by M. S. Parker
“Much better than the motel,” I said, again able to stick with the truth.
“There is only one bedroom,” he said, color rising in his cheeks. “I will sleep on the couch out here. You can use the bed.”
I got the impression that he was waiting for me to offer to share, but I wasn’t going there, not unless absolutely necessary. Considering the short amount of time we’d known each other, I figured I could use that as an excuse to keep physical things moving at a snail’s pace.
“Would you like something to eat?” he asked. “The kitchen is small, but I stocked it well when I was here last.”
I gave him what I hoped was an embarrassed smile. “I’d really like to use the bathroom.”
His eyes narrowed. “The window in the bathroom is too small, even for you.”
“I just need to pee.” I made a show of looking hurt. “Seriously. I haven’t used a bathroom since this morning, and I’m about ready to burst.”
Embarrassment flooded his face, and he pointed at the short hallway. For a healthcare professional, he was oddly discomfited about bodily functions. “Go, but hurry. If I suspect you are trying to find a way out, I will not be happy.”
I nodded understanding and hurried in the direction he’d indicated. I hadn’t been lying about needing a bathroom. Having some alone time to think would be a bonus.
I emerged from the bathroom five minutes later, feeling better for the extra time I took to wash my face. One look at the tiny bathroom had been enough to confirm that what Luis had told me was true. I’d never fit through the bathroom window, even if I could get it open. I’d run my hand along the edges to see if I’d be able to get it open quietly enough for Luis not to hear and use that to slip out a note. When I found it sealed tight, I hadn’t been too disappointed though. Even if I was able to go through all the necessary steps to sneak out a note, the chances of someone actually finding it and doing something about the message were microscopic.
“Thank you,” I said. “I feel better now.”
“What would you like to eat?” He seemed mollified now that I was speaking politely and showing the proper amount of gratitude.
“Anything is fine,” I said. “Whatever you would like.”
I followed him to the kitchen, determined to use the time he was cooking to get some answers. Well, that and make sure he didn’t slip anything into my food. I was hungry, and I wasn’t a picky eater. I didn’t want to have to worry that I couldn’t eat a full meal because of what might be in it. I needed to be both at full strength and have all my wits if I was going to get myself out of this situation.
“Thank you for cooking,” I said as I leaned against the counter. I wanted him to see that I wasn’t going to run the first time I had an opportunity. And that I wasn’t going to grab the first weapon I saw and use it on him.
“You are welcome,” he said as he set out beans and rice, as well as various seasonings. “Have you had gallo pinto?”
I nodded. “A couple times. I like it.”
It was easier to smile at him this time because I did genuinely like the dish, and I was grateful that he planned on feeding me. It supported my suspicion that he didn’t want me to be his captive but rather his girlfriend.
“This is my grandmother’s recipe,” he offered shyly. “It is special.”
“Then thank you all the more.” I watched him for a moment, wondering if things would have been different between us if my cover story for coming to Costa Rica had been the reality. Then again, if I’d really been here to write an article on Costa Rica as a vacation spot, I doubted I would have met him at all.
“I will call the hospital in the morning.” His switch to Spanish forced me to pay closer attention. “I am hopeful that I will be able to begin working again soon. I will also ask after the woman who owns this house. If we care for it while we’re here, she won’t mind us staying.”
“How long do you think we’ll be here?” I made the transition to Spanish as well. It was amazing how quickly the language had come back to me.
He glanced at me, suspicion in his eyes. “Until it is safe for us to go back to my apartment.”
“Do you think the cartel will ever let you go home?” I asked. Brianne and Clay were more of a danger to Luis than the cartel, but I wasn’t going to bring that up. I needed to find out exactly what he’d done with Sylvia, but I didn’t want to ask outright.
“They will,” he said. “If they don’t hold to their promises, no one will believe anything they say. Strange as it may seem, they rely on the reputation of their honor. If people don’t believe that they will earn something for anything offered, they will provide their services to the cartel’s enemies.”
I was having a difficult time believing that a drug cartel who shot two members of a Red Care group and dropped their bodies off like two sacks of garbage, had anything close to honor, but when it came to choosing my battles, this was one that didn’t matter much.
“If there had been another way for me to secure our safety, I would have done it,” he said quietly. “I know you care for your sister, but they would not have stopped until they had her. They would use you, or anyone else they could find, to bring her to them. As long as Brianne cooperates, Sylvia will be safe.”
But Bri wouldn’t. He didn’t have the balls to say that part. Instead of helping all of us get back to America – which I refused to believe wasn’t possible – he’d chosen to ‘make sure I was safe’ through sacrifice. Not a sacrifice of something or someone he loved though. And no matter what he said, I didn’t believe for a minute that him getting back to his apartment wasn’t a factor in his decision-making too.
“You know, it looked like they were leaving when they…took Sylvia.” My word choice almost choked me, but I managed to keep going with barely a pause. “How will Brianne know where to go if they moved?”
