by René, Dani
“Where is he?”
“Sofía, listen to me. Are you at home?”
“Yes,” I hiss, slumping to the floor, no longer strong enough to hold myself up. Something bad has happened, I feel it in the pit of my stomach. Tears sting my eyes, making everything blur before me, and I attempt to blink the emotion away.
“I need you to be strong now. Escúchame bien?” He growls for me to listen to him.
I nod, mumbling my response in a raspy tone, “Si, tio.”
“In your father’s bedroom, there’s a chest of drawers, put your hand in the back of the bottom drawer to find a set of keys. I’ll text you an address. Take some clothes in a backpack, enough for you to run. If you want to take any personal belongings make sure you can carry it for long distances. Sofía—”
“What’s happening?” I cry, losing my shit because I can’t do this. I can’t lose my papá when my mother is gone as well. I’ll be alone. I’ll have nobody. “Please, tell me.”
“He’s been captured by Cordero,” he spits into the speaker, causing my body to freeze.
“What?”
“I’ll explain everything, I just need you to get out of that house, they’ll come for you. Get out, Sofía! ¡Hazlo ahora!” That’s all he says before hanging up, leaving me crying on the kitchen floor of my childhood home.
* * *
Shutting the door behind me, I lean against the thick wood, praying it will keep me safe. Deep down, I know it won’t. Nothing can hide me from the man who my father warned me about all my life.
I wonder if I should’ve called Rodrigo. If he would be able to help me, but when I recall our last interaction, I shudder. I dated him for a few months, thinking he would be able to pay for my medication, but he wanted more than I was willing to give.
My chest aches when I think about running low on my medicine. The heart I was born with isn’t as strong as it should be, I know I can’t go too long without seeing a doctor. My phone rings as soon as I’m inside, and I wonder if he’s watching me. I hit answer and hold the phone to my ear. “Tio?”
“Are you safe, querido?”
“I’m at the apartment.” Seating my ass on the sofa, I hang my head, wondering what the fuck is going on. “Tell me.”
“Your father was caught stealing and selling Victor’s drugs.”
“Oh, god.” My groan is the only answer I can offer. Why the hell would he do this? For me?
“I have to go. They’re searching everywhere for you. Sofía, you need to get out of the city. Stay at the apartment till early morning, leave in the dark. Just run. Please.”
“Si, gracias, tio.”
He hangs up before responding, and my heart sinks even further. Victor is evil, he’ll kill papá, there’s no question about it. All because of me and this stupid fucking disease in my body.
At eighteen, I’ve heard about things that would give any other child nightmares about my father’s boss. Being the only daughter, and having my father be a single parent, hasn’t been easy. His job with the Cordero Organization changed him from a calm, loving dad to a stressed-out man who only worked.
I hardly saw him, and when I did, his eyes had dark circles under them, and I knew he feared that if he lost his job, he’d lose me too. Not by choice, but because nature decided his daughter needed a life-threatening illness and the medication was far too expensive for him to afford on his salary. He couldn’t afford the surgery, so the pills had to keep the evil at bay.
Even though Victor’s father had given mine enough money for the family, Dad had his own demons before my mother passed away. His gambling made for a dangerous addiction, and when I learned that papá had lost most of our money in blackjack, I knew I had to grow up sooner rather than later.
Papá spent his life working for one of the most notorious men in Colombia. And when my father’s friend, who worked alongside him all these years, called an hour ago, I knew I had to run. Since mama died ten years ago, I’ve grown up in the roughest of neighborhoods, but nothing would prepare me for the wrath of the one man we all fear, if he finds me.
Victor Cordero.
Papá got caught trying to steal drugs from his boss, and it’s all my fault. He did it for me, but he was stupid. I told him I’d be fine, that if I could go to America, I would be able to ask for help with my medication. But he still made the mistake of crossing the one man who can end his life with a flick of his wrist.
