39. Elena
39
ELENA
“ G ood luck,” Sophie says, giving me a hug as she and Brooks head off to the event as staff.
“Look after yourself,” I tell her as she gives me a small wave. Brooks throws me a nod before the two of them walk out the door, hopefully not for the last time. My stomach is in knots. Usually, I am calm before a mission, but something about this makes me queasy.
“Are you okay?” Nash asks.
“I have an uneasy feeling about tonight. I hate going into a mission feeling like this.”
“Me too,” he says before he wraps his hand around my neck and pulls me to him. “No matter what, I will have your back tonight. You are my priority.”
I shake my head. “No, please promise me you will save those girls, they must be your priority.”
“I’m not going to lose you, not when I’ve just found you,” he says, pulling our lips together and kissing me passionately.
“I’m like a cat, I have nine lives, trust me, I’ll survive,” I reassure him.
“I have faith in your skills, kitty,” he states, kissing me softly.
“Good, I promise I’m coming home with you.”
Nash and I arrive at the gala, which is being held in an old Spanish home, which has been converted into an event space. It’s a snail’s pace as we are stuck in traffic. Anna said there is an option for valet or self-park, which we take as directed by one of the staff. We pull into the car space that is closest to the exit that Anna had marked for us. We did a couple of test runs over the last couple of days leading up to tonight to make sure everything was right with no surprises.
“You ready?” I turn and ask Nash.
“As ready as I’ll ever be.” He grins before grabbing me and kissing me one last time. I reach out and wipe my red lipstick from his mouth.
“We’ve got this,” I reassure him. We have gone over the plan so many times that it feels like second nature. We dropped our luggage off at the helicopter earlier, which included the red Birkin filled with diamonds. We also went shopping and bought what we could in clothing for the girls to get changed into. We don’t know their sizes or ages, but we grabbed what we could to make them feel comfortable. We made sure the plane was fully stocked with enough toiletries for the girls to shower and feel relaxed after what is going to be a harrowing night. Anna reassures us she has Pearl and the girls organized, that they will be where she says they will be. I must trust her. This is it. As Nash and I stride toward the entrance of the event, security stops us, requesting to look at our invite and once they are satisfied, they check my purse before sending us through the metal detectors. Once we’ve passed we are let into the event, where Sophie is standing at the entrance with a tray of champagne glasses. I give her a nod and take my glass as does Nash, and we enter the event. I wasn’t sure what I was expecting, but I didn’t think there would be this many people. My heart kicks up a beat and I hope and pray that I do not run into anyone I know. Anyone you know is dead.
“Relax, you’ve got this,” Nash whispers into my ear, his warm breath sending shivers down my exposed back, especially when his hand rests at my lower back.
“Carmen,” someone calls my name and when I look over, I see Manuel, who eyes Nash suspiciously.
“Show time,” Nash mumbles.
“My love,” he kisses my cheeks, “you look like a vision,” he whispers into my ear as he assesses me.
“I wore the dress you chose.” I giggle, fluttering my lashes at him as I rest my hand on his chest.
“It is perfect,” Manuel grins, “don’t you think she looks perfect, Nash?” he asks Nash in Spanish.
“She wanted to look perfect for you,” he says, taking a sip of his champagne.
“Good, just wanted to make sure you know whose she is,” Manuel says darkly to Nash.
I giggle and try to turn Manuel’s attention back onto me as I scrunch up my face. “Ew, Nash is like a big brother to me.”
“As long as he knows that.” Manuel hisses as he continues to glare at Nash.
“That’s my cue to leave,” Nash says, raising his glass toward us and disappearing into the crowd.
I lean into Manuel and whisper in his ear, “Your jealousy is making me tingle.” His hand wraps around my back, pulling me closer to him. “I will not allow another man to touch what is mine, Carmen, do you understand?” he says firmly.
“I am yours, Manuel, to do with as you please, remember,” I coo seductively into his ear.
“Damn right you are. Fuck, I hate that I am on show tonight, otherwise, I would be taking you into the nearest room and fucking you. I’ve missed you. It’s been too long, my love.”
I let my hand skim across his tuxedo-clad cock. “I can’t wait for you to fill me, again.” I bite his ear.
“Fuck, Carmen.” He groans as I continue to tease him.
“I know, baby, I can feel you getting hard for me. Such a good boy, rising to attention for me, but now is not the time. I promise I will make up the time we have spent apart worth your while, but you must be a good boy for me,” I purr into his ear.
“I’ll be so fucking good.” He moans.
“I need you to put on a show for me, this will all be over soon. No more pretending with your wife after tonight. You and I will be together. I will make you one of the most powerful men in the cartel, all from my knees.”
“Fuck, Carmen, you don’t understand what you’re saying to me. Do you know how long I have waited for someone like you?” He hisses as I continue to lightly tease him.
“You were waiting for me. I’m here but you must be patient for a little longer,” I assure him.
“Yes, my love, a little longer.” Manuel nods. “Tonight, at the after-party will be the start of our new life together,” he states, placing a kiss on my cheek.
My hand wraps around his cock giving it a tug, and a small hiss falls from his lips. “All your dreams will come true tonight, trust me, baby.” I grin before letting his dick go and giving him a small wave as I saunter away from him. I need to disinfect my hands.
Anna calls out my name and waves me over. “You look spectacular, don’t you think, sweetheart?” she says to her husband.
“Carmen, you are a feast for the eyes,” Pedro says, looking over me hungrily. I want to be sick, but I let him kiss me on my cheeks. “Manuel is around here somewhere, I’m sure he’s looking for you.” He chuckles as he looks out into the crowd.
“He’s already found me,” I tell him.
