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“Sold her. What do you think? I was gonna keep her in my house? Send her off to college? No, no. She’s off to be some mail order bride to a business partner of mine.”
Eyes clamped shut, I pray he’s bluffing. That this is merely just another facet of his torture.
“Your son raped her.Rapedher. Another man’s daughter. You had a daughter once.”
Out of nowhere, pain explodes across my face, when his fist slams into my jaw. More blood falls to the ground below me. The ache is unbearable, and for a minute, I see two of him.
“I did have a daughter. Watched a half dozen men have their way with her. They killed her afterward. Right in front of me. All in a matter of twenty-six minutes. Ariceli is off to live like a princess, with a man who will give her everything she wants. Don’t try to appeal to my merciful nature. That died alongside my wife and daughter.”
“As did mine,” I grit through clenched teeth.
“Which is why you came all the way down from LA, isn’t it? If the tables were turned right now, wouldn’t I be strung up where you are?”
“You’d already be dead.”
“Well, you’re more to the point than I am. Good for you.” He scratches his jawline and shakes his head. “Tradition dictates that I let all those boys beat you to death. It’s a rite of passage, you might say. When one of their own is hurt, it’s a chance to take revenge, to prove love and loyalty. But shit, they’d have mauled you in a matter of minutes. Like piranhas on tuna. I like to savor it a little bit.”
“What is this place?”
Turning my head to the side offers some relief to the strain in my neck, and I catch him glancing around the room. “This is a special room I had designed underground. Connects to those tunnels. You never said a word about them, did you?” At the slight shake of my head, he groans. “That’s what I mean! Man, I thought you were gonna make it. I liked you! We had rapport, you and me. I don’t get that so much with Javier, but you know what keeps him alive?” He doesn’t give me the opportunity to answer. “He looks away. Been doing it for years. Every other priest gets nosey. Starts asking questions. Starts reporting shit.”
“And they end up down here.”
“Cocky ones do. The others just pack and up and leave quietly. You had that option, too, but you blew it when you messed up my grandson’s face.” Huffing, he strides over to where the chain connected to my arms feeds from the wall by a crank. With the push of a lever, I drop to the floor, landing hard on my shoulder.
Writhing with the pain, I curl into myself and clench my teeth, until it wanes just enough to let go of the tears welling up in my eyes. Still, by some miracle, my shoulder doesn’t pop from the socket.
“I know, you didn’t know it was my grandson. I’m sure, if you had, you’d have probably left it alone.”
“Grandson, or not, the outcome would’ve been the same.”
“Can you stop with the hero shit? I’m already wallowing in disappointment over here.”
The muffled sounds of guns popping off bleeds through the thick walls.
It must come as a surprise to Gordon, as well, as he lifts his chin into the air, brows furrowed, eyes aimed toward the commotion outside. His gaze falls on me again, the dark brown of them carrying what I surmise as both confusion and cunning. “You set me up, son?”
The door to the room flies open, and one of his men stumbles in. Just a kid, maybe eighteen, or nineteen years old, holding a gun like it’s a toy. “Sounds like the whole fucking place is under attack! Should we trip the failsafe?”
Groaning in frustration, Gordon rubs his brow and shakes his head. “No, we shouldn’t trip the failsafe until I say we trip the failsafe. Half the fucking tunnel will blow, you idiot. I hired you and your boys to watch my back. Now watch my back and take care of whoever the fuck decided to crash this party!”
The kid runs back out, shutting us in again, and in spite of having no clue what’s going on out there, I play along, hoping it tears away at his confidence. “It’s over, Gordon. Your little operation is over.”
“My little operation isn’t over until the Fat Lady Si—”
Before he can finish, a thunderous explosion shakes the room and bits of dirt fall from the ceiling.
Ringing blares in my ear, and I tip my head to make it stop.
Lights cut out, turning the room to pitch darkness.
A second explosion rattles the room.
Eyes wide open , I see nothing through the blackness. I hear nothing.
When the lights flicker back on, I catch sight of Gordon on his hands and knees, patting around the floor.
His gun lies within reach, and I scoot myself to the side, struggling to grab hold of it with my hands still tied. My finger loops the trigger.