My heart aches when I think about what they’re probably doing to him or have done to him. Victor is a man with no conscience. He’s violent, unpredictable, and heartless. Killing someone would be fun for him; he wouldn’t think twice about slitting my father’s throat and basking in the glory of the kill.
Moving away from the door, I settle on the small single bed that overlooks the dusty city below. This place is my home, and I refuse to leave my father here. He left strict instructions for me to take the money he’d hidden beneath the floorboards and run, but I need to know he’s safe, or even alive, before I think about leaving.
There is nothing here for me if my father is dead, but I have a feeling Victor will toy with me. He’ll lure me out, using my father as bait. That’s what he does, he hurts people. The hate I’ve felt for him over the years has only intensified the older I got. I’ve never seen him, papá has always kept me away from his job, hidden from the man who maims without giving it a second thought.
When he took over the organization, things got more intense, more rigid. He had rules which he never wavered from. My papá worked every day, almost twelve hours, just to make enough to buy my medication. When I overheard his plan to steal cocaine and resell it to get my new prescription, I ran into the kitchen where he spoke to Lorenzo, his friend and confidante, and pleaded with him not to do it. I told him it’s far too dangerous, but he was adamant. He was the parent, and it was his job to care for me. Not the other way around.
The small burner phone rings in my purse, startling me in the silence of the apartment that I’m hiding in. But as soon as I grab it and hit the answer button, I realize it’s a mistake.
“Ah, there she is.” The thick accented voice of who I can only assume is Victor Cordero comes across the line. I’ve heard him before; while papá spoke to him on the phone, I used to spy on his phone calls when he’d phone our landline. Papá never had a cellphone, so Victor would contact him on the old phone, which sat on our kitchen table. Only, papá never used to hear me pick the handset up in his room and eavesdrop on what was being said. “I do like a good game of cat and mouse, Sofía.”
“This isn’t a game,” I retort hotly, but sound squeakier and more afraid than feisty and confident. He has my father, and I need to make sure he doesn’t hurt him any more than I’m sure he already has.
“That’s where you’re wrong, juguete.” He calls me ‘plaything’ like it’s my name, which angers me, boiling my blood with rage. I need to breathe through the frustration and the fear that grip me. He’s taunting me, making me play his game, but I need to be strong. I need to be strong for my papá.
“Where is my father?”
“He is… indisposed at the moment,” he tells me. “Sofía, he did a very bad thing, and when people do bad things, I make sure they pay. Especially when they steal from me because that means I have to steal from them.”
“He didn’t—”
“Don’t fuck with me, little girl,” Victor sneers down the line. “Remember, I own this city. You can run, but you can never hide, because when I find you, I’ll make sure your precioso papá watches me own you.” His words send ice coursing through my veins, and I have a feeling he doesn’t mean as one of his servants. The thought revolts me, even his voice, dripping with malice, makes me convulse and causes acid to burn its way up my throat, threatening to expel from my mouth.
“And if I surrender, you’ll let him go?”
He laughs—dark and gravelly—and the sound rumbles through the speaker. It’s stupid of me to even ask. But I had to try.
&n
bsp; “You have guts, Sofía,” he tells me. “But I don’t make deals with little girls.”
At that, he hangs up, and I know I’m no longer safe here. If he can contact me on a goddamn burner phone, then he can certainly find the building where my father bought an apartment under another name. Victor knows everything, which means I’m a sitting duck. I need to get out of here before he captures me, but then I think of papá and what’s he’s going through. Can I leave him in the hands of a monster?
Fear trickles down my spine like poison, slow and meticulous, just like the man hunting me, but I shake it off. Mr. Cordero will never find me. I may be young, but I’m clever. My father made sure to give me all I needed, he educated me on how to disappear. And that’s what I’ll do. I’m strong, I can endure anything he throws my way.
