okay.” She hadn’t expected that, but it made sense, given the number of people the Agency was trying to protect. “What about the roadblocks?”
He lifted the backpack, slipped it onto his shoulders. “He’s got some kind of government clearance that should get us through.”
“He must work for the president or el SEBIN.” She followed Dylan to the door, looked back at the room, the hours she’d spent with him here suddenly seeming precious.
It’s over.
They had a long, dangerous road ahead of them.
* * *
Dylan glanced aroundfor a blue car. “Do you know what an Aveo looks like?”
Gabriela pointed with a nod of her head. “He’s over there.”
The two of them walked side-by-side toward the light blue sedan, Dylan keeping his gaze on the street around them from behind his sunglasses. “I don’t know this Sander guy, our driver, so I don’t trust him. Be ready for anything.”
“If he was sent for us, then your people and mine must have cleared him.”
“If they trusted him, wouldn’t they have told him your true identity?”
“They trusted you and didn’t tell you.”
“Okay, you have a point.” He bent down to look through the passenger side window and found himself looking at a middle-aged man with gray at his temples and a mustache and goatee. He spoke the words he’d been told to say. “¡Qué hay, Sander, mi pana!Vamos a tomar una birra.”
What’s up, Sander, my friend. Let’s go get a beer.
Sander smiled. “Climb in. I know just the place.”
Dylan opened the rear passenger door for Gabriela, reminding himself that he needed to treat her like a nun once more. “There you go, Sister. Buckle up.”
“Thank you.” She climbed in, put on her seatbelt.
Dylan closed the door behind her and slid into the front passenger seat, shoving his backpack into the space near his feet. “We need to stop somewhere for bottled water and sunglasses for Sister María and maybe a baseball hat or something. She’s too recognizable.”
Sander looked over his shoulder, his gaze moving over Gabriela in a way that made Dylan’s hackles rise. “She doesn’t look like a nun to me, but her face… I think you’re right.”
Dylan lowered his voice, filled it with menace. “If you betray us or do anything to hurt Sister María, I will rip your tongue out through your asshole. Understood?”
Sander looked both surprised and a little afraid. “Sí, señor.”
Gabriela took a different approach. “May God bless you for coming to our aid.”
His gaze still on Dylan, Sander answered her. “You’re welcome,Hermana.”
“Let’s go.”
Sander drove them to a gas station. “You can get what you want here.”
Dylan took some cash out of his pocket, handed it to Sander. “I’m not leaving Sister María. You’re going to go in, buy her sunglasses, a baseball cap, and get several bottles of water and some food.”