“Guillermo’s guys?”he whispered, his lips barely moving.
“Can’t tell. Might be independents, but I doubt it. It’s like they knew we were coming,” she replied.
No words were spoken, but the raised guns spoke a language all their own. Rough hands ripped the backpacks from their shoulders, and hands groped her, as well as her pockets, as they searched for weapons. Everything they had on them was confiscated.
Satisfied they had nothing on them capable of hurting their captors, the men roughly turned them around and marched back to the village. Upon arrival, the two women stood in the same spot as before, their looks still hostile, yet satisfied they’d been captured. The children didn’t stop whatever game they were playing, but the dog once again let its displeasure at their presence be known.
The muzzle of a rifle prodded her between the shoulder blades, directing her into one of the dwellings in the center, if you could call it that, of the village. The choice was purposeful.It had no windows, the floor was dirt, and it was stiflingly hot. Positioned where it was, there would be no easy way to break down the door and flee, and she doubted they could tunnel out under the wall and slip into the jungle during the night. It would take too long.
Once they were both inside, the door shut, and they heard the distinct sound of a padlock being engaged.
“They were watching for us.”
“Yep.” She leaned against the wall perpendicular to the door and slid to the ground. This way, when it opened, she’d be behind it. Any second of invisibility might matter.
He sat next to her on the outside, as if he might be one more barricade between her and whatever came through the door. When he spoke, it was so quiet she barely heard him. “Do you think we should activate one of my trackers? I know we still have another day of life on yours, but do you think activating it might signal we’re in trouble?”
“Not yet. Demon and Steel are hopefully close behind. Two trackers running while we’re together won’t make them arrive any faster.” She closed her eyes. “Might as well rest while we can.”
He raised an eyebrow at her.
She shrugged. “These guys aren’t going to do anything to us. If they were going to, they would have shot us on the trail. Or shot you and brought me back here for whatever party plan they had. We weren’t harmed in any way, so that tells me they’re being paid to hold onto us until someone else arrives.”
Her words were calm, but inside, she was a mess. All she wanted to do was vomit. She just might, considering how her stomach was rolling around inside her belly. This was bad. So very, very bad. And likely the end of the line for both of them if Steel and Demon didn’t get there soon.
She should warn Triumph, but she hesitated. Would knowing their fate looked bleak finally be the thing that broke the collected individual he’d been? There was no way of knowing, and if it was the end, she desperately didn’t want him panicking before then.
Despite the heat, she felt herself break into a cold sweat. At least as humid as it was in this enclosed space, he’d think it was normal sweat. Unless he touched her. When she wiped her hand across her forehead, her skin was clammy. If he didn’t mistake it for an infection symptom, he’d know she was lying.
She hung her head. Lying to him sucked. Lying by omission wasn’t much better. He’d be pissed, and rightly so. However, by the time he learned she’d lied, they’d be in their final moments, and the panic wouldn’t last long.
“You think it will be Guillermo?” His guess cut through her worries.
“Maybe. More likely, it will be Cesar, his second, who will collect us and take us to Guillermo. Coming here might get his designer suits dirty.”
She stopped herself from saying any more. She’d prefer it to be Guillermo over Cesar. If the latter showed up, they were definitely dead. Triumph might be lucky and go quickly. But her? She knew her end would not be quick, and it would hurt. A lot.
The afternoon wore on and drifted into evening. The sounds of village life were muted behind the doors and walls. No one brought food or water, or came to let them relieve themselves, so they dozed in and out.
In the middle of the night, they both woke to the sound of the key in the padlock and the creaking of the board for a door as it swung in on its hinges. With no lights in the hut and no real light from outside, all they could see was the flashlight on the ground until it swung into their eyes.
She jerked her arm up to block her eyes from the painful light, but Triumph merely turned his head out of the beam.
A deep voice came from the darkness behind the light. “Your situation has not improved.”
Fuck. It was Cesar. Behind him were four shadowy silhouettes.
Physically, she didn’t know how to react. Her heart rose into her throat; she broke out in another cold sweat and went lightheaded. Not floaty. Like everything that formed as substance inside her was vanishing into nothingness, and then all she’d be was a husk.
Her brain, apparently, decided to make her mouth say things she never would have before.
“Apparently, these were blackout dates, so you take what accommodations you can get when you’re desperate,” she snarked.
He made a tsking sound. “You shouldn’t have run, Gigi. Or should I call you Glennon?” The man stepped closer to where she sat. Fingers grabbed her chin and gripped her so hard, she knew there would be bruises tomorrow. “Now it will be so much worse for you. Take her.” He threw the two-word command over his shoulder.
Two men appeared out of the blackness and reached for her arms.
Even she’d been fooled by Triumph’s passive demeanor. As soon as the one closest to him began to reach for her, he leaped into action and managed to drag the man down to the ground. They wrestled. Triumph briefly had the upper hand due to surprise, then the other man after a punch to the kidneys, and then it looked like Triumph was once again on top. However, a quick blow to his temple by Cesar with the butt of his gun took care of his ability to help.
