Chapter 54 Welcome to Rio
FIFTY-FOUR
Welcome to Rio
LILA
As I’m whisked across town by an unfairly attractive contingent of Redleg Security bodyguards, a question runs through my mind on a loop.
How did I get here?
Occasionally, other errant thoughts pop in there too. Just to spice things up.
Do you have to be a real-life thirst trap to work at Redleg?
If so, how do they get around employment discrimination laws?
Why am I focused on the sex appeal dripping from these people instead of more pressing things like surviving the day or finding Kenzie?
Are Reed’s dickish tendencies a result of frequently wearing a torturous bulletproof vest?
Seriously, I’ve never been so uncomfortable in my life.
Not even when I poured myself into a girdle two sizes too small and wore it to work like a self-destructive loon.
Miraculously, I made it until my lunch break before cutting it off in a fit of desperation.
I knew then, much like I do now, that I was lucky I wasn’t born in Victorian times. A corset would be my thirteenth reason.
I’m a sweaty sausage, crammed in a steel casing that clearly wasn’t designed for meat with all this jelly. There is absolutely no way a woman with breasts was involved in the creation of this torture device.
But I digress.
Each time I successfully bat those distracting thoughts aside, I return to my initial question. How did I get here?
I’m objectively a nobody in the grand scheme of life. And yet, I’m being protected better than royalty. Armed guards just ushered me from my tower on a cloud of sex appeal with an undercurrent of fear.
My best friend, former or not, is once again at the mercy of vile killers who want me dead. Probably because I’m an FBI informant, sleeping with a special agent who’s trying to take down their crime ring.
All I want to do is look at birds. But noooo.
Instead, I’m sandwiched in the back of an SUV between Kri and her husband, Shep.
I’d be remiss if I didn’t point out how painfully attractive he is, as per Redleg’s hiring requirements.
Light brown hair with sun-kissed blond strands and the most mesmerizing blue eyes I’ve ever seen.
His hotness isn’t surprising, considering Kri had me questioning my sexuality from the moment she arrived. They match.
Her dreamy coworkers formed a protective barrier around me from the moment we slipped out of Reed’s condo until we jumped into the waiting SUV, which was at the condo’s rear entrance with Aaron revving the engine.
They didn’t want to risk being spotted leaving through the front.
Given that Kenzie was snatched from there, I was fine with their approach.
Not that I would have objected even if the power of speech were something I possessed at the time.
Save me, bodyguards of legend.
Kri rubs my forearm soothingly. “Try to breathe, Lila. We’re almost there. It doesn’t look like we’re being followed either. All good.”
I nervously lick my lips. “Where are we going?”
The bulky, beefy snack in the front seat answers. “Reed instructed us to take you to the FBI field office. They’re expecting you. We’re five minutes out.”
“Is Reed already there?”
Mental pat on my back for not sounding like a wilted pile of lettuce.
“Not yet.” Kri brings her mouth to my ear, adding, “Which is probably for the best.”
Perplexed, I squint at her to wordlessly beg for an explanation. I’d blurt out the question, but considering her hushed volume, it clearly isn’t something she wants broadcast.
Kri pointedly surveys the vehicle, pinging her focus at each guard individually.
Sadly, I haven’t had enough sleep for charades.
With a frustrated roll of her eyes, she whispers, “No need for them to lay eyes on Reed.”
Light bulb.
After widening my eyes at her to telegraph my understanding, I face the front windshield. My toes tap inside my sneakers while I chew on this new tidbit.
All these people work with Reed’s twin brother and would probably freak if they saw him. Earlier, Kri told me only two other people at Redleg are aware Sawyer has a sibling, let alone one who looks exactly like him. She also mentioned being confused why Reed doesn’t want to meet him.
Same here, sister.
Reed must have his reasons. And I bet they’re dumb.
Not to put him down, but he can be pigheaded when it comes to handling his feelings. One of our many similarities.
I’m bummed Sawyer wasn’t one of the ones assigned to shuttle me across town. I bet it was engineered that way by whoever the other people are at Redleg who are keeping Reed’s secret.
Shep tears his studious gaze from his window to eye down his wife. “Are you gonna share with the class?”
Kri’s only response is to scratch her nose with her middle finger, while steadfastly avoiding his glare. Marriage goals.
“It’s like that, huh?” He drags his palm roughly over his scalp. “We’ll see if your attitude changes when I get you alone.”
Inspiration strikes, and I toss out something guaranteed to shut him up. “She was ensuring I brought tampons. There’s blood happening. So much blood.”
Maybe whimsical nonsense would have made me seem cooler. Oh well. I’m probably never gonna see them again after this.
His nose crinkles with disgust. On my right, Kri snickers into her cupped hand, then brushes my arm with hers. I flash her a wink. Her returning smile says I might have a chance at making her my new BFF after all.
Aaron finally breaks his suspected vow of silence. “Since Kri and I are staying with Ms. Kent, who wants the keys to the SUV when we get there?”
There’s boring talk about who will drive and how they’ll move their vehicles around after they drop us off. But I’m unable to focus on any of it.
Because holy crap on a cracker.
Aaron’s voice.
He sounds so smoky he must be a lung cancer risk. Someone slap a surgeon general’s warning on his forehead.
Buried in his smooth, whiskey-soaked timbre is a subtle accent from another part of the country, with added Latino flair.
I give him a closer look in the rearview.
There’s something familiar about him beyond his panty-dropping voice.
He seems like a bad boy with short black hair, dark, mysterious eyes, and a tattoo of angel wings around his neck, like they’re holding up his head.
He’s the kind of guy your mother would warn you about. But you’d do it anyway.
Realization smacks me upside the face.
Bouncing in my seat, I snap my fingers, interrupting their fascinatingly boring car movement discussion. “Eureka! I got it.”
