Finn waited until he heard the click signifying that Ixchel had hung up, he waited another second for safety, and then he spoke. "Still there, Nando?"
The voice that came through from the other end of the line was a growl as territorial as any he'd heard emerging from a jaguar's mouth. "The name is Fernando," Ixchel's brother answered. But he'd clearly waited to speak to Finn alone, so the shifter had to assume Fernando would listen to reason. "Talk fast," the brother added. "Because Ixchel will come looking for me any minute now."
"Okay," Finn agreed, trying to keep his tone pleasant. The huge feline inside his human body wanted to rip its way free and hunt down this other male who thought he had a say over the were-jaguar's mate. But it was time to protect Ixchel in a more human fashion, so Finn tamped down his inner predatory nature and kept his voice calm. "I'll cut to the chase," the shifter said simply. "Ixchel can't show up at that sinkhole tomorrow. She won't want to be left behind, so you'll need to find a way to head her off at the last minute while still sending Mirabelle on to be neutralized."
"Have you even met my sister?" Fernando countered. "Maybe if you'd give me a few more details, I'd be able to talk her into staying somewhere safe. But I doubt it. Are you saying that there's a particular reason why Ixchel would be in more danger around Mirabelle than if she were, say, some other woman?"
"Yes." Maybe. If Finn's guess was correct, then Ixchel would be both the perfect bait...and in the most peril of anyone else involved in the operation to vanquish Mirabelle. Even if his guess was wrong, there was no way Finn wanted his mate to end up in the middle of a struggle with a psychopathic demigod. Too bad Fernando would think Finn was crazy if he even hinted at his reasoning.
"That's it? 'Yes'?" The barely contained rage beneath the other man's voice made it unlikely that Finn would ever find himself invited over for a friendly family barbecue. But Ixchel's safety was far more important than kissing up to potential in-laws.
In-laws? Was that really what Finn planned with regards to Ixchel?
He guessed it really was.
So he did his best to at least simulate congeniality. "I'm sorry," Finn said simply. "There are things I can't tell you."
"I figured that out," Fernando replied coldly. Then: "Ixchel is about to come in, so I've gotta go. Are there any other vague threats you'd like to toss in my general direction?"
"No." Finn sighed. "Just keep Ixchel away from the cenote tomorrow. Please."
"I'll do my best," the other man responded. "And if she slips through my net, you'd better keep my little sister from getting hurt. Or else, so help me God, I'll hunt you down...."
Then, before Finn could come up with a reply, the line went dead.
***
I guess growing up with five older brothers really does prepare one for a life of crime, Ixchel thought.
She'd kept her phone on, of course. Faked the click, then lingered until Nando and Finn had finished their male posturing and their equally masculine scheming. Because the vet needed to know the full details of what both had planned if she wanted to be able to include herself in the next day's events.
Sorry, not going to be left out of the end game this time around, she'd thought as she waited for her older brother and Finn to hang up their phones in reality. Then she'd begged use of Antonio's laptop under the guise of checking her email, which allowed her to map out routes to two different cenotes. One was the actual meeting place that Finn had texted her. The other was located along the way and was the perfect spot to ditch her brothers.
Because none of the four was ready to see human beings turning into jaguars in front of their very eyes. And Ixchel didn't want to risk their human skins to Mirabelle's dubious mercies anyway.
So now, after tossing and turning all night long, the Moreno siblings were ready to rumble. Aunt Maria had been left behind with thank yous and promises to come again soon, then the siblings set off in separate vehicles. Fernando's role was to drop Ixchel off at her car and pretend that he was turning her loose for a few days of solitary sightseeing. Meanwhile, her other brothers would circle around and keep an eye out for Mirabelle, whom they hoped was still focused on Ixchel's vehicle.
"Remember," Fernando said as he enfolded his little sister in a purposefully ostentatious hug on the pavement beside her rental car. "You don't want to make it too hard for him to follow. So don't run any red lights or make any sudden turns."
Ixchel sighed at the loss of contact as her brother pulled away then looked sternly into her eyes. It was almost as if the older sibling suspected his kid sister was planning something she hadn't owned up to yet. Well, Nando was right...but the whole purpose of being underhanded was to pull the wool over the other person's eyes. So the vet just gave her brother what she hoped was a convincing smile in return.
