“What about the bodyguard thing?”

“I dunno.” She wrapped her arms around her knees. “I’m thinking about it. I don’t exactly trust that Lindberg guy, and I don’t know how I feel about being… what did he call it? A novelty. And I like it here. I like getting to know my family. But that thing Lindberg said about me maybe putting them in danger if the truth gets out… what if it’s true?”

“Christophe was pretty sure he was bluffing,” Pilar observed.

“Maybe,” Loup said. “Or maybe not. But the thing is, we want the truth to come out, right? That’s the only way the Outposts will ever get opened.” She glanced at Pilar. “Anyway, it just doesn’t feel right that everyone we know is stuck back in Santa Olivia while we’re lying around on a beach, eating fresh fish, and going dancing. I feel like I should be doing something more, you know?”

Pilar smiled at her. “Yes, my little hero.”

“But I’m not exactly sure how becoming a celebrity bodyguard changes anything,” Loup admitted. “Other than getting us fake passports.”

“Oh, you’d probably save some famous person’s life in an amazing way, and become this big star, everyone’s hero. And then your story would be all over the place, and everyone would hear about Outpost, and the American government would have to admit everything.”

Loup laughed. “Yeah, sure.”

“Well, maybe. Anyway, we’d make a lot of money. We could come back here to visit whenever we wanted.” Pilar kissed her cheek. “We don’t have to decide today. Let’s just enjoy the rest of the month, okay?”

“Okay.”

More sunlit days. The towns were small enough that they became known by the locals. Everyone knew about the cousins, a source of pride and occasional dismay. They accepted Loup with ease, and Pilar was Pilar. Within days, she knew half the locals in town. When Loup ran along the beach, men in boats waved to her. When Pilar wandered through the marketplace, shopkeepers called out to her and offered her bargains.

“Just think how much everyone would love you if they knew your story,” Pilar said toward the end of the month while they were having breakfast at the hotel.

“It’s your story, too.”

“You’re the hero of Santa Olivia. I’m just the sexy sidekick. Ooh.” She nudged Loup’s foot under the table. “There’s your boyfriend.”

Loup glanced up to see a young waiter who seemed to have a crush on her. He blushed and ducked away. “Don’t make fun of him.”

“I’m not!” Pilar said. “I feel bad for him. You want me to read his mind? I know exactly what he’s thinking.”

“You can read minds now?”

“His.” Her voice softened. “I know what it’s like to be a one in a hundred. He looks at you, baby. He sees the little ways you’re different, more there. The way watching you move is like listening to music. The more he looks, the more he can’t stop himself from looking. He thinks about the way you knocked down Raimundo, how you don’t look like you oughta be able to do what you do. It makes him crazy, and he wonders if there’s something wrong with him. He wonders why he can’t stop thinking about you. And he thinks you’re one of the most beautiful things he’s seen, like some beautiful animal no one’s named yet.” She glanced at Loup’s expression and continued. “He thinks about touching you, wonders what it would feel like. If it would be like petting a tiger. But don’t let him.” She shook her head. “If he stroked your arm, he’d wonder what it would be like to feel you against him. If you hugged him, he’d wonder what it would be like if you were naked, skin to skin. If he kissed you, he’d wonder what it would be like to have your mouth on… okay, I’m gonna shut up before I have to drag you back to the room.”

“Whoa.” Loup blinked.

“You ever wonder why the way I feel about you scared the shit out of me for so long?” Pilar smiled wryly, resting her chin on her hand. “It’s like that. Seeing him, seeing that girl Christophe picked up, it makes me remember.”

“Is it different now?”

“Worse,” she said. “You think the curiosity will kill you, but knowing is worse. Because it’s everything you imagined and more.”

“You were, too. Way more.”

Pilar narrowed her eyes. “Were?”

“Are!”

“You thought about me the same way?”

“Yeah.” Loup cocked her head. “I’m not saying it’s exactly the same. I guess we can’t ever know. But the way I felt when you’d touch me…” She shivered. “I’d get dizzy. I still do. No matter what he says, I think that’s what Christophe’s looking for. And I never felt that with anyone else. Plus, you’re probably the sexiest sidekick in the universe.”

Pilar tossed her napkin on the table. “Oh, we’re so going back to the room.”

