by Olivia Fox
He led me down the street. My sense of direction was total shit, the noise and the throng overwhelming. As he rounded the corner, my hand in his, I was swept in the opposite direction by a pack of rowdy-looking old ladies dressed like dead Monarch butterflies.
“Espera!” Wait! I tried to tell them. Their mischievous smiles told me I was going with them, and Tony was stuck at the intersection, fighting his way through the throng of skeletons to get at me.
This was so messed up.
It was easier to go with the flow and follow my Monarch matrons than try to fight it. I was a block from him now. “Vengaaaaaaa!!!” Come on!” The rowdy insects cried, bustling me further from where Tony remained. It was hard to see him over all the bobbing heads and floats between us.
Yet, in all the chaos, Maximilio’s thug for hire, the one who wore sunglasses, found me. He fell in step beside me and leaned down to my ear. “I’ll count to three, and you’re going to come with me. There will not be a four,” he said in Spanish, laced with venom.
“All right, calm down,” I replied.
The white van off the main street made me realize one wrong move could cost me my life.
Vans were sketchy.
Everyone knew bad guys used them for robberies, kidnappings, and terrorist activities. Exactly the sick hobbies the Cartel was fond of. No way was Mr. Gangbanger taking me somewhere to dispose of my head.
He slid the side door open, and I climbed in, the picture of docility. With my feet wedged in between the small metal ridges of the ribbed van floor, and my hands tied in front of me (big mistake on his part) I shoved my butt up against the wall and looked around.
“Where are we going?” It was important to distract Mr. Murderer with idle chatter. Keep him off his game.
Of course, he didn’t answer.
“Are you taking me to my sister, Maggie? She’s going to have Maximilio’s child, you know?” I poked my fingertips beneath the siding protruding from the bottom of the van and probed around to discover if there was anything behind its wall. There was always something significant hidden in the walls of these damned cargo vans. At least in the movies.
Pay dirt.
I recognized the texture of heavy plastic, and inside it, the unmistakable heft of metal. Please God, let it be a gun. I opened my eyes wide to ensure that if my chauffeur turned around, I’d look innocent.
One advantage of being a girl was how men always underestimated you. Until you took them by surprise and pressed a gun barrel to their skull from the back of the van.
“Don’t worry, I’m not going to hurt ya,” I announced. “I’m just going to blow your brains out! I’m going to blow them right the fuck out if you don’t pull over.” It impressed me how tough I sounded since I was about ready to pee on the floor.
“Okay, okay,” he said. “No need to get huffy.”
“No sudden moves!”
All past sins came to roost, and it was time to collect: the harassment in high school. My helplessness to rescue a sister who wouldn’t appreciate the effort anyway. My decision to leave behind the love of my life, for no good reason other than convincing myself I needed to obtain a college degree and get by on my own.
Back then, I thought if I relied on Tony, gave into the desire I had to embrace him forever, he’d eventually see the defects I wore as scar tissue after growing up the way I did. What did I know? I was just a kid. Truth was, everybody was fucked up in their own special way.
In a snap second, the thought of losing Tony again, leaving him behind in a crowded Mexican plaza while the Cartel tore us apart, made a black curtain of hate fall over my eyes, and my soul seemed as cold as a graveyard in winter.
I shoved the gun at the back of the kidnapper’s head. “Now, get out of the car. Don’t follow me, don’t try to find me, and you won’t have to pick your teeth out of the windshield.”
“Take it easy. I’m going. No need to get violent,” he said, the fear written large on his unshaven face and I felt a little bad for him. “An eye for an eye leaves everybody blind!”
“Okay, but I should make it believable, no?” I raised the gun, conveying my meaning.
“Don’t knock me out, just leave a bruise.” I clocked him a good one, and the welt bloomed on his forehead.
“Sorry about that. Put some ice on it and tell them you were attacked.”
“It’s true!” He huffed and folded his arms over his chest. “You attacked me! Wicked woman!” He walked backward, pointing his accusation at me.
“You started it.” I waved the gun at him. It felt more and more comfortable in my hand. “All right, get out of here.”
I was getting to the point where I feared nothing. Did it make me a gangster or a straight-up sociopath? With enough adrenaline in the system, it was hard to tell the difference.
26
Antonio
I saw the white van driving up the side street, chickens flying out of its way, dust swirling in clouds around its tires… and knew it was her before making her face out through the windshield.
She screeched to a halt beside me, wheels coming to a stop only after they slid about a foot on the gravel.
Dangerous.
Dangerous driver.
Dangerous dame.
When I lost sight of her in the plaza, my heart sunk to my feet and cold, icy terror gripped me by the lapels.
This girl was going to make me lose my shit.
Bad enough I had to worry about her for three long years while she lived with her barely conscious mom and fly-by-night sister. It was a wonder I didn’t get myself killed back then, distracted as I was.
And now, déjà vu. Here she was again, giving me a heart attack every time I turned around.
I wasn’t sure I’d survive it.
Daphne leaned over and rolled down the window, casual as all hell, while nerves rubbed me raw.
“Going my way, stranger?” Her lips curved in secret knowing.
