by Angela Horn
Heidi rolled her eyes at his comment, causing Joaquin to smile.
“I’ve only been here a little over a month. The girls I was living with had been here longer and they’d never had any trouble before. Then yesterday, some men showed up and took us all by gunpoint and put us in a van. Maggie, the doctor, told us it was a mistake and we would be let go soon.”
“Did you believe her?”
“I don’t know. I just went with the flow. They then separated me from the others and put me in a cell away from them. I could hear my friends crying and talking to each other. I also heard the men say someone was coming for me. I didn’t know what to do.”
“How did you escape?”
Staring at her food, Heidi didn’t seem to hear him at first.
“Maybe you’re right about me. Maybe I am used to people taking care of me. My life has never been hard or scary, so maybe I’ve never noticed it before. I didn’t know what to do sitting in that cell alone. I didn’t plan on doing anything, to be honest.”
“But you did do something.”
“I just prayed. I sat there like a dummy and prayed and asked God to save me because I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t even know if I was supposed to do something or was I supposed to just go along to get along like I always do?”
“What did God tell you to do?”
Heidi thought he was making fun of her. Joaquin could see this from her expression, but he only waited for her to answer.
“These men were arguing and then they walked by my cell and started hitting one another. Not so much fighting, but bullying each other. One of the men dropped a key and it literally fell into my cell. I don’t know if he did it on purpose or if God did it? Since it happened, I couldn’t pretend it wasn’t a sign.”
“A key just fell into your cell and you did what next?”
“I waited until the men were away and I unlocked my cell. I tried to go towards my friends, but they were being guarded. I thought I could get away and send help. I still hope that.”
Joaquin’s face remained noncommittal on the issue. “Then what?”
“I got outside and realized I didn’t know where we were, but I started looking for a car. I found a few cars with keys in them, but they were blocked in by other cars. I kept looking until I found the one that broke down at the motel. As I drove away, the men started shooting at the car, but I don’t think they were aiming at me, just the car, you know? It broke down at the motel and you know the rest.”
“Where did you live before you came to Mexico? Texas?”
“No, California. My brother went to college in Texas. I stayed in Santa Cruz with my parents.”
“Are you a weak woman, Heidi?” Joaquin asked, holding her gaze.
“Define weak.”
“Do you give into your fear?”
Heidi nodded and her candor unnerved him.
“Why are you here really? Why come to Mexico to help the little brown children? Did your parents send you?”
“No. They help people by writing checks.”
“But you are better than that?”
“No, maybe not, but I needed something and God sent me here.”
“Only so you could get yourself taken by the cartel and then me.”
Heidi frowned at him. “You think you’re too good for this task from God, is that it?”
“I honestly feel I was mistaken to think this was a sign from God. You are just some clueless woman and I am even more clueless to think saving you will redeem me.”
“Can I leave then?”
“No, actually, you can’t.”
Heidi didn’t throw a fit, but he kept expecting her to. She had the face of a petulant child, but she just ignored him and ate her food. Joaquin tried to eat his meal too, but instead he just watched her. He also tried to talk himself out of doing anything more than dumping her off at the border.
“This is ridiculous. This,” he waved between them, “is the work of the devil, not God. Satan wants me to stick around and cause more harm. He sent you to convince me that God has some purpose for me. No, this is a trick and you are the bait. I was foolish to believe otherwise.”
“Now can I go?” Heidi said, wiping her mouth with the napkin.
No. Joaquin wouldn’t say it out loud, but he couldn’t let her walk away. Staring at her annoyed expression, he realized he felt good for the first time in as long as he could remember. He was alive and mildly enjoying his food and the atmosphere and the pretty woman glaring at him. It wasn’t much, but maybe he wasn’t ready to die. Without Heidi to protect and a mission from the Lord though, he had no reason not to turn the gun on himself.
“Let’s finish our fine dinner then you should get some rest.”
For the first time, Heidi looked truly sad, her green eyes moistening. She did not cry, but he knew she wanted to.
