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Chapter 27

They were holed up in yet another hotel This ti fed up with hotels, but evenpeople around her continuously She needed to think, and she couldn’t do it with the tension pouring off Callu in the bathrooran and Callum to wait out the operation in Lima So when Joe had hired a helicopter to take the held, another copter had flown the rest of the team to Lima

Julia had arranged for an easy-access cab so that Calluru the trip, which had all of Julia’s senses working on high alert She thought his temper was because he couldn’t keep his disability hidden He’d pinned the legs of his trousers up to stop the about under his stu What Callu at his lack of li He radiated authority and danger, whether he was in a wheelchair or out

Julia checked the tiain Four minutes since she’d last checked The extraction tea radio silence All Julia kneas that they’d arrived in the mountains where Esteban had a residence Elle had reported that the toas tiny and empty Everyone was either in bed, or in Cusco with Esteban They’d acquired a vehicle once they were in town and had gone straight to the estate, where Elle hacked the security system There had been no information on the team Lake sent to help them, which could only mean that the people whoout Julia wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing, but she trusted Lake Benson’s judgment

Six minutes

She walked over to theand looked out over the bustling capital city of Peru Even in the dead of night, the roads were filled with cars fighting for space This ti city It was a lass and concrete, surrounded by the classic Spanish architecture of a bygone age Normally Julia felt reassured in hotels that were the same the world over, but this tihtly coloured adobe buildings with their ornately carved balconi

es She could i a lazy day with Joe in one of those hotels They’d lie on a bed

Joe

Eight minutes And still no contact

She rested her forehead against the cool glass and tried not to think about what he ot hurt…

No

She couldn’t think about that

She’d told hi to do Experience had taught her that the novelty of her personality wore off pretty quickly for people who got close to her Julia didn’t think she could live through another round of dealing with someone else’s disappointment

You’re too needy You’re too weird You overwhelm me I can’t be a crutch for you, Julia You need help This is your fault You don’t have a social life I feel trapped with you…

Voices froh it all there was still this huge, solid presence in her mind Joe He could even protect her from her memories