by Helene Laval
“A little fight? A little time? That was two years ago. You wanted me to go. I left you the divorce papers, and you said it was over,” I said running my fingers through my hair. She scoffed as if I didn’t say anything at all.
She turned to Hector and beamed. “Thank you, Daddy! I knew you could find him for me.”
“Anything for you, Luce. You know that.” Hector smiled kindly to her.
I felt like I was in another body. This could not be happening. They were both certifiable. A very dangerous kind of crazy that killed innocent people because of whims and selfish, blind needs.
There was absolutely nothing I could do, nor was there anything I would do. Annie found out I was married anyway. She wouldn’t answer my calls, and she hated me by now.
I felt bad about leaving Jesse without another mechanic too, but I bet he was writing me off this very second, having to deal with all of my shit. I was worthless, and I deserved all that was coming to me. I forgot my deal with the devil, and it was time to pay up.
Hector arranged a car to drive Luciana and me home. He pulled me aside as we were leaving.
“Remember your promises, Esteban. Whatever she wants. You are not just her husband, but my son. I expect more from you from now on, no more of this fixing cars.” He waived his hand dismissively. “I’ll be calling you to work for me soon.”
I felt a cold dread seep into my belly. I didn’t want to end up one of his expendable employees. Hector promised his daughter he’d never hurt me, but to die on the job? I bet he’d been planning this all along. There wasn’t a thing Luciana could do about that. How she became my savior and jailor at the same time was just a testament to the world of shit I just ended up in.
The drive was laughable, really, because our home was just a half mile away from the compound. Luciana insisted we live in our own home when we got married, so Hector had bought the place right down the street.
The house was the same as when I left it. Same guards watching the perimeter. Same prison which I had lived for too many years.
It was a large forty-five hundred square foot contemporary home, sparsely furnished, professionally decorated, and meticulously kept. Luciana wasn’t one to take notice or care about her surroundings.
The staff at the house were trafficked, I was pretty certain of it. I hate myself for not realizing it until the very end. One day, a very young teenager was in our room making the bed. She was timid and wouldn’t look at me while I was hanging up some clothes in the closet. I didn’t like staff doing this kind of thing, and I did as much on my own as possible. She dropped a vase onto the floor, and it splattered into a thousand pieces. The girl immediately started crying. I tried to tell her it wasn’t a big deal, accidents happen, but she wouldn’t hear any of it. She kept crying about how she’d get sent back, and that she wasn’t healed enough, and she’d get torn apart if she did.
I sent her out of the room and told her I’d take care of it. I cleaned the mess up and told nobody. Luciana sure as hell didn’t notice a vase missing. But one afternoon when Luciana and I were in the living room together, the young girl walked by. The girl didn’t look at me, but I must’ve looked at her too long for Luciana to notice.
“Esteban, darling. That girl, she’s damaged. She’ll be going back soon.”
“What do you mean? What does damaged mean? Going back where?”
“To the house,” she responded casually, as if I should know.
“What house?”
“Oh Esteban, you are so naive. She owes Daddy a bunch of work for bringing her here to America. She got hurt on the job, so Daddy’s letting her help us.” She watched the girl walk out of the room, lip curled in disgust, and leaned over toward me. “But she’s dirty. I can’t wait until she’s out of here.”
Still, I didn’t understand. I asked, “How could a girl that young be dirty? She’s only like what, fifteen?”
“There are no innocents here, Esteban. These are rotten stinking whores that would sell anything to get here. To get their family here. They are disgusting.” She practically spat on the floor. It wasn’t the first time I saw how ugly Luciana was. Ugly and cruel.
It took me way longer than it should have to piece it all together. She was working at a whore house, and not an optional one. She was beaten, and probably raped, repeatedly. She disappeared soon after and I never saw her again. I still thought about that girl, and possibly others, and what I could have done to rescue them, what I could still do. But at the time, things got worse quickly, and I didn’t get a chance to look into it further, nor had any resources to help.
How I didn’t notice these things about Luciana, I’ll never forgive myself. I was young and stupid and blind. I found myself stuck in a situation I had no idea how to get out of. When I finally decided to try for help, I went to Carina and Matias.
“Matias, I’m In trouble.” I told him everything I could. About Hector, the guards, the promises I made, and the trafficked girls. He was quiet and mild mannered. He looked at the floor and shook his head. “I don’t think I can help you, Esteban.”
“Matias, please. Do you know anybody? Anybody at all?”
“I know a lawyer. Maybe he can help. I will arrange for him to meet with you.” I remember thanking and hugging him and Carina both. I went to the lawyer, a shady character I was certain didn’t work in the most respectable circles. He didn’t offer much, but he did draft divorce papers for me, and told me all Luciana and I had to do was sign them and mail them back to his office. Hector must’ve known, he had to know I went to somebody to help me get out of the family.
Either that or Hector had some connection to the guy. A week later Matias and Carina were dead, victims of an alleged car accident. When I was knee deep in that grief, I exploded on Luciana. I told her what her father had done. I told her I wanted out, that Matias had found me a lawyer who had drafted a decree for her to sign and now they were both dead.
