Paige looked up and down the street, shops and restaurants lining the busy section of town. A cab had dropped them off half a block away, and Paige guessed they were only about five miles from their hotel. “Why are we here?”
“Remember how Kel said they think Morenta is trying to open drug routes using the oil industry?” Damian kept his voice low as he guided her forward.
“Yeah.” She matched her pace to his, the scent of grilled meat and baked bread making her mouth water.
“My squad was sent in to try to find the flow of drugs out of Venezuela.”
“And?”
“We’re going to look in the other direction. We’ll follow the flow of payment going back to Colombia.”
“How are we going to do that?” She lowered her voice to a whisper. “I’m sure the CIA is tracking money transfers.”
“We aren’t looking for money transfers. We’re looking for diamonds.”
“Why diamonds?”
“Diamonds are hard currency the Venezuelan government can’t readily seize. Not to mention they’re small enough to easily pay off people along their new drug routes.”
“And exactly how do you plan to trace these diamond payments?”
“We’re going to follow the courier. When I called to check in, Kel told me they had a tip about a particular jewelry store, and there was a mention of tonight.”
“Damian, you aren’t making any sense. Even if you can identify the diamond couriers, how in the world would you know which one to follow?”
“Remember how I told you I worked in the oil industry and then in banking?”
“Yeah.”
“Part of my job was to process payments in and out of Maracaibo. I know pretty much every diamond courier in the city. We’re looking for one I don’t know.”
“It could take days to find the right person,” Paige said.
“I don’t think so. Banks only do diamond exchanges on Tuesdays and Fridays. Today’s the first one available since my squad disappeared.”
“You think someone might make a payment for capturing them?”
“Or dropping them off where they couldn’t be found. Come on. I think it’s time we get something to eat.” Damian took her hand and led her toward an outdoor café. Along the edge of the café, Paige could see a huge fireplace where meat was being grilled on spits.
Damian greeted the hostess in Spanish, and a moment later, he pulled out a chair for Paige at one of the tables nearest the sidewalk.
“Thanks.” Paige took her seat, and Damian sat in the chair beside her.
The hostess handed them each a menu, and Paige looked inside, though she needed Damian’s help making an order. “Any suggestions?” she asked.
“Do you trust me?” Damian asked in response.
“Sure, I guess.”
He took her menu from her and handed it to their waitress when she approached. He proceeded to speak rapidly in Spanish, apparently giving the woman their orders.
As soon as the waitress left them, Paige asked, “What did you order?”
“Don’t worry. You’ll like it.”
He couldn’t have been more right. The arepitas smelled almost as good as they tasted, the white cornmeal mixture forming something that looked like a flattened hush puppy. Their main dish consisted of grilled beef and chicken.
“This is wonderful.”
“Glad you like it.” They lingered over their meal and were debating whether to order dessert when Paige felt Damian’s attention shift away from her.
She leaned forward and spoke softly. “Is something wrong?”
“I think I found our courier.”
Remembering the training Vanessa had drilled into her students, Paige fought the urge to look around. “Where?”
“To your ten o’clock. The guy heading into the jewelry store.”
Paige let her eyes wander just enough to glance in the direction Damian was indicating. Three people stood near the store: a woman in her early twenties, a man wearing grubby clothes and looking like he was probably in need of a roof for the night, and a well-dressed man in his forties.
“The man in the suit?” Paige whispered.
“No, the other one.” Damian took her hand in his.
“That can’t be someone carrying diamonds. He looks like he’s homeless.”
“Exactly. What better way to make sure no one tries to steal what you’re carrying than to look like you don’t have anything to steal?” The confidence in Damian’s words left little room for doubt.
Damian lifted Paige’s hand and pressed a lingering kiss to the back of it. Warmth seeped through her from the old-fashioned gesture, and she barely registered his words when he said, “I think we’re about to become engaged.”
He stood and pulled some bills from his wallet, dropping them on the table.
“I’m sorry. What did you just say?”
Reaching for her hand again, he helped her up, slipped his arm around her, and leaned down to whisper in her ear. “Promise me you’ll play along.”
“Okay,” she said, doubts rushing through her.