“Where did you get this van?” I choked back my anger.
Outrage over losing her.
Fury over not being able to get to her, to keep her safe.
“Climb in. I’ll tell you all about it,” she said.
I strapped in and she put the pedal to the metal. We about killed a thousand chickens heading away from the festivities.
“For real. Where did you pick up this thing?”
“A mutual acquaintance of ours lent it to us for a while.” Her grin was mischievous, and she touched a playful finger to my lips.
“Daphne.” I stretched out the last syllable of her name in warning.
“Alright. One of Maximilio’s henchmen tried nabbing me in the parade. He took me to his van, and I found this,” she reached under her seat and whipped out a Glock, I ducked instinctively, “hidden in the wall panel. Otherwise, I’d probably be dead right now.” I grabbed the gun from her. “Man, I get why you’re into this gangster stuff. Makes you feel alive.”
Violence festered in my thoughts: I’d wrap his legs in chains and sink him to the bottom of the ocean, hogtie him in the dark and toss him off a building, pop him in the back of the head while he walked to the bakery.
“Hey, you’ll crush the handle if you don’t let up a little.” She pointed at my fingers so knotted around the grip of the pistol, they turned white.
My heart slowed down the further we got from town so it no longer hammered so much as tapped.
“You want to tell me where we’re headed?”
“To the train station. They’ll be on the lookout for this van. We’ll ditch it in the parking lot and head back to San Diego.”
“You may underestimate these men, Daphne. For our sakes, I sure as hell hope they don’t think of us riding the rails.”
She was too twitchy. We purchased our tickets and got on the train, and she didn’t know how obvious she was being.
I’d studied her, watched her, paid attention. She bit her bottom lip a certain way before her cheeks pinked, tilting her head back before laughing
out loud—her slightest gestures fulfilled my every craving.
Which is how I knew she was hiding something.
Something important.
The casual intimacy between us made me want to ask, Why are you being weird? but I kept quiet. Her dishonesty had me glaring at her, and she turned to face me from where she sat against the window of the train, outside whizzed by saguaro cactus, rocky terrain, and an occasional buzzard.
“What? Why are you glowering at me?” Her eyes bulged.
“Nothing,” I replied, “Let’s go up front to the dining car. I’m going to buy a sandwich.”
“I’ll stay here.”
“No way. Not letting you out of my sight again. Get your ass out of that chair and follow me.”
We ordered two sandwiches and sat side by side on the bench seat facing the window where sage, gold, and beige stripes blended in blurred streaks as we passed the desert terrain.
She couldn’t help swiping at my lower lip with a napkin after I took a bite. “Mayonnaise.”
“Thank you.” Pleasure pulsed in my veins at her automatic care of me.
It made me weak.
“I’ll figure it out, you know,” I told her.
“Figure what out?” she said, eyebrows raised and mouth half-open.
Real innocent.
Until I proved her guilty.
Daphne couldn’t keep a secret to save her life.
“Whatever it is you’re hiding from me. Don’t think I didn’t notice.” I snatched her wrist out of the air, yanked her towards me on the seat, and pulled her onto my lap. “Do I need to take you back to our sleeping car and teach you a lesson, little girl?”
“What are you talking about? What would I be hiding from you?”
“Not sure, but like I said. I’m going to find out.” My hands gripped her ass, pulling her close to my hard-on. I set her on the bench before we caused a scene, and finished my supper, telling myself there was plenty of time to make a meal out of Daphne on the three-hour train ride to San Diego.
27
Antonio
The guy was obvious.
I spotted him across the room of the dining car, drinking coffee. His jacket sagged, hanging lower on the side where he pocketed his handgun. He stood and attempted to hold the weapon in place with his right hand as it swung with his movements.
So much for my brief fantasy of taking Daphne to the private cabin, pulling her neckline down so her breasts popped into my hands, torturing her nipples with my mouth until she told me what she was up to.
No such luck. Instead of fondling those succulent mouthfuls, I traipsed after this guy who kept patting his pocket like a proud father pats his kid on the head.
He ducked into the enclosure where the restrooms were and whipped his hand around the wall, pistol pointed towards us. “Get back!” I shoved Daphne behind me and pushed her through the door of a private cabin. “Stay there. Don’t move!”
It would be just like her to follow me. Even though I insisted she give over the Glock when she took it out from under the seat of the van.
I crouched to floor level and peeked my head out the door, trying to see the assailant. Sure enough, the gun barrel nosed out from behind the wall, aimed right at us.
With a slow breath and a wink of an eye, I didn’t feel my finger twitch on the trigger when he couldn’t resist leaning his body into the hallway for a better view. It was instinctual, born of hours of practice at the range and on the streets.
The sound of the train speeding down the tracks muffled the shot.
He stumbled from behind the partition and the red wound blossomed at his chest. He collapsed; the handgun clattered to the floor.
“Oh my God, is he… is he?” Daphne whispered from over my shoulder.
“If he isn’t yet, he will be soon. We’ve got to get away from here before someone finds him and starts looking for the killer.”
