“You might want to hand that over to a local museum. They’ll find a good home for it.”
“Si, this I will do.”
“Thank you, for everything.” Julia reached out and squeezed Maria’s hand.
“I wish you well and hope you stay safe,” Maria said.
Julia stepped into the corridor and waited for the others to follow. Patricia stopped at Maria and pulled her into a tight hug.
“Watch the mail, young lady. There will be a huge tip coming your way.”
They closed the door to Maria’s tinkling laugh.
The corridor was much longer than Julia thought it would be. They didn’t say a word until they started climbing the stone stairs to the convent chapel.
“Anyone else thinking about those randy nuns and monks?” Elle said.
They pushed through the door Maria had told them to take and found themselves behind the pulpit in the chapel. The exit was on the left, and Julia couldn’t help but notice that the women’s chapel wasn’t anywhere near as ornate as the men’s. Maybe they didn’t have as much money to decorate, seeing as they had all those extra mouths to feed? She tried to busy her mind thinking about living in a place like this, but it made no difference—it kept steering her back to Joe.
Had he gotten her message? Was he safe? Was he hurt? Her stomach spasmed at the thought, and she reminded herself that Joe knew what he was doing. He was trained, experienced and smart. She had to trust in him and believe he’d be fine.
Rushing across the chapel, they pushed through the exit onto a busy street. There was a line of taxis waiting, and they climbed into the back of the first one.
Once inside, the three women looked at each other.
“Where are we going?” Elle said.
“I don’t know,” Julia said. “I think the men will probably check the hotels.”
“The central plaza,” Patricia said. “It’s always busy, and we can hole up in the cathedral, or one of the restaurants and bars.”
When they readily agreed, Patricia told the driver to head to the Plaza de Armas. As soon as he drove into the traffic, the women ducked down to hide. Julia pulled out her phone. She had to make sure Joe had got her text. She had to make sure he was safe. Joe was out in the middle of nowhere with a man he thought was his friend, but who’d allied himself to Carlos Esteban.
She tapped his image on the screen of her phone as they rushed through the busy streets.
Joe, Callum and Ryan were hunkered down behind a copse of prickly bushes, their guns trained on the men who poured from between the giant slabs of rock. Seven, Joe noted. They’d reduced them by three and there was no sign of Ed. Whether that meant he was elsewhere or his new comrades had turned on him, Joe didn’t know.
He felt a tap on his shoulder and turned to see Callum signal at him.
We hide. Wait.
Joe nodded his agreement. They sure as hell couldn’t run for it. He watched as Esteban’s men spread out, shouting out to each other, not even trying to keep quiet. They thought they had the upper hand. Joe liked to think they didn’t. As some of the men made their way off in the opposite direction, the number who were close enough to be an immediate threat was reduced.
Things were looking up.
And then his phone rang.
He scrambled for it and shut it off, but it was too late. Esteban’s men were running towards them.
“I’ll hold them off,” Callum said. “You two circle around. Take out as many as you can.”
Joe and Ryan didn’t have to be told twice. They ran, crouching low, in opposite directions, flanking their enemy, as Callum started to fire. Their boss was lying flat on his belly, firing with his arms out in front of him, making himself as small a target as possible.
Joe moved fast and silent, his breath eerily steady, his heartbeat calm. He was trained for this and he had confidence in his experience. He came up on the first man as he ran down a steep verge. Joe slipped his gun into the waistband of his jeans and pulled his knife out from a sheath strapped to his shin. He pounced on the man, attacking from behind, one hand covering his mouth as the other stabbed up and into his heart. A sharp, perfectly placed strike. He lowered the man to the ground and moved on to the next one.
Gunfire rang out. Esteban’s men were focused on dodging bullets and getting to Callum’s hiding spot. It never occurred to them that their prey wasn’t waiting for them. It was clear this so-called army of Esteban’s weren’t trained. They might have been experienced in violence and blood, but they didn’t think strategically.
Joe took out another two men, while Callum’s bullets caught two more. One was writhing on the ground holding his leg. Joe crouched as he ran over to the man. He knocked him out and took his gun.