by Karina Halle
“I know that. And you are part of the few family he has left. But if what you are saying is true, then you could be followed yourself. The only reason anyone is after you, I’m assuming of course, is because they are after him in some way. Or it could be someone right in front of your eyes. We would be stupid not to take due diligence on this and we are not stupid.”
Wow. She was sounding less like a wife and more like a member of his team.
“So where is he?” I asked, scanning the parking lot.
She slipped her sunglasses back on. “He wants you to come meet him. On his terms.”
I stared at her blankly. I couldn’t leave this spot, not with Derrin watching.
She held out her hand for me and the diamonds on her rings blazed in the sunshine. “Come along, I’ll take you there.”
“Where?” I didn’t want to take her hand.
“Not here,” she said. “You’re not afraid of your own brother, are you?”
“Is he afraid of his own sister?”
She raised her brow for a second and then jerked her chin in the direction of Wal-Mart. “Come.”
I sighed, feeling horrible about this. I wasn’t afraid of Javier but being out of Derrin’s watch felt wrong and I knew he was probably freaking out – well, as much as Derrin can freak out – up in the office building. I just hoped he didn’t try and take Luisa out.
I grabbed her hand and she helped me to my feet. Once I was up, her grip was surprisingly firm which didn’t really sit well with me. It was almost as if I were being escorted somewhere, not led.
Somehow I resisted the urge to look over my shoulder in Derrin’s direction and I kept walking. Even though Luisa had shorter legs, I still had to hustle to keep pace with the cast on.
“That can’t be much fun,” she noted as she eyed me again. Her voice was softer now, like she was finally being herself and not the wife of Javier.
“None of this is fun,” I told her.
She made an agreeable sound and then took me toward the Wal-Mart doors.
“He’s in here?”
She nodded as the automatic doors opened for us and we entered the world of mayhem again. I was getting really sick of this store. “This is as safe a place as any,” she said, her voice lowered now.
“How is that possible?”
“Who would ever suspect Javier Bernal would be in a Wal-Mart? No one would even recognize him in here because they wouldn’t expect to see him. Hiding in a big SUV? Yes. In here, no.”
“So he’s unprotected.”
She led me down the aisles. “No, he’s never unprotected. He’s never alone. But take a look around and I bet you could never pick any of our men out.”
I briefly glanced around. I saw women pushing strollers, slobby looking men with giant beer bellies and trucker hats, short men wearing cheap dress shirts tucked into high-waisted jeans, a guy who looked like he just got back from surfing, store employees in starchy uniforms. They could be anyone. Or she could be bluffing. I would never know. Neither made me feel safer.
In fact, I didn’t even recognize my own brother until we were halfway down the canned food aisle. His back was to me and it looked like he was examining a can of beans or something. But of course as I got closer, I knew it was him without a doubt.
Even from behind, he dressed impeccably. His hair was a bit shorter now, not so shaggy at the back. I think last time I teased him that he was close to having a mullet like the redneck Americans do. He must have taken it to heart. Aside from his hair, he was wearing a crisp suit jacket, dark blue, and black pants. He wasn’t the tallest man in the world but he had a way of holding his body that could fool you into thinking he was.
We stopped a few feet behind him and even though I wanted to say something, I knew Luisa was the one who should.
“I’ve got her,” she said.
Got her? And with those words, the blood in my veins took on an icy touch, like I was hooked up to one of the IVs again.
Javier slowly turned his head to look at me, staring at me inquisitively for a moment. He didn’t smile, he didn’t say anything, he just studied me like I was some sort of imposter. His eyes were burning with that amber intensity they got when he, well, they were always like that.
Finally he looked down at my cast and up again to my face and tilted his head. “You look like you got hit by a truck.”
“It was a car,” I reminded him.
He raised his brow and then idly checked the gold watch on his wrist. “All right, let’s make this quick.”
I was a bit stunned. I wasn’t sure how I could make any of this quick. I wasn’t even sure what was supposed to take place.
“Do you want me to explain again what happened?” I asked. Luisa took her hand out of mine but now was holding my arm by the bicep. I looked at her slightly aghast but her attention was on her husband.
“Yes,” he said simply. He put the can back on the shelf and slipped his hands into his pockets. “From the start. From when you were hit by the car.”
Jesus, this was going to take forever, especially since he already knew most of this. But then I knew what he was doing. Javier has a way of sucking the truth out of you just by looking at you. He was discerning once and for all whether I was telling the truth or not. It bothered me that he hadn’t fully believed me yet but then again I guess he hadn’t survived this long by just trusting everyone, including family.
I wondered if I would have to start doing the same thing.
But as I told him it all from the beginning, I could see a softening coming into his eyes. He was believing me. He could see the truth.
“So you were walking through the town square when the shots happened?”
I nodded. “Yeah. Obviously we didn’t notice them.”
His eyes narrowed slightly and he exchanged a look with Luisa. “But if these are trained assassins as they seemed to be, how did you not get hit?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know. Derrin pulled me in for a hug or something. The ground behind me exploded. Near miss. Then we ran.”
