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Jamie
Demon watches me as I approach her bedroom door. It’s been several hours since the standoff this morning, before sunrise. It’s ten a.m. now. Lena hasn’t come out of her room. She didn’t believe what I told her, but I had to say it. I couldn’t let her think I’d kissed her mom and been with her. She couldn’t believe that about me.
I place the duffel bag on the floor, then knock. “Lena, there’s clothes and sundries out here for you. I’m leaving now. I’ll be gone all day. When I come home…” I swallow. I shouldn’t say this, give her too much hope, but I can’t stand her being mad at me. “I’ll have your mom.”
Nothing, no response, but when I turn away, the door opens. She’s wearing her tank top and pants, making me almost lose it again, especially when I see she’s not wearing a bra. I have to tame that part of myself. From how she looks at me, last night was a one-off for her, but I can’t ever let her go.
“Good luck,” she says, stepping over the duffle bag and giving me a quick hug. I barely have time to lay my hand atop her before she steps away. She won’t look at me. “I’ll talk to Mom, then. I’ll ask her, but no, get her back, please.” She brings her hand to her wrist, then lowers it. It’s like she was going to bite on her sleeve and then realized she doesn’t have one. “And, uh, thanks.”
Things are so awkward between us now. I turn away. It doesn’t matter. It does. She matters more than anything, but none of this means anything if I don’t save her mother. Then… then what? Then she leaves me? I can’t let that happen.
One thing at a time. I head for the exit. I’ve got a lot to do today—arrangements to make. Antonio Romero’s erratic, cracked-out violence routine might work on regular criminals, but I’m a very unusual criminal. This isn’t going to go how he wants, and if he decides to make it nasty, I’m happy to do that. I’ve already made all the necessary phone calls. Favors can get a lot in this world, especially if you’ve got as manyIOUsas I do.
* * *
It’s getting dark when I drive out to an abandoned fair in the middle of a field. It must’ve been quite the location once. There’s a sense of irony as I pull up to the discolored sign with the giant faded clown on the front. A fair is where Simone said I kissed the cotton candy off her nose. That’s a sick image for Lena to have in her head.
I focus on the driving. I demanded the meeting location two hours before the meetup time. It’s been tight, but I’ve got everything in place. Antonio was reluctant until I sent him a photo of the hard drive with the custom whalebone design. The unit itself, with the extremely fast timeline, cost me an obscene amount of money, but Antonio won’t get a penny of that.
The only standing structure is the small house on the rear of the abandoned lot. There are no rides left, just plots of uneven grass where it’s growing up between old wooden foundations. I pull up outside the house. There’s a hill to the east of the building, a perfect spot. I don’t even have to look up there to know what’s what.
Parking sideways, I slip out of the driver’s side, keeping the car between me and the house. When I peer over the top, I find Antonio walking down old, crumbling stairs. Visibility is getting low, but I can still make out the curve of his lips and the gleam in his eyes.
He’s got his hand wrapped around Simone. She’s wearing a baggy shirt that makes her look skinnier than she usually does, plus I doubt they’ve been feeding her much. As they get closer, she looks at my car. I think a note of hope touches her features. Maybe she has feelings for me. Perhaps that’s why she said what she said. I can’t have that. Jesus, that would be amess.
“Focus, kid,”Imaginary Jack says, and I snap into the moment. Behind Antonio, there are two men holding rifles, with masks covering their eyes. One of them is wearing a cap.
“My friend,” Antonio says, stopping near the car. “Would you look at this? Alone. Truly a man of your word, but you’ll understand why I must ask you to drop your weapon.”
I stand slowly but keep the car in a cover position, my gun ready. I’ll be able to pop one and get behind cover before they can get me, but I’d rather not risk it. “Tell your friends to do the same. Then we can make the trade, and all go home.”
“We have a laptop. This man here is a computer whizz. He’s going to check it first.”
“No need for a gun to do that.”
“Then, please…” Antonio spreads his hand, then shakes Simone with his other hand. She chokes back a sob, but she doesn’t look broken, not like when I met her when she was still mourning her husband. “Drop yours.”
I’d do as he says if he had his hand on Lena, but I can think clearly when it’s not my woman. “You have a hostage. I’m assuming you have a weapon. I’m putting myself in a bad position by giving up my gun anyway. Meet me halfway.”
Antonio laughs erratically. “Gringo, yes! See? You understand us. The media says narcos are all loco. Can you believe that? But we respond tologic, my friend. Just like any other man.”
I wonder if it was logic that made Antonio invade a family of four’s home and torture the father for some imagined riches. This isn’t the first of his schemes. Luckily for Simone, it’s the least bloody. So far, anyway.
In Spanish, he grunts, “Drop your weapons.”
The men kneel, placing their guns down. I place my gun on the ground, then put my arm behind my back as I carefully walk out of cover, keeping my eyes on Antonio the whole time. The men could go for their guns any moment, too, but I have to trust. Not them, though.
Antonio grins, then quickly reaches into his waistband and grabs a gun. I get mine out just in time. We’re aiming at each other’s heads, but then he grins even wider. He’s enjoying this, the sick bastard. He moves sideways so that Simone’s head is in front of his.
“Silly American,” Antonio says, laughing, as I watch the other two men, waiting for them to do the smart thing and grab their guns. They seem to think it’s over. “Do you know how much I can sell this bitch for?”
“Goodbye, Antonio. I’m sorry you turned out this way.”
He laughs again, and then Simone starts screaming when a shower of red erupts from his head. I kneel and discharge my pistols into the two men, four apiece, then quickly reload. They’ve both got vests on. They’re groaning and gasping in pain. With Antonio’s bulkiness, it was hard to tell. When I look closer, I see the outline of the vest. It’s a shame my buddy wasn’t aiming for the chest.
The men slowly start crawling toward their weapons. I jog over to Simone and haul her over my shoulder. She’s screaming in complete shock. She’s got Antonio’s blood in her hair and over her back. I quickly place her in the back seat, a point of guilt stabbing me that I had to touch her like it’s a betrayal to Lena. It feels that way.
“Focus, kid.”