“Uh-huh.”

A month’s worth of sunlit days dwindled. On the day before Pilar had promised to give her answer about the bartending job, Loup went for a long, long run along the shoreline. She ran long enough and hard enough to tire herself, far enough to leave civilization behind. When she got tired, she stopped and sat in the sands of an untouched bay, gazing at the green waters. Usually, she practiced meditating when she’d run that far, sitting motionless and thinking slow thoughts.

Today, she just thought.

Thought about the family that had embraced her in Huatulco—the rambunctious cousins, the kind, loving aunts. Thought about Magnus Lindberg’s not-so-veiled threats that they could be in danger if the American investigation was exposed.

Thought about the family she’d left behind in Outpost; Santa Olivia, forgotten Santa Olvidada.

Mack and T.Y.; clever Jaime and Jane, denied the education they deserved. All the Santitos. Brave Father Ramon, tireless Sister Martha, gentle Anna.

Her mother and brother, buried there.

She sighed, resting her forehead against her knees.

Birds wheeled overhead.

Loup made a decision and rose. She ran the long miles back to Santa Cruz, her bare feet splashing in the water and sending up silvery spray that hung in her wake.

She found Pilar reading magazines beside the hotel pool. “Hey.”

Pilar glanced up. “Hey, yourself. What’s up?”

Loup sat on the chaise beside her. “You look like a movie star in those sunglasses. Pilar, do you still want to see the world?”

“Yeah, I do.” She put down her magazine. “You wanna do it, don’t you? The bodyguard thing?”

“Yeah.” Loup nodded. “I do. If there’s a chance we’re putting my cousins in danger here, I’d rather not stay. Maybe we’ll learn something useful. At least it will take my mind off everything else.”

“And you really, truly think I can get through this training thing?”

“Really and truly. I’ll be there with you every step of the way. I’ll help you.”

“Okay.” Pilar gave her a dazzling smile. “Let’s do it.”

They found Tía Marcela in her office and told her their decision. She looked at the two of them in their bikinis and shook her head, smiling a little sadly. “May God help the world of international security. I hoped that you would decide to stay, but I understand. It’s a big offer, and you’ve both had so little.” She hugged them, kissing them on both cheeks. “You know you will always have a home here, yes?”

“Sí, Tía,” Loup said, eyes stinging a bit. “Thank you for everything.”

In the room, they pored over the cell phone, figuring out how to call the number programmed in it under Magnus Lindberg’s name.

“It’s ringing.” Loup pressed it to her ear. “Oh! Mr. Lindberg, hi. It’s Loup Garron. Yeah, Pilar and I decided to take your offer.” She listened. “Okay, that’s good. We’ll be here. Yeah, it’s the marina hotel. Okay, bye.”

“What’s up?” Pilar asked.

“He said it will take a few days to get the passports,” she said. “With fake names and everything just in case we’re on some international watch list. I guess we’re gonna be Canadian.”

“Ooh, do we get to pick our own names?”

“No.”

“Too bad.”

“Yeah,” Loup agreed. “He’s flying back to Mexico City. He said with any luck, he and Sabine will come pick us up by the end of the week.”

“Who’s Sabine?”

“I didn’t tell you about her? His assistant.”

“Is she pretty?” Pilar asked.

“I guess.” Loup considered. “Kind of a bitch, though. She seemed really pissed at me for some reason.”

“You?” She looked surprised. “Why? You never do anything to make anyone mad at you, baby.”

“Pilar, you were mad at me for a whole year! You wouldn’t even talk to me!”

“That was different.” Pilar folded her arms. “You were gonna get yourself killed or taken into custody fighting that Johnson guy. And you decided to do it right after I kissed you for the first time.”

“You told me to pretend it never happened!”

“I had issues,” she admitted. “Anyway, I got over it, didn’t I?”

“Yeah.” Loup smiled. “Pretty spectacularly. Anyway, I don’t know what this Sabine’s problem is, but they’ll be here in five or six days. Lindberg said he’d call when he knew for sure.”

“Okay.” Pilar paused. “How pretty?”

“Pilar!”

She laughed and kissed her. “I was just kidding that time.”

NINE

You’re going to hate it,” Christophe predicted.

Loup shrugged. “Then we’ll quit.”