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“He told me.”
“Did he? A bold move, even for him. Yet you stayed with him?” He strokes his chin. “How interesting.” He points at me again. “I get it. You’ve fallen for his seduction technique, haven’t you? The noble mafia boss confesses his sins to you and you forgive him.”
He grins again. “You know that’s his technique, right? Same one he uses on all his sluts. I’m a bad man, but you’re special. You can change me. You can make me good.”
A snort escapes his nostrils as he starts to snigger. “Then he fucks them and dumps them. Only with you, it was different, wasn’t it? Not enough to just bang you. Wanted to use you to get to me.”
“Shut up,” I tell him.
He ignores me and continues. “You’re nothing to him, Anna. All you are is a pussy he can use to get to me. Like your mom. Like all women. You only matter for what you bring to the men in your life. You’re going to bring me an empire that spreads across the border.
“You’re going to help me, Anna. That’s what really matters here. What you can do for me. Right now, you are nothing but a pussy that Carlos wants. You’re innocent, and he’s going to make me a hell of a deal so he can be your first.”
“Marco was my first,” I reply, unable to resist a bitter smile as I see his face turn from confusion to anger.
“You just keep that to yourself,” he says. “If you want to be alive the day after the wedding, you say nothing about that. As far as the cartel knows, you are innocent and pure. Say anything else and they’ll cut you into a thousand pieces.” He claps his hands together. “So, ready to get married?”
“I’d rather die.”
“I knew you’d say that, so I have something that will help clarify your decision making. You’re going to take a little trip south of the border. Catch a tan. Work in my factory until you agree to marry Carlos. You see, I’d never force you to walk down the aisle, but I will make you work fifteen-hour days with shitty food and dorms filled with bedbugs until you agree.”
“I’ll kill myself before I marry your choice of man.”
“Just like your mother. All mouth. I know you’re too much of a coward to do that. I saw what you did with that knife just now, remember?”
I glare at him, saying nothing.
“I get it,” he says with a nod. “You think Marco will come and save you? Your white knight will come riding in and rescue you at the last moment. Here, take a look at this.” He pulls out his cellphone, turning it to face me.
I’m watching a video. It’s Marco’s car, filmed from the roadside. I can see him clearly as the vehicle whizzes past the camera. There’s a tinny crashing sound and from the left of shot, a bigger car slams into his, pushing it toward a ravine. The cameraman runs over, the footage wobbling as he reaches the cliff edge in time to see Marco’s car disappearing from sight.
The camera is pointed down and there’s Marco’s car in the ravine far below the other car crushing it from above. As I watch, smoke billows up from the two cars and then there’s an explosion. Flames fly up into the air, engulfing both vehicles.
“You think he’s going to come and save you from there?” my father asks, taking the phone back. “Your hero is nothing but a pile of ashes.” He nods to his men. “Get her loaded. I don’t want to hear anything from her again until she agrees to marry Carlos.”
Two men grab me by the armpits, pulling me out of the kitchen.
“I’ll never marry him,” I shout back at my father, trying to ignore the crippling darkness inside me as I try to process the footage I just saw on his phone.
“You’ll change your mind when you realize no one is coming to save you,” he shouts back. “I hear the factory floor is a hundred and ten at this time of day. I doubt you’ll last a day.”
I fight to get free, but more men are grabbing hold of me, carrying me out of the house. I’m shoved into the back of a van with its engine running. Two of the men climb in with me, pushing me down into a seat along the side of the interior.
I’m not even down before we’re setting off. The two of them sit opposite, guns pointing at me. I think about reaching for them. Then I remember what happened in the kitchen. Like he said, I’m too much of a coward to kill someone.
I sit and stare at the floor, my heart sinking. If I knew Marco was alive, I might have hoped that this could end well.
All I have is a pit of darkness where there was once light. He’s dead. I’m utterly alone in the world and from this point on, my life is only going to get worse.
No one is coming to help me. Why even bother to try and take their guns? Maybe I should do it just so they shoot me. That would be better than marrying into a drug cartel. Only I can’t do it. I’m not even brave enough to end it all. Like my father said. I’m the same as my mother. Just a coward.
I’m worse than her. She did kill herself. I can’t even bring myself to do that.
I just sit still and stare at the floor, praying for a rescue that I know isn’t going to come.
Thirty-Two
Marco
