by J Q Anderson
That night I dreamt of green snake eyes that watched me from the shadows as I ran for my life through a black forest. I woke up sore and exhausted, the sensation of the foliage scraping my face and legs still fresh on my skin.
I woke up at dawn, restless. In the living room, Nata sat on the couch, sipping her coffee. I poured myself a cup and plopped beside her.
“How was the dinner?” I asked.
“Long. Too much champagne. But it was nice to have a drink, finally.”
“Why are you up?” I took a long sip of coffee to clear the fog in my head.
“I don’t know…stuff. So, Satan’s sister came to see you last night, huh?”
I glanced at her, suddenly awake.
“Alexei saw you two talking,” she explained. “What did she want?”
“Nothing, that chick is mental. And I think she was high.”
“And, naturally, she came to see you dance.” She cocked an eyebrow. Did anything ever escape her?
“I don’t know, she just came, all right?”
“You suck at lying. It’s that bad?”
“She…I don’t know.” I sighed heavily. “She had some bullshit story about someone blackmailing her. But I don’t believe anything she says.”
“Why would she tell you that?”
“Nata…she’s a lying bitch, okay?”
Nata gave me a scrutinizing look as she sipped her coffee. “Julián is being an asshole again. Does her impromptu visit have anything to do with that?”
“Why? What happened?”
“He’s only allowing us to bring shipments through one border. It makes it very difficult for us to import high volumes because they have a cap on what they allow in at once.”
“When did this happen?”
She shrugged. “A couple of weeks ago.”
“You didn’t say anything.”
“I didn’t want to get you involved again.”
“Crap, I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. It’s how they are.”
Shit. Shit.
“It will be nice to get away from all this for a few weeks. Pappa is so worried we’ll go bankrupt. I haven’t seen him like this since we left Russia.”
A silent moment passed while we sipped our coffees and my brain worked overtime.
“Mercedes…wanted a favor.” I looked up at her. “From your family, actually.”
Nata put down her coffee and straightened up, giving me her full attention as I told her Mercedes’s plan. She then reached for her phone.
“What are you doing?”
“Sergei needs to hear this. Keep going.” She gestured quickly with her hand.
Ten minutes later, Sergei’s trademark knock sounded on the door and he let himself in.
“So, what do those fuckers want now, ah?”
“Sergei, calm down,” Nata scolded him. “Let’s just listen. Camila’s only delivering a message. She doesn’t need to be mixed up with them anymore.”
Sergei looked at me suspiciously. “Right. Get on with it, then.”
I repeated Mercedes’s plan while Sergei listened skeptically. Mercedes would meet with García the next day, and the Russians were supposed to show up minutes after. The idea was that, when García saw the Russian clan backing Mercedes and her family, not only would he forget his threats to release any information to Ivanov, but the new alliance between the Palacioses and the Russians would be enough to get Julián to redistribute the Garcias’ territories at the docks.
When I finished laying it all out, Nata and Sergei stayed quiet in thought.
“Do you think it’s a trap?” Nata asked him.
He sighed. “Could be, though I don’t see the point. The De la Viñas profit from our business, and they know García pushes drugs. Besides, if they wanted us out, they could just cut us off like they did before. They don’t need all this charade.”
“Wait,” I said. “You’re not seriously considering this, are you?”
Sergei smirked.
“What if they’re only using us to get rid of García?” Nata said.
“It’s possible.” Sergei nodded in thought. “Camila, do you think the girl was telling you the truth?”
“I don’t know. I don’t really know Mercedes, but I don’t trust her.”
“What is this information that García has on those two that would interest Ivanov?”
I hesitated for a moment. “She said it implicates Sebastián and Julián with some missing girls. But like I said, I don’t know if she’s telling the truth.”
Sergei’s eyes widened. “It was them? Palacios and De la Viña ambushed Ivanov’s ship? Fuck me, that family never stops surprising me.”
