Twin Deception

1. Miguel

1

MIGUEL

G olden glimmers chased the ruby sparkles of beads and sequins along the mariachi band member’s lapels. Glittering and flashing, the ornamentation drew my eye.

Crimson shapes stitched onto his charcoal-black jacket cut a sharp contrast.

Like the spread of blood seeping out from a shot to the heart.

Strips of rhinestones and shapes of beadwork razzled and dazzled with the musician’s every move. He played the guitar, joining his fellow players in an upbeat rendition of Feliz Navidad . Every time he moved his arm, roving back and forth as he strummed, the adornments sewn into the pitch black of his jacket commanded my attention.

Hand in chin, elbow on the bar, I stared at the lightshow, mesmerized.

Or really fucking bored.

The man noticed my dead stare and nodded, smiling like a puppet. He was trained to entertain and wow at this resort’s bar, but I wasn’t in the mood. Not to grin back or acknowledge his speechless gesture of a hello!

Holiday joy hadn’t hit me yet, and I wasn’t sure if I would let it. Being a Grinch wasn’t my motive, but I simply couldn’t join in the general festive aura of this place.

Christmas lights shone all over, hung from every vertical item. Trees held big, fat bulbs of ornaments. Ribbons choked around posts and clung to wreaths. The scene before me screamed an order to celebrate, but it wasn’t tricking me into losing this impatience and annoyance at having to sit here and wait. It was all too Americanized for me, anyway, but what the hell did I care? This resort, and many of the other ritzy ones along the coast in Acapulco, were designed to attract the North Americans who wanted a break from the snow. Décor could be catered to them. Whatever it took to make them happy as the tourists poured money into the area.

I need a break.

Going from one job to another wasn’t sustainable. Or it wasn’t feasible in the long run. In my line of work, getting burned out could mean sloppiness. And that could result in too many big mistakes—like the end of my life.

All year long, I’d been staving off boredom and being too idle by taking every hit I could. Each time the Gulf Cartel needed someone killed, I took the assignment. Even some others, too. I picked up independent hits when the mood struck.

Now, it caught up to me. Now, as I sat at this bar and waited for Louis Flores to show up, I realized I had taken on too much, too soon. A balance was necessary, some time to work and earn ridiculously good money, then some time to relax and kick back.

I attempted it now, sitting upright and trying not to look like I was entirely miserable. As soon as I was done killing this corrupt businessman—one among the many who were often my targets—I could do that.

Relax.

Take it easy.

I could enjoy the respite from rushing to another job. My contact, Drago, hadn’t lined me up for one, and I wouldn’t accept one if he tried to.

This is it. For this year, at least. All these sunburned tourists and elite, wealthy locals were here to celebrate the coming of Christmas and the New Year, programmed to only have a holiday at the end of the year per what the calendar said. I, on the other hand, just needed to step back from the constant grind of killing the people the Cartel deemed unworthy of living.

Moving upright and looking more alert, I must have seemed like I was dancing. The mariachi guitarist nodded at me and smiled wider, as if encouraging me to move to the music.

Fuck that.

I picked up my drink and sipped it, letting the bourbon burn a welcome heat down my throat. It was hot and humid outside this huge bar and restaurant. Darkness spanned the space showing from the open windows and doors that led out to the patio. Further beyond, waves crashed against the cliffs.

I’d prefer that music over this upbeat melody.

And I’d really prefer it if Louis fucking Flores would show up.

The Mexican businessman was expected here, scheduled to meet with a local scumbag who called himself a politician. Honestly, those details didn’t matter. They never did. I didn’t invest an inkling of emotion into my kills. Drago forwarded me the details I needed, the material I could use to properly locate, track, stalk, then kill the people I was expected to remove.

My intel told me to count on Louis coming here and blending in with all the families and couples here to dine, eat, or celebrate.

Yet another member of the wait staff breezed by. Sparks flew into the air from the lit candle on an intricate cake. Before the dessert was brought to a round table, the mariachi band switched from the Christmas song to one of wishing someone a happy birthday.

I watched the waiter’s path as he set the plate down in front of a teenager. A sweet sixteen sash hung over her shoulder as she beamed at the cake. Rosy cheeks lifted high as she reacted in surprise. With her face both aglow and shadowed by the candle flaming near her, she smiled at the rest of her companions, probably her family.

This scene intrigued me more than the lame music. I spied on them, as I was sure many others did in this big space. What more could attract the attention of the entire place than a sparking and sizzling tall candle and the band highlighting what she was here for?

She smiled and waited for the song to end before blowing out her candle. The older woman next to her grinned while the man clapped. They had to be her parents. Her family. United and happy and together before the holidays came.

What did you wish for?

What are you hoping this year will bring you?

If I had to wager a guess, she already had it all, spoiled and pampered to eat at a place like this. It wasn’t my business, but being surrounded by all these families and couples was getting to me. It made me wonder what it’d be like to be a parent, to have a teenager and miss how quickly they had matured and grown up. To watch them blow out a candle and mark another year lived.

