Haunted asc-8

by Jeanne C. Stein

I shove him away, back against the table, with such force, he stumbles and falls. The table scrapes loudly against the wooden floor. I don’t care about the noise.

  I whirl and look outside again.

  One of Ramon’s men has pushed her to the ground and Luis is circling her like a lion with wounded prey.

  Ramon grabs her hair and yanks her face upward.

  “Oh god, no.” The words hiss out, my heart pounding. “Adelita.”

  CHAPTER 41

  I WATCH LUIS. IF HIS HAND SO MUCH AS TWITCHES on that gun, I’m going out after Adelita. He’s questioning his men, asking how they found her and where. He points to her clothes, clean jeans and a sweatshirt, asks her how she got away. How she could have escaped the burned-out truck. Why she came back.

  His eyes search the perimeter of the village, asking is she alone?

  He fires off one question after another, not waiting for answers. Ramon tries to interrupt, offering assurances that she is alone, that they found no one else. Just a dead-end trail that stopped so quickly, it was as if an angel had reached down and spirited Max away.

  Luis doesn’t look convinced. He approaches Ramon and draws his gun, putting the barrel against Ramon’s forehead.

  Kill him. I wish it so hard, the nails on my balled fists draw blood.

  But Ramon pleads for his life, begs Luis to ask his men. They will confirm his story. There was no sign of Max. They found Adelita right outside the village.

  Luis lowers the gun a fraction, asks if Ramon found any trace of the six men who went in search of the other girls—the ones spirited away from his shack like Max was evidently spirited away—”No por ángel,” he spits. “Por el diablo mismo.”

  By the devil.

  I let a smile touch my lips. I’ve been called worse.

  Ramon looks around. He finds the body of the murdered guard, dragged away to the far side of the well, recoils at the sight and sound of the dogs ripping at it. He meets Luis’ eyes. Shakes his head. “Lo juro. No vi a nadie.”

  Luis drops his gun hand. He fires off a rapid-fire directive that has Ramon and his men looking at each other with puzzled expressions.

  Ramon frowns. He has been told that all of his men will be required to work the shipment arriving today. Not just the villagers. “¿Por qué?” he asks.

  Luis smiles. “Usted sabrá pronto bastante.”

  Max, too, has been listening. “Why would the villagers not be able to work?” he asks me. “What has Luis done to them?”

  I watch as the men disperse, quietly, slinking away as if hoping Luis does not notice and call them back. Only Ramon, Luis and Adelita remain. I ignore Max, waiting to see what happens next. Luis reaches down and hauls Adelita to her feet. He pulls her close to him, clutches her chin in a pinch so hard, I think I see bruises start to form.

  “Afortunado para ti, estoy corto seis trabajadores,” he says. “Ramon, átala aquí hasta que llegue el carro.”

  He is telling her she is lucky that he is down six workers. I allow a little relief to loosen some of the knots in my shoulders as Ramon ties her to a post near the well. Then he and Luis disappear into Luis’ shack.

  I draw a breath. It may be a temporary reprieve, but at least I can keep an eye on her. If Luis had dragged her inside his shack, it would have given us no time to formulate an escape plan. I shut my eyes in frustration and concern. Now we have five girls to protect.

  I’m ready to face Max.

  Once again, my nails bite into the palms of my hand. It’s the only way I can keep my anger under control. Even my voice shakes with the effort when I ask, “How did she get here?”

  Max can sense how close to rage I am. He closes his eyes for a minute, just as I did before, and passes a hand over his face. “There can be only one way. I didn’t think to check.”

  “Check what?”

  “I didn’t take the Jeep back to the States. I took the Explorer. I picked it up at the airstrip. There is a tarp over the cargo space in back. Adelita begged me to bring her with me when I came back to get you. I said no. She may have hidden in the back.”

  “May have?”

  “I thought I’d convinced her that we could take care of it. I promised her we would.”

  I feel the pressure building again, the need to rip something apart or scream. Instead, I center myself, focus on drawing strength from deep inside. “Care of what? What exactly did you promise, Max?”

