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“Yes, Sir.” Horatio approaches him, inclining his head with a wary glance toward me. The relative emptiness of this room allows their words to echo, and I catch bits of their conversation, though they speak in low voices.
“No sign of forced entry,” Horatio says. “No witnesses. They did leave this...”
Both men retreat down the hall while I remain on the couch, locked inside my own mind. It’s funny how I can see a grown man torn apart by an exotic animal and maintain my composure. I didn’t break then.
But the sight of a few dead insects shatters me. I can’t escape what they symbolize—who they symbolize—a broken shell of a woman I thought I’d left behind.
“Ay, Dios mío.It seems Braulio isn’t happy with you, Tiena,” Jaguar says, his voice rasping with amusement and irritation. He must enjoy seeing me like this, and yet... His frustration comes from the fact that another man can easily accomplish what he failed to do.
I can’t even hide my genuine fear. My eyes are burning, my face damp with tears that won’t stop falling no matter how hard I try to suppress them.
“He’ll never let me go,” I hear myself say in a voice so broken it’s barely coherent. The statement isn’t for dramatic effect. It’s simply a reminder of what I’ve spent the past decade trying to ignore.
Braulio isn’t the man with his hooks into me—Diego Mendez is.
And he will never let me go.
“We’ll see about that,” Jaguar says. His tone yanks me from the depths of fear long enough that I can observe his face for the first time. His smirk is in place, his face half-shrouded in shadow. “For now, I think you might be safer staying someplace else.”
“I’ll find one,” I say, preempting any suggestion on his part that I stay in his mansion among his harem. I’ll find a way to reach Pedro and see if he can help me find somewhere else to stay. Poor Pedro. I’ll have to tell him about Diego.
“I am sure your skills for finding real estate rival your skills of seduction, Lupe,” Jaguar says. “But I’ll have to respectfully disagree. Don’t forget the bargain you made, chica. You pledged yourself to me, and I intend to fully protect my investment.”
I cringe at that. “By keeping me among the rest of your pretty dolls?” I ask.
He laughs, but cocks a dark eyebrow in surprise. “You don’t sound very eager, Lupe. One might think that you aren’t worried about Braulio getting his hands on you, after all.”
I shake my head, compelled to explain. “Hiding won’t matter.”
Even Jaguar can’t keep me safe. He’ll tire of me eventually, and the specter of Diego will be waiting. I’ve grown bored of playing the role of a trapped animal. I’d rather get my torment over with.
“Have some faith,” Jaguar scolds in a tone that makes me shiver. “After all, I wouldn’t want to think this was all a ploy to garner my sympathy...”
I interpret the statement for what it is—a warning. Any other time, I think I’d react to it and rush to placate him. Yes,I need him as an ally.Yes,I need him to secure my nephew—who he thinks is my son. Mere hours ago, those concerns were at the forefront of my mind.
But fear is an old friend, one I find hard to shake.
Did you miss me, butterfly?Diego’s voice echoes in my skull, rasping and gleeful.I’ve missed you...
In retrospect, it’s hard to remember what I saw in him. Our first meeting wasn’t particularly remarkable. My twin sister was too busy chasing narcos to pay her way, and I had no choice but to take whatever odd jobs I could. One of them was selling keychains to tourists for a grumpy old man who ran his operation out of a gas station.
One of those men seemed like an American at first, with haunting green eyes and golden hair. Diego, he said his name was. He spoke in beautiful Spanish and told me I had a sexy little smile.
Like a young, dumb fool, I let him talk me into meeting him after my shift.
And my world was forever changed. For the next year, Diego Mendez became my entire universe, and I nearly died trying to escape him.
“Are you listening to me, Lupe?” Jaguar demands. He cups my cheek, stroking away an errant tear. “If you don’t want to be tucked amongst my other dolls, I will humor you. But you will come with me. Horatio will secure your things.” He heads for the door, expecting me to follow.
I can’t move.
Is he watching me now, Diego? Was he really here, or was this display merely a trick played on me by the few people in my life who know the truth? I can’t even decide which outcome would be harder to face.
“Lupe.” Jaguar’s voice ripples with authority, but I note that it’s marginally softer. He isn’t angry anymore. He’s curious. “Come.”
I attempt to stand and feel my knees buckle as the abuse done to my body chooses now to assault me at full force. My head hurts so bad, my back on fire, my hip bruised and sore. I trip and grabble for the arm of the couch for stability.
It isn’t necessary. A gentle force captures my waist and tethers me to a body that feels chiseled from stone.
