Haunted

As soon as I speak the words, the thought “from my lips to god’s ear” leaps to mind. Must be the influence of our setting. The look of hope on Esmeralda’s face burns like a torch. I hope my promise to her doesn’t prove to be as empty as this forsaken church.

THE HOURS PASS WITH SLOW-MOTION AGONY. I CAN’T think of anything else to ask Esmeralda and she, too, stays silent. She doesn’t ask me who I am or why I’m here. I glance down at my bloodstained shirt. Perhaps she’s afraid of the answers. Her eyes follow me each time I walk to the back window and I feel her watching when I return my seat. She’s put her trust in me, but that doesn’t mean she’s going to relax her vigilance. All that’s important to her is that she and the girls are alive and unmolested. In her eyes, I read her resolve to fight for them. Against anyone.

The village is quiet, too. I keep expecting the search party to return or Ramon and his men to come back. I wonder what Luis is doing in his shack—probably devising ways to torture the men if they come back empty-handed. Or jerking off to mental images of four little girls.

Finally, finally, I hear footsteps approach. One set of footsteps. I jump up so fast, vampire fast, everyone gasps. I curse myself for the blunder, put a finger to my lips. Only I can hear the stealthy approach from outside. I want to be sure it’s Max before the footsteps come any closer.

I move to the back door, open it a crack to test the wind.

Max’s scent.

Relief washes over me like a tidal wave.

I look back at the girls. They know someone is outside. Fear is stark on their faces. “It’s okay,” I whisper. “It’s my friend.”

I wait for Max to get to the door, then push it open. He slips inside. He’s dressed in camos, a large backpack over his shoulders, a rifle strapped across his chest.

He and I look at each other a moment. Then his eyes go to the girls. He takes off the backpack and opens it. This time there’s a water bottle and protein bar for each girl.

The food and water are accepted eagerly. Even Esmeralda drinks this time and unwraps her bar gratefully.

We watch the girls eat and drink.

“I’m glad you’re here,” I say.

Max is quiet for a moment. “I’m sorry about what happened before. If you love Stephen, I hope it works out for you. I don’t know why I did or said what I did.”

God, that conversation seems so long ago. And so utterly irrelevant now. Not that I intend to let Max off so easily. I allow a smile. “Maybe you really are a prick. Ever thought of that?”

“Every minute of every day.”

He has a wistful tone to his voice that makes me stare hard at him. “Who are you and what did you do with the real Max?”

His face reddens a little. A sound from outside cuts our conversation short. Once again, I’ve picked up what human ears ca

After another second, though, it’s u

I gather from the excited calls to Luis to come outside that Ramon and his men have returned.

I peek out the front window.

Ramon says he did not return empty-handed.

The shouts bring Luis to the door of his shack. Ramon and his men are gathered in a circle near the well.

“Esta son para muchachas,” Ramon says. “Le trajimos una sorpresa. Un premio de la consolación.”

He is offering a consolation prize for Luis’ lost girls.

A consolation prize?

Luis steps forward. “Enséñame,” he says, hand on the gun at his waist.

Ramon steps aside and one of his men pushes a figure behind him to the front.

All the air rushes out of my body. My heart pounds so violently, I’m sure everyone can hear it. I whirl on Max with rage bubbling in white-hot fury to the surface.

“What the fuck have you done, Max?”

He shoulders me aside to look out.

He pales. “I don’t know how she got here. You have to believe me, A

I shove him away, back against the table, with such force, he stumbles and falls. The table scrapes loudly against the wooden floor. I don’t care about the noise.

I whirl and look outside again.

One of Ramon’s men has pushed her to the ground and Luis is circling her like a lion with wounded prey.

Ramon grabs her hair and yanks her face upward.

“Oh god, no.” The words hiss out, my heart pounding. “Adelita.”

CHAPTER 41

I WATCH LUIS. IF HIS HAND SO MUCH AS TWITCHES on that gun, I’m going out after Adelita. He’s questioning his men, asking how they found her and where. He points to her clothes, clean jeans and a sweatshirt, asks her how she got away. How she could have escaped the burned-out truck. Why she came back.

His eyes search the perimeter of the village, asking is she alone?

He fires off one question after another, not waiting for answers. Ramon tries to interrupt, offering assurances that she is alone, that they found no one else. Just a dead-end trail that stopped so quickly, it was as if an angel had reached down and spirited Max away.

Luis doesn’t look convinced. He approaches Ramon and draws his gun, putting the barrel against Ramon’s forehead.

Kill him. I wish it so hard, the nails on my balled fists draw blood.

But Ramon pleads for his life, begs Luis to ask his men. They will confirm his story. There was no sign of Max. They found Adelita right outside the village.

Luis lowers the gun a fraction, asks if Ramon found any trace of the six men who went in search of the other girls—the ones spirited away from his shack like Max was evidently spirited away—”No por ángel,” he spits. “Por el diablo mismo.”

By the devil.

I let a smile touch my lips. I’ve been called worse.

Ramon looks around. He finds the body of the murdered guard, dragged away to the far side of the well, recoils at the sight and sound of the dogs ripping at it. He meets Luis’ eyes. Shakes his head. “Lo juro. No vi a nadie.”

Luis drops his gun hand. He fires off a rapid-fire directive that has Ramon and his men looking at each other with puzzled expressions.

Ramon frowns. He has been told that all of his men will be required to work the shipment arriving today. Not just the villagers. “¿Por qué?” he asks.

Luis smiles. “Usted sabrá pronto bastante.”

Max, too, has been listening. “Why would the villagers not be able to work?” he asks me. “What has Luis done to them?”

I watch as the men disperse, quietly, slinking away as if hoping Luis does not notice and call them back. Only Ramon, Luis and Adelita remain. I ignore Max, waiting to see what happens next. Luis reaches down and hauls Adelita to her feet. He pulls her close to him, clutches her chin in a pinch so hard, I think I see bruises start to form.

“Afortunado para ti, estoy corto seis trabajadores,” he says. “Ramon, átala aquí hasta que llegue el carro.”

He is telling her she is lucky that he is down six workers. I allow a little relief to loosen some of the knots in my shoulders as Ramon ties her to a post near the well. Then he and Luis disappear into Luis’ shack.

I draw a breath. It may be a temporary reprieve, but at least I can keep an eye on her. If Luis had dragged her inside his shack, it would have given us no time to formulate an escape plan. I shut my eyes in frustration and concern. Now we have five girls to protect.

I’m ready to face Max.

Once again, my nails bite into the palms of my hand. It’s the only way I can keep my anger under control. Even my voice shakes with the effort when I ask, “How did she get here?”

Max can sense how close to rage I am. He closes his eyes for a minute, just as I did before, and passes a hand over his face. “There can be only one way. I didn’t think to check.”