“You guys don’t have to get in the middle of all this. You have no obligation to do anything.”
“Camila,” Nata said. “Those girls were trafficked, abused, beaten. And they were Russian. If it was Sebastián and Julián who saved them, Pappa will want to do this.”
“There’s no way to know,” I said. “Mercedes could be lying. Sergei?”
Sergei paced around the room, his head down in thought. Guilt filled me. I didn’t want any harm to come to the Zchestakovas, and things seemed to have gone south for them since I became involved with Sebastián.
“Don’t worry,” Nata said, reading my thoughts. “We were doing business with the Palacios and the De la Viña families long before you came along. This has nothing to do with you. We can say no.”
“If we say no,” Sergei said, “and Don Martín’s son or his right hand, Julián, end up in Ivanov’s hands, he will come after us for not helping. But if we do this and it goes well, we can get rid of García for good. He’s a fucking traitor and our biggest barrier against expanding. We could more than triple our business. I’d love to see that fucker gone.”
“Sergei, they’re talking about murder. They can’t ask you to do that,” I said. My mouth was dry. How had I ended up in the middle of this?
Sergei waved his hand dismissively. “It shouldn’t come to that. García’s not stupid. Besides, if we side with De la Viña on this, we’ll eventually gain the support of the other families, and Don Martín’s. This could work out well for us.”
“This is crazy,” I said.
Sergei shook his head. “No. The De la Viña girl is right. This opportunity won’t come to us again. I want García’s head. We’ll do it.”
Chapter 40
I reluctantly gave Mercedes’s contact information to Sergei. I was technically done with it, though I worried about the Zchestakovas and was anxious to know the outcome of this ridiculous plan Mercedes had weaved. Their business was suffering, but Mercedes’s offer could mean their total downfall.
Sergei summoned his father’s best men and arranged to show up at Mercedes’s meeting with García the next day at noon. It would be Monday, so Nata and I would be at work and away from our phones until the break, and that had my skin on edge.
The next morning advanced at a snail’s pace. Nata and I kept checking the wall clock and exchanging fretful looks. At lunch, we frantically checked our phones, but there were no messages. We sat at the back of the studio, picking at our sandwiches and not eating. It was 12:15 p.m. and we had still heard nothing. Nata checked her phone for the millionth time.
“I can’t stand it,” she said, and tossed her uneaten sandwich back onto the wrapper, wiping the crumbs off her hands. “They could all be dead by now.”
“Nata! Don’t say that. Sergei’s smart, smarter than all of them. It’s all going to go well. He’s got Alexei with him, and your dad’s most trusted men.” I gripped her hand. Tears welled in her eyes and she let out a sob. I pulled her into a hug and squeezed her tight, fighting my own tears as I said a silent prayer for the Zchestakova clan and Alexei. “It’s going to be okay,” I whispered. “You’ll see.”
And I hoped I was right.
A torturous hour went by, two rehearsals in which neither Nata nor I was able to focus. When I came back from the bathroom Mada
me had pulled Nata aside, and judging by their body language, she was giving it to her. Nata listened with her hands wrapped around her waist and her head down. It was the first time Madame had reprimanded her. I had never seen my friend so out of sorts, and my heart ached for her.
As soon as they were done, Madame strode purposely to me. Shit.
“What is the matter today? We are leaving for New York in two days. Two days, and both my primas are on a mental vacation.”
“I’m sorry, Madame. Some family matters. We’ll sort it out.”
She shook her head. “You should know that I warned Federico early on that you weren’t ready for this. Don’t prove me right.” She clutched her clipboard and stormed off. What? Shit! I knew Madame was skeptical of my talent, but I certainly did not need her to spell it out for me. In the back of my mind, the bomb ticked faster on my role as Aurora.
I pushed the anxiety away and stepped out to look for Nata and see if she had news. She was leaning against the hallway wall, her hands wrapped around her stomach as she bent forward, breathing hard.
