Shadow of Temptation (Asylums for Magical Threats #2.5)

by Jessie Donovan

  She was more concerned about the meeting with her boss from the Mexico City Feiru Liaison office. She had no way of knowing if Yolanda had succeeded in passing on the message before she went missing.

  Yolanda. She didn’t know a whole lot about the woman’s private life, but she’d been putting herself in danger to help Sabrina for nearly a year. If something happened to her, it would be Sabrina’s fault.

  She clenched her fists and decided she was done lying around. She needed answers, but in order to do that, she needed to get free. It was time to find out if she was alone or not. She yelled, “Jorge Salazar, I’m awake, so get your ass in here.”

  She waited one second, then another. Finally, the doorknob to her room turned and Jorge appeared in the doorway. “So, you’re awake.”

  She narrowed her eyes. “Yes, I’m awake, asshole. And you’d better hope it’s only the next morning, or I will find a way to hurt you later.”

  He merely raised an eyebrow. “Such big words from a lady currently tied to a bed. Have you ever considered being nice to me? That might work better at getting me on your side.”

  “Says the man who drugged me.” She tugged on the restraints around her wrists. “Just answer me this: Is it only the next morning? And if so, what time is it?”

  He gave a one-shoulder shrug. “It is. Why does the time matter?”

  Okay, her headache was getting worse. “You know how I told you that I’ve been trying to bring the Fed League down since day one? Well, I have a contact that’s been helping me and I need to meet him.”

  He moved toward her bed. “More secrets, Sabrina? What’s his name? And how can this man help you? Answer those questions, and I’ll consider letting you go so you can meet with him.”

  “Just like that?” She gave him a skeptical look. “That’s way too easy. Now you’re the one who is hiding something.”

  “I have a few other conditions, but just know that I have information on your waitress friend. That should encourage you to start talking.”

  “Okay, fine.” Think, Sabrina, think. She’d have to tread carefully here. “His name is Juan Marquez. He has human friends with government connections. Watkins isn’t only on your shit-list—he’s wanted by the Mexican government.”

  “And how do you fit into all of this?”

  “Well, I know Juan through Yolanda.”

  “The waitress? I watched you back in the restaurant before I approached you and you didn’t seem like you were all that buddy-buddy.”

  “If there were even the slightest chance someone was watching you from the Fed League, would you want to act all buddy-buddy?”

  “Good point.” He took out a small pocketknife from one of the pockets of his pants and opened it. “So, let’s say all of this is true. What are you supposed to meet and discuss with this Juan guy?”

  She eyed the knife. She just needed to give him a little more information, and she might get free. “I’m close to getting Watkins, but I can’t do it alone. I need backup, and that’s where Juan comes in.”

  “Do you trust him?”

  “With my life.”

  She swore she saw his jaw clench a second, but before she could blink, his face was relaxed again. He raised his knife and tapped the cloth restraints holding her arms with his blade as he said, “I can use all of the help I can get to capture Watkins, so I’ll let you meet with this Juan guy, provided you agree to my conditions.”

  Great. Just what she needed. “They’d better not require me to be naked or for me to turn into your slave, because I can tell you right now that I’ll refuse.”

  The corner of his lips twitched. “As much as I’d like you to be my naked sex slave, I was thinking more along the lines of you allowing me to shadow you to your meeting place to confirm your story. If it pans out, then your friend can help speed up our take-down of Watkins.”

  She knew she should stay focused, but she couldn’t let Jorge’s lip twitching pass. Before she could stop herself, Sabrina asked, “Wait a second—were you about to smile?”

  Jorge had, indeed, nearly cracked a smile at Sabrina’s flippant remark. Truth be told, he couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt the urge.

  But it was best to ignore her comment since he couldn’t allow her to start liking him again. “Did you hear what I said? If you want free then you’re going to have to let me follow you to the market. Afterward, once we regroup, you tell me what Juan says and I’ll give you information on Yolanda.”

  Her teasing tone was gone. “Just tell me—is Yolanda in any immediate trouble?”

  He suddenly felt guilty that he didn’t have that much information to share with her. “If there were a way to save her right now, I swear to you that I would try to save her. But the information I have isn’t enough for us to go looking for her. At least, not yet.”

  She looked at him for a few seconds and then sighed. “I’m probably an idiot for agreeing to this, but okay. Cut me free, and as long as you keep up your end of the bargain, I’ll keep my promises.”

  He was probably no less an idiot, but the longer they kept butting heads and being stubborn, the greater the chance he would fail this mission. They needed to start working as a team, and this was as good a first step as any. “Fine,” he said and then he took her wrist in his hand.

  Her skin was much softer than his, and he couldn’t help but brush his thumb against the warm underside of her wrist. Part of him wanted to keep her tied up so he could continue to look at her toned thighs, small but firm breasts, and the curve of her neck where it met her shoulder. He’d always been attracted to her, and it seemed that despite what needed to be done, and the fact she probably hated him more than ever before, he still was.

  He gently slid his finger under the restraint and cut her free. Rather than give up her wrist, he massaged it with his fingers. He heard Sabrina’s breath catch before she yanked her hand away. “We don’t have time for you to play nice and care about my well-being. Just cut me free, let me use the restroom, and we can be on our way.”

