I slice his throat from ear to ear, severing his jugular and carotid arteries. It geysers, splattering me. As it gurgles from his mouth and dribbles down his chin, his eyes dim. I lean in close, so the very last sound he hears—besides his own spluttering—is my voice.
“That’s why I feel no guilt killing you. You stopped being a Diaz the day you plotted myabuelo’sdeath.”
“Is it done?”
“Not yet,chiquita.”
Not the response Flora wanted.
She burrows against my chest, and my arms tighten around her. I rub her back as I kiss the top of her head. I practically scrubbed myself raw in the barracks’ shower. I craved feeling mychicain my arms, but I wouldn’t go near her without being sure nothing lingered to remind her of what I did. If she was watching the security screens, then I’m certain she saw how I came out of the basement. Seeing it on a monitor is far different from seeing someone else’s blood on a person you want to touch. As secure as this home is, I don’t need to leave any trace evidence either.
“Are we still safe here?”
“Yes, because no one else can find this place. I spoke to the head of security at Humberto’s estate. Apparently, he bribed some state official to use his private helicopter. The men who accompanied him weren’t our guards, but men on loan. It’s why we didn’t question them.”
Before we killed them.
“But he still left the estate. Did he tell anyone where he was going?”
“Our team leader said the helicopter arrived unexpectedly, tore up half the garden, and barely touched down before Humberto ran out. The guard had never seen Humberto move that fast, and the guard started working forTíoEnrique when he was in his twenties and is now in his fifties. As far as we’ve determined, no one on the inside helped him. It’s an ongoing investigation.”
In other words, we haven’t finished interrogating every guy who works on the estate. If we find anyone helped Humberto, the guy will pay for his crimes just like the others did. Whoever the official was is now on the short list for a death march.
“Could he have told the man he borrowed the helicopter from where he was going?”
“Possibly. The only way they found the compound was from Humberto telling the pilot where to go. We run signal and radar jammers around the clock. The property doesn’t exist as far as any local or national records show. But there’s the slim chance, so we need to leave.”
“New York?”
“Definitely not. Humberto ran many things down here for us, so he has connections around the world. He ran New York while mytíoand father were in boarding school, then university. Since his banishment,TíoEnrique’s given him specific tasks to oversee several parts of our day-to-day business. It was the condition of his house arrest. He knew if he didn’t remain useful, there was no reason to keep him around. He told yourabuelohe’d forgive the debt in exchange for you. He believed you working for him would give him a leg up over us by undercutting our sales. If he could do that, he thought he could outmaneuver us. He realized this last stunt—especially involving you—made him redundant now.”
Redundancy. The excuse corporations use to lay off people.
Here, it meant Humberto’s death regardless of the hit. That just confirmed there was no way for him to escape the inevitable. Flora’s probably wondering what information I got from Humberto before he died. I made a couple calls before I left the barracks and learned more than what Humberto confessed. I can’t tell her it was more than just about her family. I consider sharing the full extent of herabuelo’sinvolvement.
“Pablo, please tell me what you learned about my family.”
Chapter Twelve
Flora
That’s been a lot of shit to take in. I haven’t forgotten the part where Pablo said we need to leave but didn’t say where we’re going. But my burning need to understand my family history feels more dire. I trust Pablo to know where to take me and when to leave.
He guides me to the sofa and eases me onto his lap. I kick off my shoes and curl against him.
“I hate how you feel you need to shrink into a ball to feel safe,chiquita.”
“No. I just like feeling you wrapped around me.”
“Because you’re scared and need a shield.”
“Not a shield,Papí. You.”
He nudges my chin up, and our gazes lock. I want to believe there’s something between us that’ll last beyond this emergency. That the feelings we have aren’t adrenaline and cortisol pumping through us from fear. It’s not like we’ve been in a state of fight or flight all day. We enjoyed each other’s company by the pool. We thought we’d have time to get to know each other here. But this is certainly an extraordinary situationwhere our emotions are running high. I’m insanely attracted to him and have been since the moment I saw him. But, normally, I wouldn’t have had sex with him so soon.
It’s not like I fucked him because I seized the opportunity, fearing there’d never be another chance. I didn’t do it as a distraction, either. I did it because it felt right because I trust him about most things. Even that’s a result, though, of this extreme situation. I don’t trust easily. I certainly wouldn’t trust any other man from a cartel—especially not fromthe Cartel—so easily. But Pablo’s a loadstone. I’m drawn to him, and I can’t—won’t—fight it. He’s my compass through all of this, and I’m depending on him for that. But necessity didn’t guarantee I’d like him or be attracted to him. That’s entirely separate.
“Little one, I’ll be your shield whenever you need me.”
