When Villains Rise (Market of Monsters #3) - Rebecca Schaeffer Page 0,36

from his mouth, but his eyes were steady and solemn. “Thank you.”

She jerked away. “I wasn’t comforting you.”

People like him didn’t deserve comfort.

Her words clearly had relaxed him a bit, because he was less jumpy as they boarded the bus into the city. The drive was long, and the houses and soccer fields and trees all blurred together in her jet-lagged mind. Kovit napped, head resting against the window.

Nita stared out the window, mind whirling, thinking of how she was going to break into Tácunan Law and steal the information. She’d need to scope out the building—she’d have to do something about the security cameras, certainly. She didn’t want any record of their escapades existing. And there would likely be guards, so she’d need to think of a way to handle them. She’d need a hard drive too. With that much information, she might need several, all of the best quality she could find.

Beside her, Kovit gasped, and Nita blinked herself out of her thoughts and looked out the window. A massive stone fountain loomed beside them, rearing horses elaborately carved to be leaping out of the water, their legs turning into sea foam.

“It’s amazing,” Kovit whispered, face pressed against the glass.

Fabricio smiled, his eyes soft and dreamy. “Isn’t it? There’s nowhere quite like Buenos Aires.”

Nita wasn’t sure what she’d thought Buenos Aires would look like. Maybe something like Lima, smaller office buildings in the business core, wide streets, lots of Spanish colonial architecture that had evolved over the years into something else, something a little unique and different. Colectivos running up and down the roads calling out destinations. A long beautiful path along the cliffs overlooking the ocean, floripondio trees and overpriced shopping malls lining the water.

Buenos Aires looked nothing like Lima.

On one side of the bus was the water of the Río de la Plata glinting in the sunlight. Boats crowded the small docking area, and massive skyscrapers of steel and glass, an ode to the modern world, speared into the sky, seventy or eighty stories high. On the other side of the bus, monolithic Greek columns held up a building that looked like the Parthenon, marble statues reared up in the roundabouts, carved horses leaping up and leading their stone riders to victory.

One side of the bus was the past, beautiful European architecture lining the road and springing up in the distance, breathtaking in its size and majesty. On the other side, towering steel monuments to capitalism.

“It’s stunning.” Kovit’s breath fogged up the glass and he wiped it away, eyes wide. “I’ve never seen anything like it.” He turned to Nita, a bright, happy grin on his face. “I’ve seen pictures and movies set in Europe, but never actually, you know, been anywhere like this.”

Fabricio looked over at him curiously. “Where did you live before . . .”

“Before I joined Nita?” Kovit’s eyes were glued to the passing city outside. “Bangkok until I was ten. And then I was part of the Family, and they had a compound just outside Boston. But I didn’t really get to go outside, they didn’t like that. Occasionally they’d drive me into the city for work, though. It was nice.” He made a face. “And then they sent me to the jungle. But I was only there for a month before I met Nita and we escaped.”

A look flitted across Fabricio’s face Nita couldn’t quite understand. It wasn’t quite pity, it wasn’t quite sympathy. It was just a flicker, a moment of some sort of sadness, and then it was gone.

“You’ve only been free a week?” Fabricio asked.

Kovit nodded, silent.

“Is it everything you wanted?” Fabricio’s question was soft.

Kovit hesitated. “I . . . I don’t know. I never realized how hard it would be when I had to make my own choices. I have the opportunity to be whoever I want to be, but all I can seem to do is the same things I always did.” He gave a short, sharp laugh. “But I got to see my sister, which I never thought I would again. And I’m getting to see Buenos Aires. So, yeah. It’s not perfect, but I’m glad I got out.”

Fabricio nodded slowly. “They say that people are creatures of routine, and even if you put them in different settings, they always end up repeating the same habits.”

“I hope not.” Kovit’s voice was soft. “I don’t want to go back to the life I had.”

“Me neither,” Fabricio whispered. He stared out at the city with sad eyes,