“Nata.”
She suddenly raised her head and clutched me in a death grip, her slender frame trembling.
“What happened?” I pulled away, searching her eyes.
She shook her head. “I don’t know exactly. García panicked when he saw Sergei and Alexei with all the others. He tried to run, I think, I don’t know...”
“And?”
“He shot Alexei, and Sergei.”
I felt the blood drain from my face. “Oh my God. Are they…”
“No, not dead. But Alexei’s in critical condition.”
“And Sergei?”
Nata shook with a sob. “He was shot in the shoulder twice and the leg. Shit, Cami.” She pulled me to her and gripped me tight again. “If something happens to either one of them…Alexei’s like my brother too.”
“I’m so sorry. Do you want to go to the hospital? I’ll come with you.”
She shook her head. “Alexei’s in surgery, and they said Sergei can’t get visitors yet. Pappa wants me to stay here until he makes sure it’s safe for me to come to the hospital. He’ll call as soon as he can.”
I nodded. Once again, her strength blew me away. Dread and guilt filled me, and I cursed myself for getting them implicated.
“This will never be over, will it?” I said to no one.
“At least García’s dead. One of Pappa’s men got him. That fucker.”
I hugged her tight. Somebody had just been killed and I had been the one to summon the killers there. Sergei was badly wounded; Alexei’s life was in danger. It was all my fault.
More than ever, I needed to get away.
Chapter 41
“Del Plata Airlines announces their flight 754 to New York City will board shortly. We will make another announcement as soon as we’re ready to begin boarding.”
I exchanged a look of disappointment with Nata as we browsed the gift shop for snacks. The company hadn’t been able to get everyone in our group to fly together. Nata and I were on the first flight with a small group that would’ve been perfect if it hadn’t included Verónica. Marcos was on another flight with the rest of the dancers. It had only been two days since the incident with the Russians, and the instant we found out that Sergei would recover and Alexei’s life was out of danger, we packed our bags.
“Ignore Verónica,” said Nata, trying on vintage sunglasses that made her look like Audrey Hepburn. “Nothing will spoil this for us.”
“Yeah. You should get those.” I nodded. “Chips or cashews?” I lifted both bags.
“Neither. They give you nuts on the plane, and I don’t want the salt. It will make us bloated.”
“You’re so much fun sometimes,” I muttered, sliding the packages back on the hook as they announced our flight would start boarding. “Let’s go.”
Thirty minutes later, we pushed our way down the narrow aisles to our seats in the back of the plane. Our boarding passes said we were sitting together, but as I followed the seat numbers, I realized we were in the middle section. Crap. Behind me, Nata inched forward, dragging her bursting carry-on.
Once we found our seats, we stuffed our bags into the overhead bins. Verónica appeared, hauling a pink hard-shell carry-on. She stopped next to Nata, arching an eyebrow.
“You’re joking, right?” I scowled.
“I’m as excited as you are about this,” she said, forcing her luggage into the bin.
I groaned out loud as we both stood to let her through. Shit. Ten goddamn hours sitting next to Verónica was a curve ball I hadn’t seen coming. The familiar scent of her perfume announced a very long flight.
I did my best to ignore Verónica while the last of the passengers slowly filled the rows. A heavy lady with an equally giant handbag wobbled through, hitting people on the shoulder as she passed. We were turning our phones off when Nata’s rang with a call from Sergei. She plugged her other ear with her finger to block the noise as she listened, her face scrunching in disbelief as she muttered something in Russian.
The plane was almost full when a flight attendant in an immaculate uniform and perfect makeup approached. She was young, and much prettier than the others.
“Miss Navarro? Miss Zches…” She frowned at the sheet of paper.
“Zchestakova,” Nata corrected, angling the phone away from her mouth.
“Oh.” She smiled, relieved, showcasing perfect teeth. “Your seat assignments have changed. Follow me please. You two are in first class.”
