All I can see is the rifle pointed at my face. “Sí.” My voice sounds strangely hollow. My heart is beating too hard.
This can’t be happening.
“Marcha.”
Numb with fear, I slowly turn around, praying that I’m not about to be shot in the back. When I hesitate, he shoves me with the barrel of the gun, and I gasp. I’ve never touched a weapon in my life. I’ve never been threatened with anything worse than the confiscation of my phone.
I walk forward, and I hear nothing but the roar of my pulse, even as my boots crunch through twigs and leaves.
My breath freezes in my throat, and my legs stop working. Is this what happened to my father?
“¡Ándale!”the gunman shouts, and I flinch. “Back to the bunkhouse.”
“Okay.” Slowly, I lift my arms to show him I’m not resisting. “Who are you?”
He shoves me in the back with the rifle again, and I stumble forward. My heart races and my vision begins toswim. The jungle starts to spin around me.
Calm down, Maddie. You’re still alive for a reason. Think it through.
I take a deep breath and take another step. Then another. Finally my legs are working on their own, and so are my thoughts. “Is this about cocaine?” Have we gotten caught up in some kind of drug trafficking ... incident?
“¡Cállate!”The gunman shoves me again, and my jaw snaps shut. “No talking.”
It’s going to be fine, Maddie. But I’ve never been a very good liar. Not even to myself.
44 HOURS EARLIER
GENESIS
“Who else is with Genesis Shipping and Wainwright Pharmaceuticals?” Silvana demands.
To my surprise, Indiana steps forward.
After a second, Domenica joins him. I hear her whisper as she passes Silvana, “No soy americana. Por favor, no me mates.”
“I don’t care if you’re not American.” Silvana motions her toward us with the butt of her pistol.
Penelope finally takes one shaky step forward, staring at the ground.
“I’m their tour guide,” Nico says as he joins us.
Silvana shoves him back into line. “You four, over there.” She waves us toward the post where Holden stands. Then she studies the remaining hostages one at a time. After a couple of minutes, she shoves Rog toward us, then orders everyone else to lie facedown on the ground with their hands behind their backs.
Armed gunmen don’t tell people to lie facedown on the ground because they’re about to hand out candy and send everyone home. Chill bumps rise on my arms and legs. The tour guide’s stray dog lies by his side and tucks her nose beneath her paws.
Penelope watches with wide, teary eyes, and Indiana looks sick when one of the gunmen comes forward with a bundle of zip ties. He begins binding the prone hostages’ hands at their backs.
Two of the women are crying, their wet cheeks pressed into the dirt, and I want to look away. My own terror is more than enough to deal with. But I know what’s going to happen to them, and I won’t turn away from their pain.
Not this time.
“Don’t look, Genesis.” She’s choking on tears, facedown on the floor, but I can still understand her. “Close your eyes, baby.”
“Listen to your mother.” The man’s face is in shadows, but light glints off his knife.
“Just keep your eyes closed, baby, no matter what you hear.” She’s sobbing, and I don’t know what to do. “It’ll all be over in a minute.”
So I close my eyes.
