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I spin back around, my shoulders rising and falling in quick succession with each ragged breath I take.
“What do you want from me?” My voice shakes. “Please, just let me go,” I plead.
“I already told you, I can’t do that.”
“Why? Why am I here?”
“Maybe if you’d let me finish, you’d know why.” He gestures for me to sit down but I have no intention of doing so.
“Tell me.”
“Let me start by saying, my war isnotwith you. I have no intention of harming you, as long as you don’t provoke me.” Though his voice is calm and soft, I don’t miss the hint of warning behind his tone. “I don’t relish the idea of hurting an innocent woman because she had the misfortune of being born to the wrong parents.”
“So then, what? My father is part of some cartel and you kidnapped me to get to him?” Based on what he’s told me so far, this is the only thing that makes any sense.
“You’re catching on.” One side of his mouth tips upward. “But your father isn’t part of some cartel. Heisthe cartel. The head of the snake. And you are going to bring him to me.”
“How?”
“You let me worry about the details.” His smug grin has my anger boiling to a point of no return. As much as I try to reel it in, I feel it threatening to explode. And if it does, I’m afraid what that will mean for me.
“You’ll never get away with this,” I seethe.
“I already have.” He gestures around the room. “You’re here, aren’t you?”
“People will come looking for me. My mom... She’ll come for me.”
“Well, I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.” He shrugs indifferently.
“What do you mean, wait and see? You can’t keep me here!”
“Actually, I can. And just so you’re aware, an hour ago one of my men delivered an envelope to your mother. Inside were instructions on how she could secure your safe return. The terms were simple. A life for a life.”
“A life for a life?” I don’t try to pretend I understand what he’s saying.
“Esteban’s life for yours.”
“Why are you doing this?” I ask for what feels like the hundredth time, shrinking slightly under his gaze that darkens at my question.
“The Rivera and Herrera Cartels have been at war since before I was born. Power. Money. Revenge. It’s a never-ending cycle. I’m trying to end the bloodshed and find a way to move forward. But in order to do that, I have to eliminate the one person standing in the way.”
“My father?”
He nods. “You are his Achilles’ heel. Hisonlyweakness. I’m going to exploit that, use it to end him once and for all.”
“When you say end him...” I swallow hard.
“I’m going to kill him. Just like he killed my mother when I was a boy, as well as my father earlier this year.”
“He killed your m...”
He continues before I can even question this all. “Chopped her body up and sent it to my father in pieces. My father retaliated. Attempted to kill both you and your mother in return. Obviously, he partially succeeded. Though for many years he did believe that you had died in that fire. It wasn’t until a couple of years ago that he caught onto some rumblings that you were still alive and that Esteban had hidden you away. My father had some men dig up your grave to find out for sure. Imagine his surprise when he opened an empty coffin. After that, he made it his mission to find you. He turned every stone. Planted some of his own men behind enemy lines in hopes of learning your location. And one day, his efforts paid off. Armed with this new information, he secured a meeting with your father. He could have abducted you, tortured you, sent pieces ofyourbody to him as a reminder of what he did to my mother. But he didn’t. My father grew tired of the bloodshed, of having to look over his shoulder every second of every day. He wanted it to end. His hope was to use the information he had on you as a way of bartering for peace. Your father put a bullet between his eyes.”
“I... I...” I don’t know what to say.
He continues as if I never spoke at all. “His death put me at the top. Everything that was his is now mine. His men. His money. His entire operation. All mine. Whether I wanted it or not.” He runs a hand through his hair. “I don’t plan to make the same mistakes as my father. I’ve learned what he never could. As long as Esteban Herrera lives, there will never be peace. There is no negotiating with a man like that. After I received word of my father’s murder, I had my men, who were already in the area awaiting orders, begin to tail you. We assumed Esteban would come for you when he learned what my father knew. My plan was to intercept him, but he never came. I guess he thought you were safer where you were and that the threat against you died with my father. Unfortunately for him, he had no idea that I was already waiting on the sidelines to pick up where my father left off. Which leads us to why you’re here.”
“Let’s sayhypotheticallythat everything you’re saying is true. That this man is my father and he really has done all these horrible things, what does that mean for me?”
