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How could she stay away from him after what had happened?
She fiddled with her necklace as she stared at the monitor, still wondering what she was going to do. The thought of letting him wither away alone in his cell terrified her, but at the same time she recognized the dangers involved.
When the night came and Noelle sneaked out of the house, she did so wearing Lucero’s clothes and a blonde wig resembling her friend’s hair. It was the only thing she’d come up with that could help her avoid detection.
As she arrived at the slaves’ location, she went in the direction of the isolation cells, which were removed from the living quarters.
The isolation facility consisted of a small building that resembled a few trailers merged together. Inside, there were four cells, one next to another. Each one of them had a metal door with a small window at the bottom that was used to deliver meals.
Although she didn’t have the key to the cells—only the chief guard did—Noelle was determined to get Raf some food and antibiotics, to ensure he wouldn’t get an infection from his unsanitary living conditions.
“Raf?” she called out softly.
Knowing the guards had wanted to separate him from the others for fear he might incite them to violence again, she was sure he would be the only one here. They would have never risked him colluding with other slaves and starting a revolt. Not with how they’d already witnessed the degree of his influence.
As she walked alongside the cells, she noted that all the doors were open except for one—his.
“Lucero?”
His voice was tentative and hoarse—so much so it broke her heart.
“I brought you some food,” she quickly said, removing the sandwiches she’d made for him from her bag and placing them at the window’s mouth. She added a bottle of water and a film of pills that had some instructions scribbled on the back.
“You shouldn’t have come here. It’s too dangerous,” he said gruffly.
She heard movement, and in no time he shuffled closer to the door to receive what she’d brought for him.
“You’re really my guardian angel—my light,” he murmured as his fingers brushed against hers. “Mi luz.”
Noelle squeezed his hand, guilt gnawing at her once more.
He thought he was talking with a native Spanish speaker—with Lucero. She’d kept the ruse because otherwise he would have recognized her accent and he would have been suspicious of her. Yet the more he fell for this manufactured version of her, the more she rued her decision.
Yet the alternative was much, much worse.
“I couldn’t stay away knowing they wouldn’t give you enough food. You need your strength to recover. How are your eyes?”
“Still swollen,” he sighed. “I can make out some blurry shapes, but it’s still bad.”
“I hope there wasn’t some internal damage…”
“I’ll be fine,” he quickly replied.
Was this for her benefit, or his? She wondered.
“Did they say how long you’re going to be in here for?”
“No. I doubt they’ll let me go soon though. Not when they seem to think I will disturb the peace.”
“But then…” she trailed off as she realized there couldn’t possibly be a positive outcome from this.
“I’m afraid so,” he replied, slumping against the wall of his tiny cell. “If they don’t find a way to use me, they will get rid of me.”
“I won’t let that happen,” she promised. “I’ll get you out of here, Raf. Somehow… Somehow I’ll help you get out.”
“I don’t want you to put yourself in any danger because of me. Please promise me you’ll be careful.”
“I promise,” she whispered. “I work with the mistress of the house and that allows me some protection.”