“Leave!” Luciana yelled at me. “Just go if this isn’t the life you want. I’ll sign the papers. You’re weak, Esteban, just like Daddy said you were.”
I left. I thought for sure she would sign those papers and be done with me. I was wrong. I was so fucked.
Luciana walked in behind me when I stood in the middle of the large living room. “I’m so glad you’re home!” she exclaimed as if I were away on a business trip.
I turned and glared at her, my arms crossed. “Why? You told me to leave. You said you never wanted to see me again. It was over.”
“I changed my mind. I thought you’d come around sooner than you did. When I couldn’t find you, I had to called Daddy to help,” she said, dismissively. “Are you hungry? I can have Rosita make a meal for us. I’m starving.” She looked around the room, “Rosita!” she yelled, desperately.
Rosita came running into the room. “Yes, Señora?”
“Rosita, we’re ready for dinner. A grand meal if you would. My dear husband is home! It’s been a long journey, but Esteban has finally come home!” Luciana smiled brightly and clapped her hands.
I gave Rosita an approving nod at her questioning gaze, as if she too did not trust Luciana’s whims. “Thank you, Rosita,” I said, not wanting her to be here, and she nodded and left the room.
I turned on Luciana. “But you’re tired of me, you’re bored with me. I was never enough for you.” She reached over to cup my face, trying to look into my eyes. I wasn’t having it. I looked at the wall behind her.
There was a time when I thought that Luciana was the most beautiful woman in the world. Now all I saw was her ugliness. She wore it on her person like a stain. Every smile that used to light my world was now a symbol of poison and pain, a sickness that I could never get rid of. She made me want to vomit.
“But you are enough for me, Esteban, you are. You just wait, when we have children everything will change. It’ll be like before.”
I shook my head and turned to leave.
“I’m going to my dungeon.” And I walked out of the
room.
The garage was just as I had left it. If there was one thing I loved about this house, it was the garage. Three large bays, a spray booth, and all top-of-the-line equipment. It was fully outfitted with everything I could possibly need to support my body work business.
When I was married to Luciana, the only business I was permitted to have was with Hector. In the beginning, I didn’t mind. There was always a project to work on. Repair swipe marks, dents, and every other damage imaginable. I even bullet-proofed all the vehicles with top- of-the-line armor. It kept me busy. I learned a lot about my trade in this garage.
Luciana didn’t like my workspace being at the house. She said I spent too much time there. It was true. Toward the end I was taking meals down here, and even slept here on occasions. She liked to call it my dungeon. I called it my sanctuary.
Hopefully, the smell of grease and all of the grime kept her away.
29
Annie
“Annie, wait a minute! We have to think this through and come up with a plan,” Justin said when I pushed away from the table.
“What is there to do Justin, but go down there and bring him home?”
“Think about it. Hector Santiago is a murderer, his daughter is a nut-job. Do you actually think you can just go riding up and say, ‘Hey, I want my boyfriend back. I know he’s your husband and all but I love him more.’”
“I never said I loved him.”
Everybody at the table turned their heads and stared at me.
“Ooookaaaay,” Rina drawled out, grinning.
I plopped myself back at the table with my head in my hands.
“So what do we know about the Santiago business?” Jesse asked.
“Drugs, girls, guns, gambling. Like I said, you name it, he’s in it,” Michael said.
“I know somebody that’s into some of that,” Justin said.
“Who?” I asked.
“Your daddy, darling.”
I groaned out loud. My dad. Yes, yes, he was into a lot of stuff, guns mostly, and when Justin came along, I learned about the gambling.
“He’s in prison. What can he do?”
“He knows a lot of people, and he’s still helluva influential on the outside. He got me here, didn’t he?”
We sat in silence for a moment. Finally, I took a deep breath and said, “Okay, can you get in touch with my dad’s guy? The guy who tracked you down? Have him call me ASAP.”
ASAP took three days. Three days of misery and panic. I drifted through the weekly activities in a fog. Some moments I’d forget about Steve and then it would all come crashing down and throw me into a tailspin. What was he doing? Was he in this so called “dungeon?” Did Hector hurt him? Was he beat up and bleeding in a closet somewhere for running away from the Santiago family? Every horrible thing I could imagine bubbled up in my chest.
I bothered Justin relentlessly. “You sure you got the message to him?” I asked for the five-hundredth time.
“Yes, Annie, I even explained the situation. I gave names and places. Maybe he’s doing some homework. I don’t know your dad, not really. I just know a guy that can get a hold of him.”
“Damn it!” I kicked a bar stool in frustration. “Why won’t he just call?”
“It’s prison, Annie. They’re pretty strict about those things.”
I plopped down on the patron side of the bar. Justin silently poured me a Coke and threw a maraschino cherry on top. I took a sip of the Coke, and after eating the cherry, I rolled the stem between my fingers. “He was never there for me, you know.”
“Your dad?”
“Yes. He thought he was, but he wasn’t. My mother didn’t want anything to do with his lifestyle. She turned a blind eye to what he was and pretended he was just ‘away on business’ all the time.
“I grew up in a neighboring town and maybe saw my dad once a week if I was lucky, once a month more common. He’d come home and act like he saw me yesterday. I never understood why my mother put up with that.”