“They didn’t go far,” he said as he stirred the contents of his pan. “When they’re ready, they will find her.”
That wasn’t ominous at all.
“They have someone watching Bri?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know their methods.”
As much as I hated to admit it, I wasn’t so sure that was the truth. He had been able to get in touch with the men who’d been shooting at us and talk to them without getting killed. Maybe that could be explained away, but I hadn’t gotten a job at the New York Times when print papers were becoming an endangered species simply because I was pretty to look at.
I was a damn good reporter, and if I’d been interviewing Luis, I’d immediately be digging deeper into his past. And when I did, I’d almost certainly find out that he was lying.
I’d planned on spending at least a full day convincing Luis that he could trust me to move around the house on my own. Another day or so before he’d leave the house without taking me with him.
Now, it was just before midnight, he was asleep on the couch, a pair of earbuds in, their cord connecting to the smartphone in his pocket. I wasn’t sure if I was pleased or insulted by the fact that he seemed to think so little of my escape abilities that he could actually sleep with music playing.
At first, I’d thought he was faking it, but after going through a half dozen rigorous tests – all of which consisted of me standing behind him and making random noises – I was confident he really couldn’t hear me.
I was tempted to run out of the house right then, but I made myself slow down and take stock of what I had, what I’d need, and where I would go once I left the house. I needed to make those decisions now so that I wouldn’t be trying to make them on the fly.
When I finally disengaged the locks and opened the front door a quarter of an hour later, I half-expected some unseen alarm to go off or Luis to jump off the couch, exclaiming that he’d caught me. Except none of that happened.
I didn’t let myself dwell on that though. I had people to save.
Twenty-Seven
Clay
This was stupid.
I d
idn’t know what had possessed Brianne and me to decide the best way to find Tess and Luis would be for one of us to stay at Sylvia’s house in case Tess – or Sylvia – returned there. Neither of us admitted that it was also in case the cartel came looking for us. We didn’t want to hide from them anymore, and if they hurt either woman, they’d be in a hell of a lot more trouble than they could ever imagine.
Even as I made my way back to Sylvia’s house, all these thoughts were racing around in my head, telling me all the ways this could go wrong, but I was still scanning the sidewalks for Tess. Yes, I wanted us to find Sylvia safe and sound, but it was Tess consuming my thoughts.
It couldn’t happen again. Seeing her on that plane, then finding her at that accident site, had made me feel whole again in a way I’d never expected. Since she’d been missing…I couldn’t find the words to describe what it had been like in these few short hours.
The first time I’d lost her, there hadn’t been anything I could do. I’d been a teenager without any way to track a fifteen-year-old who’d moved away with her mother and sister. The second time, when she’d been in the accident, I’d made a vow that I wouldn’t leave Costa Rica without her.
That vow still held.
If I had to get a job here so I could stay in the country, I’d damn well do it. When we left here, it’d be together, or not at all.
“Clay!”
For one terrifying moment, I thought I’d lost it, that I was so desperate to find Tess that I was hearing her voice. Then I heard footsteps and turned just in time to open my arms and catch her as she leaped into them.
“Tess!” I crushed her to me, burying my face in her neck as I breathed in the scent of her. She didn’t have the same soap she’d come here with, but that didn’t matter. She still smelled like her.
We both started talking at the same time.
“I’m so sorry. I didn’t know that going with him…I’m so sorry.”
“It’s okay. You’re safe now. I’ll take care of everything.”
It was another voice, however, that startled us enough for me to put Tess on her feet.
“Fuck, Tess! You scared the shit out of me!”
Brianne grabbed her sister in the biggest display of emotion I’d ever seen from the elder Gardener sister. Judging by the shocked look on Tess’s face, she was as surprised as I was.
“We need to get inside,” Tess said, looking around to scan the immediate vicinity. “You need to know what happened, and quickly. Sylvia’s in danger.”
And that was the end of the hugging.
I locked the door while Tess took a seat and Brianne went to get something for us all to drink. Once we were settled, Tess quickly explained what had happened, each word making my hands curl into tighter and tighter fists.
“Where did he take you?” I asked the moment Tess paused to take a breath. “Where is that bastard? I’m going to beat the shit out of him.”
“We need to focus,” Tess said, putting her hand on my arm. “Sylvia needs us to find her more than you need to beat up Luis.”
I wasn’t so sure about that, but I knew I wouldn’t win an argument for a change of priority. Besides, my brain knew that Sylvia was more important than my need to avenge Tess.
“We know the two of you were split up,” Brianne said, “and that Sylvia was put into a black van, then taken north.”
“Luis said he’d made arrangements for our safety, and I’d thought he meant for all of us, but he’d meant for him and me. He traded Sylvia to the cartel for a pass.”
“What are they going to do with her?” Bri asked, her features clouded with concern.
“Use her as bait,” Tess said grimly. “You must’ve really pissed them off when you fought back, Bri, because that’s why they’re coming after us so hard.”