Joaquin waved the waiter over and inquired about desserts. Heidi just stared at the exit, still hoping she might run off and save the women she left behind.
“Eat your food,” he said when she ignored the newly arrived cake.
“Why should I eat like I’m celebrating when my friends might not eat at all?”
“Because if you don’t, I will be angry with you. Right now, my mild interest in your wellbeing is the only reason I haven’t left you for the cartel.”
Heidi picked up her fork and took a bite of the cake, all while holding his gaze. Something in those eyes bothered Joaquin, but not until she neared her last bite, could he figure out what it was that made him so uneasy.
Heidi still didn’t fear him. She took his words as a bluff and wasn’t impressed. She ate every bite of the cake, never letting go of his gaze. She wanted him to know she wasn’t afraid and that she wasn’t impressed and she wanted him to be bothered by it.
And he was.
Chapter Six
Sawyer’s Gun Shop was located on the outskirts of a small Nevada town, far from the prying eyes of humans. While the store actually sold guns, inviting humans and hunters alike with a sign promising “Guns, Guns, and More Guns,” it was mostly a safe house for hunters on the run.
Lila barely knew Sawyer or his wife Daisy. In her short time as a hunter though, she realized her own kind were the only ones she could rely on. Glancing over at Sophie, Lila figured she might eventually need to trust the newbie. That time hadn’t come yet.
The store was ugly, all gray blocks and brown bricks shaped in a big rectangle. Aesthetics were clearly not on Sawyer’s mind during the design phase. Safety wise, the place was a small fortress.
Behind the lump of a building, Sawyer built a large pen for his watcher dogs. A ten foot high chain link fence lined the pen, housing a dozen dogs on a little more than an acre. When Lila first pulled behind the building, the pen appeared empty. Moments later, the dogs charged the fences, eyeing her and Sophie warily.
Lila always hated dogs and felt no reason to alter that assessment based on these particular dogs’ feelings for her. Unlike their reaction to most hunters, the Dobermans whined at her. Some showed their fangs in disgust at her arrival. The dogs were less aggressive than irritated with her and the feeling was mutual. Curiously, the dogs disliked Sophie too.
“What’s with the dogs?” Sophie asked, stretching next to the car.
“They can spot villains. Keeping them around is the best security system out there because villains sometimes don’t appear on video.”
“How is that possible?”
“The same way your neighbors never heard me shooting up your apartment. It’s magic, Sophie.”
Lila couldn’t help smiling at the panic in Sophie’s eyes. The woman was truly clueless and hardly a hunter, but Lila assumed every big dog started out as a quivering little pup. Lila decided to give the newbie a break and play nice for a little bit longer. Though it was looking less likely that Sophie would be helpful in taking down a rogue big dog hunter like Joaquin.
It was also feeling less likely that Lila had lost her stalker Roman. The
itch was again working its way up her spine. Knowing he was in the vicinity, though not yet at the store, Lila figured her best plan was get inside and hope Sawyer knew what to do.
The sign in the front window said OPEN which was good news for Lila since the dogs were nearly howling now with agitation. Lila pushed Sophie inside and locked the door. Switching the sign from OPEN to CLOSED, she eyed the quiet road outside.
Behind her, Sophie made a little gasping noise and bumped into Lila. Turning around, Lila found Sawyer standing in his camouflage garb, complete with a shotgun in each arm. With his white blond hair and fair blue eyes, Sawyer always reminded Lila of a surfer. As he walked around a corner, he smiled at the women.
“Look who’s still alive and kicking?” Sawyer said. “I figured you were a goner, baby girl.”
“I’m not alone,” Lila said as the itch now tweaked her every nerve.
“Yes, I can see that. You’ve got a little friend.”
“Not her. Roman’s here.”
Sawyer twisted his lips in thought then shook his head. “Naw, I feel something strange, but I think it’s your friend’s weird vibe combined with your usual weird vibe. I don’t feel Roman.”
“Well I do.”
