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His expression turned grim. “You went below.”

Chapter eleven

“Not here,” I whispered.

Rafael glanced along the empty arcade, then opened the door to a narrow linen room and waited for me to enter. He left it cracked behind us so we could hear anyone approaching.

Rafael had served my mother before I was born. Silver now marked his temples, and lines framed his eyes, but he still carried himself like the guard she’d trusted above all others. He’d always been my fiercest protector, ensuring my safety while living among the cartel.

His gaze dropped to the basket again. “Did anyone see you?”

“No.”

“The prisoner?”

“He was blindfolded…but he knew I was there.”

“Christ, Isabella.”

“He needed water.”

“He’s Ciro’s prisoner. You have no reason to bring him anything.”

“I heard what he said to Father. His people are coming for him.”

Rafael studied me. “And you believe that?”

“He sounded certain. I believe he expects them to come.”

“That isn’t enough to stake your life on.”

I glanced toward the cracked door before lowering my voice. “When I asked whether his people would come for him, somehow he realized I wasn’t only asking about his rescue. I guess since I’d brought him water against Father’s orders and come in through a hidden entrance, he assumed I wasn’t there just to be friendly. I needed to know whether the men coming for him would take someone else with them.”

Rafael’s brows furrowed as he shook his head. “You told him you wanted to leave?”

“No. I didn’t have to. He just made the connection.”

“And then what did he say?”

I hesitated before telling Rafael the truth because it would tear him apart. He wanted nothing more than for me to escape this prison, but freedom meant he might never see me again. Worse, there was a real chance I wouldn’t survive. He’d always been more of a father to me than Ciro Delgado ever was, so that possibility would be unbearable for him.

“He said that if I helped him reach his people, he would make sure I left with them.”

Rafael scrubbed a hand over his mouth. “Desperate men promise anything.”

“It’s not that I trust him.” The admission bothered me more than I expected, after the way Lachlan had treated me. “But he’ll fight with everything he has to get out. If I can help him before Father and Marcela damage him too badly, he’ll still be strong enough to help us both.”

“That isn’t good enough.”

“I know.” I chewed on my lower lip. “But it’s the best shot I’ll ever have.”

Lachlan might leave me behind the second his cuffs came off. He might decide Ciro’s daughter was too dangerous to bring near his men. The promise he’d made while blindfolded and chained could’ve been nothing more than the right words to keep me coming back.

But he still represented my first real chance at freedom since Mother died.

“I’m leaving with him,” I said. “I need your help to make sure the route I know is still usable. I’m asking for information, Rafael. Not permission.”

I hesitated, chewing on the inside of my cheek. “And I need something else right away.”