“I’m sure he has, quickly staking his claim.” He belly laughs as do the other men that surround him. “Will you be attending the after-party?” I can’t believe he is asking me this in front of his wife.
“Yes, Manuel invited me,” I answer.
“The after-parties get wild,” Anna says, giving me a wink.
“We certainly have a lot of fun, don’t we, sweetheart.” Pedro grins as he looks over Anna hungrily, giving her the same look he gave me.
Does Anna attend these parties, too?
She gives her husband a giggle as she coyly flutters her lashes and reaches out to fix his tuxedo. “You know I’ll do anything for my husband.”
“Is she the best wife, fellas?” He laughs again, looking at his men, who all agree with him. “You guys need to find yourselves women like these two. Two precious jewels in a sea of rocks.” I still at his terminology. No. There’s no way he knows who I am. Any information about me shows I’m dead. Emerald is dead!
“You’re embarrassing me, sweetheart.” Anna smirks up at Pedro before she leans in and gives him a kiss. “Now, if you will excuse me, Carmen and I need to go grab another drink. I’m sure you have more important things to talk about than us.”
“Nothing is as important as you, my love, but yes, I do have some business to discuss. See, boys, she knows me better than I know myself.” More rounds of chuckling are heard as Anna pulls me through the crowd.
We reach the bar, and Anna grabs us two glasses of champagne.
“Everything is in place,” she whispers into my ear in Russian. “The girls are in place. The plan is solid, please tell me you are all ready?” I nod. “Good. Now let’s enjoy the night as much as we can,” she says, raising her glass to me, we clink and smile.
It will all be over soon.
The first course feels like a lead balloon in my stomach, the salmon mousse curdling with each bite. My phone buzzes in my purse and I know it’s from Sophie, letting me know my package has been collected. As I look around at the next table where Nash is seated, I watch as he gets up and excuses himself from the table, he doesn’t glance my way. This is it. Anna reaches out under the table and gives my thigh a squeeze. The plan is working, I don’t want to jinx anything, but everything is going exactly the way Anna said it would. The MC for the night introduces the band, and the crowd gives them a round of applause.
“I need to go to the bathroom, do you?” Anna asks me. I nod.
“My love, where are you going?” Pedro asks her.
“To powder my nose, my love,” she says, leaning over and kissing him, it is a slow, languid kiss that has the table clapping. This is her goodbye to him.
“Told you, boys, my wife is perfection,” he says, giving her ass a slap. Thankfully, Manuel is not at our table. Anna moved him from it, telling her husband that it would be uncomfortable for me if Manuel’s wife was at the same table, and she would rather me beside her instead. As I get up, I catch Manuel’s look and give him a small smile, but his wife sneers at me, when he realizes she is looking in the same direction, he stops and engages in conversation with her. She can keep her husband, I am not interested in that depraved man. Anna holds my hand as we weave between the tables, she stops and talks to a couple of people before excusing herself. I can feel eyes on us as we walk past, I don’t think we are going unnoticed.
We reach the bathrooms. “Hey I actually need to pee, do you?” Anna asks.
“Sure,” I say and follow her in. We do our business and fix ourselves up in the mirror. As she applies her lipstick, we wait for the last woman to leave the bathroom before talking.
“It’s time. We will leave this bathroom arm-in-arm giggling, we are then going to ask a staff member if we can go out the fire exit door for a cigarette. They, of course, will allow it because of who I am and then we go,” she explains in Russian.
This is it. It’s go time.
We walk out of the bathrooms, giggling, and see one of the event planners standing to the side looking over the planner.
“Mrs. Dominguez,” she gasps.
“Shh, we are going for a sneaky cigarette, please do not tell my husband. I promised him I had stopped but I’m a little stressed,” Anna explains to the woman, who looks like a deer caught in headlights and nods. “If anyone asks, we are at the bar.” The woman nods again. Anna gives her a wave, and we walk out of the fire exit.
We did it. I can’t believe it. Her plan worked. We see the headlights of Nash’s Jeep coming up the side of the building.
“We have five minutes to get into the car and go. Otherwise, we are collateral damage,” Anna says with an edge of panic in her voice as we sprint across the lawn to where Nash is waiting. “We need to get the hell out of here,” she screams at Nash, who puts his foot to the floor and tries to floor it subtly out of the parking lot without raising suspicion. Someone calls out from the bushes as we fly past, screaming for us to stop. Shit, where the hell did that guard come from, then I see a woman stumble out beside him. He goes to reach for his radio, but it’s not there, it must have fallen off when he went for a romp in the bushes. He’s going to be in so much trouble. I continue to watch him as he scrambles on the ground, looking for it, screaming at the woman. Then there’s a loud boom that rattles the Jeep, and where the old Spanish building stood is now behind a fireball.
What the fuck?
Nash swerves across the bitumen from the force of the blast and you can feel the intense heat from the inferno. Anna, what in the hell did you do? When my attention turns to her, I’m greeted with a blinding smile. I stare at her in shock.
“Keep fucking driving, we need to be nowhere near this scene when the authorities come,” Anna screams at us.
I turn back around and look over at Nash, who looks back at me, and we share the same what the hell just happened look, but he doesn’t slow down until we are far enough away.
“What the fuck did you do?” I scream at Anna as we arrive at the heliport.
“What was required,” she answers coldly.
“You blew up that entire event.”
“And?” She shrugs as she starts to walk to where the helicopter is waiting for us.
“Now isn’t the time,” Nash says, grabbing my arm as Anna walks off.
“She murdered all those people. There were so many innocent people,” I yell at him.
He nods. “Just get into the helicopter, we will discuss what happened when we are safely in the sky.”