  “When we were in the border station, I showed her some pictures of cartel members, to see if she could identify who attacked her. She identified Luis. She also identified the man who came to her village. The one who kidnapped her.”

  I know before he says it.

  “Ramon.”

  He nods. “She went crazy when she saw his picture. Said she had to stop him from kidnapping any more girls. I promised her that we would stop him—you and I. She agreed to stay at the border station until we got back.”

  “But she didn’t. How could you have not known she was in the back of the car?”

  Max releases a breath. “On the way here, I thought I heard something—a noise—from the back.” He lowers his eyes. “I just figured something had shifted. You’ve seen the back of my truck. I keep tools in the back. And other stuff. When I didn’t hear anything again, I forgot about it.” He holds out his hands. “Anna, how could I have known she stowed away? She told me she’d wait for us.”

  My eyes drift out through the window to Adelita, tied like an animal to the well. I’m not ready to concede that Max was not to blame for her being here. Part of me admires her courage and determination. Part of me wants to shake her until her teeth rattle.

  She has not uttered a sound since arriving at the village. Her face is turned toward the direction of the dogs, the sound of them worrying at the corpse and snapping at each other hangs heavy and grotesquely on the still morning air. She must be so scared.

  “Anna?”

  Max’s voice pulls me back. I shift my gaze to him.

  “Luis said they’re expecting a shipment today. We have to get the girls out of here.”

  He’s right.

  Luis didn’t say when the truck was due, but what if Ramon gathers the troops and directs them to the church to wait? Our luck is running out.

  Esmeralda appears suddenly at our side. She, too, heard all that transpired outside and understood the conversation between Max and me. Her grasp of the situation is evident in the shadow of fear that darkens her eyes. “What are we going to do?” she asks.

  I look up at Max. “You take the girls. Get as far away as you can.” A tiny pause. “And you will make sure they stay put this time, right?”

  A spark flares in Max’s eyes. “I’ve already had one new asshole ripped today. Don’t need another one.” He jabs a finger in my direction. “And you?”

  “I’m going to wait for the shipment to arrive. When the men are busy unloading the truck, I’ll free Culebra. Then we take care of Ramon.”

  Max hefts the backpack. “What about Luis?”

  “Get the girls to safety. Meet us back where you camped out that first night. We’ll bring Luis there.”

  “Just you and Culebra? There must be twenty men in the village now that Ramon is back.”

  I allow a growl to erupt from the pit of my rage. I lean close so that only Max can hear. “Good thing I’m hungry.”

  CHAPTER 42

  ESMERALDA HAS THE GIRLS UP AND GATHERED around her. She whispers how important it is that they be very quiet. Max climbs out the back window first and I lift the girls one at a time to his waiting arms. I focus all my attention on listening, making sure no one is approaching the church until they are all safely hunkered down outside. Then I signal Max to move out.

  Esmeralda grabs my hand and kisses it.

  I touch her cheek.

  Then they are gone.

  I still have Max’s duffel and I open it and take inventory. There are two grenades, the guns and plenty of ammunition. Too bad Max didn’t pack real explos
ives—dynamite or C4. It would be an easy way to take care of both the drugs and the men—rig a bomb.

  The fact that I don’t know how to rig a bomb I view as a minor impediment. And make a note to do some research on that when I get home.

  I listen but don’t yet hear the approach of a vehicle signaling the arrival of the drugs. Time to alert Culebra and get him ready to act when I say the word.

  I open my thoughts to him and he’s there.

  What’s going on? I haven’t heard from you for hours. Did Max make it?

  Come and gone, I reply.

  What do you mean gone?

  Just left with the girls.

  So, it’s just you and me.

  How many men with you?

  Three now. Two just came back. They think Luis is loco. They said that fucking all that young pussy has softened his brain. They found out what he did to the villagers when he discovered the new girls had gone missing. They plan to go along with him until the truck gets here, then get the hell out the first opportunity they get.

