by Karina Halle
“Thank you for your service, have a good night.”
And then I left. My eyes were cast on the ground but I still felt Travis looking at me, from somewhere.
The feeling followed me down the street until I turned the corner and got in Javier’s car.
CHAPTER TWENTY
CAMDEN
There was something different. The car had stopped. In the distance, I could hear people hooting and hollering.
Gus was getting out of the car.
“Wait,” I cried out, my voice groggy. “I’m going with you.”
He paused and looked at me. “You look like shit, Camden. You have to stay here.”
I shook my head and sat up. My shoulder ached, my head hurt, everything was moving out of the corner of my vision. I didn’t care.
“I am going with you. I will not let the chance to see Ellie go by. What if …” What if it’s my last chance to see her again?, I finished in my head.
Gus waited a few beats, chewing on his lip, his bushy mustache moving in and out. Finally he said, “I couldn’t stop you even if I tried. I don’t think anything will ever stop you.”
“I hope you’re right,” I said. He helped pull me out of the car and I let out a small yelp of pain as my shoulder got caught on the seatbelt.
“Easy now,” he warned.
“Got any of those painkillers?”
He brought out a packet from his pocket and shook it. “Oxymorphone. You can’t drink on it. That’s what Carlotta told me. Of course it doesn’t say that on the label because not many dogs drink.”
“Just give me the drugs,” I grunted.
He thrust them in my hands and I chewed two, grimacing through the bitterness.
“Also, you’re only supposed to take one,” he added.
I glared at him. “Unless you’re the guy who got shot, shut up.”
He shrugged. “Suit yourself. But if you collapse in the middle of Veracruz because of an opiate high, you’re on your own.”
I had a feeling he meant it.
It took no time at all for the high to kick in and the pain to go away. We had a long walk ahead of us into the city though, having parked in a small suburb close by. I felt like I was bouncing on air instead of dirty streets, the garbage blowing in the light breeze looking beautiful. Everything was beautiful, from the perfume of hot asphalt and night-blooming flowers to the ornate streetlamps that lit up the colonial-style buildings as we got closer to the city. Really fucking pretty.
It was about that time that the euphoric effects of the drug started to wear off and the dirt and grit of the city became a reality. The pain was gone but the picture became real. We were here. We were going to a drug lord’s nightclub to find my woman and bring her home.
We got a few curious glances from people as we walked through the city but not enough to arouse suspicion. Gus looked like your average grumpy fat man in his ridiculous Hawaiian shirt, a different print than the other, pink and orange. He must have had a closet full of them. I had my black cargo shorts and a long-sleeved plaid shirt that Gus must have pulled from deep inside my bag when they cut off my old shirt to operate. I still had my arm in a sling, but at least it was black. I looked like a hipster that broke his arm at a Vampire Weekend concert or some shit like that.
The Zoo was at the Zócalo, a square on Independencia Street near the harbor. It was pretty, black and white tiles in the middle, lined with busy cafés, palm trees and beautifully arched buildings that glowed white and yellow in a slew of lights. A stoic cathedral looked over the whole scene. People were dancing, music was playing. It was Friday night in Veracruz and we were two of the few tourists not looking for a good time.
“How’s your arm?” Gus asked.
“I’m no longer high but I’m not in any pain.”
We were approaching The Zoo, a small building at one end of the square. The line-up outside looked ridiculously long. I hadn’t been to many clubs in my life time, but back in LA I knew a line-up like that meant at least an hour wait. There was a chance we would miss her.
“What are your thoughts?” I asked, looking around as we walked together. I didn’t see anything out of the ordinary but then again, I didn’t know who else I was looking for aside from Ellie. I didn’t know what Travis looked like, though I sure as hell remembered Javier.
I choked back a rush of anger. A busy square in Mexico wasn’t the place to lose it. I needed to keep my head clear and sharp. I could daydream about a million ways to torture Javier Bernal after I saw Ellie.
“Going into the club might not be a good idea,” Gus said. “I don’t know what their plan is but us strolling in there might put Ellie in jeopardy. It would probably be almost midnight before we got inside anyway.”
I nodded at a café nearby. “How about we sit there and have a few beers, just two guys kicking back. Keep our eyes open.”
Considering how packed and popular the area was, we had to wait ten minutes before one of the outdoor tables finally cleared, but when it did, it was worth it. The table was right along the edge, giving us a great view of the club’s line-up. We were far enough away that we would blur into the café crowd if anyone was looking at us, but close enough that I could spot Ellie or Javier if I had to.
As much as I wanted us to look like two guys kicking back, tourists having a nice night out in Veracruz, I was a nervous, anxious wreck. I couldn’t even drink because of the drugs so I had copious cups of strong coffee which really didn’t help. I sat there, my leg bouncing up and down, trying to converse with Gus, unable to tear my eyes away from the building.
I hadn’t seen her but every woman who reminded me of her made me jump out of my seat until Gus had to tell me to stop being such a heat score.
I switched the subject onto something else. Gus’s health problems.
“So what was wrong with you, Gus?” I asked him, the fingers on my good arm now tapping on the table as I scanned the crowds.
