Epilogue

EPILOGUE

PHUKET, THAILAND

T here was only so much lounging by the pool, sipping mai tais, that Lena could tolerate. Jake watched with amusement as his bride glanced again toward the balcony on the fourth floor, the one immediately adjacent to their own room, using the brim of her straw hat to conceal her surveillance.

Phuket was everything he’d hoped it would be?—white sand, blue sky, and a steady breeze wicking the sweat off his body. He would forever associate the scent of sunscreen with desire and bliss. To think he’d dreamed of this moment back on El Castillo, and now they were actually here on their honeymoon just one month after Jake’s proposal in the CIA courtyard. He wouldn’t have changed a thing about their intimate family wedding?—his parents, her parents, their siblings, and a couple of cousins. It had been perfect.

“There he is on his balcony. Look, Jake. Just don’t be obvious about it.”

Indulging his wife, Jake peered casually up at their five-star hotel. The whitewashed balconies, all dripping with brilliant purple bougainvillea, were all empty, except for the one on the fourth floor, right next to theirs, where a man was pacing on his balcony, cell phone pressed to his ear.

They’d first seen him two days earlier, emerging from his hotel room, just when they were entering their own. Lena had remarked how much he looked like a Mexican fugitive named Lorenzo Nu?ez-Aguiler. She’d seen a WANTED poster at the airport in Colombia while flying home with her father.

Jake had to admit, after looking up the man’s name and finding him on the DEA’s MOST WANTED page, their neighbor bore a striking resemblance to the renowned narco, sought after for multiple crimes in the U.S.A., including kidnapping and murder. Since he’d learned never to underestimate Lena’s powers of observation, Jake had shot off an inquiry to the DEA using WhatsApp. To get his query noticed, he’d identified himself as a former SEAL affiliated with the CIA, and by morning, the DEA had sent him an old mug shot of the elusive criminal along with a message: Does he look like this, only older?

Jake plucked his phone from their pool bag, found the photo, and then held it up so he and Lena could compare a young Lorenzo with the man on the balcony. The man was holding still now, staring over their heads at the sea, while continuing his intense conversation.

There was definitely a resemblance, Jake had to admit, but what were the odds they’d be honeymooning right next door to a wanted fugitive?

Still hiding behind the brim of her hat, Lena divided a narrow-eyed gaze between the photo and the suspect. “Okay, so check out the way he holds his phone. See how the pinkie on his right hand sticks out?” She dropped her voice to a whisper as a server veered toward them to pick up their empty glasses.

“Would you like two more?” the pretty Thai girl asked.

“Two waters would be great.”

“Yes, ma’am.” With a bow, the server scurried off to fetch their drinks.

“What about the pinkie?” Jake had no idea where Lena was going with this.

“Look.” She drew his attention to the mug shot and the letter board the young Lorenzo was holding. Jake blinked. The pinkie on the man’s right hand stuck out the exact same way.

Whoa. Never in a million years would Jake have noticed that telling detail.

Jake reassessed his wife. He had underestimated her resilience and toughness at the outset of their assignment to Colombia. He wasn’t dumb enough to do that twice. “You know, I think you’re right, Beautiful.”

She flicked him a disparaging glance. “Of course I’m right. Tell the DEA we’ll keep him in our sights until they get a team out here to arrest him.”

“Lena, we’re on our honeymoon.”

She arched an eyebrow at him, making it clear she wasn’t going to let this go.

Jake dropped his head against the lounge chair and laughed to himself. He might not be a SEAL or a SOG anymore, but life with Lena was going to be every bit as adventurous and harrowing. Honestly, he wouldn’t have it any other way.