  Think they all feel that way?

  At least the ones who went out with Ramon looking for Max. They aren’t too crazy about Ramon, either. Think he’s planning something. Trust is not big among these thugs.

  I let a beat go by before changing the subject. How are you holding up?

  Fine. I’m done waiting for these cogidas locas to tell us where Santiago is. I say we get one or two of them somewhere alone and make them talk.

  My thoughts exactly. There is one complication. I tell him about Adelita following Max and how she came back to stop Ramon. That it was Ramon who kidnapped her from her village. I also tell him that right now she’s tied next to the well and that Luis will probably kill her after he uses her to help process the shipment coming in today.

  Brave girl, Culebra says. Stupid, but brave. But you have no intention of letting him kill her.

  Not a chance. I’m thinking we let her work for the narcos. Then when the truck gets ready to leave, we lob one of Max’s grenades into it. That will take care of one problem. If we’re lucky, most of the men will be inside, too. Ramon, you can take care of. Once I’ve got Adelita safe, we’ll take her and Luis and meet Max. Can you get free?

  Just tell me when.

  Culebra falls quiet and I do, too. More waiting. More nervous energy building up with no way to release the pressure. I wish I could let Adelita know I’m here and that we’ll get her out when the time comes. I take out one of the grenades and toss it hand to hand, feeling its round heft, listening to the safety ring jingle against the fuse. This tiny activity brings some relief, some promise of action to come.

  While vampire rests quietly inside.

  She is not restless or anxious. She is patient.

  And hungry.

  CHAPTER 43

  LUIS IS THE ONE WHO ALERTS ME THAT THE TRUCK is on its way. He comes out of his shack, a cell phone at his ear and Ramon at his heels, and heads for Adelita. In a minute, he’s cut the rope binding her to the post and is dragging her toward the church.

  I remembered the first time I watched the village from my hiding place in the brush. How the church bells called the villagers to what I mistakenly thought was worship. I’m in the same place now, the duffel safe beside me, watching the same procession of men, women and children answer the peal of the bells. The difference this time, though, is that half the men are limping, their leg wounds bound by clumsy bandages, their faces drawn and pale from the pain.

  I’ve removed all traces of the girls’ presence from the church. The empty water bottles, the wrappers from the protein bars. Even used a rag from the duffel to scrub away Peppi’s urine stain before moving back to the other side of the village.

  The only bad thing about moving is that I can’t see Adelita now that she is inside the church. I can listen though. If I hear anything that sounds like Luis is abusing her, the plan to wait goes up in smoke. So far, it’s quiet.

  What I do have is a clear view of the torn body of Luis’ henchman. The dogs have left, slinking back into the brush, leaving only the bloody, stinking mess of internal organs exposed to sun and heat. If I were capable of it, I would have gagged at the smell. There is blood and then there is blood.

  In a few minutes, I hear the truck. I signal Culebra. The truck is coming. I have no idea how long it will take to package the drugs so be ready to get out when I tell you.

  His response sounds like a hiss of anticipation. It makes me smile.

  The truck pulls into the space between the well and the church. Two men jump out and one whistles a shrill greeting. By the time they’ve opened the back, three other men have joined them. Ramon’s men. I can tell because they aren’t limping. Yet.

  The five men each shoulder a bag marked harina—flour—and head into the church. Only one man is sent back outside to stand guard. The door closes.

  No sound of casual chatter drifts out from inside the church. Only the occasional sharp bark of an order or harsh hacking cough from a breath drawn too deeply. I didn’t see any protective masks among the detritus of plastic bags and duct tape left from one delivery to another. Evidently Luis doesn’t worry about his workers getting high on his supply. Maybe that’s part of their pay. All the cocaine you can inhale while working. I think of the children. My stomach roils.

  I hope Adelita is careful enough to stay alert. She has no idea I’m here or that I’m planning to rescue her. But she needs to be able to move on her own when I tell her.

