Lethal Affairs Read Online Free

but he hasn’t been tested yet. And Guerrero might present unseen difficulties. The man’s cocky and unpredictable.”
Two votes was all it took, so the trio disbanded, Grant and Arthur returning to their offices as Pierce reached for his cell phone to set things in motion.
C
HAPTER TWO
D
    omino applied vivid red lipstick as the van paused at a traffic light, then continued to peruse the file folder on her lap. Reno, the driver, a taciturn twenty-something brute of a man with shiny black hair, was familiar. Less so was Blade, the attractive Latino woman seated with her in the back.
    “It’s a break for us he’s decided to take this deal before he leaves,” Blade told her. “It’s at a hotel not far from here. Easy in and out, not one of the busier, high-end places. Good for his business, and ours.”
    Domino looked down at a color photo of the target. As Cuba’s Information Minister, Juan Carlos Guerrero had diplomatic immunity, though his real work as the country’s premiere drug kingpin had been well documented. It was no surprise that he was marked for liquidation—he was a self-serving, corrupt dictator who didn’t hesitate to silence his opponents with death or imprisonment. Helpfully, his arrogance had provided them an opportunity to get to him in a much less risky environment than Miami International Airport.
    For five days, Guerrero had been conducting his cocaine deals poolside, behind the fortress-like walls of his sister’s Miami mansion, within view of his eleven-year-old niece but well protected from prying eyes or interruptions. That he had decided to risk arranging a final deal in a public hotel revealed both his unmitigated greed and sense of invulnerability.
    “Sundance is already in place, but has instructions to wait for you,” Blade told Domino as she flipped past Guerrero’s picture and profile to a crudely drawn floor plan. “They’re in the hotel lounge. Four ways in and out—the elevators and stairwell, here…” Blade pointed with a well-manicured fingernail. “Which lead to all floors and the underground parking garage. This way to the lobby and front desk… and this, to the alarmed fire exit to the street.”
“Two more blocks,” Reno said.
    Domino fitted a wireless earpiece snugly into her right ear and ran a hand through her long blond hair to cover it. It was both a transmitter and receiver.
    Blade handed her a plain dark tote bag to complete her preparations. “Guerrero arrived in a black Mercedes SUV. It’s parked in the hotel’s underground garage. The driver is the shorter of the two guys with him in the lounge.”
“Security cameras?” Domino asked.
    “Yes,” Blade replied. “Above the exits, in the lobby, and in the garage.”
“We’re here,” Reno announced as the van began to slow.
Full dark had come upon the city during their drive, and they were in a quiet alleyway, away from traffic, with no one about. Domino jumped out and waited for the van to be well away before she headed toward a nearby taxi stand. It was only six more blocks to the hotel, so she was in the lounge within ten minutes.
Within a few seconds, she unobtrusively took in the entirety of the place and its inhabitants.
The lighting was subdued, as she expected, and the Sharksfin Lounge had the dark colors and Caribbean kitsch decor that seemed to be all the rage in these middle-of-the-road hotel bars in Miami. The round tables were low and black, and the padded stools and comfy seats surrounding them were deep bordeaux, the same shade as the carpet. Live tropical plants were scattered about, and a baby grand piano in one corner hinted at live entertainment on the weekend. In the back, a mirrored wall above the bar reflected four long, neat rows of bottles, their colored contents illuminated by track lights from above.
It was an unremarkable place that fell short of its attempt to be trendy and tasteful, but it was comfortable and quiet, and the low Latin music in the background provided a