“I’ll go and take Jeremiah with me,” Conner concluded. “We’ll go as leopards. It will be faster and safer. It will give Jeremiah the experience he needs in climbing fast and leaving no trace. Rio always flies the helicopter. Elijah is our supply man.”

Felipe grinned at Jeremiah and showed off his muscles. “Leonardo and I are the big guns—the brawn.”

“You mean not the brains.” Jeremiah smirked.

That earned him a light cuff from Rio, but Jeremiah only laughed, not in the least deterred. Isabeau could see they were already developing a camaraderie of sorts with the newest member of their team. He might be on probation and in training, but they already treated him with growing affection.

“So we go in, Conner and Felipe will be personal protectors for Marcos,” Rio got back to business, “and Leonardo and I will be the same for Elijah.”

“Don’t worry about our uncle,” Felipe hastened to assure. “He might be in his sixties, but he’s fast and cunning when needed. I wouldn’t want to go up against him. And with Elijah, we’ve got six of us, all leopards.”

“What about me?” Jeremiah demanded.

Rio shrugged. “You know Suma is going to be there and he’s tried to recruit you. He can’t see you. How are your shooting skills?”

Jeremiah looked happy all over again. “I’m a crack shot.”

“Don’t say it if it isn’t true,” Conner cautioned.

“High wind. Over a mile.”

The men looked at one another. “We’ll give you a chance to prove what you can do,” Rio said. “If you aren’t exaggerating, you’ll be watching our backs for us.”

“And me?” Isabeau ventured. “I could go in as Elijah’s girlfriend. None of them has ever seen me. Elijah could be here to see me and knew his old friend Marcos was coming.”

“No way.” Conner stated it as a fact.

“She has to be protected,” Elijah pointed out. “We can’t just leave her out and you know it, Conner. She could prove to be a valuable asset. They have two rogue leopards. Those leopards won’t be thinking of anything but Isabeau.”

“That’s really going to make me agree, now isn’t it?” Conner said, sarcasm dripping in his voice.

“Not his girlfriend,” Rio said. “Something closer. A sister or cousin. A relative. That makes it war if they touch her. A girlfriend might be considered disposable and the rogues are going to know she’s leopard. They’ll buy it. He came out to see her and bring her some news from home. In the meantime, they’ll suspect that Marcos and Elijah are having a secret meeting. Cortez won’t be able to risk the bait. The pot’s too sweet. Elijah and Marcos, allies who could open doors for her, and you, Conner. Not to mention all the leopards.”