“Why?” I blurted. Nata elbowed me as she told Sergei she would call him as soon as we landed.
We stood and quickly retrieved our bags. I glanced at Verónica, who had turned an ill green.
“Later.” I winked.
The attendant led us back up the aisle to the first-class cabin, a small section with those individual thingies that look like mini-apartments. Holy shit. My heart pumped hard, and I turned to Nata who looked as stunned as I was.
“These are your seats,” the attendant gestured. “Alicia will be back with champagne. Mr. Julián de la Viña wishes you a pleasant flight.”
“Excuse me?” I frowned.
“Mr. De la Viña arranged for this last-minute change for you two. A token of his gratitude. That’s all I know.” She grinned her perfect smile and turned away.
“Julián?” I whispered at Nata. Dread churned deep in my stomach.
“Yeah. That was Sergei calling. He said Julián didn’t know a thing about Mercedes being blackmailed. And get this: García was blackmailing her about stuff he had on her, not Julián or Sebastián. The little bitch lied to us.”
“What?”
“Yeah, can you imagine? That chick has some balls for doing all this behind Julián’s back. He and Sebastián didn’t find out till it was all over. Man,” she said, chuckling humorlessly, “I wish I could’ve been a fly on the wall in that conversation.” She slid her carry-on into the much bigger overhead bin. “Either way, García’s out of the picture, and Mercedes wasn’t lying when she said Julián would give my family the green light to move into those territories. Though he wasn’t happy to learn García tried blackmailing his little evil twin sister.”
“So, what. Julián’s paying us off? I don’t want to sit here. I’d rather sit next to Verónica than accept favors from Julián.”
“No,” she said, stopping me. “We’re staying. Those fuckers can go to hell. I’m taking their money and everything I can from them. Alexei almost died over this. We’re staying here. Fuck’em, Cams.”
Yeah, fuck’em. I scowled, plopping into the ample leather seat and caressing the armrests. “So, this is how the other half lives, huh?”
“More like the one percent. These seats cost seventeen thousand dollars each.”
“Shut up.”
“I’m serious,” she said, taking a champagne flute from a tray that our assigned flight attendant, Alicia, extended. She handed me one, and we toasted to a kick-ass trip.
I had always dreamt of flying international in first class, but it was even better than I had imagined: champagne, fancy cheeses and snacks, filet mignon for dinner matched with a label wine. But I still couldn’t help feeling dirty for taking Julián’s charity. By now, Sebastián surely knew about Mercedes’s meeting and the Russians’ involvement. What did he think? Did he know I had been the messenger and the one who’d led the Russians to the lion’s mouth? My heart constricted. I missed him.
I tossed and turned in the plush bed seat. In two days, I would be performing as a principal for the first time. At Lincoln Center. But all the champagne and luxury that first class had to offer couldn’t soothe my nerves. As I stared out the window with my sound-canceling headphones and a chocolate dessert served on real china, I couldn’t help thinking that, with every passing second, I was farther and farther away from Sebastián.
Chapter 42
I opened the window shade as the plane began its descent, and my breath caught. Nata stretched in her seat; I gestured for her to move over to my compartment to get a glimpse.
“That’s beautiful.” Her tone was charged with excitement.
“It is,” I murmured, pressing my forehead to the cool panel while I stared at Manhattan’s jagged skyline. Pink sunlight stretched behind the tiny buildings below, announcing a sunny day. I smiled when I spotted the Empire State Building splintering from between skyscrapers. In the distance, the Statue of Liberty glinted in the morning sun. A chill ran through me. God, I was really here. It was even more beautiful than in my dream.
We took a cab to our hotel located a couple of blocks away from the Lincoln Center. The concierge stored our luggage, and we went for coffee and a short walk until check-in time.
When we finally got our keys, Nata and I went to our shared room to get settled and crash for a quick nap. Marcos knocked on our door an hour later.
