AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I prepare to turn down Sapphire, surprised when they continue past. Instincts tell me to park my car outside her house and watch, but maybe they’re privy to where she might be. Perhaps at a friend’s.
The road comes to a stop at a deadend, and the first tingle hits the back of my neck when the car ahead of me turns around, facing me headon. Headlights in my rearview shine bright, drawing my attention to two more cars parked on each side of the street, blocking my ability to reverse. When more headlights flick on ahead, I realize I’m now surrounded by cars.
Ambushed.
For what it’s worth, I lean carefully to the side to the glovebox, and slide my gun into my lap. Keeping my shoulders straight, I work hastily below the steering wheel to check for bullets. Nowhere near enough for the slaughter that’s about to take place.
The lights in my rearview flicker with the silhouette of someone approaching my vehicle. He bears the slow and easy stride of a man who’s won the game.
“Hands on the steering wheel, where I can see them,Padre.” Keeping his distance, gun trained on me, he wears a smile to match the smug tone of his voice. When I don’t immediately comply, too busy calculating my odds, he shakes his head. “C’mon now. You’re not that dumb. I mean, sure, you’d probably get a nice square shot to my skull, but you’re surrounded by at least a half dozen cars, all of which hold three to four guns a piece. The odds of you surviving that are about as good as a turd cake at a fly convention.”
I’m still calculating, even as he speaks, but one thing is now certain. “You’reEl Cabro Blanco. The White Goat.”
“I know you were probably expecting a little more fanfare.”
Even if they open fire on me, filling me with lead, I could kill the man who murdered my family. The same man who murdered my half-brother.
“I gotta admit. You were not my first suspect. I actually genuinely liked you,Padre. Breaks my heart a little to know what weasley scumbag piece of shit you turned out to be.”
My fingers curl around the trigger of the gun in my lap. One quick shot to the head, like he said. It’d be over. I think of Val and Isabella. The justice I could give them by killing this bastard. I think of Ivy, and how I could end him before he decides to hunt her down next.
“What do you say you put your hands on the steering wheel, like I asked, and we’ll talk. Sound fair?”
A few more seconds, during which I’m contemplating odds that are far too complex for me to calculate in my head.
I finally release the gun in my lap and set my hands on the steering wheel. “Sure. Let’s talk.”
37
Ivy
“Where were you last night?” Sergio sits on the street curb below my balcony, stuffing a cigarette between his lips. Just after ten-thirty, it’s a bit late for him to have just ended his shift, which makes me wonder if he’s been waiting on me.
This routine of ours, these nightly chats, have become a means of keeping me sane while locked away in my little tower, but asking my whereabouts is where I draw the line.
“None of your business.”
“Sorry. I just looked forward to talking to you, is all.”
“I look forward to our talks too, but I’m going to be straight with you. Not only am I about twice your age, which is a major no-no for me, I also happen to have a boyfriend.”
Snorting, he rests his elbows on his knees and stares down toward the pavement. “You’re lying. How come I haven’t seen this boyfriend?”
“He likes his privacy. As do I.”
“Understood. So … what have you been up to the last couple of days?”
“That’s basically the same question.”
“But more clever, right?” His cheeks dimple with the grin that stretches his face.
“Definitely.” Rolling my eyes, I take a drag of my smoke, followed by a sip of the wine I picked up on my way back from Damon’s. “If you must know, I watched a herd of refugees move through a house like they were walking through some ride at Disneyland.”
A frown creases his brow. “Where’d you see that?”
“None of your business, remember?” I raise my brows, trying to cap a smile. “But out of curiosity, how exactly does this whole human smuggling thing work down here? And why was a young kid acting as their tour guide?”
“They’re actuallypolleritos. They take groups of people from different countries across the border.”
