I set the glass down harder than necessary and looked down the dark curve of beach, toward where the villa sat hidden beyond palms and security lights I couldn’t see from here.
“Should’ve never taken this assignment.”
But that was a lie.
If I hadn’t taken it, maybe I wouldn’t have found her in time. Maybe someone else would have gone through that desert and missed the fire. Maybe Destiny would have been alone when the whole world started burning around her.
No.
I would take the assignment again.
That was the problem.
I would take it again knowing exactly where it led.
I turned back toward the bar. “I’ll just drink the night away.”
The seat beside me was no longer unoccupied.
I smelled her before I looked.
Not Destiny.
Regan.
Expensive perfume, warm vanilla, something floral and sharp underneath. The kind of scent a woman wore when she wanted people to remember she was soft only if she chose to be.
I felt what she was about to say before the words left her mouth.
I picked up the tequila and gave her the greeting first.
“Buenas noches, Generala.”
Regan slid onto the barstool beside me, one brow lifting. “Generala?”
“Feminine form,” I said. “Figured if the men are calling you the general, I should show respect in the local language.”
“Your Spanish is terrible.”
“My respect is genuine.”
She took the cold drink the bartender set in front of her, something clear with lime and ice. “Is it a good night?”
I looked toward the ocean.
“No.”
“Honest. That’s refreshing.”
“Don’t get used to it.”
She smiled faintly and stirred her drink with the straw. “I sent Destiny to bed with pain medicine and hot cocoa with whipped cream.”
“She’s not a child anymore.”
The words came out faster than they should have.
Regan looked at me.
