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The hangar is in sight now. This time the doors are pulled closed. “Where’s the plane?” I ask Max.
“Inside the hangar, I imagine,” he replies with a touch of sarcasm. “Where else would it be?”
“I thought the plane was supposed to be ready to take off. I don’t see the pilot, either.”
Max pulls the Explorer to a stop and peers around. “Where is the pilot,” he repeats as if to himself.
That quiver in my gut clenches like a closed fist. “Max, something is wrong.”
The words still hang in the air when the hangar doors swing open and the pilot steps out. He motions to us to drive forward. He’s smiling.
“See,” Max says, putting the Explorer in gear. “There’s nothing to worry about.”
His optimism is short-lived. Three black Humvees roar out of the hangar, spitting gunfire in our direction. Bullets slam into the ground around us. Adelita, Culebra and Luis cower down.
Max slams the Explorer to a stop. He starts to put it in reverse, to turn around, but before he can, we are surrounded. Men spill out of the vehicles like circus clowns from a Volkswagen, guns trained on the Explorer. The passenger door of one of the vehicles opens and a man jumps to the ground. We hear Luis shout a greeting from the back.
“Pablo. Hermano. Thank god you are here.”
CHAPTER 55
CULEBRA REACHES AROUND AND BACKHANDS LUIS. “Shut it.”
But the sight of his brother has revived Luis. He spits at Culebra. “Now we will see who is the coward.”
We watch Pablo approach. Unlike his brother, Pablo is lean, tall, dressed in a tan flight suit that emphasizes a ru
The twenty or so goons with him make it u
He approaches nonchalantly and motions for Max to roll down his window.
Max glances at me, then does.
“Hola, my friends,” Pablo says. “How nice of you to bring my brother back to me.” His eyes seek out Culebra’s. “And my good friend Tomás, as well? An abundance of riches. Come, get out of the car. My men will take care of it.” He glances at a big, gold watch on his left wrist. “I think we don’t have much time before we are joined by our DEA colleagues.”
A rush of air escapes Max’s lips. Pablo has already opened his door and stepped back.
I send a frantic message to Culebra. Should I make a run for it?
Culebra is looking at the guards standing with pointed rifles at the car. Too much firepower, A
Pablo has sent one of his men to the back of the car to open the hatch. He helps Luis out and uses his own handcuff key to release his hands. Luis rubs his wrists and joins his brother.
They embrace, then Pablo holds him at arms length and examines his face, the bandage around his thigh. “¿Quién te hizo esto?”
“El cerdo del DEA,” he snarls. He jabs a thumb at Adelita. “Y la muchacha.”
Pablo raises an eyebrow and looks into the back window at Adelita. “¿La muchacha? Un qué gato salvaje.”
“Sí. Será un placer domesticarla.”
Adelita listens to the words pass between Luis and his brother, but her face betrays nothing. She’s stone-faced, like their words haven’t touched her. But I know, too, what they said and I want to let her know that Luis will never get the chance to “tame the wildcat” that bruised and battered his face.
I’ll kill him first.
Luis has opened Adelita’s door and he pulls her from the car by her arm. I jump out. A guard puts out a hand to grab me, but I push him away. I hear him ready his rifle to fire, but I’m at Adelita’s side before he can take aim.
Pablo holds up a hand to stay the guard. He examines me the way he examined his brother a moment before. “And who are you?”
“I am her friend. Your pig of a brother better take his hand off her or I’ll break it off at the wrist.”
Luis actually drops her arm. He’s already had a taste of my strength—and my resolve. I’ll bet he’s not aware he’s rubbing at the wound on his thigh. But that moment passes quickly. “Be careful of this one,” he tells Pablo. “She is tougher than she looks.”
“Ah. Another wildcat, huh? Maybe we both have our pussies to tame.”
They chuckle like two frat boys.
Oh please. Take me somewhere alone. It’s just the opportunity I need to—
I’m so busy glaring at Luis, I don’t see the blow coming. Pablo’s backhand sends me back against the car. Vampire is ready to retaliate, but I restrain her. Better to play the victim until the time is right.
I straighten slowly, swipe at the trickle of blood oozing from the corner of my mouth. Luis is gri
“It’s okay, Adelita,” I tell her, silently begging her not to say anything that will alert them to my true nature.
She doesn’t. Perhaps she realizes that the odds are too great even for a vampira.
Pablo and Luis stride toward the hangar, leaving us to be brought along by their gunmen. They frisk us in a practiced, efficient ma
Max positions himself next to me while they herd us toward the hangar. “I know he can’t really hurt you, but it looked painful just the same.”
I touch the tip of my tongue to the cut on my lip. “It was. What are we going to do? Your guys are walking into a trap.”
Max dips his head so his voice won’t carry. “If they don’t see the plane on the runway, they’ll know something’s wrong. They’ll pull back and wait.”
I shake my head. “You can be an asshole, but you’re also a pretty smart cop.”
That gets a small smile. “That’s me. Half asshole, half good cop.”
“Any idea how Pablo found out about us?”
One of the guards pokes Max with his rifle. “Silencio. No hablan.”
We’re almost at the door to the hangar. The Explorer passes us, a soldier at the wheel, and disappears inside.
“Wonder what other surprises the brothers Santiago have for us?” I whisper to Max, earning myself a sharp poke in the back from the same guard.
Didn’t have to wait long to find out. She steps forward the moment the hangar doors swing shut.
Maria is all smiles. “Ah. Here you are. We have been waiting.”
Luis is standing next to her, his arm around her shoulders. He grins at the disbelief on our faces. “I think you have already met my lover.” His tone is smug. “It was a good plan, was it not? Rid ourselves of an old enemy and a troublesome husband.”
She puts a hand on his chest. “You are very clever,” she says. Her eyes shine with undisguised adulation.
Stupid bitch.
Luis plants a kiss on her cheek, then reaches to a table behind them and picks up a laptop. “Maria just told me. Those security cameras you were so careful to avoid? It did not occur to you that one could monitor the cabin from a distance, did it? As soon as we entered the clearing, we were spotted. Pablo had only to wait for you to return for the plane.”
Pablo joins us. He takes Maria’s hand and moves her away from his brother. The expression on his face makes my blood pump faster. It is no longer the look of one relieved to welcome his brother back, but the calculating look of a predator closing in for the kill.
He picks up the laptop. “It is true. We monitored your arrival at the cabin. But we monitored something else, as well.” He pushes another key on the computer.
Luis’ voice fills the room.
“I’ll give you everything. Supply routes, operations, dealers in the States. Help me and I’ll help you.”