78
EVENING HAD FALLEN AND ALONG WITH IT the temperature. Beneath the floodlights illuminating entrances into the packed stadium, a few stragglers walked toward the gates.
Nick climbed out of the taxi, his clothes still wet, his shoes sloshing with each irritating step. Teleporting had been intermittent, only taking him a few blocks at a time. Flying made him nauseous. Hence the cab.
Now he was late. Hope might have tried calling or texting, but the smartphone from Lena had given up the ghost. As will my powers, he thought, but then pushed it from his mind. Still groggy from his plunge into the bay, Nick hurried to the nearest entrance.
Along the way, he noticed a few men eyeing him. One of them spoke into a cell phone while never taking his eyes off him. As an angel, Nick wouldn’t have given them a second thought. But now, becoming ever more human by the moment, he felt vulnerable.
He quickened his pace to a light jog all the way to the will-call ticket window. No one was there.
“Hello?”
No answer.
Over the speakers he heard the band finishing a number. The crowd cheered. Someone made an announcement. More cheers. In just a few minutes, Hope would step onto the stage to address the thousands filling the stadium and the millions watching on television.
“Anyone there?” Nick started to imagine himself at Hope’s side, wherever she might be. But no—better not try teleporting. It was starting to feel like a thing of the past, the way amputees experienced phantom sensations in their missing limbs. Probably for the best. It would be awkward if he were to appear by her side out of thin air on live television.
He banged his fist against the window.
“I need some help here!” Another round of applause went up through the speakers.
A pair of men smoking cigarettes approached. Not far from Nick yet not too close, they looked as though they were just loitering around the ticket booths.
Or were they?
79
MARIA SAT IN SECTION 23 SEAT B, waiting for Lito. The plan was to feign a migraine after he sat with her a while, then ask him to bring the Ibuprofen from her car. Joey Hernandez would see to it that he never came back. That was what she wanted, right?
But on the phone that afternoon, Lito had sounded so different. None of that put-on machismo, but instead, the gentleness he’d shown when they were kids—she the shy sister, he the protective brother. Memories of those happier days stuck to her mind like tiny barbs, no matter how many times she reminded herself that he and the entire Guzman family were dangerous strangers who’d lied to her, all her life. Nevertheless, the more she thought about her brother getting killed, the worse she felt.
No matter what happened when she was just a baby, Lito had always been her big brother.
A good one, most of the time.
“This seat taken?”
Without thinking, she stood and threw her arms around him.
“Lito!”
“It’s so good to see you, Maria.”
She held him close and didn’t want to let go.
“We’re making a scene,” he said, smiling wide. “Let’s sit down.”
She nodded and sank into her seat, Lito to her left.
“Maria, before you say anything, I want to tell you something.”
He reached over and held her hand like he used to when they were little and the wicked witch showed her ugly green face in The Wizard of Oz.
“Alfonso did make some threats against me, but the bottom line? He was using you and was eventually going to hurt you, even kill you.”
The sincerity in his eyes was absolute. She believed him.
“Then why didn’t you tell me earlier?”
“You were both so secretive—I only found out that day.” He gave her a poignant look. “And if I had talked to you, would you have listened? By the time I found out, there was no choice. He had to be stopped right there and then.”
He was probably right. Part of the reason she never told him about dating Alfonso was because she knew what he would say. But she could see it herself every time they went out, the way Alfonso’s eyes wandered to any girl that passed by. He hadn’t loved her. If she were to be completely honest with herself—which she was right now—she’d have to admit that she hadn’t really loved Alfonso either. She was more in love with the idea of being in love, the idea of showing Lito he wasn’t the boss of her.
“I have something else to tell you, Maria.”
“What is it?”
He’d never had the slightest difficulty speaking his mind, but now he seemed worried.
The audience broke into applause as the band finished another song. Lito took his time to answer, Maria’s anxiety increasing by the second.
“Something much deeper, much worse,” he said finally. “I need to tell you now because after tonight I might not get another chance.”
With great difficulty, he went on to make his confession. It took a while for him to get to the point where he confessed that she’d been raised by the very family responsible for killing her parents. But somehow he made their taking her sound like an act of mercy and love rather than treachery.
“Can you ever forgive me?” he said.
She took his hand gently.
“Lito, I already know.”
“You do? How?”
“I met my grandfather, Juan Suarez. He told me everything—about my parents, about how you killed Alfonso because he was going to reveal the secret to me.”
“It was more than that, Maria. Alfonso was going to hurt you. And he and the Hernandezes were going to join forces with the Suarezes. If that happened—”
She held up her finger.
“Oh no, I just remembered something.” She reached into her bag and pulled out her phone. “Give me a second, please?”
She sent a text message to Joey Hernandez.
Calling it off.
I will still pay you.
Do not come anywhere near. OK?
She expected an immediate reply.
But when none came, she panicked. Until now she’d assumed she was in charge of this plan. But what if she were just a part of Joey’s plan?
She got up. “We have to go, Lito.”
“What’s wrong?” he stood and followed her.
“Please, trust me. We’ve got to get out of here before it’s too late.”
As they edged sideways toward the aisle, Maria saw a pair of men at the far end of the bleachers talking into walkie-talkies. They could not have been security guards, not if they were who she thought they were.
“Over there, by the exit,” she said. “See those guys?”
“They don’t look like the religious type.” He gripped her arm.
The men started walking in their direction.
“They’ve seen us,” she said. “Hurry!”
80
AT THE EDGE OF THE STADIUM Nick detected an all too familiar pair of imposing figures—Johann and Serena, both of whom had foregone leather and now looked like Secret Service bodyguards. Their presence made one thing clear: Lena was near. Which might have meant they were looking for him, too.
With Hope so close by, though, he had to know what Lena was up to. And besides, being seen with the likes of Johann and Serena had its advantages. No one would mess with him if they were near. He might even be able to convince Lena to help him get inside. One last favor, for old time’s sake.
A strong hand grasped his shoulder. He noticed a slight flash of light behind him, then spun around. Blocking his view of just about everything, Johann glared down at him.