“Who are you?” Leanna asked. “Where are we?”
“We’re on our way north,” the woman said. “They gave us something to help us sleep.”
“I’m not supposed to be here,” Leanna said. “Are we still in Monterrey?”
“No, we’re going to the next safehouse.” The woman yawned. “I’m Patricia. What’s your name?”
“Leanna. How many of us are here?” She hooked her neck around at the snoring body in back of her.
“Maria’s out cold,” Patricia said. “She had too much to drink last night.”
“Why am I tied up?” Leanna asked. “Can you untie me?”
“Maybe you didn’t pay enough?” Patricia said. “Where do you come from?”
“It doesn’t matter,” Leanna said, wiggling her hands. “I want to get out of here. Untie me.”
“Can’t do that,” Patricia whispered. “See that guy sitting over there? If we don’t do exactly what he says, he’ll beat us.”
Leanna let her eyes adjust to the dim light. Pimply Toad lay on pillows and cushions, snoring and drooling.
“He’s asleep right now.” Leanna turned her wrists toward Patricia. “How come you’re not tied up?”
The other woman yawned. “I’m cooperative. I can see your type. You’re one of those beauty queens who think the world owes you everything. You have an American accent too. Think you’re better than us.”
“No, I swear I’m no beauty queen,” Leanna said. True, her Spanish was rusty and she only spoke to her family, but no one ever accused her of being stuck up. “There’s a huge misunderstanding. I’m not supposed to be here.”
“You must have done something to piss them off.” Patricia pointed to the front seat where Scabby was driving and Blue Skull sat shotgun. They had the radio cranked up to a loud rock station.
“They roofied me at the cantina,” Leanna said. She wasn’t sure how much she could trust Patricia, but right now, she was the only hope. “If you help me, I can pay you when I get out.”
“Thepollerosdon’t like losing their prizegallinas,” Patricia said. “If I let you go, they’ll punish me. Not worth it.”
Leanna closed her eyes and took a deep breath, despite the fecal odor coming from Pimply Toad’s farts. Nausea embroiled her, and cold sweat washed her face.
She was trapped in a van with two women who went willingly. Since she couldn’t escape, at least not at the moment, she might as well pump them for information. Maybe they would take her to the same safehouse Carmelita was stashed at.
“Where are they taking us?” Leanna asked. “How much did you pay?”
“You don’t know anything, do you?” Patricia clucked. She rolled over and propped a pillow under Leanna’s head, then faced her like they were sisters talking in bed. “How did you meet these guys?”
“I asked them to help me find another girl I know,” Leanna said. “She’s quite young. Thirteen years old.”
“She your sister?”
Leanna nodded. “She ran away with two brothers from the Real Cumbres neighborhood. I think they’re twins.”
“Los Osos. I know them. Yogi and Booboo. They recruit at the schools.”
“My sister’s too young to travel on her own.”
“Don’t worry.” Patricia patted Leanna’s shoulder. “Thepollerostake good care of us. We’re valuable cargo. When we get to America, we pay them back.”
“What kind of jobs will you get up there?” Leanna asked as horror dawned on her that these women didn’t know they were being trafficked. They believed they had paid smugglers to bring them to the promised land.
“I have a cousin in San Antonio,” Patricia said. “She can get me into a rich person’s house as a nanny. I can live in a mansion and play with babies. Get paid well.”
“How about your friend, Maria?”
