She stalled for a moment before continuing her movement. “What are you going to do if you get that cuff off?”
She stalled again, huffing with annoyance before looking at me. “Get out.”
I studied her petite frame, her shoulders hunched as she jerked her arm back and forth. I couldn’t picture her being able to do much against the people who’d taken us. She didn’t have any experience fighting off men. She’d been raised as a Reformed, born to be a passive, submissive wife.
But if she broke my cuff? I wouldn’t have any qualms about fighting to the death. If I could get my limbs to start working again.
I couldn’t even get out of the meager puddle of bile my face was still laying in. Or the cold urine that hadn’t dried up yet.
A loud groaning screech and muffled footfall had all of us snapping our eyes to the door. Mother was quick to shove the pin into her hair, her hands dropping towards the floor just before a lock scratched open on our door.
Nothing could have prepared me for the face that greeted me once the door opened. I didn’t dare break his stare, even though I was questioning whether he was another hallucination.
He was supposed to be dead. His death the only reason I was still alive. The only reason I’d had any semblance of a normal life and wasn’t buried in a ditch somewhere like the rest of the key witnesses meant to testify against Los Siete.
And yet, he was standing in the doorway. Just as intimidating. Just as arrogant.
His nose wrinkled as he stepped into the room and shame burned my stomach. I wished I could cover myself, but that wouldn’t do much to disguise the stench that was covering my body.
“What? No greeting?” he asked with a smirk, his shiny leather shoes stopping a foot from my face. I was forced to strain my eyes to look up at him from the angle at which me face was lying against the ground.
He hummed a sigh and squatted, his face close enough to reveal the bags beneath his eyes. His cologne wafted over me, and I welcomed the scent if only to get a reprieve from my own smell.
His eyes traced over my body, lingering on the unhealed wounds on my back.
“I didn’t realize your husband was so ill. I killed him, if its any consolation to you,” he said with a shrug, eyes flicking to meet my own.
Mother began sobbing loudly and Carlos grimaced. If I had blinked I would have missed how quickly he pulled the gun from his waistband and fired it.
I winced as the sound rang out in my ears. My heart thundered in my chest, painting black spots in my vision. This was it. This was the end.
God, please forgive me for everything. I accept it. I accept your gift of grace. Please, please, please don’t send me to hell. I can’t take anymore. Please. Let me go to heaven. Let me go to heaven and let me have the future I never got with Enoch when he meets me there.
My pleading was interrupted by Carlos.
“Shit,” he clicked his tongue, running a hand over his slicked back hair. “I had meant to keep her alive. Oh well.”
“You know,” he sighed, elbows resting on his knees, “I thought I was ready to kill you, but…I’ve decided just now that I’d rather keep you.”No. No. God, please. I want this to end.“I thought letting you escape into witness protection was rather generous, considering you turned out to be a fucking rat like your brother. As you can imagine, I had much more important things to deal with than taking you out. And it really was the perfect deal. Using your disappearance as leverage against Kit. Things were going so well…and then, that sick boy just had to spoil the fun.”
My mind raced to process the fact that Carlos had known about me all this time, that he was aware of my life in Alaska, that he might know everything about my friends, my family.
“But I got what I wanted from Kit, and I’ve already hand-picked the senator to replace him once Kit’s death is made public. A Ghost this time. Someone I can control completely. Itreally was just too easy to convince him that you were alive. AI really can do anything these days. A couple of pictures here, a clip of video there. It was fun while it lasted, draining him dry of all that I could, but I couldn't let you go forever. Too great of a risk, leaving you out there for my brothers to find. And clearly I let that husband of yours search for too long if he managed to find you.
“But, it had to be done. I needed the Walshes. Needed to earn the trust from my brothers. They would have killed me if they knew that not only had both of my chosen legacies turned out to be rats, but my plan to infiltrate the goverment was ruined because of another one. I had to prove myself. And I have. They'll never know that you tattled. They think I already killed you, and they'll never know that I'm keeping you as my pet for a little while longer. I've finally rebuilt this empire, from the ground up, thanks to you and your little friends at the FBI, and I won't have you ruining me once again. We're stronger now.I'mstronger now. I won't make the same mistakes. My circle is smaller now. I trust no one but myself, and now I've finally climbed back to the top.”
My eyes snagged on the gun in his hands, the way he was speaking and waving it around carelessly had my pulse hammering.
His movements paused, bringing my attention back to his face. He chuckled, seeming genuinely amused.
“I told you, I’m not going to kill you. I’d rather use you for a while instead. You were a fun, fiery little thing. I especially liked your mouth.”
My stomach rolled painfully at his insinuation.
No. God. Please. No.
A shadow stepped forward from the doorway. A vaguely familiar man leaned down to whisper something into Carlos’sear. Carlos frowned deeply, flicking his gaze to mine before he sighed.
“That’s fine. Maybe the drugs will have worn off by the time I come back. I’ll be back soon, sweetheart. If you’re good, maybe I’ll send someone to clean up your…mess.”
