“But don’t open it until after I leave,” Barrera added under his breath.
Coward.Xander watched him walk away, then turned his attention to Barrera’s guard dogs. They looked more nervous than usual.Good.“Well? What’re you waiting for?” he taunted, hands curling into fists.
Keeping their guns aimed at him, the taller one with gold grillz over his teeth radioed for backup. Xander couldn’t help but smirk. It took six armed men to enter his cell and hold him steady enough for any of them to beat on him. He did his best to fight back, but eventually—as he knew they would—they won the lopsided battle.
Curling into a ball to protect his vital organs, Xander closed his eyes and let them punch and kick. He barely felt the attack. Infact, he welcomed it. After letting his sister fall into Barrera’s vile clutches, Xander deserved each punishing blow.
Eventually, the thugs left. Xander rolled onto his back, staring up at the rocky ceiling of his cell. And the reality of his situation hit him harder than the beating he’d just endured.
I’m going to die down here.
Chapter four
Estrella María Fuentes Barrera lit a candle, kneeled on the floor, and faced the small makeshift altar she’d fashioned in the corner of her bedroom where the tall candle and several holy cards lay on a handsewn lace cloth. Bowing her head, she silently began her morning prayer litany. A rosary made of bronze with crystals and blood-red rubies dangled from her fingers. It had belonged to her mother, and it was the only tangible thing she had left from a woman who’d been so kind and loving. God, she missed her mom so much.
Since she couldn’t go to church any longer, Essie had to make do with what she had. Her brother’s enemies had destroyed the compound they’d been living in and, most recently, her family’s mansion in Sinaloa, so they’d been forced to go underground. The bunker she’d been living in for the past two months, built by her paranoid brother, felt like a prison.
And being stuck in a bedroom with no windows—located deep underground where she couldn’t even feel a breeze or hear birds sing—tested her senses and stretched her sanityto uncomfortable limits. All she thought about anymore was escape.
At least Tomás was safe. She’d convinced José to send their thirteen-year-old brother to school in Europe. Essie could rest at night knowing her little brother was far from the warring Mexican cartels and their horrible influence. She’d already lost her parents in a car bombing and one brother, Miguel, to a hail of bullets meant for José. Losing sweet, innocent Tomás would break her.
Besides, she didn’t like the way José looked at Tomás. Like he was a threat who needed to be eliminated. Tomás wasn’t one of José’s many enemies, and her duty to protect him overrode all else. Even her own safety.
After praying for Tomás and then to her parents and Miguel, Essie sat back on her heels and wondered why she even bothered. Her faith had taken a nosedive, and even though she still went through the motions likeMamáhad taught her, she didn’t believe the way she used to. Death and violence surrounded her. She barely recognized her older brother anymore. He was so caught up in gaining more power and control, he’d become a bloodthirsty stranger.
Talking to José proved useless. He simply didn’t listen. Not to her, anyway. She often felt like a forgotten princess locked up in a tower. Or, in this case, a cartel princess locked up in a dungeon.
She didn’t want to spend the rest of her life living under her brother’s thumb, but her options were extremely limited. Basically, two possibilities: marriage or escape.
Since she was a thirty-two-year-old virgin with zero prospects, no dating history to speak of and a nonexistent social life, finding somebody to love felt impossible. Marriage seemed out of the realm of possibility. Although a part of her worried José might eventually want to be rid of her and force her to marrysomeone. Or his paranoia that someone might use her against him might cause him to hide her away forever.
Her lack of experience with men and life in general resulted from living a very sheltered life since her parents died. They hadn’t been a part of the cartel, and she’d had a wonderful childhood. But now that it was just her and José, he kept her under lock and key. As the sister of an infamous cartel leader, she’d spent the last eight years being guarded and shuffled away “somewhere safe.”
In other words, quarantined away from the rest of the world. And for a woman who wanted to experience life and live it to the fullest, she knew the time to make a decision was fast approaching. Maybe her best option would be to escape. Go over to Europe and live with Tomás.
But that opened up a whole new can of worms. Where would she get the money to fly there, much less secure a place to live? And when José discovered she ran away, he’d cut all funding to Tomás. Because punishing Tomás was the easiest way to punishher.
With a frustrated sigh, she stood up, pocketing her rosary, and blew out the flickering flame. She was going to go stir crazy if she didn’t get out of there. Lose her damn mind. Usually, she waited until dark to sneak out. But fresh air and sunlight called to her, beckoning her out of the underground hole that was becoming increasingly claustrophobic and depressing.
During her wanderings, trying anything to slay the boredom and keep her mind from delving into dark spaces, she’d stumbled upon a door which connected to the old mine. A few nights a week, she snuck through the door and tunnels, using them to get outside. Lately, more than a few. Because the walls felt like they were closing in, threatening to suffocate her.
She had to be careful, though. José and his men used the mine as their headquarters, meeting there to plan and carry out secret stuff he didn’t want her to find out about.
But Essie needed to look up at the sky. Feel the warm breeze on her skin. Admire the rugged mountains cresting the landscape. She couldn’t survive like this for much longer. Even earthworms came out of their holes after it rained.
Depending on the exact location, Tierra Caliente could be either very wet or very dry, but all of it was hot. The bunker was located in a lusher area of the region, so she could look up through the tree canopy and see the endless stars at night. So many beautiful constellations dotted the heavens, and she enjoyed learning their stories when she was allowed to use her laptop.
José didn’t like it, of course, and grumbled whenever she asked. He was terrified someone would be able to hack in and get their location. Mistrustful and neurotic described him to a T. He believed everyone wanted him dead. She supposed he was right to worry. The man did have enemies right and left. How could he not with his dangerous lifestyle?
But while José craved power, Essie merely wanted peace.
Quietly opening her door, she listened for a moment then stepped into the hallway. The bunker was large and she could roam freely throughout the top two levels. However, José’s men’s living quarters comprised level three, and she avoided going down there.
Except when she had to sneak into the mine.
Being the only woman there made her uneasy, especially when her brother wasn’t around. No one dared to interact with her overly much, but she didn’t miss the lingering looks some of the men cast her way. Hungry looks. It made her skin crawl. When it came to the cartel lifestyle, she knew her brother was one carbombing away from her becoming fair game to whoever tried to take his place.
Essie crept down the stairs, on high alert. She reached the bottom level of the bunker and heard some distant chatter coming from the men’s quarters down the hallway, but nothing too alarming. Pulling in a deep breath, she hurried over to the door leading to the old mine. She opened it and crossed the threshold, entering the dimly-lit tunnels.