Damian guided her out onto the sidewalk, and Paige reminded herself that he wouldn’t take her anywhere too dangerous. Surely she could make it through this and help Damian get closer to locating the people they had been sent here to find.
* * *
Damian watched the diamond courier enter the jewelry store. He knew the procedures well and suspected he would only have one shot at tagging him with the marking spray.
Damian’s original plan had been to simply follow the man, but couriers were always on the lookout for someone who might be trying to rob them. When Paige had shown him her tools, he had adjusted his plans.
He hated involving her, but he couldn’t think of a better way of occupying and distracting the store employees than to buy an engagement ring.
“What exactly do you want me to do?” Paige asked.
“Be very indecisive about what ring you want. Ask lots of questions of whoever is helping us.”
“My Spanish isn’t very good.”
“Even better.” Damian kept her hand in his. “I just need everyone’s attention to be on you, not me.”
Paige swallowed. “I’ll do what I can.”
“You’ll be fine,” Damian assured her. He opened the door and did a quick assessment.
A single store clerk, a woman in her forties, stood at the counter. A door to the side of the store appeared to lead to a work area for the jewelry maker, and Damian could hear voices coming from inside.
“May I help you?” the clerk asked.
“Yes,” Damian spoke, knowing Paige would only understand a portion of what was being said. “We are looking for an engagement ring.”
“Congratulations,” the woman said, beaming at them both.
“Thank you.” Damian motioned to Paige. “She doesn’t speak much Spanish, but do you think you can help her find something she likes?”
“Of course.” The woman motioned for them to sit at a nearby counter, and she reached for a key ring to unlock the display featuring diamond rings.
Damian deliberately didn’t sit, taking up position behind Paige. He couldn’t hear more than an occasional word or phrase from the other room, but it was enough for him to be sure the man was indeed a courier.
Determined to play the doting fiancé, Damian put his hand on Paige’s back, commenting on her selections as she went from one ring to another. She slid one onto her finger, a round-cut diamond surrounded by diamond chips. Though the stone wasn’t terribly large, Damian approved of the elegance of the setting and the clean lines.
“What do you think of this one?” Paige asked.
He very nearly approved of her choice before he remembered the real reason they were here. “It’s a possibility,” Damian said instead, suggesting she look at a few more.
Paige asked one question after another, using hand signals to communicate and sometimes relying on Damian to translate. He was starting to worry they would exhaust the supply of rings before the meeting in the other room broke up when finally the door opened. A well-dressed man in his late forties emerged with the courier.
Damian reached out and motioned to the ring Paige had set aside. “I think you should go with that one.” He nudged it forward to the store clerk. “We’ll take this one. How much?”
She gave him a price, one that was within his ability to pay cash.
Damian dug some bills out of his front pocket, the vial of marking spray coming with it and falling onto the floor.
The courier was nearing him, and Damian deliberately dropped some bills so he would have an excuse to stay squatted down longer. He picked up the spray bottle first, holding it in his right hand while he took his time gathering bills with his left.
When the courier walked past him, he pressed the top of the small sprayer, aiming it at the man’s leg. Gathering the last of the bills, he stood and placed the bills on the table.
“Sorry about that.” Damian counted out the bills and laid them on the counter.
The woman gave him his change and handed him the ring rather than giving it to Paige. Belatedly, Damian realized she expected him to give it to Paige himself.
With a nervous smile, he pulled the ring out of the box and reached for Paige’s left hand. He slipped the ring on her finger and leaned forward to press his lips to hers, as much for his benefit as for show. “Perfect.”
Clearly delighted with being part of their engagement, the store clerk gushed over them with another stream of congratulations.
Damian had hoped to get out of the store in time to see which direction the courier had gone in case the marking spray hadn’t worked, but by the time they made it outside, the shabbily dressed man was nowhere in sight.
Keeping in character as a newly engaged man, Damian slid his arm around Paige and started down the sidewalk.
“Now what?” Paige whispered.
“Now I call Kel. He’ll call in our tech guys to see where our courier goes.”
He lifted his hand to hail a cab. “By the way, you were great in there.”
“Thanks.” She smiled. “You were pretty amazing yourself.”