“I don’t want to hurt you. That’s not my style. I prefer conversation.” He says with a smile that doesn’t reach his eyes. “Cooperation.”
He stands to his full height, taking his time as he pulls a cigarette from his jacket pocket. One of his goons steps forward to light it for him. I brace myself for another blow, but the man hands me the lit cigarette. My hands shake when I reach for it. There’s pain in my lungs when I take a long inhale and more pain when I exhale.
“Here is the thing, Mr. Nevarez, I can have these menhang you up again, we can start another day of torture, or you can give me what I’m looking for.”
I draw the smoke in slowly, until I feel it coating my lungs. My wrists throb where the cuffs had dug in. The man in front of me waits for an answer, but it never comes. Not from my mouth.
“Where is Vidal Montalvan building his new compound?”
I stare at him. He doesn’t know me, and I don’t know him, but I know myself. And I’m sure I’ll be the craziest son of a bitch he’s ever met because torture is a hobby to me. And snitching on my boss is out of the question.
Vidal had told me there would be people who would use me to get to him, and I’d been prepared for that. I just wasn’t prepared for it to happen while I was wearing one of my favorite suits.
“You think you’re doing this for loyalty?” The man goes on, “But loyalty to the wrong man? That’s just another kind of cowardice.”
He stands and walks to the door at the other end of the empty room. Stepping out, he grabs a suitcase and returns.
“A quarter of a million dollars. You tell me what I want to know, and you can have it all. Escape, and I’ll take care of Vidal.”
He nudges the suitcase in front of me with his foot. I stare at it. This smug bastard has no idea I’ve turned down more for less. I look up and take the last drag of the cigarette before I smile at him.
“Fuck you.”
He blinks, staring over me before a small laugh escapes him. It comes out low as he crouches back down to face me.
“You know who I am? I’m Savino Biondini, the head of the Italian Mob. This is chump change compared to what I’d be willing to pay you for Vidal’s head.”
“Fuck. You,” I say again, slower this time.
Savino pauses. Then his lip twitches. He turns his head toward the two men standing by the door
“Sei pazzo, questo stronzo.”He laughs before turning back to me. “I like that,” he adds, almost to himself. “Fucking lunatic.”
He motions for his men to take the suitcase away. As they do, he leans down, just enough for me to catch the faint smell of jasmine on him.
“You know, I like you. It says a lot about a man’s character when circumstances control their loyalty. Vidal is lucky to have you.”
With a twist of his wrist, one of the men behind him brings forward my cellphone. Savino’s fingers move quickly on the screen before he drops the cellphone in front of me.
“But liking you won’t keep you alive. See, Mr. Nevarez, this is usually the part in an interrogation where I threaten your entire family. But you don’t have anyone. Nothing to lose, and nothing to gain. It’s a sad life, but it makes for a loyal soldier.”
Savino and his men exit the room, and I pull out my cellphone. The screen is left on a text sent to Vidal’s burner phone. Two words.
He passed.
My head falls to the concrete wall behind me. I think back to Savino’s parting words about having nothing to lose. That’s where he was wrong. I do have something to lose, and I need to get back to her as soon as possible.
Chapter 21
Alma
“Alma you’re up!” Claudi shouts.
It’s another packed Saturday night, and the energy of the crowd is buzzing. I tug the blue mesh dress down, barely long enough to cover my matching baby blue thong.
Standing tall in a dark blue wig, fishnet stockings, and blue platform heels, I nod to the DJ. My heels click against the floor as I evolve into a much more confident version of me.
“Ella no vino a salvarte, vino a hechizarte. The bad fairy, the last fantasy, the woman who’ll haunt your dreams. Give it up forLa Hada Mala!”