Shep’s hands shoot out in front of him at waist level, fingers spread like he’s ready to pounce. The others flinch as well.
Okay, lesson learned. Don’t spook the bodyguards. They startle easily.
“Didn’t mean to alarm you. That was on me.” I giggle, my cheeks flaming. “I figured out who Aaron reminds me of. It’s been bugging me.”
Aaron stops at a red light, puts his head down, and sighs. Loudly. With some extra rasp layered in for emphasis, which only proves my case.
That sound is classic Rio. And now I just gotta hear the line from the show. It’s a need.
“I’m not saying it. So don’t ask,” he husks out.
Chuckling softly, I ask, “I take it I’m not the first to make this request, huh?”
Kri peeks at me out of the corner of her eye. “What are you talking about?”
“Aaron’s a dead ringer for a character named Rio from the show Good Girls. Voice and all. A few of Rio’s lines from the show went viral. It’s a whole thing.”
Kri’s only response is a barely there nod. Most of her focus is on the surrounding area, presumably searching for danger.
I probably should let them do their jobs. My life is on the line. It would help if I acted like it.
Yet this is too golden an opportunity to let pass. I’m too weak to resist.
And, as we’ve well established, I’m a superfan of distraction.
“Please, Aaron. Just once.” I press my hands together in prayer position. “For all we know, this could be my final day on earth. You alone hold the power to honor my last wish.”
“This isn’t your last day on earth,” decrees the brickhouse in the front passenger seat.
“Your mouth to God’s ears, big fella.”
Come to think of it, he’s familiar as well. He’s got Alan Ritchson vibes. But that isn’t important right now.
I return my pleading eyes to the rearview mirror. “Aaron, please say it for me. Can’t you give me this one little thing? Pretty please? I’ve been a good girl. Heh. Heh.”
I’ve never been above begging, as Reed will attest.
Glancing at the mirror, he catches me flashing my puppy dog eyes. “Fine. Just once.” He shakes his head, grits his teeth, and breathes out the infamous line. “Get in the car, Elizabeth.”
Squeeeee.
I shimmy my shoulders and beam at him, feeling grateful for this beautiful distraction. Especially since the FBI field office is looming in the near distance. When we arrive, my grim reality will come crashing down around me.
Batting my lashes at Aaron, I give him a heartfelt, “Thank you. That was fabulous.”
He flashes a ghost of a smile at me with a wink, and I melt a little.
Don’t get me wrong, I love Reed more than anything. I’d never stray. Never.
However, if he . . . nah. I’m not finishing that thought.
“Okay, kids. Game faces on,” Kri announces as we pull into the parking lot.
The time for frivolity appears to have ended. Sadly.
Apparently, I’m not even safe in an FBI parking lot, judging by the way they all ready themselves for battle.
How long will they continue being my human shields? My superior powers of deduction tell me that Kri and Rio—I mean Aaron—are accompanying me inside. Will the others shove me into the door and pat my tush, sending me on my merry little way?
“Okay, I think that’s our guy. Looks like the photo they sent me.” Kri points to a trio of men stationed at the side of the building, their badges visible on their belts. Right next to their holstered guns. “You’ve seen Agent Romero before, right?”
“Yeah. He was at the casino last night when I was wearing a wire.” I stretch my neck, angling for a better view. “That’s him in front of the pack.”
Aaron drives to the sidewalk leading to an auxiliary door, coming to an abrupt stop. The crew ejects themselves from the car like their seats.
Kri hauls me from the car by my wrist, wrapping her arm around me. Again, they’re a wall of protection around me. The FBI agents get into the mix, ushering us all into the building in a frantic haze.
Well, I’m frantic. They’re all cucumber-level cool. Just another day.
Meanwhile, my heart pounds like a bass drum on amphetamines. It’s so dang loud I can’t hear the brief conversation around me. The big guy is the first to retreat, huffing it to the SUV parked on the curb without saying goodbye.
Fun fact: Forcing your breathing to steady is extra challenging whilst locked into an iron vise.
I tug at the waistband of the bulletproof vest, gasping for oxygen.
Imagine if that’s what took me out. Only I could evade a sniper or gang abduction, then perish from a wardrobe-induced asthma attack.
Aaron senses my difficulty and comes to my aid in heroic fashion. He reaches for the snaps on my shoulders and goes to work. Once I’m more human than sausage, he turns up that Rio charm to level infinity. “You good, mama?”
Have mercy on me.
He tucks the medieval torture vest under his arm and smirks diabolically. “No charge for that one. You did great, Lila. All safe now.”
Thank goodness he doesn’t have dimples.
He disappears into the background. Shep and Kri exchange heated looks before he vanishes. And we’re moving again.
When we enter the elevator, Kri passes my cell phone to Agent Romero. Which is interesting, considering I didn’t know she had it. Not only is she the toughest chick I’ve ever seen, but she’s a ninja thief.
“GPS is still off,” she tells him.
“Any contact with Jabali?” He shakes his head once and blinks, as if he’s cutting himself off. “I mean with Silas.”
Jabali? Huh?
Kri shakes her head. “Nothing yet. Reed asked us to wait before attempting to reach him.”
Romero checks his watch. “Hayes is about twenty minutes away. Unless Silas initiates contact first, we’ll wait.” He sweeps his teasing eyes my way. “Now that his cookie is here, maybe Reed will calm the fuck down.”
Oh yeah. Reed slipped during the undercover casino thing and called me ‘cookie’ while his teammates were listening.
Resisting the urge to preen, I counter, “I wouldn’t count on it. They have his sister.”
Frowning, he puffs his cheeks around his lips, holding back his words. Until he can’t. “Yeah. So about that . . .”