Fear ghosted down my spine. “Okay. Okay,” I whispered as I scooted backward. “I’m sorry. You’re right. Can you tell me why I’m here?”
He sighed and rocked back on his heels. “You’re here as collateral for Anna Alvarez. The Vargas Cartel took her so they took you.”
“But I thought she wanted to go with Rever.”
“It doesn’t matter what she may or may not want. Rever and Ryker humiliated Juan Alvarez and Ryker shot his son. If he didn’t respond, he’d look weak. Looking weak won’t do you any favors in the drug smuggling business.”
“But what does any of that have to do with me? I don’t have anything to do with the Vargas Cartel.”
He shook his head as he wrapped the metal shackle around my wrist again. “Don’t play dumb. We both know that’s not true.”
“Wait.” I grabbed his arm. “Don’t lock it. My wrist is killing me. If anyone comes in, I’ll put it on.”
He stood and wiped his hands on his pants. “Fine, but don’t forget.” He opened the door.
“Will I see you again?” Using the wall as support, I climbed to my feet. My vision blurred, and I swayed to the side like a drunken sailor.
He dragged a hand through his shaggy hair. “Maybe. Maybe not, but if everything goes as planned, you should be out of here soon.”
“Soon? As in today?”
A faint smile spread across his face. “It’s a secret. You don’t need to know anything. Just keep your mouth closed and do what you’re told when the time comes.”
The door slammed and I slid down the wall, curling into a ball on the floor. Silently, I prayed I’d sleep until this nightmare ended.
***
“Wake the fuck up.”
An open palm collided with my cheek and pain vibrated from my chin to my temple. My eyes popped open. Enrique’s nose was less than a foot from mine. His dark hair curtained the sides of his face. A sneer stretched his lips. My heart thumped in uneven intervals inside my chest. I scratched the side of my neck.
“I’m up. I’m up,” I mumbled, slithering away from him on my back. The rough concrete scraped my bare shoulders.
He snatched my wrist, holding it less than an inch from my nose. “Who unlocked you?”
My eyes flared. “I don’t know anything about it.”
His hand tightened, strangling the blood flow to my fingers. “Don’t lie.” Spit showered my chest and neck.
“I don’t know,” I repeated. “I was sleeping. Maybe it fell off.” I cringed as the words exited my mouth. No one would believe my metal cuff miraculously popped open, freeing me.
“Try again, Miss Covington.” He twisted my arm to the side.
A scream erupted from my mouth and tears welled behind my eyes. Fucking hell. He was going to dislocate my shoulder.
“Okay. Okay. I stole the key. It fell out of Juan’s pocket, and I kept it.” I didn’t want to tell him about the man who unlocked it. He said he’d help me. He couldn’t do that if Enrique killed him.
He slammed my hand against the wall.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
I yelled. I cursed. I fought, but none of it mattered. My entire arm blazed with pain, throbbing with every pulse of blood through my veins.
He stood up and kicked my thigh. “If you want to eat today or anytime in the near future, you need to start talking.”
“I already ate,” I groaned, rolling to my side, cradling my hand against my chest.
His eyes glittered. “Really?”
I nodded. “Yes,” I rasped.
“That’s the first interesting thing you’ve said all day.”
My stomach somersaulted as his black boots stomped across the room and out the door. What the hell did I say? Why would it matter if I had eaten?
My lungs squeezed as the answer raced through my brain. No one was supposed to bring me food. No one was supposed to talk to me. A shiver danced down my spine.
I flopped onto my back, staring at the ceiling. I was fucked. I screwed everything up without thinking. Raul told me to keep my mouth shut and I failed.
“Do you recognize this man?” Enrique barked less than five minutes later.
I rolled my head to the side. Enrique dragged Raul into the room by his arm.
“I’m not sure.” I dropped my gaze to the floor unable to meet Raul’s eyes. “I don’t feel so good. My mind is really fuzzy.”
Enrique’s leg shot out, connecting with the side of Raul’s knee. Raul flew sideways and tumbled to the ground hip first. He rolled onto his side, clutching his left leg. Pain lined his already winkled face.
My stomach pitched, and bile climbed the walls of my throat, coating my tongue with acid.
“Oh my God,” I whispered, through trembling lips.
Enrique yanked his gun from the holster at his waist and planted his black boot in the middle of Raul’s chest. “I’ll make this really simple. I’m going to shoot one of you,” he said, his onyx eyes boring into me with the force of a laser.
My eyes bugged. “No,” I begged as I scrambled to my feet. I staggered forward, trying to escape, but the chains jolted me backward like a retractable dog leash. “Please don’t. Leave us alone. I didn’t escape.”
Enrique cackled like a hyena, and I had the urge to claw out his vacant eyes. “Ah, that’s cute, Miss Covington, but whose life are you pleading for? Yours? Or his?”
“Both,” I said immediately. “I’ll put the shackle back on my arm and we can forget this whole thing.” I grabbed the chain with my free hand, wrapping the metal cuff around my wrist. It squeezed my swollen, misshapen flesh. “I’m not going anywhere. No harm was done. Let’s forget this happened.”
Enrique waved the gun between Raul and me. “No. It’s too late. What’s done is done. Don’t prolong the inevitable. You have a choice to make. Will you be a martyr or a murderer?”
“Neither.” My legs were rooted to the floor.
“Wrong answer, Miss Covington. Try again.” Rolling his eyes, he tapped the barrel of his gun against his thigh. “Who will it be? You or him?”
My gaze collided with Raul’s. I searched his face for a clue. His eyes darkened momentarily, then a mask of nothingness slipped into place.
“I don’t have all fucking day. You have five seconds to decide, or I’ll kill you both,” he growled.
“Please, don’t do this. Nobody needs to get hurt,” I said, my body trembling like a leaf in a thunderstorm.
“Five.”
The number bounced off the cement walls, and I bit the inside of my cheek until blood tainted my mouth.
“Four.”
Air burst from my lungs.
“Three.”
My vision swirled, and I closed my eyes so I didn’t collapse on the floor. Enrique ensnared me in a nightmare, and I couldn’t wake up.
“Two.”
“Him,” I screamed as my stomach plummeted.
Pop!
A gunshot exploded, ringing in my ears. My heart stopped for a frozen second. I couldn’t move. I couldn’t breathe. Time fractured.
“Good choice, Miss Covington,” Enrique said. “I was starting to question your sanity.”
I pried my eyes open. Raul’s lifeless body was sprawled out on the floor. Inky blood spilled from a hole in the center of his forehead. Vacant eyes stared sightlessly at the ceiling. His lips were lax. Blood splattered the ground behind him like an experiment in modern art.
Sobs bubbled from my lips. I was a murderer. I chose my life over his. He wanted to help me, and I repaid him by ordering his death. I wanted to curl up and die. I deserved to die. I was evil. Ice crystals formed in my veins. I gagged and swallowed simultaneously, fighting back my nausea, but it didn’t work. Chunks of the watermelon and white rice reversed course, spraying my sneakers.
“Why?” I cried as I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand. Tremors conquered my body one muscle at a time until my entire body shook.