AllFreeNovel
Share Us
CHAPTER15
“I don’t trust him.” Imelda was angry, and since Lobo Gris wouldn’t give her what she wanted, he needed to leave. In her eyes, he no longer held a purpose. Her husband was only keeping him because he liked him, and she didn’t want El Cuchillo to like anyone but her. She was currently yelling at her husband, who had just returned from examining the very merchandise she was pissed about.
“I don’t either, wife, but I have a test and a plan.”
She scoffed. “You and your plans. Is that what the girl is?” She was still angry about not getting the beauty in the cage. She was the most beautiful of all the girls he’d brought on the compound in years. “She’s too old to sell.” But the maturity to her gave her an air that Imelda found difficult to pass by.
“She’s a test. I want to see what he does with her.”
“She’s a risk. You’ve heard who her parents are? They’re making a fuss in the US. What if they get the FBI after us?” She would never admit that she didn’t understand what all the acronyms for the American law enforcement were. Only that her husband couldn’t buy everybody.
“They are. And if he can’t break her, I can. We will ship her parts back to them, then we will kill him.”
“Why do you take her if you want her dead?” Her husband’s plans didn’t always make sense to her.
“I don’t. I want her broken. And I want him dead if he’s a traitor. If he’s not, he will break her with no questions and can live.”
“You haven’t broken her?”
“Not completely. She’s close. I want him to do the rest. It will be glorious.”
“If he doesn’t, I will.” Imelda promised.
* * *
Antonio had laid off the booze tonight, making plans to head into town in the morning before everyone woke so he could turn himself in. He had to be careful. El Cuchillo owned the police, and the odds of his confession landing him in a jail cell for the rest of his life were huge. He had to go straight to the embassy in the city, over an hour away, without Hector’s nosy ass catching him.
He was at his terminals, preparing a flash drive with servers, names, and account numbers, when a knock on his door interrupted him.
Shutting everything down, he stood and strode to the door, popping a pill from his small box as he went. He didn’t usually have guests, and this late at night didn’t bode well.
He was greeted by the boss himself—El Cuchillo, his wife, and Hector.
Great. This couldn’t be good.
And it wasn’t. As they strode in like they owned the place, they were followed by two of the lower-level grunts, carrying one of the cages between them.
It held a filthy woman, skin and bones, and probably drugged, based on the fact she lay in a heap, oblivious to her surroundings.
“I don’t do these things,” he announced as El Cuchillo, Imelda, and Hector all sat around his table.
“I think you’ll do this one,” El Cuchillo mused as he lit a cigar and pulled a deck of cards out of his coat pocket.
He looked a second time at the caged woman, forcing himself to see past the grime, the caked-on fluids he didn’t want to know about, and the protruding bones that her skin clung to.
Her hair was brown, long, and caked to her face. Her eyes were almond-shaped, and he had to reach through the bars and peel open an eyelid to see the topaz-colored irises.
Jesus.
Cariño.
How had they found her? Why bring her here?
“She stinks.” He had to get her out of here. Couldn’t let them watch her while they played fucking cards.
Opening the cage with a key he had on his keyring in his pocket, he willed his hands not to shake as he scooped her out of the cage and took her to his bathroom.
“Hector, deal us a hand. I’ll help Lobo.”
