Suddenly she realized how little she knew of his life and deeply regretted having lost the opportunity to know him better, for her hours in Chandrexa were now numbered. Every minute that passed she was in grave danger of being discovered and she knew why she decided to advance her departure to tomorrow morning. She said goodbye to Mireia with a big hug. She regretted not being able to do it with Nicholás but the poor man would have enough to try to leave his shell. She might have opted to remain hidden in the mountains, away from civilization, but decided that she would go mad. She had always needed contact with people, affectivity was essential for her survival.
The suitcases were waiting for her as if they were restless at the door of the room. Then Nicholas appeared behind her back. His eyes were injected with a strange emotion. They had that deep glow. She used to distinguish it. In crack smokers; A strange chemical reaction that also had the same effect on people, victims of strong emotional symptoms. This clearly looked like the case of this guy. Like a defenceless gazelle, she glanced hesitantly at him from the top of the stairs.
—What are you doing here?
—I came to apologize for last night.
—There is no apologizing for that. I like you, I wanted to spend the last night in Chandrexa with you. I'm leaving the country tomorrow. Why don’t you leave your brothers and come with me?
—I don’t have brothers. Damn it! My parents died of in accident when I was ten months old. I never got to know them. The rest of my family was suffering from serious economic problems. The institutions took care of me until I was given into adoption to bad people who abused both physically and psychologically of me, including sexual abuse. Since then I have never dared to be with anyone. I am sorry! Last night I tried, but I couldn’t. The truth is I don’t know if I'm really prepared or if I really have fallen in love with you, why will I fool you. What I have clear, is that I will not make you suffer with more lies: I won’t go anywhere with you because I think I don’t love you.
—Why am I not good enough for you? —Said Nuria, who was not accustomed to being rejected by anyone and who refused to be refused by the only person she had been attracted to during her short stay in Chandrexa.
Suddenly her apparent fortress collapsed like a sand castle under the weight of the waves of misfortune; Perhaps due to the nervous tension suffered the last days after reading a column published in "The Voice of Galicia", where it came to light in a sombre article, the last advances of the Civil Guard in the investigation in charge of the anti-drug brigade In relation to her case. Luckily her photo didn’t appear in the newspaper, that would be taken by the stupid Susana, "the amoeba." Very soon after reading the article, Lucia realized that those hectares of forest and pastures were no longer suitable for her safety, but that she had taken the precaution of keeping the money extracted from the traffic of narcotics in different accounts in the name of her father, her cousins, uncles and friends of the family; Leaving the bank accounts to her name under minimums, in addition she had opened a new account in the name of Nuria Estevez Lameiros, where her father made periodic lodgements, modest amounts that didn’t call too much the attention. After leaving the newspaper, Lucia was overcome by fear, she contacted her father to learn more about her situation. She didn’t call him directly because of the danger that the authorities had given the order to cross the line, she did it through Uncle Sam's cell phone, a former supplier with whom she still had good relations; In addition to a close friendship, which soon found her father. Soon she could hear his muffled voice on the other side of the receiver:
—You're no longer safe here. My girl!
Her worst fears were confirmed upon hearing her father's words. Now that she was beginning to feel at ease in those wild lands: she had no choice but to run as fast as she could out of the country. Again the pressure of being alone and forsaken, forced to flee again, It overcame her: bursting into tears, broke into sobs, torn, unburdened all her deepest fears before that unknown and inopportune young man; Daring to deny her the tenderness, love and moral support so necessary in those difficult times for her. Nuria shed the tears of a lifetime under the yoke of an illegal profession, trying to conquer the only boy who, no matter how much it hurt, had dared to face her doing it with the truth ahead and not hiding, as she was accustomed With her other boyfriends.
—I swear I didn’t know anything about your past, my love. I don’t care that you don’t love me, I do love you with all my soul. Please! I beg you not to refuse me. We only have tonight. Then you will never see me again. I will go away forever, I will disappear with my sorrows from your presence. That's why I promise you that tonight will be special, we'll never forget it for a long time to come. These last hours in Chandrexa will get us so deep inside that their memory will follow us wherever we go, no matter how far we are. We will always remember them, every day, as if they were the last of our existence. They will be present, anchored in the deepest part of the memory, any attempt to erase them in the years to come will be unsuccessful.
With nothing more to do with her than to look, Nicholas responded to her pleas by pressing his hand on hers and letting himself be dragged by the woman he did not love, but who by a strange rite, was responding to his most primal instincts, He began to desire her wildly.
He felt the duty to give some explanation but the urgency of the lovers was a priority to their feelings, seeking their relief in the contemplation of their empty and hollowed bodies. Coupled with each other in a fierce embrace, Nicholas's memories and frustrations seemed to fly through the air, fragmented into thousands of pieces. He hesitated for a second before approaching the bed, suddenly becoming petrified; but she reacted quickly by undoing with great difficulty the buttons of his shirt, while he felt his agitated breathing in the neck.
—Snap them, —Nicholas snorted angrily, his heart beating at the heart rate of the spectator, wrapped in his armchair during the filming of a thriller.