7
Victor
Sofia’s feistiness makes me hard. As soon as I hang up, I smile because I have a feeling this girl is going to be so much fun to break apart. Once I have her here under my roof, I’ll make sure she obeys me. The thought of her working for me, paying off her father’s debt is an idea that easily pops into my mind. Yes, she can bring my meals, clean my room, and when my body craves a woman, she can ride my dick. I wonder if she’ll refuse. Fight me when I command her to take my cock deep in her tight cunt.
Just one taste. I promise myself as I focus on the work before me. Two men are bringing in a shipment of coke that I’m certain will bring in triple what I’m paying them. A profit is always welcome, so when I hit reply on the email to my client, I tell him to meet me tomorrow night, so we can make the exchange.
That’s one thing I never do, work from home. All my transactions take place at the warehouses I have around the city. My home is my sanctuary, and I don’t bring business into it. If a deal goes badly, it doesn’t reach the safety of my compound.
A knock at the door catches my attention, and Javier saunters inside. He settles opposite my desk, unbuttoning his suit jacket. His one ankle rests on the opposite knee as he regards me with a smirk.
“And?” I question.
“He’s on it. Told me to give him forty-eight hours and she’ll be in hand.” His grin makes him look far younger than his thirty-one years.
“Good work. And you told him she’s not to be harmed?”
“Yes, Boss, he understands,” Javier nods. “Have you managed to get hold of her on that burner phone Lorenzo blurted about?”
“I did. She’s feisty, I want to break her and make her kneel for me.” I lean back, picking up my cigar, I light it and take a long puff, inhaling the thick smoke. “She’ll be a challenge.”
“I’ve never known you to back down from a challenge, Boss.” I nod at his assumption. “I wonder what she looks like,” he ponders.
“She’s far too young for your ass,” I tell him, chuckling.
“You do realize you’re older than me, Boss?” He grins, the asshole fucking grins. If he was anyone else, I’d grab him by the hair, shove him down on his knees then slit his throat until he’s bleeding all over my carpet.
But Javier is my only friend. That may sound sad to most people, but to me, it’s what I live for. I always strive for perfection, and he’s the only person in my life who I trust to give me that.
And that is the reason why I don’t have a woman beside me. Most of the whores who walk into my compound are here for drugs, money, or protection. Granted, I would give those things to them, but most are far too easy. They offer their filthy cunts to me with little effort on my part. I enjoy the fight, the back and forth. I love fire. The only time I want a woman to beg is when she’s pleading for my thick cock.
“Respect your elders, Javier,” I tell him on a chuckle. I suck in another lungful of air before dropping my head back to enjoy the smoke filling my chest. The calming flavor of the cigar is what I love about smoking. Just knowing that the sweetness on my tongue can take away the ever-present stench of blood when I’m working is the reason I carry one whenever I’m out. But when I’m in my office, it allows me to relax. With a job like mine, there have to be things that offer solace.
“Did you want to go see Hector tomorrow, Victor?” Javier questions, pulling out his own pack of cigarettes and lighting one.
I watch him for a moment before responding. “Perhaps that’s a good idea, I’ll let him know that his sweet girl is on her way here,” I tell him.
Sofía Montero is a mystery to me. I should look online for photos, her social media should be inundated with images, all young people have those at the moment, but I don’t want to spoil the moment she’s brought into my office for the first time.
I have a feeling Sofía will be something else. I have a feeling she’ll surprise me and offer me her life for her father’s. I wonder if she’s the type to martyr herself for those she loves. And since her papá is the only one who’s alive, I’m sure little Sofía will be promising all sorts of things to have me free her father.
* * *
The moment I walk into the warehouse, the stench hits my nostrils. Hector is cleaned up, somewhat, and he looks halfway human. Besides the broken jaw and the swollen eye.
“Victor,” he rumbles.
“Sofía sends her love,” I inform him, when I stop just in front of where he’s chained to the chair. He stares at me through one eye, and I wonder if I should draw this out or kill him now. Sadly, the sweet tone of Sofía’s voice reminds me that if I have leverage, I can toy with her.