  Her words snapped him back to reality. It was time to face facts—Sabrina would never want him, and fantasizing about her would only distract him from his mission.

  Careful to touch her skin as little as possible this time, he cut her other wrist free and went down to her feet, making sure to face the bed and Sabrina. Good thing, too, since she sat up and started rotating her shoulders. With both of her legs free, he moved back and put away his knife. He motioned to the small en suite bathroom. “I’ll give you ten minutes to clean up.”

  Since they both knew that there was no escaping through the tiny, barred window in the room, Sabrina nodded and he left to go check his phone one last time before they went to the market.

  He didn’t know whether it was a good or bad thing to not have any messages from his contacts, but he did notice the time. He only had twenty minutes before he could shift again. It was a good back-up plan to have if things went wrong during Sabrina’s meeting with this Juan guy, but he hoped he didn’t have to use it. He’d much rather use it later today to finish this damn mission so he could run as far away as possible from Sabrina and her warm, smooth skin.

  Sabrina knew it was ridiculous, but she swore she could feel Jorge’s eyes on her as she wandered the outdoor section of the market.

  Ever since he’d caressed the underside of her wrist and massaged it, she’d become hyperaware of his presence. They had walked in near silence to this location, only speaking to lay out the basics of what would happen and their plans for any unexpected complications. But he’d bumped into her twice—once against her shoulder, and the other time against her hand—and both times she’d barely prevented herself from drawing in a breath. This part of Mexico was warm year-round, but her temperature had definitely knocked up a few degrees when his hand had brushed hers.

  Her body had a hell of a way of noticing who was attractive. Considering he’d tied her up twice and drugged her, Jorge Salazar should be the last man she wanted. Wel
l, except for maybe Watkins or any of his Fed League lackeys.

  She swept the area with her eyes, determined to focus. She needed to find the clothing stand run by an elderly woman with her hair in a bun and dressed in a white Mayan-style loose top with blue and yellow embroidered flowers.

  She and Juan rarely met in person, but each time it was at a different market and a different stall. The main thing was to pass on her information without looking suspicious. Someone else working for the Feiru Liaison office had previously confirmed that the elderly woman spoke no English—the language she and Juan usually used to communicate—so that wasn’t the issue. No, the concern was always that someone might be watching either Juan or herself. Juan was retired from the field, but like any agent who’d spent years undercover on different assignments, he’d gained a few enemies over the years who’d like nothing more than to kill him.

  It was a risk anyone from the office took when they agreed to go undercover.

  She spotted the elderly woman she was looking for a few stands down, so Sabrina stopped at a spice stall in front of her and pretended to browse. She couldn’t move to the clothing stall until she spotted Juan.

  She made a token purchase of a small package of chili and moved to the next stall. That’s when she noticed Juan, dressed in jeans and a blue polo shirt, walking down the main walkway toward her location. They briefly made eye contact, and then she moved to the clothing stall first.

  After holding up one of the Mayan-style embroidered blouses and asking about the price, Juan sidled up beside her. As he pretended to browse, she put down the shirt and picked up another. She held it high above her head to pretend to study the embroidery as she whispered, “There’s been a change in plans. I have an additional helper for the final play, but I want some officials there to arrest our target.”

  “Who is this new helper?”

  She shook her head. “No names. But he wants our target as much as we do.”

  Juan gave her a sideways glance. “You want me to risk my people on your word?”

  She put down the shirt and picked up another one. “Yes. I may have to move up the date for my plan, but since my contact at the restaurant is missing, I’ll need a new person to pass on the details.”

  Juan picked up one of the small purses embroidered with flowers and paid for it. He turned and managed to whisper, “We’re looking for her. In the meantime, use the emergency phone number to contact me. If it’s too dangerous to call me to get details, even in code, I’ll find a way to give you the new contact’s location. I’ll start setting things up within the hour.”

  She nodded and Juan left. Sabrina put the shirt down, picked up the first one she had admired, and then paid the woman with a smile before she headed to one of the nearby stalls that sold shoes. She wanted to run straight to her meet-up location with Jorge, but she wasn’t a rookie; she needed to keep shopping for at least another five or ten minutes to keep up appearances.

  Still, things were looking good. While Yolanda might still be missing, Sabrina really had a shot at finishing this undercover stint in a day or two. She should feel happy at finally giving up this double-life of doing horrible things in order to help the greater good, but finishing the assignment meant that Jorge would leave and she’d never see him again.

  She tried to convince herself that she didn’t want him to leave until she could persuade him that she’d known nothing about him being passed on to the Collector. But deep down, she wanted more. She wanted the familiarity and ease they’d once had.

  In short, she wanted to have a friend again.

  And not just any friend—one who also made her skin heat with a touch and who could probably make her weak in the knees with a single kiss.

  Ridiculous. Jorge would toss her to the wolves before he’d kiss her. Not that she could blame him. Her actions had killed his former feelings for her.

  No, the best thing for her to do was to finish the job and send him on his way.