—Calm down, —she reassured him, letting go of one button after another without rushing, she opened the garment. He shrugged his right shoulder back and let her tug at his sleeve. He did the same with the other shoulder until the garment fell to the floor.
He wore a white T-shirt underneath. This time she took it off by the neck with some difficulty, emitting a groan, the trait in half.
—This will cost you less money than the shirt, —said Nuria, enjoying the urge to see him naked from the waist up.
He smiled, began to feel at ease in the rage of close combat. She wore a short dress hanging from her shoulders by fine handles. Nicholas began exploring her with his rough hands, accustomed to feel the warmth of the wood of the butts of the old Army rifles, which had now been changed by other plastic ones, lighter for combat; Caressing with his hard fingers her neck. The sores produced by pressing so many times the firing pin in the firing ranges reacted to the stimuli she gave him, to caress that soft and sensual epidermis that acted on them with emollient effect, as if it were an ointment. Slowly removing the arm of her dress, the fabric slid down her chest —trapped inside the bra— until she was paused for a few seconds, holding on to the tips of her young, sweet breasts, dangling from nipples that remained inhale before her cold gaze ; Almost tearing the fabric that fell to the ground by its own weight. She pulled the dress back like a chrysalis membrane. Then, clumsily unbuttoning her bra, her nymph breasts leapt before his eyes, and Nicholas could see that they stood on their own for their greatest visual delight. He felt out of place surrounded by such beauty, it didn’t give him time to think; Before adjusting to the new situation, she had already stripped him completely, unable to conceal or stop his frantic burning, she began to caress his limb; Then she stood for a moment, looking at his carved chest, his marked abdominals, the drawing of his biceps; a whole body sculpted without doubt by the harsh military life; Not exempt from the physical exercise so necessary to perform that profession.
He looked at her that, in an instant, he realized that she was still wearing those garments,
the garment that concealed her most intimate parts. He withdrew it slowly. Her shaven hair was now before him, lovely and thick as a squirrel's tail eager to be shaved. He stood, still for a long time, watching her, not feeling the slightest friction of her skin, whose hairs seemed to huddle in his arms. His black hair rested on his shoulders, the confused nipples pointed opposite directions. The vanishing point on her hips, produced a faint shadow, confused with the blackness of her sex. Suddenly he found himself calm, serene, oblivious to his worst nightmares.
She was there, naked in front of him, as he had always feared to see her. She looked attractive, beautiful. Tonight he would make love to her with gentleness and softness like no one had ever done. For her, all the tenderness he displayed in each of her strokes was something new. For the first time in his life he gave himself to someone, following the impulses of his heart and not those of his greed. She stood still, watching each one of Nicolas's movements, perceiving every touch of his hands as if they were something unheard of, in fact they were all of them. She felt full of sensitivity and affection, soon the kisses would wake her from the lethargy in which the caresses had submerged her: the miracle had happened. Nicholás had overcome his fears and a prominent erection had surprised him, he entered her gently, sinking between her thighs. Lucia closed her eyes and let herself be rocked by that soft swivel of hips.
6—Susana Seoane.
The sergeant stared coldly at her, displaying a black one-piece dress with a neckline that dwelt on her navel, wide enough to reveal the marks of her breasts. Her hair was loose. A dark, long mane fell down her back seeking shelter from her own shadow. He had recognized La Reina in Chandrexa, in a place called "La solitaria" or, at least, that he swore. The sergeant allowed her to accompany him in the hope that she would give him some clue as to the fugitive's whereabouts, she said she was a journalist, she worked for an important magazine.
—I write a sort of weekly report on the fugitive.
She introduced herself as Susana Seoane, wearing a Canon hanging from her neck on her chest. It gave her a sexy look, very professional, thought the sergeant, biting his lip lasciviously. He set the Patrol on. Soon they arrived, there was hardly any traffic, they parked the car in front of the tavern. There was only the barman, a man whose baldness glowed like an oracle's ball.
—It was her last day of work, while she was here, her behaviour was always exemplary —according to Antonio, he told the Sergeant Ramon Da Silva while serving him a beer—. Her name was Nuria. She wasn’t like the girls around here. She was more serious, reserved, always minding her own business. She liked order and put a lot of effort into her work and didn’t bother anyone, she liked the customers. To be honest, I had never had such an efficient employee. She was waiting to give me the data to register her with the Social Security, I wanted to make her an indefinite contract. She had been here for a few weeks, she told me that she had the papers in town, that she would give me all her information as soon as she had time to pick them up.
—So she was working in an illegal situation. You’re going to fall for it, —Sergeant Da Silva said in a threatening tone.
—Yes, but it was provisional. I swear! She promised that as soon as she could arrange the papers, we would process the contract.
The sergeant looked at him coldly. Beside her a kind of reporter, she photographed every square inch of the place with meticulous calm. The sergeant took a long swig of beer, then turned to the bartender slowly.
—Well, well, calm down! I won’t report you if you tell me where she lived.
—I think it's Santa Cruz, in one of the houses that line up by the road. I'm not sure. She wasn’t one to tell everything. Today she surprised me by telling me if I could arrange the pay, since a relative had died and she had to return to the city. That she would probably never work for me again, since she would have to take over the business of the deceased.
