And she came face to face with a dead man…
El Socio shoved her backward into her office, and she crashed into the wall. Fear and adrenaline surged through her, but she was far outmatched.
“Que quiere?”
“Why did you have to be here, bitch?” He shoved her against the wall next to her computer. His hand was around her neck, squeezing, and he pulled a knife from one of the pockets of his purple janitorial scrubs.
She remembered the punching lesson the first night with Sean and punched every part of him she could reach. His arms were longer than hers, keeping her from landing a solid shot. She kicked his shin, but he tightened his fist around her neck.
The knife glinted in his hand, and she could see him readying his aim. She closed her eyes, hoping it would be quick and that someone who wasn’t Sean found her body. It would break his heart.
“Who gave you that?”
She opened her eyes. El Socio had stopped and appeared to be looking at her wall. He loosened his grip enough to let her turn a little bit.
“Gave me what?”
He tapped her display of patients’ pictures. “That.”
“Christmas cards?”
A few more seconds passed, and he pushed her into her chair. “I ought to kill you, but I won’t. You sit here, and I’ll make sure you don’t cause me any trouble.”
Her lips were numb. “You aren’t going to kill me?”
“Not unless you do something very stupid.” He twirled his knife. “Then I’d skin you. Alive. You have any idea how long it takes to skin a body? Probably longer if it’s alive.”
Lillian bit her lip. Her only way out of this was to not antagonize him.
He pulled out a roll of medical tape and started taping her arms to the chair. “Chunga, you sit here and think about how lucky you are.”
She cocked her head in confusion.
“If I kill you… well, let’s say my lifespan will be significantly shorter, and not because I’m gonna get the chair. You don’t even know, do you?”
Lillian shook her head.
“Guess you aren’t too smart.” He loomed over her and leaned in and taped her mouth.
Anger blossomed. He’d made the mistake of getting too close, and she took advantage. Lillian reared her head back and gave him the most powerful headbutt she could. Her scalp collided with his chin and he stumbled back.
El Socio wiped a hand across his bloody lip, having bit it again. “You bitch. I should make you pay for that.”
With bravado she didn’t feel, she shrugged and jerked her arms against the bonds holding them in place. She’d marked him several times, so if he had plans to kill her, he’d have done it.
“Not worth it,” he seemed to decide. “I’m off to see my kids.”
With that, he rolled her chair into her office and locked the door, stealing her badge.
His footsteps faded, and she sighed against the gag. It was a miracle he hadn’t killed her, which was good news.
Even better news, he had her badge—the one with the police tracker in it. The undercover plan must have been kept quieter than the police expected.
Lillian pulled at her bonds experimentally. Medical tape was stronger than advertised. Until she got her arms free, it would be a losing battle to do much.
Still, she fought them, hoping she could get to her phone and call 911.
Her cell phone rang on her desk. The screen flashed Cleveland Police.