I led her to the dining car, dropping the pistol out an open window on the way. She spoke up, “Look, I didn’t want to drag you back into this mess again—you have too much on the line to go to war with Maximilio. I was planning to sneak away and go back myself.”
My knuckles knotted and cracked, and I flexed the muscles in my arms, trying to pull back the reigns on my anger over the fact she planned on ditching me.
Her grin conveyed a secret knowledge and she said, “But now, I’m done.”
“What do you mean done?”
“I’m not leaving my sister with these animals. They’re capable of anything.” She strapped her arms across her chest and glared at the carpet. “We have to head back. You’re coming with me,” she said, grabbing my hand. “I’m not leaving you again.”
I’d always love her, but this fiercer version of Daphne was everything. “I’m all in—whatever you need. Let’s hop off at the next station, catch a ride, and go kick some ass.” I swooped in to steal a kiss and show her without words all the love and passion beating for her in my heart.
28
Daphne
Pieces of straw swirled around in the warm night air, and I shouted, “To the compound!” The chicken farmer who gave us a ride had finished his dinner after a day at the farmer’s market and and picked us up on his way out of town since he was headed in our direction.
My breath came easy and I had a good feeling when I took the cell phone out from my pocket.
“The guy who nabbed me had this with him.” I held up the phone.
Tony glowered at me. “You didn’t consider telling me you had a cell phone before we wound up in the back of a chicken truck?” His temper turned foul shortly after I confessed on the train I was planning to leave him at first chance and go after Maggie on my own.
“I didn’t want to waste the battery,” I grumbled.
“Someone is getting an ass whipping after this is over, and it ain’t going to be me.” He gripped the wooden side panels of the truck so hard I thought they might snap in his hands.
I refrained from telling him he was no fair, though the words were on the tip of my tongue. Best not poke the bear at this moment.
“Want to hear the good news?” I asked him.
“Let’s see, we’re headed back to see some Cartel dude, who is on the verge of being a mortal enemy, to save your sister who didn’t want to be saved in the first place since she ran straight back into the arms of said deadly dude, both of whom happen to be surrounded by guys who are hell-bent on kidnapping or trying to kill us. Sure, go ahead. I’m sure the news is great.”
“You know…” I pointed my finger at him but thought better of it when he snatched it out of the air and narrowed his furious eyes at me. I whispered the rest of my statement, “A negative attitude doesn’t help.”
“Think positive?” He grabbed my other wrist in his hand and clamped down on it like a metal band. “That’s your brilliant solution after being snatched out from under my nose? Twice? Did thinking positive keep a guy from trying to kill us on the train?”
“I’m just saying, we’re alive. Haven’t you ever heard of counting your blessings?” It was hard to breathe with his hell-hot eyes staring at me. I tugged my right wrist out of his hand. “Besides, we have this.” I held the cell phone up again.
I kissed his frowning features, and he released my other arm. The powerful, intoxicating scent of him rose to meet me.
Despite all the shit, this gruff and tender man always stuck by my side.
“Tony, Sister Cuca just texted. Maggie and Maximilio are staying at a hotel on the coast, avoiding the celebration crowds. We can take a cab there from town. It’s ten minutes away.” I let him know.
We arrived later at the resort where my sister was staying.
“What about an unannounced visit to the happy couple? We can stake out their room, see if there’s a chance of catching my sister on her own, make sure she’s safe and not being held against her will.”
“No evidence of that.” His voice was flat.
He was right.
&nbs
p; Maggie stated her position. Maximilio could afford to keep her in the manner to which she’d become accustomed. Even so, I couldn’t forgive myself if I didn’t try once more to get Maggie and her baby out of here.
Of course, it was a pipe dream to believe my sister would ever act using her common sense.
“It’s room 103, oceanside,” I told Tony who walked ahead of me in the hallway. “God, what if they’re getting busy?”
“We’ll have to wait longer for them to come to the door,” he said, deadpan. I snorted out loud.
Tony knocked as if he were a next-door neighbor and it shocked the shit out of me when Maggie answered, dressed in a silk robe as if nothing were amiss and we’d arrived on time for her backyard barbecue.
“Tony.” She practically caressed him with her eyes, and I resisted the urge to do a one-eighty and leave her ass. “Little sis.” She deigned to acknowledge my presence.
“Can we come in?” I asked since she was effectively blocking our entry with her arm raised seductively over her head, resting on the door frame.
“Of course. Drink?” She gestured towards the corner bar.
“A glass of water, please,” I requested, striding closer to the refreshments. “Tony, you want anything?”
“Water’s great,” he said.
“You may need something stronger,” Maximilio said as he approached from the back bedroom, wearing a black silk robe identical to Maggie’s.
“I’ll stay on top of my reflexes, thanks,” said Tony.
It was a good thing he did. The night was back-lit by the moon, and I glimpsed a man’s shadow on the balcony and the unmistakable outline of a gun. Fear choked the scream from my throat as I dove at my sister, pulling her to the ground. I covered her head with my body, hiding behind the couch, and saw Tony raise up, pistol in hand.
“Stay down!” He whispered harshly, gesturing to Maximilio to remain in the hallway, hidden from bullet range.