—She's always lied very well, —said the girl with the camera—. I've known her since we were little girls.
Susana and Sergeant Ramon exchanged quiet looks before disappearing together through the door of the tavern, not very convinced that the owner had told the whole truth. The sergeant was an old-school man: Tall, stretched, with dark hair and glossy hair back. He wore so much hair gel that his hair shone like glitter. He was famous in the body for his rigor and discipline at work. If it was true that Lucía Marquez was in Santa Cruz, he would find her but he would need help. He called the switchboard on the walkie-talkie. The reinforcements would soon arrive. Lucia had lied to Antonio about her place of residence as a precaution, in case anyone discovered her. But Sergeant Ramon would soon bind up and find her hiding place, for many precautions and lies told by the proscribed, agents would work incessantly throughout the night to find her whereabouts. Her hours of freedom were numbered.
If it was true what the reporter told, they would soon find their home, but the agents had to move quickly. Time played against him. They had to capture her before she left Chandrexa. That if she had not done it already. They had an advantage: she was unaware that Susana had discovered her.
That was sufficient reason for the moment to continue the search; Later he would see. Unfortunately, for Susana, her vacation had come to an end. Tomorrow, in the first hour, she would have to be present at the magazine. He put fifty euros in the hands of Sergeant Ramon Da Silva, when he left her again in front of his car, forcing him to promise to keep him abreast of any news about Lucia's whereabouts. She had done enough, it was time to let the law enforcement officers do their job. She was sorry to have to leave right now. When she had La Reina so close, she could almost smell her, feel her breathing like a raging bitch. How much she hated her, she would one day pay for all the wrong she had done.
7—The wanted.
She was the first to rise from the nuptial bed, she drew the curtains of desire to let the day's clarity into the room. Then she saw them approaching in the distance, raising a cloud of dust on the road in their wake. She knew they were coming for her, so she moved quickly. As she dressed, she woke Nicholás. He stared at her, absorbed in the thought, not understanding what was going on around him.
—Don’t say anything honey, I can’t explain it now. They're coming for me —Nuria tried to explain.
—But who?
—I'm leaving. Remember, you hardly know me. If you are pressured, tell them what you want. Until forever, my love!
Nuria fled through the back of the house loaded with a heavy backpack, disappeared through the mountain. While three Civil Guard SUVs showed up at the house, twelve agents got out of their vehicles accompanied by a pair of Doberman dogs. At the same time as the agents secured the perimeter, Sergeant Ramon Da Silva threw down the door lock of the house with the butt of his Zeta. Surprised to find his roommate Nicholas Vazquez naked, as God brought him into the world, he exclaimed:
—You're here! But weren’t you down for depression?
—Yes, I am, my sergeant, unless the doctor chooses to release me this morning, —Nicholás replied, puzzled by the strange situation he was in.
—Is anybody up there? —The sergeant asked again.
—There was a girl from the village. Last night we were together. We made love, then I fell asleep. This morning when I got up she was gone. It's strange, as if the earth swallowed her up.
—Fucked, go after the wanted! You just fucked Lucía Márquez, a narco, sentenced to eight years in prison. We had been on the heels of the motherfucker all night.
—Don’t annoy me sergeant, —Nicholas tried to keep him for her to have enough time to flee. —For once I get wet.
—Come on, kid, get dressed at once! What a bunch of freaks I've been assigned this year. If the Caudillo lived to see what we have gone to. Let's see if you're discharged at once. We need you. If you are as good with the gun as with the cock the country will be happy to recover a jewel like you.
—You know I'm a good shot, my sergeant, —Nicholás replied quickly and ran out to get dressed w
hile the agents rolled beds and searched lockers in search of the fugitive.
They seemed not to trust the word of a mad agent. But it didn’t matter. He knew she would not go back there. The evidence found in the house by the Benemérita wouldn’t lead them very far while he kept his mouth shut. He thought of betraying her. After all, he was due to the body, although he wasn’t going to be discharged until twelve, if the doctor thought it wise to do so. Then it would be too late and it wouldn’t make sense to betray her, after all he felt indebted to her, thanks to her determination that night he had opened and finally felt more of a man than ever. Suddenly he noticed the frightened child who always accompanied him leaving his body, leaving only the adult, mature and pretentious, self-confident, as he walked down the stairs to Dr. Chopper's office.
He thought he owed it. He owed his silence to Lucia. If he really discovered that she deserved to be behind bars, he himself would try his best to correct his mistake, chasing her across the day and night across the length of the mountain range, but for the moment she had won the benefit of the doubt. Once in the consultation office, Nicholás told all that happened to Dr. Chopper in the last hours. He didn’t believe Nicolás' incredible account of the facts.
—I'll give you discharge. So you can join this afternoon to the service. I understand and respect your feelings for that girl. But you must be aware of your status as an agent of the law, for now you are down. Therefore you have no obligation to the Body. But as of this afternoon as soon as you return to wear the uniform of a guard. You must let go of those feelings and give yourself in body and soul to your work.
The Queen of the Northwest Page 7
