Mark Gimenez - The Governor's wife

"You have nothing to fear from me, Senora Bonner."

"Why not?"

"You saved my son's life. I told you I would not forget."

"But you want to kill my husband?"

" Si. He has much to fear. Because he murdered my son."

The vehicle stopped, and the man named Hector opened their door. She got out, and El Diablo escorted her past armed guards and into the house. She glanced back at the guards.

"Do not fret, Senora Bonner, the guards do not come into the house where my children live."

The exterior of the house resembled a prison; the walls were thick and seemed impenetrable. But once through the double entrance doors, she stepped into a magnificent open-air hacienda filled with color and art, soft Latin music and Spanish voices, plants and sunlight and servants dressed in black-and-white uniforms scurrying about. The entry opened onto a stunning courtyard and pool with palm trees and lush landscaping and a grand piano. El Diablo led her into a commercial-grade kitchen where they found a chef, a slender teenage boy, and a young girl dressed in a plaid school uniform fingering a cell phone.

"Are you texting that boy again?" he asked the girl.

She quickly ended her message and smiled.

"No, padre."

He turned to Lindsay and turned up his palms.

"Children." He sighed. " Senora Bonner, you met Jesus. I would like you to meet my other children, Julio and Carmelita. Children, this is Senora Bonner. She will be our guest for a few days."

The children greeted her with good manners. The tightness in her chest lessened.

"Julio is a talented pianist, and Carmelita sings like the birds in the morning. Perhaps they will perform for you while you are here. Would you like something to eat, Senora? "

"No, thanks."

"Perhaps you would like to freshen up, wash the smell of the colonias off. Come, I will show you to your room."

When they exited the kitchen, Lindsay said, "A few days?"

"I think it will take that long for your husband to arrive."

"Mister El-"

"Please. Call me Enrique."

"Enrique, this won't end well."

"Not for your husband, I am afraid."

"You don't know him. He can be a very hard man."

"And what? I am a pushover?"

"I didn't mean-"

He laughed. "I am just joking. Let us not talk about unpleasant matters that are in the future. Let us enjoy the moment."

They walked down a gallery fronting the courtyard-"That is my chapel"-and past alcoves holding statues of Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary, religious shrines, and a massive "Ten Commandments" carved in marble. They arrived at an elevator and rode up to the third floor. They proceeded down another gallery overlooking the courtyard and into a spacious suite.

"I hope this will be acceptable."

As if he were the concierge at a luxurious hotel. And the suite was luxurious. He opened the drapes to reveal a sliding glass door leading to a balcony that looked out upon Laredo across the river. They walked outside. He gestured at the river below.

"The Rio Bravo del Norte."

A Mexican woman dressed in a maid's outfit stepped out onto the balcony.

"Ah, Blanca. This is Senora Bonner. She is your only concern while she is our guest. Please bring her anything she desires." He turned to Lindsay. "Food, water?"

"Water."

"Blanca, three bottles of Evian. And the lunch menu."

Blanca departed, and they went back inside.

"Flat-screen television, all the cable channels. I love Fox News."

He gestured at a painting on the wall.

"That is an original Picasso. I have an extensive art collection, perhaps you would like to see, after dinner."

He showed her the bathroom, which was much larger than the master bathroom in the Governor's Mansion.

"Jacuzzi tub, shower… all the comforts of home. Everything you need is here. If not, simply ask Blanca, and she will obtain whatever you desire. Anything at all."

"Thank you."

She was thanking the man who wanted to kill her husband.

"I will leave you now," he said. "Until dinner."

He walked to the door but turned back.

"Oh, please do not leave the room."

He shut the door behind him. She went over and locked the door. But there was soon a knock.

"Who is it?"

" Soy yo, Blanca."

She unlocked and opened the door. The maid entered with three bottles of water and a menu. She then left, and Lindsay locked the door behind her. She sat on the edge of the bed and drank half a bottle of water then glanced at the lunch menu. Grilled salmon, char-broiled Gulf shrimp, chicken salad on a croissant, tortilla soup

… She was abducted by a drug lord only to be fed like a hotel guest. The border was an entirely different world. She lay back on the bed and closed her eyes.

Bode knocked on Becca's door and entered her room. It was after ten, and she was still asleep. He sat on the bed next to her and stroked her hair. She stirred and woke. She rubbed her eyes and then reached over and turned the lamp on.

"Daddy… Where are you going?"

"To the border."

"To get mom?"

"Yes. Becca, the man who wants me dead, he took your mother."

She sprung up in bed.

"Took her?"

"Kidnapped. He's holding her in Nuevo Laredo. I'm going down to get her."

"Get the Rangers to go!"

"Becca, our military and police can't cross the border without permission from the Mexican government-and that won't happen. And if I sent the Rangers into Mexico, he'd kill her."

"Go on TV!"

"He'd kill her."

"What about our consulate down there?"

"Useless."

"But, Daddy-"

"It's the only way to get her back."

He saw in her eyes the realization that she might be seeing her father for the last time-and that she might never see her mother again. He cupped her face.

"I love you, Becca. I couldn't have asked for a better daughter."

"I'm a lesbian."

"You're my daughter."

She stared into his eyes.

"You're not coming back, are you?"

"No. But your mother is."

She threw her arms around him and hugged him tight. When she released him, she wiped tears from her face.

"Daddy… kill him."

"Oh, you can count on that."

Jesse Rincon entered the San Agustin Cathedral on the plaza in downtown Laredo for the first time in over three years. The church sat vacant. He walked up the center aisle and knelt at the altar rail. He gazed up at the crucifix on the wall above the altar. He spoke to God.

"I will make a deal with you. If you will spare her life, I will give you mine. I will do your work here, and I will never complain or question your will. Take her from me if you wish, but please do not take her life. That is all I ask."

Just across the river from the cathedral, Lindsay Bonner woke to a man on top of her. Not El Diablo, but a foul man who smelled of whiskey and cigars. The bald man named Hector. She screamed, but he slapped a big hand over her mouth.

"?Callete, perra! "

He ran his hands over her breasts and down her hips.

"I tried to kill the governor. The next time I will succeed. But first I will have the governor's wife."

"You'll fuck a dead woman!"

She had been born in Boston but toughened in Texas. She feared this man, but she was not afraid to fight him. She slapped at him and punched him, but he only laughed. He put his weight on her and his hand between her legs and tried to push his finger inside her. He froze.

"What is this?"

He raised up with her cell phone in his hand. Which gave her the opening she needed. She drove her knee into his groin. He wasn't laughing now. He groaned and doubled over. She kicked him in the face.

"?Puta! "

He stumbled to the door but turned back.

"If you tell el jefe, I will come back and kill you before he kills me."

"I won't tell him. But I'll make sure my husband kills you first."