“And how exactly would you know how he feels?” Sawyer asked with that grumpy dad tone of his.
“He found me in LA and has been tracking me for days. I tried to lose him during the crash, but he picked up my trail again. He’s here. I can feel it.”
“And you didn’t mention this on the phone, why?”
“Because I didn’t need lectures from someone too far away to do anything to help me.”
Sawyer looked ready to give her one of his daddy lectures, but backed off and changed his tone.
“What do you think he wants?”
“I don’t know. He could have killed me plenty of times, but he just hovered out of sight. I never saw him, just felt that intense vibe you talked about.”
“He could be your mate,” Daisy suggested as the Asian beauty entered the store from a backroom.
Lila frowned and not only because Daisy and Sawyer were dressed in matching fatigues.
“I don’t have a mate and I don’t want one. Besides if he was my mate, why is he stalking me? No, he’s trouble. I say we arm up and kill him.”
“You ever fight a big dog hunter?” Sawyer asked. “Since you’re still breathing, I’m going to guess the answer is no.”
“What’s your plan? Let him come and take what he wants?”
“Or we could offer you up to him and see what happens?” Daisy suggested.
Lila only grinned. She knew after all these years of hiding out in the safe house Sawyer and Daisy were too soft to do what needed to be done. Whether it was selling out Lila or challenging a big dog hunter.
“I’ll go out and face him, if that’s what you want.”
Sawyer rolled his eyes. “Ladies, let’s not fight. We’ll just head down to the bunker and figure things out.”
The dogs erupted outside with a newfound fury, startling even Sawyer.
“And we ought to head down real swift-like too,” Sawyer said, waving for Lila and Sophie to follow Daisy.
While the women disappeared into a backroom, Sawyer locked up all of the windows and checked the front door. The four hunters were soon hurrying through a small hallway and down into a bunker.
A heavy metal door shut behind them and Lila heard Sawyer bolt it closed. Following Daisy, Lila eyed the wall of televisions, displaying the views from dozens of security cameras around the building.
Based on the cameras, the dogs’ hostilities were directed towards the surrounding woods. Bigger dogs climbed over smaller ones to get closer to the fence and their enemy. Even Lila had to admire their commitment to killing the bad guys.
“They didn’t act that way when Roman showed up,” Sawyer said. “They were more terrified than angry. I don’t know what you’re feeling, but I think we’ve got villains out there, not a big dog.”
“That’s still bad, right?” Sophie said, finally finding her voice.
“There are four of us, so we should be just fine,” Sawyer said, eyeing the cameras then Daisy. “Yeah, we’re probably talking about a pack of them.”
“Look at the dogs,” Daisy said. “Whatever is out there is making its move.”
The dogs bounced, slobbered, and roared at the woods. Lila glanced at Sophie who watched the monitors teetering on complete panic. Even in this fortress with armed killers, Sophie felt exposed. Her fear didn’t bode well for the battle ahead.
For a moment, even Lila was feeling insecure. She knew Roman was coming and whatever he wanted would finally come due. With soft hunters like Sawyer and Daisy and a newbie like Sophie, Lila was going to be on her own.
“I heard about a villain that drove a car bomb into a safe house in Georgia. Took out a few hunters,” Daisy announced.
“They can do that?” Sophie asked, giving into the panic.
“Not from the woods,” Lila said, standing up and approaching the blonde. “They’re going to go for the dogs. They figure we’ll come out to stop them and then they’ll ambush us. That or they have a human as bait.”
“This is madness,” Sophie said, twisting her fingers with fear.
“Just relax,” Lila said. “This isn’t our first day, okay? Watch and learn, newbie.”
Still twisting her fingers, Sophie quieted down. Daisy leaned over and whispered something to Sawyer who nodded. Watching the secretive couple, Lila wished she didn’t have Sophie to protect, so she could run outside and take on the villains by herself. Instead, she was forced to watch the monitors and take orders from Sawyer.
