AllFreeNovel
Share Us
There it is! The flash of red.
I almost forget to start walking again, so stunned that we’re actually doing this to do anything but stare at the window as Jasha waves a red bandana in the window. But then I remember that I only have three minutes, and I hurry off to the bar so fast that I nearly trip as I arrive at the door.
There’s nobody there guarding it, but it doesn’t have a handle. I’m forced to put the duffle bag on the ground and knock, hitting the wood so hard that my knuckles ache.
The door creaks open, just a fraction of an inch, and I’m met with a pair of narrow eyes framed by the dark interior. “Qué quieres?”
“Um, I’m here to meet with Diego,” I say, trying to keep my voice steady, my gaze unflinching.
The door swings open, and a large man steps aside, allowing me to enter. “Vamos.”
Picking up the duffle bag again, I step into the bar, scanning the gruff faces for once I recognize. Diego said he’d be the one meeting me here, but I don’t see him.
The hairs on the back of my neck stand up as I walk deeper into the bar. All eyes are on me, but nobody says a word.
Am I supposed to say something?
I only have three minutes. Maybe I should’ve asked for more.
Suddenly, there’s movement from the back, and I see Diego hurry out to meet me. He’s a lot shorter than I would’ve imagined, and that makes him less intimidating even though height rarely has anything to do with how dangerous someone is. It’s not like I would stand a chance against him if he decided to forgo a fair trade and attack me.
“Life is but a dream, eh?” he jokes, opening his arms as he comes toward me.
I hold up the duffle bag, using it as a barrier between the two of us. I don’t want hugs. I want Eddy.
“I’m here for Eddy,” I say, patting the bag. “And I have what you want.”
“All of it?” he asks, eyeing the duffle bag.
I nod.
“Plus interest.”
My blood runs cold at his words, and my mouth goes dry. The situation has already begun to unravel into chaos, and I’m not even thirty seconds into it.
“Um, you never mentioned anything like that,” I say, trying to sound confident and failing miserably.
“You don’t have anything you could add?” he asks, his eyes roaming over my body in a way that makes me feel violated.
“No,” I reply firmly, painfully aware that we’re wasting time. “I’m here to make the trade we discussed, and nothing more.”
Diego breathes out sharply through his nose. “Very well…”
He snaps his fingers, and a man steps out from a doorway on the left holding a figure wrapped in a faded blue wool blanket. There are white cable ties around his waist and neck to hold the blanket in place, but I can tell from the shoes poking out of the bottom that it’s Eddy. He always wears the same pair of black Vans.
My heart skips a beat, then continues hammering against my ribcage so hard that I feel like I’m on the brink of a heart attack. But I have to be strong. I’ve come this far, and it’s time to finish the deal and get the hell out of here.
“Let’s trade,” Diego says, reaching for my duffle bag.
I jerk it away from him. “Let me see Eddy first. I want to know that he’s okay.”
Diego mutters something in Spanish, but complies with my request, turning to the cloaked figure and snapping his fingers. The man holding him cuts one of the cable ties with a knife, the one around his neck, and pulls the blanket down to reveal Eddy’s beaten and bruised face.
He’s barely conscious, but the moment he sees me, his eyes light up. “Dream,” he croaks, and the sound of his voice breaks my heart to pieces.
I shove the duffle bag into Diego’s arms, almost hoping to knock him over, but he doesn’t budge. He just unzips it, peers inside, then nods to his man, who cuts the final cable tie to release Eddy.
The moment Eddy is free from the blanket, I run to him and pull him into my arms. He’s lost so much weight that he feels frail in my arms, but his heart is beating, and his skin is warm.
