“Why isn’t she awake yet?” My throat burns. Did they shoot her with the tranq gun, too, or a regular gun? What if they gave her too much?
Thomas pulls a knife from his back pocket, flipping it open in front of me. Before the fear in my brain can travel to the rest of my body, he tosses me over and cuts the zip ties loose.
Blood rushes through my limbs and I fall over from the burn of it, hitting the already abused side of my face. After a minute or so, the scorching in my arms lessens to pins and needles. I try to lift myself back up but my arms give way every time I put any pressure on them. Thomas grabs me, hoisting me to a standing position.
He hands me a bottle of water and I drink so fast water dribbles out of the side of my mouth. I drain half the bottle then limp to Ethan, holding it up for him to have the rest. Once the bottle is empty, Thomas pulls me away from him.
It looks like we’ve made a pit stop on some deserted section of road in the middle of nowhere.
“I assume you need to take care of some personal matters?”
I guess this is Thomas’s way of asking me if I have to pee.
I nod and he drags me away from the van. My feet stumble around, trying to keep up. We get several yards away from the road until we’re just inside the tree line. Ethan is still on the ground, watching us.
I need to get him talking. Find out whatever I can. “What’s your real name? I know it’s not Thomas.”
“Thomas is the only name you need to know. You have three minutes. And this will be the one and only bathroom break.”
“I don’t understand any of this,” I croak out. “Where are we going?”
“No more questions.” He starts walking away.
“You won’t get away with this,” I say quietly. They have Daniel Sanders in custody and hopefully it won’t be long before they identify who Thomas really is.
He stops and pivots around, his hands behind his back. He’s taller than I remember and much more intimidating. His eyes and hair seem darker against his black clothing. He watches me a moment and it’s hard to hold his gaze with that intense look in his eye.
“How long did you wonder why I let you live in Scottsdale?” He closes in and begins circling around me, whispering in my ear. His breath puffs out in small clouds and the dead leaves and brittle sticks break at every step. “How many nights did you lie in your bed and worry I was outside the window?” He moves around until we’re face-to-face again. “How many times did your father or sister leave the house and you had a sinking feeling that they wouldn’t return alive?”
I hug myself hard, trying to get my shivering body under control. My teeth chatter and I’m hoping that he doesn’t actually require an answer because there is no way I could form a single word and expel it from my mouth. A thousand times in the last week I thought those things. It’s like he opened my head and pulled every fear I had right out. On the outside I was a girl embracing her new life and her new freedom, but on the inside I was preparing myself for the day something bad would happen to my family.
“I plucked you right off of that little island and no one even saw me coming. I’m sure your father is still scratching his head, trying to understand what just happened.”
It’s more like Dad is probably going nuts right now. The Landrys, too.
“You better hope I get away with this, since I am the only chance you have in surviving this. I have worked for the Vega family all my life. Señor Vega does not tolerate mistakes and this new turn…with the journal proves to him that it was a mistake that I didn’t kill you in Arizona.”
None of this makes sense. Why did he give the journal back if he knew it would cause so much trouble? There’s something missing….
Thomas circles me again. “But now Señor Vega is the one who made a mistake—turning against me after so many years of faithful service. There is also the added insult of sending an amateur after me—and you—an assassin named Mateo. He is trying desperately to make a name for himself, so you will find him quite eager to finish this job.”
“B-b-b-but I don’t understand. He’ll come after you no matter what happens to us? Why would you risk coming for me and Ethan? And why bring my sister?” My voice cracks at the mention of her.
He takes a small step closer. “I’m going to let you in on a little secret. The only reason I didn’t kill you in Arizona is because I gave my word to someone that you would not die by my hand.”
What? “Who?” I ask. My mind races trying to figure out who in the world he could be talking about.
“And the only thing keeping you and your boyfriend alive right now is the fact I don’t want the person who replaced me on this job to fulfill any part of the contract. It’s my pride that saves you now. So make sure you understand your place. This is not about you, or really ever has been. You just found yourself in the middle of a very dangerous power struggle. Mateo wants you, but he’ll have to get through me first. You and Ethan are going to help me lure a killer.”
He backs up and slowly picks a stray dead leaf from his sleeve. “Teeny…that’s what you call her, isn’t it? Teeny turned out to be a nice surprise. I may need a little extra incentive for you and Ethan to cooperate.” He crushes the dead leaf as his gaze zeros in on me. It’s as if the temperature drops the closer he gets to me.
“Were you the one who left the journal in my pocket?”SHUT UP, ANNA!my mind screams, but I can’t stand not knowing what is really going on. Now that I see what he really is, I don’t think it could have been him—but who else could it have been?
A strange look comes across his face. “Don’t mention the flowers or the journal again.” Then he turns to walk away.
“I have one last question.” I know I’m pushing my luck but I can’t stop. “What will stop Señor Vega from sending someone else after us?”
“Once I put a bullet through his head, it will be difficult for him to give any more orders.”
