Rendezvous in Rio by Danielle Bourdon

Author:Danielle Bourdon [Bourdon, Danielle]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Goodreads: 25460365
Publisher: Montlake Romance
Published: 2014-12-31T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

By the time they were three streets away from her grandfather’s house, Madalina’s feet hurt and she’d started to wheeze. Her lungs were on fire from the incessant pace and the uphill angle of some of the roads.

It felt as if they’d been running forever.

In an effort to stay out of sight and off the main thoroughfares, Cole had bought a map to navigate the safest backroads en route to Ipanema Beach. Even on those less traveled avenues, he’d used every possible option to give them yet more cover: parked cars, trees, groups of unaware pedestrians. Madalina got a firsthand glimpse of just how furtive Cole could be when the situation demanded it.

As dusk began to creep over the landscape, eating away the light, Cole’s cell phone rang. He brought Madalina to a halt on the sidewalk and fished the phone from his pocket.

Relieved for a break to catch her breath, she watched Cole rather than the street. There was a minivan parked at the curb between them and the road, giving an extra bit of cover.

“Yeah?” Cole said. Then he tilted the phone out and turned the speaker on. The volume was low so that Thaddeus’s voice didn’t carry far.

Madalina tilted her head closer to the device anyway, not wanting to miss a word.

“I have news,” Thaddeus said in a grim voice.

“Give it to us,” Cole said.

“Reggie, Carlo, and Frank didn’t make it. Alston got away with a flesh wound. Those bastards cut my guys down in cold blood, right on the street.”

Madalina covered her mouth with her hands, shocked to the core. Three men hadn’t made it out alive from the shootout. She darted a look at Cole. His expression had gone as grim as Thaddeus’s voice.

“Unbelievable,” Cole finally said.

“You made the right choice leaving like you did. There was nothing anyone could have done. Alston said it was a drive-by, but he didn’t get a look at the occupants,” Thaddeus added.

“Too busy diving for cover,” Cole said, then muttered an expletive before asking, “Is Alston at the hospital?”

“Yes. He’ll be there awhile getting stitched up. You’re both on your own.”

“We were going to go out on our own anyway,” Cole said, raking a hand back through his hair. “We just didn’t expect it to go down like that.”

“Didn’t trust the guys to go with you the rest of the way?” Thaddeus asked.

“No. I doubt any of them were double spies, but we can’t be too careful after all this,” Cole said. “We’re almost to the house. I’ll let you know what we find.”

“Hey . . . be careful. These people aren’t messing around.”

“I know. Any word on Brandon?” Cole asked at the last second.

“Nothing yet. Text me and let me know when you’re safe in the house,” Thaddeus said.

“Will do.” Cole ended the call, muttered another curse, and shoved the phone away. He caught Madalina’s gaze. “Like Thaddeus said, there was nothing we could have done to help Carlo, Reggie, and Frank. It was over before it began.

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