Shadow of Temptation (Asylums for Magical Threats #2.5) by Jessie Donovan Page B

even in code, I’ll find a way to give you the new contact’s location. I’ll start setting things up within the hour.”
    She nodded and Juan left. Sabrina put the shirt down, picked up the first one she had admired, and then paid the woman with a smile before she headed to one of the nearby stalls that sold shoes. She wanted to run straight to her meet-up location with Jorge, but she wasn’t a rookie; she needed to keep shopping for at least another five or ten minutes to keep up appearances.
    Still, things were looking good. While Yolanda might still be missing, Sabrina really had a shot at finishing this undercover stint in a day or two. She should feel happy at finally giving up this double-life of doing horrible things in order to help the greater good, but finishing the assignment meant that Jorge would leave and she’d never see him again.
    She tried to convince herself that she didn’t want him to leave until she could persuade him that she’d known nothing about him being passed on to the Collector. But deep down, she wanted more. She wanted the familiarity and ease they’d once had.
    In short, she wanted to have a friend again.
    And not just any friend—one who also made her skin heat with a touch and who could probably make her weak in the knees with a single kiss.
    Ridiculous . Jorge would toss her to the wolves before he’d kiss her. Not that she could blame him. Her actions had killed his former feelings for her.
    No, the best thing for her to do was to finish the job and send him on his way.
    Sabrina moved to another stall and was about to buy some chopped fruit when she felt something slither around her bare ankle. She’d changed into the more civilian-looking clothes Jorge had provided before coming to the market—shorts, sandals, and a t-shirt—but when she glanced down, there was nothing. Yet it felt like a whisper of silk was brushing against her skin.
    Careful to keep her face neutral, she tried to take a step, but something tugged at her ankle before changing directions. There was another tug, and Sabrina was forced to move her legs in the direction of the tugging or fall over. Another brush of silk on her other leg and she was soon being forced down the row of stands to the street. She tried not to look around, not wanting to draw attention to herself.
    No, she only needed to get the attention of one person. She clenched her fingers into a fist and pointed her thumb downward—the signal that something was wrong.
    She only hoped Jorge saw it.
     

 
    Chapter Seven
     
     
    While Jorge had been a prisoner under the Collector, his life had depended upon him learning to blend in, and today that skill was coming in handy at the crowded marketplace. His clothes were nondescript, and since he’d grown up near Merida during his childhood, even his accent wasn’t noteworthy.
    Still, it took some effort to keep an eye on Sabrina without deliberately staring at her. It had been a long time since he’d seen that much of her smooth, tan skin.
    He’d been an idiot to choose jean shorts and a tight-fitting purple t-shirt from her apartment while she’d been unconscious. He should’ve gone with the jeans or one of her long flowing skirts. Then maybe he could concentrate on more than how the denim hugged her fine ass or how her shorts displayed almost every inch of her long, golden tan legs.
    His thoughts had started to venture into more dangerous territory—such as how it’d feel to grab that soft, bare ass with his hands—when Sabrina finally approached the clothing stand she’d described as the meeting place.
    This was it. Time to watch for this Juan guy and see what happened.
    As she pretended to browse, a man with light brown skin and short black hair approached the same stall. Once Sabrina lifted up a shirt over her head as if to inspect it, he could see her lips moving. He didn’t have supersensitive hearing or the ability to read lips, but from their interactions, he could tell they