  Sabrina moved to another stall and was about to buy some chopped fruit when she felt something slither around her bare ankle. She’d changed into the more civilian-looking clothes Jorge had provided before coming to the market—shorts, sandals, and a t-shirt—but when she glanced down, there was nothing. Yet it felt like a whisper of silk was brushing against her skin.

  Careful to keep her face neutral, she tried to take a step, but something tugged at her ankle before changing directions. There was another tug, and Sabrina was forced to move her legs in the direction of the tugging or fall over. Another brush of silk on her other leg and she was soon being forced down the row of stands to the street. She tried not to look around, not wanting to draw attention to herself.

  No, she only needed to get the attention of one person. She clenched her fingers into a fist and pointed her thumb downward—the signal that something was wrong.

  She only hoped Jorge saw it.

  Chapter Seven

  While Jorge had been a prisoner under the Collector, his life had depended upon him learning to blend in, and today that skill was coming in handy at the crowded marketplace. His clothes were nondescript, and since he’d grown up near Merida during his childhood, even his accent wasn’t noteworthy.

  Still, it took some effort to keep an eye on Sabrina without deliberately staring at her. It had been a long time since he’d seen that much of her smooth, tan skin.

  He’d been an idiot to choose jean shorts and a tight-fitting purple t-shirt from her apartment while she’d been unconscious. He should’ve gone with the jeans or one of her long flowing skirts. Then maybe he could concentrate on more than how the denim hugged her fine ass or how her shorts displayed almost every inch of her long, golden tan legs.

  His thoughts had started to venture into more dangerous territory—such as how it’d feel to grab that soft, bare ass with his hands—when Sabrina finally approached the clothing stand she’d described as the meeting place.

  This was it. Time to watch for this Juan guy and see what happened.

  As she pretended to browse, a man with light brown skin and short black hair approached the same stall. Once Sabrina lifted up a shirt over her head as if to inspect it, he could see her lips moving. He didn’t have supersensitive hearing or the ability to read lips, but from their interactions, he could tell they were at least somewhat familiar with each other. An average person wouldn’t notice, but their mutual shared glances told him that they’d done this before.

  He did a sweep of the surrounding market stalls to check for anything suspicious. He started to wonder just how well Sabrina knew this Juan guy when Jorge’s eyes locked onto a face he’d seen once before. He didn’t know the woman’s name, but the long, red hair curling around her shoulders was unmistakable—the redhead was part of the Collector’s army of Feiru with latent abilities.

  Fuck. He wished he knew what sort of power she had, but he’d only glimpsed her once inside the Collector’s facility. For good reason, the coerced soldiers hadn’t been allowed to socialize.

  He didn’t want to break eye contact with the redhead, but he needed to check to see if Sabrina’s meeting was over. Then he could start thinking of how to get her out of here, and preferably without the other woman following them.

  He glanced back to the clothing stall and saw that Juan was already gone. Sabrina had just paid the woman running the stand when he noticed her foot move off to the side in an unnatural fashion.

  He frowned when it happened again. Sabrina was hiding it well, but there was definitely something off about the way she walked—she lacked the slight sway of the hips and confidence to her strut. Instead, she was barely managing an uneven stroll. He glanced back to the redhead and saw her lips whispering something. He also noticed the motion of her thumb rubbing against her forefinger and middle finger. Those two actions told him what latent abilities the woman controlled.

  The redhead was a Night-Weaver.

  No matter how tight the Collector’s security, people tended to talk with one a
nother during missions. Most of his assignments had been solo kidnapping attempts, but during one multi-person kidnapping stint, he’d been forced to work with a man who’d been a Night-Weaver. He’d learned that they could weave strands as strong as steel yet they felt as soft as silk and the Night-Weaver could direct the strands to whatever target they chose. The bitch of it was that you could only see the strands at nighttime, when they’d glow a faint white from the moonlight. During the day, they were invisible to the naked eye.

  If that weren’t bad enough, there were probably other Feiru with latent abilities hiding in the market, waiting to take him down. If they managed to trap him and Sabrina in the midst of the crowded market, it could be game over. Even if he safely made it away from the prying eyes of humans, all the Collector’s people needed to do was shoot him with some kind of tranquilizer and he wouldn’t be able to use any of his shadow-shifting tricks to escape.

  The Collector’s soldiers had to be here, targeting Sabrina, because of him. He’d been careful, but someone had seen him, and he needed to do something. He wasn’t about to let someone else be used against him again. Just the thought of Sabrina being tortured made him sick to his stomach. She might still be hiding some truths from him, but no one deserved the sort of abuse the Collector’s people would inflict on her.

  First things first, he needed to break the Night-Weaver’s concentration long enough to get Sabrina to some of the nearby shadows. Once there, he could use one of his tricks to escape. But the question was: How?

  He scanned the surroundings and saw a fruit stand off to his left. He quickly purchased a pineapple and moved closer toward Sabrina, careful to keep to the crowded edges of the vendor stands. By now, Sabrina was nearly to the street. If she reached it, a car could squeal up, snatch her, and take her anywhere. He needed to make his move before that could happen.