  How long does it take to process five twenty-five pound sacks of cocaine? I have no idea. It strikes me that I know someone who does. I also realize I no longer hold Culebra’s past against him. It’s with a sense of relief that I reach out to him.

  Is it time?

  He sounds so eager I find myself smiling. Not yet. I have a question. How long does it take to package a hundred and twenty-five pounds of cocaine?

  That’s about sixty kilos. Depends on whether they’re cutting it or just packaging it pure to be cut later.

  I didn’t see anything around to cut it with, unless one of those bags wasn’t cocaine after all.

  Unlikely. With everyone in the village working, I’d say not more than two hours. They can move pretty fast if they’re just weighing and packaging it.

  Then we have two more hours to wait.

  What then?

  Once you hear the grenade explode, make your getaway. Meet me behind the church. How many men are with you?

  Just one. That same hissing sound comes through that I heard before. I’ll bite him enough times to make sure he’s down. May not kill him unless he dies from shock. He may. I plan to let him see me shift.

  I like your style.

  I like yours, too. You may not know it, but cocaine is highly flammable. That truck should go up like a bomb.

  That’s what I’m hoping.

  We lapse into a comfortable silence. Then Culebra asks, How do you expect to get Adelita away from Luis?

  I’m hoping when he hears the explosion, he sends his goons out to check what happened. I figure he won’t keep more than one or two men with him. I’ll take care of them and get Adelita free. We’re meeting Max back at the campsite. I plan to bring Luis with us. What happens to Ramon is up to you.

  Good, Culebra says. I want to watch Ramon die. A pause. What about Luis?

  No hesitation. Max can have first crack at him. Make Luis tell him where his brother is hiding. I figure I owe Max that much. He wants a big fish. I plan to see he gets a big fish. After that, Luis is mine.

  Luis won’t be easy to crack.

  The memory of finding Adelita being raped in the back of that truck, the image of Luis going from villager to villager and shooting them as casually as if swatting mosquitoes, the faces of the four young girls he had delivered like takeout for his pleasure . . . these things run through my mind before I answer.

  Not easy for Max to crack maybe, I say. But not hard for me. He’ll talk for me.

  CHAPTER 44
/>   IT’S MORE DIFFICULT THAN EVER TO WAIT. THE thought that Adelita is being used as slave labor makes me long to get her out of that church. I wish I could have gotten a message to her. She doesn’t know I’m here. She doesn’t know I’m watching her. She must be feeling such terror, such hopelessness. She came back to do one thing—make Ramon pay. Keep him from taking other innocents the way he took her. She’ll think she failed.

  Did Ramon recognize Adelita when he caught her sneaking up on the village? Or has Ramon kidnapped so many girls, the faces blur in his memory? Did she tell him who she was?

  I have to take a step back. I’m working myself into the kind of state that makes vampire want to claw and chew her way free. I have to keep her in check, at least until I’ve disposed of the truck and gotten Adelita to safety. When Culebra has Ramon and I have Luis is the time to allow vengeance and anger out to play.

  At last, the door to the church opens and a man steps out, beckoning the guard inside. In a moment, there is a flurry of activity as the villagers begin moving pallets of small, wrapped parcels to the truck.

  Culebra?

  I’m here.

  They’re loading the truck. When you hear the explosion, make your move.

  His eagerness to attack comes through in a fiery wave of anticipation that sizzles in my head.

  Meet you at the camp.

  I wish I could watch Culebra shape-shift into a rattlesnake and see the guard’s expression when the snake attacks. But a bigger part of me is anxious to get into position to exact some retribution of my own.

  I take both grenades from the duffel and secure them by hooking the handles over my belt. The irony that I’m wearing Gabriella’s clothes while plotting revenge against her father is not lost on me. I wonder what Gabriella would think if she knew what her father had done—the girls, some younger than she is, that he’s procured for his boss.

  Shit. Maybe she already does.

  I watch as the men load the truck. When there are fewer trips being made back and forth, I figure they’re close to being finished. I leave my hiding place and start out for the road. I’d been going over in my head the best place to attack. I tear across the desert floor.