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“Is Montero up?” Santos asks.
“Yes, sir. Damian is already on his way to the hangar with thegringa.”
“Good. Get out there and protect the rear entry,” Santos orders.
“Sarah? Are you talking about Sarah?” I ask when he shuts the door.
“I said get dressed, dammit!” he yells and I jump.
“I’ll grab clean clothes,” I say, but he stops me.
“Get dressed, woman, or I’ll drag you out of here naked.”
I’m about to tell him where he can shove his order when several gunshots are fired just outside the window. “Oh my God!” I cry out, hurriedly getting into the dirty outfit.
The moment I put on my shirt, he wraps his fingers around my wrist and pulls me from the room.
“Santos! What’s happening?!”
“We’re under attack,” he tells me over his shoulder.
The sound of men screaming just outside is followed by more shots, and I duck out of instinct. “Who? Is it Padilla?” Fear grips my chest in a vise that makes it nearly impossible to breathe. I force my legs to move as I follow closely behind him, aware that if I don’t, he’ll drag me anyway.
“It’s not Padilla. Unfortunately, we have many enemies.”
In the living room, several guards are arming themselves with knives, pistols, and rifles. When someone opens the door, I get a peek at the chaos happening just yards from us. My mouth drops as I realize it’s an all-out war with men shooting at the approaching enemy, at least one body lying bloodied and lifeless on the ground and Santos giving out orders to shoot to kill. All the while, he moves us nearer to the stairwell.
When he’s done giving out instructions, he presses what I’d assumed was simply a panel on the wall, and it opens to expose a stairwell that leads downward. We enter it just as a bullet hits one of the windows and shatters it.
Memories of the day I was chased through the fields fill my mind and I begin to tremble almost uncontrollably. Even when the booms and screams quiet as we descend, I sense death nipping at my heels.
“Where are we going?” I glance around the narrow space, wondering if this is some sort of an escape passage. “Santos, tell me what the hell is going on!” Ignorance might be bliss for some, but for me, it’s disorienting.
“I have a safe room.” At the bottom, we encounter two of his guys in an unexpectedly large basement.
My gaze instantly roves over the packages and wood boxes stacked high on one side of the space. There’s no mistaking what they are. Cocaine, marijuana, weapons. I glance at Santos, but he doesn’t seem concerned at all about what I’ve seen. Of course he’s not.
“It’s ready,” one of them says and opens it.
“We’re going into a safe room?” I peer inside.
“No, you are.” Before I have time to question him on it, he shoves me in and shuts the door.
I whirl around, my hand going to the handle too late. It’s locked. “Let me out!” I pound my fists against it until they’re sore. Crying and begging to be released, I beat at it with all my might. But no one comes. No one answers. In fact, there’s no sign that anyone is still out there.
Pausing, I listen intently, but all I hear is the sound of my own heart drumming furiously within my chest.
“¡Pinche cabrones!”Fuckers!I scream, slapping the thick door.
Turning to the room, I look around the tiny space. Thank God I’m not claustrophobic, though this might be enough to make me.
It might be small, but it seems well thought out. On one side is a twin bed with a simple white coverlet pressed against the wall. Across from it is a long counter with freeze-dried meal pouches, bottles of water, and other food essentials.
Beside that is a desk with several monitors. I get closer and realize what’s playing on the screens is what’s currently going on outside. Men shooting at each other just beyond the fountain, some in hand-to-hand combat by the stables. Bodies of the enemy lie on the living room floor.
I cover my mouth to stifle a gasp. That means they’ve managed to breach the front door. I glance toward the entrance of this safe room. No, it’s not a safe room. It’s a hidden panic room beneath the house. The likelihood of them reaching me is slim to none. I’m fully aware of this.
I’m also completely aware that while I’m safely tucked within these thick walls, Santos is out there exposed. Fighting.