“And how well do you know this Derrin? Not at all, right?”
“I know him enough. He saved my life.”
Javier smiled to himself, almost smug. For some reason it reminded me of a snake. “So it would seem he did.”
I chose to ignore that. “So what do I do now? They’re after me because of you.”
His eyes turned cold. “So this is my fault is it?”
“You know what I mean.”
“Oh, I know what you mean,” he said coolly. “I have no doubt these people want to send me a message. But more than that, I think they mean to deliver the message themselves.”
“What does that mean?” I tried to fold my arms but Luisa held tight.
He tapped his long fingers along the cans on the shelf. Somehow his fingers were always so manicured. He must never had to do any dirty work these days.
“It means that it sounds like whatever has happened to you has been part of a more elaborate scheme, to bring someone you don’t know into your life. To make you trust them. To make it seem like your life is in danger.”
“It is in danger!” I yelled at him. A shopper passing by gave me a quick look before hurrying away.
“Keep your voice down,” Luisa warned me.
“Get your hand off of me,” I growled right back, ripping out of her grasp.
She took a step back, hands in the air, looking to Javier for his orders. He shook his head slightly and then turned his eyes back to me.
“Your life may be, but I have no reason to believe that bullet was ever meant to hit you. Same with the car. Same with the motorcycle chase. These people are fake. They are only making it look like they’re after you. How else could you explain that you got away?”
Because Derrin is way more than you think he is, I thought to myself. Even I don’t know what he’s capable of.
At that thought I had to wonder where he was right now. Surely he would have come out of t
he office and trailed me. He had to be watching but I was too nervous to look around and see.
“So what,” I said, “you think that this is all a ruse for me to trust him.”
He nodded sharply.
“And then what? Wait to kill me?”
“Oh, I’m sure he’s going to wait to kill you,” he said, so casually that it got under my skin. “But that’s not a promise. He’s waiting for you to come to me. Like you just have. He wants me to take you in.”
I shook my head. “No. No, he’s the one who didn’t like this idea. He wants me to stay with him, he told me it’s not safe for me to go off with you.”
He tilted his head, considering. “Well, that might be true. My place is no place for a lady.”
Luisa cleared her throat in annoyance. He flashed a disarming smile at her. “Luisa, love, you are no longer a lady. You’re a queen.”
I wrinkled my nose. “Ugh. Cheesy.”
He looked to me, not amused. “Whatever would I do without my sister acting like a brat?”
My mouth dropped open. “I am not acting like a brat! I’m scared Javier. I thought you would help me.” I looked to Luisa. “Or at least you. I saved your parent’s life, remember. I held onto them for weeks, do you think that was easy? We were all scared shitless.”
Luisa’s face momentarily crumbled. There was still a good, kind woman in there somewhere. She was just getting buried by Javier.
She glanced at him. “We should take her in.”
“No,” Javier said adamantly. “No. This is very clearly a trap. We would take her with us and he would follow. I have no doubt Alana that this man is not who he says he is. He is using you to get to me, to what he really wants.”
I placed my hands in my face in frustration before throwing them out to the sides. “So then what? You’re going to assume something you know nothing about and then you’re just going to leave me here? With someone you think aims to hurt you, hurt me?”
He frowned and ran a hand through his hair with a sigh. “Don’t be so dramatic, Alana. Of course not. I’m just telling you you’re not coming with us. I’ll make sure you’re safe.”
“How?”
He took a step closer to me, eyes boring into mine. He could sure be intimidating, I’d give him that. He slipped his hand into his front pocket and pulled out a business card with his first two fingers. He flicked it out for me.
“This is the number I want you to call. From the payphone you used earlier. There will be instructions. Call the moment you see us leave. Then go into the women’s washroom and wait. Do not leave for anything.”
“But Derrin …” I started.
He gave me a caustic smile. “Obviously he will not know of this. Did you not hear what I just said? He is not your boyfriend, Alana. He is not your friend. He is my enemy. He is your enemy.”
“Who is he?” I asked, my voice coming out in a whisper.
“I have no idea,” he admitted. “But it doesn’t matter, does it?”
But it did. It did so much. And Javier, at the heart of it all, I knew he was wrong.
Wasn’t he?
“We’ll be in touch,” he said, forcing the business card in my hand. When I made a fist around it, he put his hand on my shoulder. He gave it a squeeze and stared at me intently. “I will take care of you, you got that? The only way I know how.”
Before I could be touched by this rare show of affection, his gaze slid to Luisa and he straightened up. “Let’s go,” he said to her.
She nodded, gave me a small smile and then the two of them walked quickly down the aisle of canned goods, the king and queen of Mexico.
I watched until they disappeared around the corner and into the mass of shoppers.
I felt like collapsing to the ground. The business card in my hand felt like lead, a choice I had to take.
Unless I took none at all.
I slipped it into my jean pocket.
I didn’t want to believe what he said of Derrin, even though some of it made sense. But of course Javier had never met him. He didn’t know him. Neither did I, but I’d at least felt like I knew something about him. I knew he was sincere and while he might be lying about some things about his past or who he is, I knew that when he was holding me, kissing me, fucking me, that that was all real.
