by Diana Downey
I push myself up and glance around my confines. There’s nothing but a cot and a hole in the ground to serve as a toilet. Three sides are stone and disintegrating mortar, and iron bars face outward down the narrow hall. The left wall should go into the house.
If I can escape, it’s a little over fifty miles to the border.
Digging at the old mortar with my fingers, I sit in the dark cavern for what feels like hours when my much younger cousin brings me food and a bottle of water. I haven’t gotten very far with my fingers, and my digging seems pointless.
“Lo siento,” Christina says in a meek voice.
My uncle had his ex-wife killed so he could marry a much younger woman. My latest cousins are eight, ten, and thirteen. Christina is the middle one.
“Gracias,” I say.
She touches my fingers through the bars and tears well up in her eyes. Manny has never been a good father. I saw him take a belt to his oldest son at Cyn’s wedding.
As soon as she leaves, I take a sip of water and continue digging at the stones, using the metal knife she brought. With the knife, it goes much faster. Within a half hour, I almost have one stone dug out and artificial light seeps in through the cracks. I only need to remove five or six stones and I can escape.
Teenaged Manny comes to pick up my food. I quickly stuff the taquitos down my throat, hiding the knife and the water.
Like his dad, he has a hard cold glint in his eyes. “Hand over the knife. Don’t think about escaping. My father will cut off your head just like he did to your mother. Your sister and you will die. All those years living the high life and my father took that all away. How does it feel to be poor?”
“Bueno,” I say. I’m okay with the townhouse. “You will always live in fear of being killed by your competition or the DEA.”
He sneers. He’s so much like his dad it’s frightening.
Using my fingers, I continue digging until they’re raw and bleeding. By sunrise, I only have two stones out. I know Cyn will come right away, and I don’t want her to. If only I could figure out a way to get rid of Manny before he kills us.
Chapter
Cyn
Rubbing the knot on his temple, Aedan rouses from his prone position on the floor of my townhouse. “Bloody hell.”
Kneeling on the floor, I grab his collar, panic bunching hard knots into my shoulders. “Who took her?” God, don’t let it be Manny.
“Five Mexican guys.”
Shit. “What color were their bandanas?”
Aedan’s head wobbles. “Blue, I think.”
I stand up and lean on Shane. “It was Manny, and he has Willa.” What if Juarez set me up to let Manny get to Willa?
I stare into Shane’s green eyes. His lips are sealed tight. He has no words of comfort because he knows what this means. I have to go after her, even though I want to curl up into a ball and sob.
“We should call the cops,” Aedan says.
“We can’t,” I whisper. “Manny will kill her. We need to find Espinoza, so we can reach Juarez. Do you have the original flash drive on you?” I ask Shane. Whether Juarez is involved or not he’s my only chance to save Willa.
Shane looks at me curiously. “Yes.”
Manny wants the drive, but maybe it’ll buy us some time if I give it to him.
Shane follows me out to his truck, and Aedan slips into the back of the crew cab.
“You can’t go with us,” I say. “Juarez won’t allow it.”
“Like hell I won’t. They have Willa, and I can’t sit around on me arse and do nothing. You can’t tell your eighteen-year-old sister what to do anymore than you can me.”
Anger bursts from within me. “She lives in my house. I will damn well tell her what to do. It’s my job to take care of her.” Dad left me in charge.
He doesn’t get out of Shane’s truck. “It’s not going to stop me from liking or pursuing her.”
I stab my finger at him. “You could lose your job.”
Aedan grins. “I already did. I stopped some tool from feeling her up.”
Thank heaven he was there, but I don’t want to see her make the same mistakes I did. “You’re too old for her.”
Shane chuckles because he and I are five years apart, like Willa and Aedan. “Where are we going?” Shane asks.
“To the south side where Espinoza lives.”
“Okay,” Shane says.
“Isn’t that the rough part of town?” Aedan asks.
“Yes,” Shane says.
We reach Espinoza’s neighborhood, a half hour later.
