Already this morning she had done something that had blown her mind – it was the simple act of walking hand in hand with another woman. She’d never done it before because she’d never had a girlfriend. Never openly displayed her sexuality. Never felt the need to spend her spare time with anyone but herself.

Dispassionate sex in anonymous hotel rooms had always seemed enough, along with the thrill she got from her work.

It meant she had never had to lose control or have anyone discover the weaknesses that defined her. She’d adopted a simple philosophy early on and that was to embrace the fact that she wasn’t like most people. She was different. She had a lack of empathy for others, and no moral boundaries. It followed, therefore, that she had never been able to trust anyone.

But now she was on the verge of doing just that. It felt both strange and exhilarating.

She looked across the table at Alice, who was nibbling delicately on a slice of buttered toast. Right now there was nowhere in the world she would rather have been. And no one she would rather have been with.

This woman with the boyish haircut and beautiful eyes had captured her heart and made her realise that she could be more than just a killing machine – that deep inside there was a whole range of feelings and emotions that had either been ignored or supressed for many years.

At last they were finding their way to the surface, but in so doing they presented Rosa with the biggest challenge she had ever faced.

‘First stop, Trafalgar Square,’ Alice said after they had finished breakfast. ‘Then we’ll walk along The Mall to Buck Palace. From there we’ll go to Oxford Street and I know a lovely restaurant where we can have some lunch. This afternoon we’ll visit the South Bank. How does that sound?’

‘Perfect,’ Rosa said. ‘And thank you for showing me around. I really appreciate it.’

‘Don’t be daft,’ Alice said. ‘It’s my absolute pleasure.’

They held hands again as they walked from Covent Garden to Trafalgar Square. Rosa drank in the sights and sounds of London with all her senses.

Before coming here she could never have imagined herself doing something like this. But then she was no longer the same woman who had arrived from Acapulco a few days ago.

Then the only thing on her mind had been the assignment. How many people was she going to kill? How hard was it going to be? How soon could she return to Mexico?

Now she was focused on the future and the questions it raised were far more difficult to answer.

Was her love for Alice reciprocated? Would she be able to convince her that she was someone she wasn’t? Would Carlos Cruz try to stop her walking away from the cartel? And, if so, how should she react?