He did care about me. I had to trust that.
The question was, could I trust that more than I could trust my own brother?
I slowly walked down the aisle, feeling in a daze. Once I would get to the doors, I had the option of going to the payphone or the option of going downstairs to the Camry, to see Derrin. Maybe I even had the option of both.
I was almost at the end when I bumped into someone with a small basket full of groceries.
“Sorry,” I mumbled and looked up.
It was the surfer looking guy I had seen earlier. He had a baseball cap pulled on low over his light brown shoulder-length hair but when he looked down at me I could see his eyes were a very clear hazel, more green than brown. He would have been handsome if it weren’t for an ugly scar on the left side of his face.
I immediately averted my eyes, not wanting to stare, and tried to move past.
“No, I’m sorry,” he said.
The way he said it, so gravely, made my skin prickle. I paused and looked over my shoulder at him.
He was smiling at me in a way a stranger shouldn’t. I was used to men leering at me but this was different. Besides, it was creepy when men leered at a girl in a cast, like the fact that I was vulnerable and broken turned them on even more.
“Do I know you?” he asked, frowning insincerely.
I wasn’t in the mood for pick-up lines, especially from weirdos. “No,” I said, glaring at him. I turned around.
“I think I do,” he said quietly.
I swallowed hard. I wanted to keep walking. I needed to keep walking.
“Alana Bernal,” he added.
Fuck. FUCK.
I should have ran. I should have just ran. But I slowly pivoted around to face him. There was a chance he was with Javier. Luisa said they were all over the store. This was probably one of his men.
“You know my name,” I told him, trying to sound casual, hoping he couldn’t hear my voice shake. “I should know your name then.”
“You probably do,” he said matter-of-factly. His grin widened. “I think many people do. If they don’t, they will.”
He wasn’t going to give me his name.
“Do you work for my brother?”
“I work for no one but myself.” He slowly reached into his basket of groceries. I didn’t wait to see if he was going to pull out a banana. I knew it was a gun.
I turned and leaped to the left, knocking over a display of gravy powder with my cast and got behind the end of the aisle before a gun shot went off.
It missed me but brown gravy powder filled the air. I kept running, thankful that the whole store was erupting into extreme chaos. Everyone was suddenly creaming, shoving, crying, running. I was swept up in the mass of shoppers trying to exit, pushing their carts into everyone and everything.
Whoever the fuck that guy was, he definitely wasn’t an assassin for hire. He did a pretty shitty job of trying to take me out. But he still tried to kill me all the same and I had to get out of this fucking store while I could, if I wasn’t trampled to death by the mass pandemonium.
There were no more shots, just screams, but even then I was frantically searching the stampede of people for Derrin, Javier, somebody to help me. I didn’t know if the man was still behind me, if anyone saw him with the gun, if he was blending into the crowd or being arrested by store security. I didn’t know and I couldn’t know. There was no time.
I did what I could to get through the crowd and eventually just let the swarm push me to the bottleneck of the doors, everyone packed in tight. People kept stepping on my cast and swearing. I didn’t feel a thing.
Finally I was outside and I immediately ran down the stairs as quickly as
I could to the underground garage.
Down there, other people were running for their cars. It was just as crazy, people peeling out of spots, swiping parked cars, nearly hitting other shoppers. Then at the end I saw Derrin, running toward me.
My heart swelled with relief at the sight of him. This man would protect me. He would keep me safe.
My brother had to be wrong.
“Alana,” he said, grabbing my face in his hands. His eyes looked wild. “What happened?”
“There’s someone in the store, he looked like a surfer bum. He tried to talk to me, said my name. He knew who I was, Derrin! Then he pulled out a gun. I ran, he fired once and missed. I don’t …” I paused to catch my breath, nearly collapsing into his arms, “I don’t think he’s an assassin, he didn’t have the skill. But he still tried to kill me. No doubt.”
“And your brother? Where is Javier?”
“Gone,” I said just as the sound of screeching tires filled the air. The chaos was growing.
He grabbed my hand and that alone filled me with strength. “Come on, let’s get out of here while we can.”
We ran to the car, Derrin literally sweeping me off my feet as a truck almost backed into me.
We finally made it into the Camry, the doors were unlocked. It didn’t really register as strange, just convenient as we didn’t have to fiddle with the keys.
I jumped in and Derek took the keys from me, sticking them in the ignition.
Suddenly proverbial bells started ringing in my head.
A warning.
Instinct.
“No,” I said just as Derrin turned the keys.
The car stuttered strangely with a loud grinding sound, refusing to start.
“Stop!” I screamed and he immediately took his hand away, eyes wide as he looked at me.
“The doors were unlocked,” I said quickly, barely able to breathe. “I know I locked the doors as I left.”
I’d never seen him look so afraid as the realization dawned on him. If he had tried harder, even pushed the key over just a millimeter more, the car would have exploded.
Someone had put a car bomb inside for us.
Someone already knew we were here.
“We have to run,” he said, a twinge of panic in his voice.