Though it’s way past most kids’ bedtimes, children hang out on their bikes, eyeing us curiously. A few of the older kids shoot hoops while others listen to loud music that jolts us out of our seats.
I’d been down here with Dad to see relatives, like Espinoza, who most likely sold drugs. I point at a house that has the same car I’d seen Espinoza in.
Shane pulls up to the curb. “Should I go in with you?”
Hot blood runs in my family too. “No.”
Espinoza walks outside before I get to the front porch. “I wasn’t expecting to see you so soon,” he says in Spanish, a cigarette dangling from his mouth.
I let out a shaky breath. What if Willa’s already dead? “Manny took my sister.”
He flicks the cigarette to the ground and stamps it out. He makes a call and rapidly speaks to someone on the phone. He hands it to me.
“This doesn’t give us much time to plan,” Juarez says. “He’ll kill her soon. Do you have a copy of the drive? Your sister was probably taken to his compound.”
“Yes. It’s the original. How do you know where she is?” Manny had kidnapped Mom and me in the New Mexico desert. Why would he take Willa to his home?
“We’ve been tracking his gang. I’m not a hundred percent, but pretty sure since we tracked them to your house and then south.”
“Why didn’t you stop them?” Can I trust Juarez? What if this is a trap?
“He was way ahead of us.”
I don’t have a choice but to trust Juarez. I’ll be striking on Manny’s home turf, and that’ll make it far more dangerous.
“My plan before was to leave a gun in the main floor bathroom taped to the inside of the toilet cover,” Juarez says. “I have a man on the inside. It’ll be hard to get to him on such short notice. As soon as you kill Manny, my men will come in and clean up. Once he’s dead, his men will scatter. I would suggest you tell his wife to take his children and leave, except his teenaged boy. We can’t let him go.”
I’d heard little Manny is a merciless killer, but it feels wrong. “Why?”
“He’s like his father.”
I’d hate to kill anyone, especially a child, but I don’t have a say, and I only care about my sister.
“Espinoza will take you to the tunnel where we’ll meet up” he says. “It’s a good three hours away. He says you have an extra body. He’ll need to stay in Austin.”
“I understand.” I find it interesting that Juarez trusts Shane or maybe he plans on taking us both out.
I open the rear cab. “You can’t go with us, Aedan.”
“What do you mean? I care about your sister,” he says.
“I don’t have time to argue with you. Every minute counts.” I feel tears well up in my eyes. I love Willa, and she’s my responsibility. I can’t lose her like I lost Mom.
“We’re taking my car,” Espinoza says. “Let him take the truck.”
“Give me the keys to your townhouse,” Aedan says. “I’ll wait there.”
Shane lugs out a bagful of guns from his truck. I hand over the house keys, and Shane gives him the truck keys. Espinoza and his cousin sit in the front of his low rider, and I climb into the car beside Shane. As we drive away, Aedan stands outside the truck, concern washing over his face.
He must really care for her to come all the way out here for her, especially after watching her abduction. If it weren’t for the contract, I’d consider letting th
em date.
Please let Willa live through this. Please let her have the opportunity to be with someone she loves. Fat tears spill from my eyes. I have to be strong for her. I have to get my shit together.
Espinoza drives us to the border and then off road to reach the underground tunnel linking Mexico and the US. Juarez and his cartel probably use it for drug running.
It’s close to five in the morning when we arrive at a deserted part of the desert—only cacti and snakes. I swallow down the fear seizing my throat. Lots of things could go wrong. Last minute planning isn’t the best option, but Juarez let Aedan leave. It’s a good sign.
We wait a good half hour for Juarez, and he drives up in a black SUV by himself. Shane has an arm around me while the other holds his bag. He has a license for a fully automatic Uzi.
“Where’s the cavalry?” I ask. We need his gang to back us up. Manny probably has twenty to thirty men guarding his compound.