Lila’s anger at their whispering grew so all-encompassing that she didn’t notice the dogs’ changes in behavior. Only when Daisy pointed it out with an expression of confusion and maybe fear, did Lila realize the dogs had stopped barking.
“What the hell are they doing?” Sawyer said, leaning into the screen. “They look afraid now.”
To Lila, it felt as if a ball of ice had taken up residence in her stomach. The chill ran up her spine and she knew Roman had finally arrived.
“Do you feel it?” Sawyer said.
Daisy nodded. “It’s Roman.”
“Maybe the guy who came here isn’t really named Roman? Sophie and I are hunting a rogue big dog named Joaquin.”
“You two are going to kill a big dog rogue?” Sawyer asked with a snort. “Are you insane?”
Lila took a step towards Sawyer, almost itching for a fight. “It’s my mission. I can’t tell God no, just because you think I’m too green for the job.”
“If he’s rogue, why hasn’t he killed you?”
“Who cares? My guy is Latin, Columbian, I think. What about Roman?”
“If you wanna know what Roman looks like then check out the cameras because he’s standing at the front counter,” Daisy whispered, pointing at the screen with a view of the store.
“How did he get in?” Sawyer asked.
Lila studied the screen with a tinge of disappointment. This man, the one chasing her for days, wasn’t Joaquin. Even so, she grabbed her gun and moved towards the door.
“It’s not Joaquin, but I still say we kill him, just to be safe.”
“Wait,” Sawyer said, grabbing her arm. “You stay here and I’ll go talk to him. Let’s see what he wants.”
“Why?”
“He might not be rogue.”
“He’s been stalking me for days. That isn’t the behavior of a hunter we need to be having a conversation with.”
“Maybe, but if he wanted to start trouble there are easier ways than standing at the counter, waiting to be served. Stay back here and watch. Daisy, you come with me.”
Lila watched them go, fuming at being told to play the victim while they took on the bad guy. Glancing back at Sophie, she found the blonde watching her.
“Maybe we should leave?” Sophie said.
“We need info on Joaquin and
Sawyer can get it.”
“Then we leave.”
“What’s your hurry? We’re safer here than out there.”
“Yeah, but they’re making you cranky.”
Lila rolled her eyes then looked at the cameras. Sawyer hadn’t appeared in the store yet, so Roman stood patiently like a customer with nowhere to go. Sitting down in front of the monitors, Lila studied the man closely, hoping to recognize him.
“He doesn’t look scary,” Sophie said. “He’s handsome too.”
“All hunters are beautiful. Any of us could turn on our own kind and betray God though. Maybe that’s what he’s after?”
Sophie moved closer to the TV screen then shook her head. “I don’t think so.”
Lila eyed the man on the screen as Sawyer entered the store from a backdoor.
“Me either,” Lila said as the annoyingly chilly itch turned warm and inviting.
Lila played with the monitors until she found the volume. Turning it up, she could hear the unflappable Sawyer sounding pretty nervous.
“You’re back,” Sawyer said, fiddling with the gun strapped to his back.
“I know Lila is here and I would like to speak with her.”
“I’m not saying she is or isn’t here, but what do you want with her?”
Roman stepped away from the counter. Sighing, he pulled at his black collared shirt then stepped back towards Sawyer.
“I knew her long ago and I need her help.”
“Kinda vague there,” Sawyer said, still touching his gun for reassurance. “The thing is I talked to Lila and she swore she didn’t know you. I don’t know where she is right now, but I’d suggest you didn’t go looking for her. She didn’t seem keen on meeting you.”
Roman nodded with a slight smile. “I appreciate your efforts to protect her, but I know she’s here. I just want to talk with her.”
“Look, just tell me what you want her to know. When I hear from her again, I’ll send the message along. Hey, leave a number and she can call you.”
Roman sighed loudly and Sawyer’s hand tightened around his weapon.
“Fine, I’ll play along,” he said, glancing up at the camera then back at Sawyer. “I need Lila’s help locating Micah. You know about Micah, right?”