I frowned. Why Brianne? Sure, she’d resisted them, but if that had been enough of a problem for them to come after all of us, why hadn’t they just shot her in the first place? I was glad they hadn’t, even if she wasn’t too pleased with me at the moment, but they’d killed two people before we’d even given them a ransom. Why hadn’t she been one of them? Could those two bodies have given them more trouble than Bri? Somehow, I doubted that very much.
“Then it’s a simple solution,” Brianne said. “I make the trade, and once Sylvia’s safe, the two of you go back home and let me take care of myself.”
“No way in hell is that happening,” Tess said vehemently. “The three of us will get Sylvia back, and we’ll do it without sacrificing you.”
“Three of us against a drug cartel?” Brianne raised an eyebrow.
“Are you forgetting that Clay and I got you and your group out safely?”
“They’ll be looking for us to come after Sylvia,” Brianne pointed out.
“Then I guess we’ll have to think outside the box,” Tess countered. “Come up with a plan they wouldn’t see coming.”
“Maybe we should get Luis,” I suggested. “Force him to help us since he obviously knows the people involved.”
Tess pointed at me. “Leave him out of this. We go in ourselves, get Sylvia, get home. After that, if you want to report Luis to the local authorities for kidnapping or whatever, I won’t argue, but right now, we have more important things to focus on.”
Even though I technically agreed with her, I couldn’t help but wonder if she had an ulterior motive for wanting me to leave Luis alone. Was it possible that she actually had feelings for him? He had rescued her from the car accident and cared for her during the two weeks she’d been unconscious. Some form of Stockholm Syndrome, maybe. Or maybe she’d simply gotten tired of me and wanted someone more exciting.
Women married criminals all the time. Hell, there were men on death row who’d gotten married after they’d been convicted. I hoped Tess had better sense than that, but who really ever knew what was in another person’s mind or heart?
Twenty-Eight
Tess
It was nearly two in the morning by the time we figured out where the cartel was holding Sylvia. Luis had told me it wasn’t far from the place they’d been before, and the little girl who’d talked to Clay and Brianne earlier had told us the direction the van had gone. From there, we made our way down the street, looking for any sign that would tell us which house the cartel was now using.
At first, I wasn’t sure exactly what we were looking for, but then Brianne mentioned the van I told her I’d seen. The cartel had no reason to think that I’d be back with my sister and Clay since Luis had made it clear to them that he wanted me. We were hoping that meant they’d have the van right in front of the new place.
If we weren’t able to find one, however, we would need another way to find them. Clay would most likely want to find Luis and use the excuse of getting information out of him to take out his anger. Brianne would probably go along with it because the only other option would be to wait until the cartel contacted her to arrange a trade. She was willing to do it, but she knew neither Clay nor I would go along with it.
I didn’t like either scenario, which was why I kept looking for the van even though we’d been walking for blocks. The muscles in my legs burned, but I forced myself to go one more step, then another. At some point, I wouldn’t be able to go on, and then I’d need to decide how much I still felt like I needed to protect Luis from Clay.
Or maybe, I considered, I was actually protecting Clay from himself. If he beat up Luis, he’d probably feel better for a bit. Hell, I’d probably feel better if I threw a punch or two myself. Later, however, Clay would regret it. He was a good man, a better one than I had given him credit for in the past, and he would hate himself if he purposefully sought out someone for vengeance.
“Tess, we need to stop,” Clay said as he fell in step next to me. “You’re dead on your feet.”
“Would you stop if I was the one being held by the cartel?” The question slipped out before I could stop it. I wasn’t sure I wanted to know the answer, but I waited for it anyway.
No hesitation and way more intensity than I’d expected.
A shiver went down my spine, and it had nothing to do with the chill in the air. This entire trip had been such a rollercoaster of emotions, it was difficult to know how things would go when we left the country. I’d barely had any time to even think about it beyond those few precious moments before exhaustion took over.
I moved another couple feet along the sidewalk, then stopped dead. I backed up as Clay kept going. By the time he realized I wasn’t next to him, I’d caught up to him and grabbed his hand.
“What’s wrong?” He tried to slow us down, but I pulled him after me.
“Not here,” I said quietly. “If we lurk, they’ll notice us.”
His fingers tightened around mine, but that was the only physical proof that he’d heard me. We kept going to the corner and only then stopped. I glanced across the street and saw that Brianne had stopped as well. I motioned her across the street, and when she reached us, I shared what I’d seen.
“The van.” I looked down the street and didn’t see anything suspicious. “Five houses back. The van in the driveway is the one I saw at the other house.”
“Are you sure?” Brianne asked. “Pretty much any dark van would look black at this time of night.”
“How many other vans have you seen?” I asked, trying not to show my impatience. “Trust me, Bri. That’s the place.”
“What if they moved her?” Brianne asked. Her skin was pale, and she twisted her fingers together, more agitated than I’d seen her since before we’d moved to Arizona. “This is my fault. I’m the one who got her involved in this. She never would’ve been in danger if I’d left her alone.”