Snap out of it. I scolded myself, exhausted from this morose mood that had claimed me since coming to this resort in anticipation of getting close enough to Louis to kill him.

It wasn’t so easy to ignore it, though. It wasn’t a simple matter of looking the other way and minding my own business. Seeing all these guests who’d traveled here to celebrate the holidays with their families reminded me how I didn’t have one. How I didn’t have anyone .

I couldn’t with my career. Taking a break would give me the opportunity to look for someone to settle with, but my heart wasn’t in it.

They’re not kidding when they say this is the most depressing time of the year for some people. I wouldn’t commit to self-diagnosing myself as depressed.

I sighed again, glancing in the mirror for Flores. He still hadn’t shown up to talk with the man at that table near the exit. That was the liar he was supposed to speak with.

No, I wasn’t depressed.

Just fucking bored.

And sick of waiting around.

Come on, you bastard. Show up so I can get out of here already.

While I didn’t know where to go or what to do next on this break I wanted to carve out of my schedule, I knew I couldn’t stand hanging around here for much longer.

I reached for my phone to glance at the time—again—as someone approached me from the right.

“Is this seat taken?” a woman asked as she slid her ass onto the stool next to me.

“Now it is.” I didn’t bother to mask my appreciation as I dragged my stare up her curvy body. A woman didn’t dress like this to blend in. A sexy piece of ass like this didn’t smile and bat her eyelids like that to excuse her presence.

She wanted attention, and she had mine. For now. I openly admired the huge swells of her tits practically spilling out of her red dress. Before I could drag my gaze away, she lifted her hand to trace her manicured nail over the hem. As if I needed her to point at the assets she was fond of showing off.

“Am I interrupting something?” Her voice had that sultry, practiced purr. She raised her thin brows and glanced at my phone in my hand on top of the bar.

She was, actually. I was here on a job. Peeking in the reflection of the mirror behind the bar, I checked that the politician’s table looked the same. Yep. No Flores yet.

Where the fuck is he?

Drago had sent me all he had on him. I didn’t know whether my regular contact was a hacker or what. We’d never met in person, only speaking via encrypted call. It didn’t matter if I could put a face to the name. All that mattered was his playing the role of the messenger, and he never failed to send me the intel I needed to pull off a kill.

“No,” I lied to her. “You’re not interrupting.” Or she wouldn’t be once I finished off Louis. This blonde was after one thing. A hard, quick fuck. It wasn’t going to fill the hole in my heart of not having a family, but she’d be a distraction. She’d pass the time, at any rate.

Under my fingertips, my phone buzzed. As was our custom, Drago would text me precisely thirty seconds before he’d call. That was our system, something put in place so I could have time to excuse myself to listen to him.

“I’ll be right back. Excuse me.” I nodded at the blonde and took my phone outside to the patio. Glad to be hearing from my contact, I wondered if he was merely updating me with a new location for the old man I was supposed to kill.

“Miguel,” he greeted. “There’s been a change of plans.”

I huffed. “Tell me something I don’t know. Louis isn’t here, so something’s up.”

“He isn’t going to be there,” Drago replied bluntly. “The hit has been changed.”

“What?”

Dammit. I could adjust to changes as well as anyone else. No, that wasn’t true. As a hired assassin for a crime family, I had the ability to shift and react quickly. But I didn’t want to. Right now, I just wanted this job over so I could… figure out something else to do for a change.

“The hit has been changed. Someone must have found out and tipped off Flores.”

No wonder. Given the reason for the businessman to have a hit, I wasn’t shocked. Flores was duplicitous by nature, so I bet he was a paranoid bastard to think someone was out to get him.

Me. I was out to get him.

“He’s going under and is hiding.”

I rolled my eyes and shook my head. Great. Just what I needed. Just what I didn’t want to hear. I’d need to track him down all over again to kill him now. The promise of freedom and not working seemed further away.

I glanced through the windows, spotting the random blonde still seated at the bar.

The allure of a quick, meaningless fuck seemed out of reach now too.

Or maybe not.

“Is the hit canceled?” I asked.

“Um, no? Yes?”

I’d let him decide later. “Then I’m off the hook. I was hired to take him out, and if something’s changing…”

“No,” Drago replied. “You’re not off the hook.”

Dammit.

“Your new orders that relate to this job have changed, is all.”

I narrowed my eyes. Contracts to kill weren’t prone to revision. Someone pointed a finger and said kill that person, and I did. “Changed how?”

“Instead of hunting down Louis Flores, you are to find his daughter.”

“To… eliminate her?” I shoved my hand in my pocket, strolling among the shadows out here, lest someone listen in.

“No. To kidnap her and use her to lure her father in.”

I stared ahead at the ocean, letting my expression harden into annoyance.

Kidnapping? That implied hanging on to someone and keeping them captive for who knew how long.

So much for one last job before having a break.