“Have… have you…?”
“She’s not here yet, but my men will find her. You’ve raised quite a firecracker, Hector.” I chuckle, leaning in close to his face. “I’ll make sure her fire is snuffed out like a flame. And you know why?” He doesn’t move, so I continue. “You stole from me. I’m giving you an out here, Hector. Your daughter can spend sixty days with me, and you’ll be clear of your debt.”
There’s surprise on his face, I’d recognize that expression anywhere. Men have looked at me with it when I’ve allowed them to walk out of here; the only difference is, as soon as their feet hit the red sand outside, they’re shot in the back of the head.
I never offer anyone mercy. It’s not in my blood.
“Anything,” he wheezes, and I wonder just how much this asshole would do to clear his name from my shit list.
“Anything?” Tipping my head to the side in question, I wait for him to disagree, but he doesn’t. “That to me means you, Hector Montero, are allowing me to take your sweet Sofía and keep her as my plaything until I decide otherwise. If that’s your agreement, you’ll be cleared of any wrongdoing and your debt to me will be paid.”
His head moves slowly. “I agree. But…”
“Ah, there’s a but…” A smirk tilts my lips as I watch him blubber.
“There’s something you should know,” he lowers his voice, as if he’s about to tell me a secret. And when he finally speaks again, a secret he does tell me, and it only confirms that Sofía will be mine. I’ll make sure of it.
8
Sofía
Darkness has settled on the city, and I’m slipping out of the apartment with my backpack. There’s not much in it, but I’ve taken a few photos of me, my mother and father, and two of her necklaces—one that hangs around my neck, the other hidden in between the clothes that I’ve packed. Also, I have the money papá had hidden under the floorboards of our home, my passport, and two changes of clothes, which will need to be washed soon.
I don’t know how long I’ll be on the run or where I’ll end up, but I know getting out of the city is the first thing I need to do. There’s no rhyme or reason to my plan, only the need to see anything other than this godforsaken shit hole.
My heart is heavy as I reach the street. A few people mill around, but because of the hour, I know it’s going to be quiet enough for me to run without being noticed. Most of the stragglers are drunk and don’t even give me a second glance, which I’m thankful for.
Rushing past the music store, I offer it one last long stare
before racing away. The piano I cleaned for Victor sits in the window proudly. I always found it strange that nobody ever attempted to break into the shop. Perhaps he was under the protection of the Cordero Cartel.
I never knew much about that sort of thing or how it worked. All I’ve overheard was people paid Victor for protection. To be kept safe from thugs. If you were hurt, robbed, or maimed by anyone, Victor would send his men, and they would leave you hanging on to your life by a fine string.
My feet move quickly up the road as I head away from the city. Away from my home. The place I grew up in slowly disappears behind me, and I can’t think about anything else but leaving. Even though my eyes tear up, I don’t look back.
I know there’s nothing left for me in the city, there’s no family left because, even if papá is still alive, I wonder how much longer he will be. Unless Victor wants to torture me, to toy with my emotions. I don’t know him well enough, but perhaps he’s someone who enjoys the mental torment, as well as the physical.
Once I reach the outskirts of the city, I breathe a small sigh of relief, but it doesn’t last long when I hear a brawl not far from where I’m hidden in an alleyway. The bars are closing, the men are drunk, and I know I need to get out of here before I become the center of attention.
The darkness holds me in its embrace as I race further up the road and head into the space behind a building. There are a few dirty trash cans and the stench of them turns my stomach.
Swallowing past the lump in my throat, I close my eyes and pray. It’s been a long time since I’ve prayed. Since I’ve asked someone other than my father for help.
My phone vibrates wildly in the pocket of my jeans, and I pull it out before moving further toward the main road that will take me out of the city completely.
“Ola, tito?”
