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“I suggest you go entertain Franco,” he says. “I’ll be busy tonight. My office is not to be disturbed.Claro?”
I scramble to my feet, eager to put as much distance between us as humanly possible. “Crystal,” I say, before scurrying to the house. I don’t sense my pulse return to normal, even once I’m inside.
CHAPTERSEVEN
After changing into a dry dress, I search the house for Franco, only to find that he isn’t in the living room where I left him. Following a hunch, I head toward the basement and find him engrossed in a video game, the school brochures scattered at his feet.
Watching him so enthralled by a fictional world—rather than our nightmarish reality—I don’t have the heart to be annoyed with the disobedience. “Have you picked one yet?” I ask, leaning against the doorway.
He makes a noncommittal grunt, fixated on the screen.
The only thing I can do is watch him, hoarding these moments when he’s at peace. Who knows when he might feel such again?
So, I let him play for hours with a short break for lunch. Only when he starts to rub his eyes do I gently intervene.
“Why don’t we go get some dinner, and then we can go over the schools together?”
He nods and lets me steer him upstairs into the kitchen. With Jaguar occupied, I’m fully prepared to scrounge something for us to eat alone. Instead, Horatio is in the kitchen, manning a stove brimming with several pots and pans. I suspect that he’s been commanded to do so by his boss, but with every breath I inhale, I lose some of my lingering paranoia. Whatever he’s making, it smells delicious.
“You sit,” he tells Franco and me, nodding toward the dining room.
Rather than argue, I comply, and the second we claim opposite sides of the glass table, I slide the brochures over to Franco.
“This one has horses,” I tell him, forcing a smile. “And look! This one has a whole science program. I know you love making new things. And this one—”
“Auntie…” His expression wavers, and I reach for him, praying he doesn’t cry. I doubt my heart can take it if he does.. “Where is my real mama? And mypapi?”
“Oh, honey…” I squeeze his hand tight. “They love you very much, but they can’t be here right now. They both would understand that keeping you safe is all that matters. I know you must be angry at me—”
“No!” He shakes his head. “I’m scared, Auntie.”
I scramble out of my chair and rush to him, holding him tightly in my arms. “I know, honey. I know it’s scary here without your parents—”
“No, not that.” His bottom lip trembles. “I heardPapitalking before he made me leave. He was really angry. He said…”
“It’s okay, honey. You can tell me, it’s okay.”
“He said ‘thatputawill get what’s coming to her. I’ll kill her.’ I think he was talking about Mama,” Franco adds in a small voice. “But then he said, ‘we’ll dump it all. Flood the whole country with it. He can’t do anything then.’ I don’t want to die, Auntie. I can’t swim.”
Flood the country?Knowing Braulio, I doubt he meant it in a biblical way. Perhaps his product?
“Don’t worry, honey,” I tell Franco, pressing a kiss to his cheek. “You’re safe now. I’ll do whatever it takes to keep it that way. Your mama andpapihave their issues, but they have nothing to do with you. Do you understand?”
He nods, and I snuggle him until Horatio appears, placing two plates of food on the table.
“Eat. Car will come for you in an hour,” he says to me.
I stiffen. “A car? Why?”
He gives me an odd look.
“The spa,” Franco declares. “Remember?”
Oh, that’s right. Jaguar’s “gift” evening with Pedro.
As Horatio lumbers off, I’m no less unnerved. What exactly is Jaguar planning for me now?
CHAPTEREIGHT