"Don't stop anywhere except the designated safe spots," Fernando continued, seemingly satisfied by her nonverbal reassurance. "And when you get to the access road, be prepared for us to cut in behind you and sandwich Mirabelle between our cars. Then get the heck out of there and wait for Antonio to call with the all clear."
The plan made perfect sense. Too bad Ixchel didn't intend to follow her brother's orders.
To assuage her guilt at being so duplicitous, Ixchel reminded herself of all the times these same brothers had sneaked out of their family home after looking her straight in the eye and saying they were attending parties, not holding up convenience stores. They'd lied to her for years and, in the end, she'd forgiven all of her brothers anyway. So, surely, Fernando and company would similarly forgive and forget Ixchel's own deception.
Because look how well skullduggery worked out for my brothers....
Ignoring her own better sense, Ixchel continued to mimic evasive behavior she had learned from the experts during their shared childhood. "Don't worry, Nando," the vet said. "I know the drill." Then, to add a bit of verisimilitude to the lie, she touched his cheek and admonished: "Be careful out there."
"Always am," Fernando answered. And he seemed satisfied enough to finally let her slip alone into the driver's seat and steer the vehicle out of the parking lot. The lot where Mirabelle had been sighted several times since Antonio had secreted the car there the day before. Hopefully the trigger-happy archaeologist was still laying in wait, ready to follow Ixchel's trail.
He was. The flashy red rental car showed up in the rear-view mirror before Ixchel had made her way out of Veracruz, and it continued to follow for the long day's drive east and north to Quintana Roo.
Her brothers, on the other hand, stayed well outside visual range. Fernando had been quick to reassure Ixchel that they'd be following along by tracking the GPS of her car, explaining that various brothers would veer ahead as needed to scope out the safety of pit stops and to set up the final roadblock.
Still, even though Ixchel knew she could count on her siblings to watch her back, she felt alone as she embarked on the long drive. Alone, and exhilarated by her solitude. Almost as if she were winging her way toward her greatest adventure yet. And toward a new life.
Not at all how I felt the first time I stabbed my brothers in the back, Ixchel recalled. So hopefully this current evasion would end better than her previous one.
The last approved bathroom break was located along the main highway mere minutes from her designated turn, and Ixchel brought her mind out of the past as she sighted the gas station's sign coming up ahead. Her brothers had made sure to be just barely visible at each stop to calm Ixchel's nerves, and this time around she caught a glimpse of Antonio almost hidden beneath a huge red ball cap before he ducked out of sight behind the building.
Mirabelle pulled in seconds later, but he stayed on the other side of the lot, his face averted to shield his features. True to his were-jaguar nature, the archaeologist seemed willing to stalk his prey and wait until she was far enough off the beaten path to be easy pickings for a strong man armed with claws as well as guns. That was lucky for the current stage of the plan...but might come back to bite Ixchel in the butt once she threw her protectors off the trail.
I hope this wasn't a stupid idea, the vet thought as she settled back into her car for the final leg of the journey. She'd barely missed making eye contact with her stalker, her gaze lingering just a little too long as she scanned the lot after leaving the bathroom. But Mirabelle hadn't been spooked, and he continued to follow when she turned off the highway and onto a smaller country lane.
Then, utilizing just the type of evasive maneuvers her brothers had warned her against, Ixchel turned abruptly onto a side road, watching Mirabelle screech after in hot pursuit. Fernando and company would be waiting not far ahead, their roadblock poised to reel the archaeologist in. But neither Ixchel nor Mirabelle would be breezing into that trap. Not today.
"Here goes nothing." Since she lacked the skills to disable the GPS in the car and in her phone, Ixchel simply ripped the former instrument out of its socket, turned off the latter, and tossed both devices out her open window. She hoped the evasion would prove sufficient to keep her brothers off her trail for long enough to get the job done.
"I'll see you shortly, Finn," the vet murmured under her breath as Mirabelle's car grew larger in her rear-view mirror. "Ready or not, here we come."