“Waiting for us on the other side of the tunnel,” Juarez says. “Espinoza and his amigo will drive his car off and wait for our call. Are you ready?” His hand rests on my shoulder, and Shane growls out his ownership of me.
“I hope so.” For my sister’s sake.
“We’ll use my weapons,” he says to Shane. “We don’t want your guns to tie us to the killings.”
Shane takes out his guns but keeps some of his gear to take down into the tunnel. A live plant covers up the trap door. Espinoza and his friend move it and the layer of soil lying on a thick plastic rug.
As we enter the drug runner tunnel, I’m a bundle of nerves. I don’t like Shane leaving the guns he’s familiar with, but Juarez is right. We don’t want ballistics connecting us to the ambush.
We climb down into the darkness, and when we reach the bottom, Juarez flicks on fluorescent lights that send out shaky light. He must have a generator somewhere.
A cart rests on tracks that lead into the dark void.
“Get in,” Shane says. “You’re going to need your energy.”
I climb into the cart and Shane pushes it. My nerves frazzle, and I fall apart. I have to get it together, so I can save my sister.
The odor of dirt fortified with two-by-fours adds to my claustrophobia. Clumps of dirt fall into my hair from the rafters and beams supporting the tunnel. I brush them away while my stomach roils. I can’t fail. There’s too much riding on my shoulders.
I hold onto Shane’s arm for security, and he sweeps down to kiss my hair.
Juarez helps push the cart. “You’ve been to his compound?”
“Yes.” Several times. It always scared me because we knew what he did, but Dad’s mom always wanted to have family gatherings there. Manny owns a huge hacienda with an in-ground pool, underground garages, living quarters for his gang, and iron-barred lockups.
“Your sister will probably be kept in the cell in the southeast corner,” Juarez says.
“Where’s the key?” I ask. Manny used to keep it near the cell.
“I would assume on him.”
I’ll have to kill him to get it then. “Is the gun in place?” I ask. My breathing is erratic, and I need to calm down.
“Yes.”
I believe I can trust Juarez. Why else would he be here? He knows Manny has copies of those files. “What will you do with the files my uncle has?”
“I believe all his copies are at the compound. I will destroy his home to ensure everything is gone.”
“My grandmother unknowingly had copies,” I say.
“Your dad wiped her iPad clean. Hopefully that’s the only copy.”
It doesn’t surprise me that he’s spoken to my dad. I wonder how he did it since the feds don’t have any photos of Juarez. According to my dad, it’s something Juarez doesn’t allow.
Shane rubs my shoulders. “I brought a bulletproof vest. I want you to wear it under your shirt and jacket.”
“Won’t Manny be able to tell?” I ask.
“Not with your jacket on. It’s a lightweight Kevlar vest I bought just for you.”
He really does love me.
We reach the end and climb the ladder out. Several black SUVs, two of which are Escalades, wait for us. It unnerves me after my run in at the Red Sky parking garage. A white Camry like Willa’s with Texas plates is parked behind the SUVs and must be for me.
I get into the Camry where Shane helps me put the vest on and then his lips descend onto mine. His tongue grapples with mine, and his hands sweep through my hair. When we finally come up for air, he says, “I love you, Cyn. I won’t be far behind.” Fear shadows his green eyes.
I completely trust him, but being outside the compound won’t be close enough if something goes wrong.
Juarez hands me a small pager the size of a half dollar. “Just press the button and we’ll know we can come into the compound.”
I give a shaky nod, patting my jacket pocket for the flash drive. I put the pager button between my breasts.
“I could’ve done that,” Shane whispers into my ear. “You’ll be fine. I have faith in you. Take him out as quickly as possible. Don’t hesitate. Think of your mother. She didn’t deserve to die.”
Shane’s right. If I think of her and Willa, then I know I can do it. I can’t let Willa end up like Mom. I love Willa.
I twist the key in the Camry’s ignition and drive toward Uncle Manny’s compound. My heart hammers in my chest. I don’t even know if Willa is alive. If she isn’t, I want Manny to suffer. I want his death to be slow and painful.