“A lot of dads are like that, Annie. You’re lucky you have one that even cares about you, even in a twisted way. I never had a father. That’s why I want to make sure my son has a good one.”
“How’s your family doing? I forgot to even ask. I’m so sorry.” I needed to change the subject away from bad dads.
“They’re doing good. Paige is all for moving over here. I was going to have her visit this weekend, but I think we’ll wait until you have this all sorted. I’ve been looking for an apartment for us. Neither one of us came from a good upbringing, and we only have each other.”
“Well, for what it’s worth, you’re one of us now. I’ll help you any way I can. Call it a found family, or bad luck. I couldn’t have done all of this without you.”
“Thank you, Annie. I’ll help you anyway that I can too, I hope you know that.”
“I do.” I smiled at him.
Later that night while alone in Steve’s apartment, I got the call.
“Hi, Dad.”
“Hello, darling. I hear you got yourself in a shitload of trouble.” It was a relief to hear his voice.
“I’m not in any trouble. If you’re going to give me a hard time, I’ll hang up and handle it myself.”
“Come on, calm down now. I just have to know how the hell you got yourself mixed up with Hector Santiago. He’s not a good man. He makes me look like an angel.”
“I’m not mixed up with him at all. It’s Steve who’s mixed up with him.”
“The guy you’ve been seeing? The one who almost killed you?”
I rolled my eyes and exhaled deeply. “He didn’t almost kill me, but yes, him.”
“He sounds like trouble. He’s married.”
“He shouldn’t be. I think he’s trapped.” There was a long silence on the other end. I stayed quiet, waiting.
“Is he a good man?” he finally asked.
“Yes, Dad. Look, if you can’t help me, I’m going myself.” There was another long pause. Too long. “Dad?”
“I can help. It’ll take time.”
“He doesn’t have time,” I pleaded.
“Oh, I think he does. He’s not in any real danger as far as I can tell. He’s holed up in a big house playing in his garage. His wife is out shopping and posting pictures of herself on the Internet. She’s a piece of work, that one.”
“How do you know all that?” I asked incredulously. Really? The man was in prison.
“I know people, Annie, even all the way down in Texas.”
I know he couldn’t tell me more; people could be listening to his call. So I didn’t ask more questions.
“I’ll have a guy visit you in a couple days. His name is Turtle. He’ll go over the plan.”
“Thank you, Dad.”
“You’re welcome, darling, talk to you next week.” And he hung up the phone.
More waiting, and more waiting—and more waiting. Two more days of going out of my mind. I tried my best to be calm and cool on the outside. I wasn’t sure if that was working, but inside I was a maelstrom of rage. I followed Luciana’s social media pages with a single-minded obsession. I couldn’t understand this woman. She posted every single event in her life, including Steve.
There was a photo of them entering a night club with the caption, “My baby is back!” She posed front and center with Steve standing behind her. He wasn’t looking at the camera and he wasn’t smiling. I scrutinized the photo carefully. He was impeccably dressed in black slacks and a crisp white button-down shirt opened at the top. His hair was cut short and no longer curled around his ears. He was clean shaven, unlike the five o’clock shadow he often wore. She had her hand clasped in his and his other hung loose at his side where I could see the glint of a wedding band. My blood boiled. The thought of him touching her, I felt my face downturn into a scowl. To torture myself even further, I read the comments:
“So happy for you two!”
“Where’s Esteban been? Haven’t seen him for a long time. Didn’t
know he was missing.”
“You can do better than that lowlife, Luciana.”
“He’s so hot. You’re a lucky girl.”
On and on the comments went. Later that evening, there was another posting. This time Luciana was sitting on Steve’s lap with the caption, “Can’t wait to be alone with my love.” I wanted to vomit.
The sad truth was she was so beautiful, crazy or not, how could any man resist her? Again, Steve didn’t look happy, he didn’t look anything. A stoic doll just bending in any position she put him in, face expressionless, body stiff. A very sick part of me was happy for that realization. I didn’t want him to be happy with her. But I wondered what happened that forced him to go back? How could he put himself in that position? It wasn’t my Steve at all. It was obvious that he didn’t want to be there. Was she so blind that she didn’t see it?
I spent all my days and nights obsessing over Luciana’s every move, trying to glean any information I could. The girl was nothing more than a narcissistic idiot. I didn’t even know if she had a single original thought in her head. I learned she couldn’t drive; she had a driver take her everywhere. She loved handbags, because every day she would post something new she purchased. She posted photos of her and Steve as if he was a fancy new pair of Jimmy Choo’s.
It was in the midst of one of these spirals that I finally I got a call from Justin at O’Dell’s. “Turtle is here.”
I’ve never driven so fast in my life. Finally! I skidded to a stop in my gravel parking lot, ran up to the front door and ripped it open. Justin was behind the bar, talking quietly to somebody seated at the corner most stool. Justin nodded at me, and quietly vacated the space.
Turtle was an average looking man, early fifties, lean build. He was dressed in an expensive suit and an even more expensive camel coat. He had dark hair, dark eyes and tanned Latin skin, similar to Steve’s.