He didn’t say anything but I knew he heard me.
“First Lydia, then Dan. Both mentioned you had health problems or something for a while. Just curious as to what it was.”
When he still didn’t say anything, I tore my eyes away from the building and looked at him. He was staring off into the distance, looking utterly lost.
He sighed and looked down at his hands. “It’s personal, Camden. No offense.”
“I’m not offended,” I told him, turning my gaze back to the crowd. “But since we’ve been through a lot this past week, I figured I’d be privy to some personal things. You know everything about me. What happened with you? Why are you not matching up with the man that Ellie described to me?”
“People change.”
“Some people do. They usually have their reasons.”
He chugged his entire beer then slammed it down before motioning for the waiter to bring him another. “Ah hell.”
Once the waiter disappeared, he leaned back in his chair and said, “I had mental health problems, Camden. I sort of lost my mind for a while.”
He said this so casually that it took me a bit to realize the gravity of it all.
“For real?”
He smiled sadly. “Yes. For real.”
“What happened?”
“A girl broke my heart. Isn’t that always the way?”
I leaned in closer. “What girl?”
“Does it matter?”
I frowned. “What happened?”
His face twisted as he grappled with something inside. “It … it wasn’t meant to be. She was married to a good friend of mine. Once upon a time, she should have been married to me. I guess I got stupid, fell back in love with her. It didn’t go anywhere. She made it seem like it would, like it wouldn’t be just an affair but … anyway I believed her. She made a living out of lying and I should have known the difference. Played me for a fool, like she played everyone else.”
I cleared my throat. “Gus, don’t tell me this is a cautionary tale meant for me.”
&nb
sp; His eyes shot sideways to mine. “No, Camden. You asked. I’m telling you the truth what happened. But if you want to learn anything out of this it’s … don’t lose your head. Lose your heart but don’t fucking lose your head. You don’t know if you’ll get that back.”
“What would you do if you saw her again? The woman?”
“Oh, now it’s a cautionary tale.”
I shrugged, my eyes back to the line-up. Still no Ellie and it was getting late. “I’m just curious. I know what it was like for me when Ellie came back into my life. I suppose I kind of lost my head too. Fuck, I know I did. How else did I fucking end up here?”
“Touché,” Gus said raising his beer. I clinked my coffee cup against his. “What a couple of fucking headless chumps we are.”
I chuckled at that and drained the last bit of coffee into my mouth.
Then everything around me whirled to a halt.
Slow-motion.
Ellie, Ellie, Ellie.
There she was.
She was leaving the club and walking down the center of the plaza. She was alone. She was devastatingly beautiful, so much so that it was surreal to even be admiring her beauty in such a moment of complete shock.
There she was.
Her head was down, looking at the ground a few feet in front of her. She was walking fast, in a hurry, in a bright red dress that glowed on a night like tonight. It was cut all the way down to her stomach, showing off a new tan, attracting the blatant stares of every single man she walked past. Her black hair was done up in ringlets, like a film star, her makeup was seductive and smoky. I’d seen her dressed up to the nines in Las Vegas, but it was nothing like this. This was different – she looked different, walked different, was different. My heart clenched painfully as I was assaulted with things I had no time to think about.
“Gus,” I managed to say. I couldn’t look away.
“I see her,” he said. “She doesn’t see us”
“She doesn’t see anything.”
Suddenly Gus was getting up, pushing his chair back with a loud scrape and Ellie disappeared around a crowd of people. “We need to follow her. Now.”
He threw a handful of pesos down on the table and we quickly got onto the plaza. She was far in front of us, a quick red slash in the crowds of people. We tried to walk as fast as we could without looking like we were chasing someone, but after Gus had collided with the third gawking tourist, we knew it wouldn’t matter. Everyone was chasing someone in Mexico.
We started trotting as she disappeared around the corner. Where was she going? Why was she dressed like that and why was she alone?
Then I remembered what Felipe had said back in Ocean Springs. That they took her to see Travis. That they wanted her at first to kill her parents. Were the two connected?
Or …
“He’s using her as an assassin,” I said as we were about to round the corner.
Gus pulled back on my good shoulder when we reached the edge of the plaza. “Wait. We have to be careful.”
He poked his head around and then waved me over. I did the same. Ellie was walking down the street but cutting across it to an idling SUV. We walked quickly in the shadows, ducking between cars, trying to get close enough to see who was driving the beat-up looking Range Rover. We couldn’t see inside.
“Veracruz license plate, YBA something,” Gus said from beside me just as Ellie got inside.
I looked down. He had night vision goggles in his hands.
“Where the hell did you get that?” I asked.
“My pants,” he answered.
The car began to drive off with Ellie inside. I leaped out onto the street, contemplating running after the car, waving my arms, doing something.
“We’re not going to lose her,” Gus said. “Don’t worry.”
“Oh yeah, you want to run after the car?”
“I’d rather drive,” he said. He took out a screwdriver-looking thing from his pocket and jabbed it into the lock of the hatchback next to us. He busted open the lock with ease and motioned for me to get in the other side while he unlocked the door and got started on the wires beneath the steering wheel.