My phone rings, startling me. I answer, “Uncle Manny.”
“You know what I want. Bring it to me.”
“I need to know my sister’s alive.” Though that matters, I would still have to face him to stop the madness.
“I’m fine. Don’t come for me,” Willa says.
“When can I expect you?” Manny asks.
“In another forty minutes,” I say.
“That’s quick. How did you put it together so fast?” Suspicion hangs on every word, shocking my nerves into a mad frenzy.
I take one breath. “I knew you’d pull this,” I say with conviction I’m not feeling. “See you soon.” I end the call and put my phone in my pocket.
Willa is alive but for how long?
As I speed toward the compound, the Camry kicks up desert dust.
I’m scared out of my mind. Manny’s compound is fortified with armed guards and dogs. My nerves fire up. Once I get the gun, I have to know exactly where Manny is to shoot him. I can’t make any mistakes or else Willa and I will both end up dead.
Chapter Willa
Christina brings breakfast early—huevos rancheros. I take another sip from the opened bottle of water and save the other. I have two now. That’s enough to get me to the border. If I jog, it’ll take twelve to thirteen hours if they don’t catch up to me first.
The eggs slosh around in my upset stomach. I need to be out of here before Cyn figures out where I am. It won’t take her long to do that. I’ve loosened four stones, but I need two more.
Christina pushes the plate and silverware through the bars and sits down. I need her to leave.
A tearful expression seeps into her dark pretty eyes. She’s a beautiful young girl.
“What’s wrong?” I ask.
“I wish I could help you,” she says in Spanish.
My whole family treated Manny’s new family well. We always invited them to our home and played for hours in our pool or rode horses in the pastures. Maybe I could get them to help me, although it would be harder to sneak four out of the compound than just myself.
“You should go help your mom with breakfast,” I say, needing her to leave, so I can work.
She nods and her arms reach through the bars. I give her a hug.
“It’ll be okay,” I say, even though the words do not bring me any comfort.
“No it won’t.” She knows her father too well. “He wants to kill you both.”
“I know,” I say, swallowing down the sharp s
tones clogging my throat.
As soon as she leaves, I get back to work. Using the knife, I chisel out the mortar around another stone. Footsteps move toward me so I quickly put the stones back, my heart thumping in my chest. They normally give me an hour to eat, but it’s only been a few minutes.
Manny strolls up to me, hatred seething in his eyes, and hands me the phone. It’s Cyn. I don’t understand his hatred, and I don’t want her to come, so I tell her so. I start to ask about Aedan, but Manny snatches the phone away. I wish she’d wait. If I escape, then she won’t need to come, but Manny would come after us again.
I need to kill him.
I only have time to remove one more stone by the time young Manny comes. I’ve hidden the water bottles and put the stones back in before I roll the huevos rancheros into the tortilla. I hand over the plate and utensils.
Manny’s gaze rakes over my body. This kid’s only thirteen, maybe fourteen. “Es muy bonita.” His fingers run along the bars. “I bet you have a nice tight little pussy.”
He’s disgusting, like his dad, even though it’s commonplace for twelve-year-olds to have sex in this region.
I was pretty sure my uncle did our cousin Maria. “You’re too young and inexperienced for me.” Not that I know since I’m a virgin myself.
He grabs his crotch. “I’ve stuck my cock into many fine pussies. I will stick you before I cut off your head.”
That sends bone-jarring chills into me. “That little thing?”
He starts to unzip his pants. “Maybe I’ll just do it now.”
His mother’s voice calls him.
“Your mommy’s calling,” I say.
He rattles on the bar, and it causes me to jump back.
“Nervous?” he asks. “I can’t wait to break you in, just like one of my dad’s mares.” He struts away. He fits perfectly into the cartel family.
I remove the five stones and try to work the sixth one loose. It’s not budging, and I don’t know when Cyn will get here. She has to be hours away from here. She’d need to get her passport from the safety deposit box.