Jeanne Stein - Haunted

“That he’s expendable,” Max says.

Culebra nods.

I roll my glass around in the palms of my hands, processing Culebra’s words. “Then why would Ramon risk bringing you here? Why would Luis let him?”

“Ramon’s deal. Pablo was suspicious. He knew Ramon’s son committed suicide and he knew there had been bad blood between Antonio and Rójan. When Rójan turned up dead, and the minister demanded blood, Ramon was the logical suspect. Ramon and Luis must have worked it out that if he brought me back, dead of course, he’d be able to divert suspicion for Rójan’s death and the minister’s wrath to me. He’d already laid the groundwork. The gun deal. In return, Ramon would swear loyalty to Luis, who would speak on his behalf to Pablo. He and his family would be safe.”

I pose the next question, mindful of Culebra’s past association with Ramon, wondering if he has any regrets over killing him. “How did he know you were alive? Where to find you?”

Culebra pours himself another shot, downs it, before looking at me. “I thought I could trust him. When I settled in Beso de la Muerte I got word to him. I wanted him to know he had a place to come if things got bad. Wasn’t very smart. But until now, he hadn’t betrayed me.” He casts his eyes downward. “Or so I thought.”

Max lays his glass on the bar. “Let’s see what we get from Luis.” He refills the glass and takes it to Luis. He holds it under Luis’ nose, waving it back and forth.

“Thirsty, Luis? Do you want a drink?”

Luis’ head snaps back. He eyes the glass, his tongue darting from his mouth.

At that moment he reminds me of a snaked-out Culebra and I have to smile.

Max tilts the glass toward Luis’ open mouth. When the alcohol touches his broken lips, Luis jerks his head back again.

Max keeps dribbling the alcohol, over his mouth, over his cheeks, saturating every inch of bruised and scraped skin until Luis is weeping from the pain. Blood-tinged tequila drips down his neck and onto his shirt.

When the glass is empty, Max lets it drop to the floor. It hits the tile and shatters.

Luis jumps.

Max leans close. “Where do we find Pablo?”

Luis nearly chokes in his effort to get the words out. “I’ll tell you. I’ll give you the address. Will you protect me?”

“Depends on what you give us. Has to be more than Pablo’s address.”

“I’ll give you everything. Supply routes, operations, dealers in the States. Help me and I’ll help you.”

Culebra speaks from the bar, his voice hard. “The guns,” he says. “They have not all been accounted for. I want to know where they are.”

Luis doesn’t ask, what guns? He nods. “Most are gone,” he says. “But there are still several hundred in a hiding place. I can show you.”

Culebra and Max lock eyes. Max pulls Luis to his feet. “Then we’ll be on our way.”

Adelita looks at me. “Luis will be protected? He will live?”

Max is the one who should answer her. But I think I better understand her—her rage, her wish for retribution. At the same time, I know Max is right. He is looking at the greater good. Information Luis will provide can mean one huge drug pipeline closed down.

Of course others will spring up, but . . .

Adelita has grabbed my arm. “He should die. He deserves to die. You promised me.”

“I did. And I’m sorry. Max must take Luis and Pablo to stand trial. It doesn’t seem fair to you, I know. But you can play a part in bringing them to justice by telling your story. Make people aware of what is going on in places like your village. Of what people like Luis and Pablo make you do.”

Adelita frowns. Her fists are balled at her side and when I see her eyes go to the revolver at my waist, I deliberately slide it around until it is tucked into the small of my back.

“Don’t be foolish, Adelita,” I tell her, keeping my voice low. “You have good friends in Max and me. A chance for a better life. You are young. You don’t want the memory of killing a man—even one like Luis—to follow you around for the rest of your life.”

Max is moving Luis to the stairs. He’s bound the leg wound with the same scraps of towel I used on Maria. He looks at Adelita and me and jerks his head toward the door.

I turn to Adelita. “Are you coming with us?”

She’s fighting a battle, I can see it in her eyes. Culebra has already headed up the stairs after Max and Luis. That leaves just the two of us in the great room. I will only give her another minute to decide. Then I’ll be off with my friends.

A long sigh escapes Adelita’s lips. She looks around at the finely upholstered furniture, the mahogany bar, the plush rug under our feet. Her eyes stop at mine. “Es un tonto el que dice que el crimen no paga.”

She says only a fool thinks crime doesn’t pay.

I hook my arm in hers and we follow the men up the stairs.

Max details the plan as we go. It will take less than an hour to reach the place where he left his car, another two to three hours to reach the airstrip. It’s almost dawn. Max’s DEA friends will meet us at the airstrip at ten and when we get the information we need from Luis, we’ll leave him in their custody. Adelita, too. I see her bristle when he says that but she remains quiet.

I also see the wheels turning in her head.

I’ll make sure we check every vehicle for stowaways before we start out after Pablo.

The car is under the same camouflage net Ramon used for the Jeep. Max and Culebra strip it off, leaving it in a pile on the ground instead of hiding it the way Ramon had. We climb into the car, Max and me in front, Culebra and Adelita in the backseat. Luis is forced to sit with his back against the seat in the cargo area. Culebra bound his feet to a toolbox, just in case he gets the idea to open the hatch and jump out.

I can’t believe how good it feels to sit on something other than the ground. And to be driven instead of walking or running. I know we won’t go home until Pablo and Luis are behind bars, but at least now, we know who the enemy is. It wasn’t always so clear.

I lean my head back. I wonder what Culebra is thinking, but when I reach out, nothing comes through but a feeling. Soft, cozy, like being held in cloud hands.

I sneak a peek into the backseat.

Culebra is asleep, his head propped against the window. Beside him, Adelita is asleep, too. She’s slumped down in the seat and her head rests on Culebra’s shoulders.

She looks like a little girl.

I catch Luis watching her over the backseat. His face no longer reflects pain, but his expression is licentious, shameless, as if he’s remembering how it had been to take her. When he catches my eye, he smiles and turns away.

At that moment, I hope he tries something—anything—so that I can unleash vampire. I know what I told Adelita. I know what Max wants.

But if he looks at her like that again, I’ll kill him.

EVEN THOUGH IT HAD ONLY BEEN A FEW DAYS, I’D forgotten what a bone-jarring ride it was to the airstrip. The sun is up, the heat heavy. Max has the air conditioner on in the car, but with so many bodies packed together, the humidity makes everything feel damp and dirty.

No one has spoken in the last hour. Culebra and Adelita awoke from their naps, Adelita sliding away from him quickly, embarrassed that she fell asleep on his shoulder. It will be a long time before she trusts a man enough to want to touch him. Even accidentally.

Max drives with purpose. His expression is both serious and eager.

I understand. I have that quiver in my gut that comes with knowing we’re about to wrap this up.

“Ten minutes,” he announces after what seems an eternity.

I rest my head on the back of the seat. Ten minutes. A good thing and a bad thing because when we’re finished here, it means going home to face Stephen.