“I’m impressed,” I said.
“To know how to catch car thieves, you have to know how to steal a car,” he grunted. The car started with a roar as if to punctuate his sentence and we were bounding down the street, trying to catch up with the Range Rover that was now turning left onto a busy street.
We plowed through the lights as they went amber, under the early Christmas decoration wreaths hung above the intersections. The Range Rover was now two cars in front of us. Perfect stalking distance.
Gus navigated the stolen car through the Friday night traffic with ease. “We’ll return the car tomorrow.”
Energy and twisted excitement was flowing through me. “Gus, I don’t really care. I’ll do anything not to lose her, a car is nothing.”
“I can tell.”
We followed the Range Rover as it headed out of the city and onto the highway leading south to Alvarado.
“Did you hear what I said about Ellie … I think Javier’s using her as an assassin. Or at least some sort of attempt to get Travis, to kill him.”
He nodded. “I figured that.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” I pulled my eyes away from the Rover long enough to give him a betrayed look.
“Because you’d lose your nut, Camden. I know how much she means to you. Boy, do I ever.” He shook his head to himself.
“Javier is putting her in Travis’s lap.”
“I wouldn’t expect anything less from him.”
“Then why aren’t you upset?”
“Not everyone shows it like you. Just because I’m not setting people’s faces on fire, doesn’t mean I’m not upset.”
I couldn’t tell if that was a dig at what I did to his best friend or not, so I decided to let it go. We had bigger things to do than argue.
“Why is Ellie doing this? She was there. She was in his club, looking like … a goddess.”
“Because this is Travis. And Ellie has never forgotten what he did to her.”
“Her parents had a part in it too.”
His face grew grim. In the flash of headlights from oncoming traffic, his skin was completely white. “They did. And I’m sure that’s why Javier thought he could get Ellie to … well, whatever that cartel kid back in Mississippi told us.”
“I don’t understand.” I sat back in the seat, shaking my head. “I just don’t. Why doesn’t Javier kill these people himself? Why get her to do it?”
“Maybe he has his own agenda. Or maybe he thinks he’s doing her a favor. Maybe that’s why she was out there tonight. She agrees with him.”
“How could she agree to anything that man says?”
“I don’t think you really understand the history those two share.”
I felt like punching my fist through the window with my bad arm. Just to feel the pain.
“I need another pill,” I said, grinding my teeth instead.
“No, you don’t,” he said sharply. “We need you to be thinking straight right now. We need our Ellie back, you got it?”
Our Ellie. I liked the sound of that.
“I got it.”
We ended up following Ellie all the way into Alvarado. The town was quiet and our presence this late at night would be known so we had to take our time, hanging way back and occasionally turning off the headlights.
The Range Rover parked outside of a fish shop on the malecón, right on the edge of the sea. We parked up the street, watching Ellie’s and Javier’s silhouettes leave the car and go into the building. I didn’t need features to recognize the man. Sometimes a featureless black shape was all it took.
We decided to head to the beach and get a better look at the place from there. We edged silently along the malecón wall, the walkway between the sea and the beach, until we came across a concrete pier with a few fishing boats tied up. We jumped into one and crouched down
low, hiding behind smelly crab traps.
Gus had out the night vision goggles and was playing with them when a light went on in the upstairs of the fish market.
“Look,” I breathed out. A sliding glass door opened and Ellie stepped out onto the balcony, still in her dress. She closed the door halfway behind her and walked to the railing, leaning against it, staring out at the sea.
I snatched the goggles out of Gus’s hands to get a better look. She looked stunning even in greeny haze of the night vision. She still took my breath away, so much so I didn’t have space in my brain to ponder the big picture—where she was and who else she was with.
“She must be blackmailed somehow,” I whispered to Gus. “Otherwise she could jump down onto the sand and leave. She could run away. She’s good at that.”
“Give me those,” Gus said, taking the goggles out of my hands. He peered through them, twisting the knobs and we both crouched there among the crab traps, watching our dear Ellie staring off into the distance. I looked behind me to make sure I wasn’t missing something. The moon was obscured by heavy clouds in the distance, settling over the water like giant spaceships. She was staring at nothing or perhaps at everything. I wondered if she thought about me.
“She looks okay, though,” he said, in a bright tone that came across fake. “I mean, she doesn’t look traumatized. Or beaten. Just pensive.”
“How do people with Stockholm Syndrome look?”
He sucked his lip before saying, “They look a lot like her. Not usually as well dressed though.”
“Well I still think there has to be a reason why she’s there, why she’s doing this. It can’t be black and white.”
“For as long as I’ve known Ellie, she’s always been grey. No black, no white.”
We watched her for a few moments more. She hadn’t moved. I started thinking whether we should come back in the morning or just act now, waving underneath the balcony like a tattooed Romeo, when Javier’s silhouette appeared at the door.
I sucked in my breath, blackness poking at my insides.
The door slid open and Javier stepped out. He closed the door behind him and the two of them were lit only by the pale light from inside.
