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“Very well, Don Diego. It will be as you say,” the man said. He nodded at the men with guns. “You heard the boss—they’ll stay here in this room for now until he gets back to us with his thoughts.”
There was some grumbling from the men and one of them reached out to grab me by the arm. He gave me a lustful leer and said something in Spanish. Gabriel answered, also in Spanish with a growl in his voice.
“Let her go!” Don Diego ordered from the laptop which still showed his face. He looked at Gabriel. “Am I right in thinking your little sister is a virgin?”
Gabriel glared at him.
“Yes! We were taking her to her Joining Ceremony with Harlan Moncrieff. So if you want to make another enemy—”
“I’m not concerned with Senor Moncrieff—his territory does not overlap mine,” Don Diego said. “Keep the men off her—I want her pure,” he added, talking to the man holding the laptop again. “In fact, I don’t want any guards in the room with them—the little filly is too tempting. Just leave her and the brothers locked up until I call to tell you what I want done with them.”
“But Don Diego—what if they escape?” The man’s voice dropped to almost a whisper. “You know there are rumors about Cruz’s people. Some even say they are skinwalkers!”
Don Diego made a shooing gesture with one pudgy hand.
“Old wives tales meant to frighten children. If they had special powers, they would have shown them by now to keep you from capturing them! They’ll be fine—just lock the door and post a guard.”
“Yes, Don Diego,” the man said respectfully.
Christopher spoke up.
“What about our hands? I can’t feel my fingers anymore,” he protested. “I don’t know what you have planned for us, but if you want us to be able to use our hands, we need to be cut free. Or at least have looser bonds than these zip ties!”
Don Diego gave a short, barking laugh.
“I see, boy—you think you can get loose if you have the use of your hands? Well, I would like to see you try. Lupio—cut their hands loose.”
“But Don Diego!” the man holding the laptop protested. “What if they really are skinwalkers or what if the little filly is a bruja?”
The drug king snapped out something sharp in Spanish that I couldn’t follow. I had picked up some in the mansion, listening to Gabriel and the Alphas, but this was rapid-fire and far beyond my limited skill.
Whatever it was, it worked because the same man who had cut me free quickly went around behind Gabriel and Christopher and cut their bonds as well.
However, there was no chance for escape. There were guns pointed at both their heads so neither one of them moved, though they did exchange a look.
“There now, you see?” Don Diego said to Christopher. “Don Diego does want you to use your hands—and much more, besides.”
“What the hell does that mean?” Gabriel growled.
I was wondering the same thing, but the drug king only shook his head.
“All will be made clear in time. I must have time to bring my thoughts together—perhaps even to write them down.” He looked thoughtful. “For now, Lupio will lock you away. If you are good, he will also give you some food and a little water. But if you fight or make a problem for him, very bad things will happen to you and your little virgin sister. Do you understand?”
Reluctantly, I thought, Gabriel nodded.
“Si. Nosotros nos entendemos,” he growled.
“Bien.” Don Diego nodded calmly. “And now I must go. I will see you all tomorrow.”
The laptop screen abruptly went blank and the man holding it closed it up.
“All right,” he said to us. “You heard the boss—be good and you get fed. Act up and you get fucked up.”
He said something in Spanish to the men with the guns and all of them moved slowly out of the room, though one stayed to hold a gun on us until everyone else had filed out. At last, he also stepped out, walking backwards to keep his rifle trained on us until the last minute.
Finally the door clicked shut and I heard a bolt turn in the lock. We were alone, but I still had no idea what was going to become of us. Nothing very nice, I was sure.
Whatever Don Diego had planned for us, it might be even worse than death.
NINETEEN
“Fuck.” Gabriel raked a hand through his hair.
“Fuck is right.” Christopher looked at me anxiously. “Are you all right, Zoe?”
“I…I don’t know,” I said honestly. When my father had been shot in front of me, I had been angry—anger is an easier emotion to deal with than fear. But now that the men with the guns had gone, I felt fear overwhelming me.
I was cold and naked and about twenty strangers had just seen my bare body. I had no idea what they had planned for us but I knew it couldn’t be good.
