Chapter 16
CHAPTER 16
MARIA
I shift on the edge of the bed, trying to keep myself calm as I wait for Rayo to arrive. The pressure of the wire tucked up under my shirt is irritating my skin, but I can’t touch it or adjust it, worried that I’ll make it obvious that I’m ready and waiting to expose Rayo the first chance I get.
I hate being here, in this fucking room, but I need to remind myself, it’s for the greater good. Now that Malo has agreed to do what he can to get my father out of Mexico and back to safety, I am feeling a whole lot more motivated to work with the Kings, and do whatever it takes to play the game they want me to play.
I reach up and touch my cheek where Rayo struck me the last time we met. I can’t imagine he’s going to be any nicer this time around, and, on this occasion, I don’t even have Malo in the closet, ready to jump out and intervene if things take a turn for the worse.
He and a couple of the other guys, Sin and Thor, are in the room next door. They kicked the door in and hid out in there, hooked up to the listening device that’s attached to my chest right now so they can keep track of what’s going on in here. I know they’re just a matter of feet away, but I’m still scared at the thought of being in here all alone with Rayo.
I have this feeling he’s going to catch on to me soon enough. It’s only been a couple of days since I saw him last, and as far as I know, nobody has been by the room. I don’t think they noticed I snuck out that day and I’ve been staying at the Kings’ compound since.
I shiver at the thought of what they’d do to me or my father if they found out. I hate feeling so helpless, knowing there’s nothing at all I can do to get him out of there. I just want to… I want to be able to hug him again, that’s it. Give him a huge hug and tell him how sorry I am that it took so long to get him free. I close my eyes, and try to focus on that thought in my head, try to focus on the way it makes me feel. The dream I had the other night, of us at the waterfall together, I need to believe we’ll have days like that again, even if this dingy room feels as far removed from that life as it possibly could be.
A knock on the door makes me jump slightly, and I catch my breath and get to my feet, checking the wire to make sure it’s hidden beneath the fabric of my top. I feel like I’m going to open that door and it’s going to be the first thing Rayo sees, but I need to remind myself that he’s not looking out for anything off. He has no idea I’m working against him, and me acting strange is just going to give him reason to doubt me.
I open the door, and he pushes past me and into the room.
“What else have you got for me?” he demands, and there’s a clear tension in his tone. Has something happened since the last time I saw him? I swallow hard, trying to remember what Malo passed on to me. They’ve been giving me just enough to make it feel to Rayo as though I really am working in his favor, but not so much that it will actually give Las Rosas Negras some kind of advantage.
“The new sheriff knows about the trafficking ring,” I blurt out to him. “He used to work with the Kings, I think, and that Malo guy, he told me he heard that from him.”
Rayo eyes me for a moment, and I can’t tell if it’s because he’s doubting me or because he doesn’t like what he’s hearing. I meet his gaze as steadily as I can, not wanting to look like a liar. I remind myself that Malo and the guys are just next door, and I have nothing to be afraid of.
But that’s a hard thing to believe. Rayo takes a step towards me, his eyes pinned to mine.
“How much do they know about it?” he demands.
I shake my head. “I didn’t get to that part,” I admit.
“Useless bitch,” he snarls back at me.
I bristle in anger. “I’m doing all I can,” I reply, defensive. “I just want to get back to Mexico and see my father?—”
He grabs my arms, shoving me back against the wall, knocking the air out of me. His face is red with fury, and his eyes blaze as he glowers down at me.
“Shut your mouth, puta,” he orders me. “You don’t get to decide when you leave. You understand? You’re lucky El Serpiente has kept you alive this long. If it were up to me…”
He trails off, his hands tightening on my arms. I let out a cry of pain, but he ignores me, clearly enjoying my struggle.
“I suppose you’re good for some thing,” he adds, his eyes skimming down my body. My heart pounds in my chest. Please, don’t see the wire, don’t see the wire …
“Let me go!” I cry at him, squirming as I try to pull away, but his grip on me is too tight.
“You need to learn your lesson, talking back to me like that,” he warns, pushing his face against mine. I can smell his putrid breath on my skin, and I twist my head away, trying to catch a lungful of air, but I feel the panic starting to set in. If this is what they will do to me just for talking back to them, what will they do to my father if they find out I’ve betrayed them?
But, before I can say another word, I hear a slam against the door, and the panic breaks. Rayo spins around just in time to see Malo kicking the door in, sending it flying from its hinges. I dive onto the bed, putting as much space between Rayo and myself as possible. I can still feel the grip of his hands on my arms, and I rub at them, trying to brush away the sensation.
“Stay away from her,” Malo growls at Rayo, closing in on him.
Rayo reaches for the gun tucked into his pants, but Sin knocks it out of his hand, sending it flying to the floor.
Malo shoves him against the wall, and Rayo raises his hands slowly, as though he knows he’s been caught. There’s not a chance he stands of getting away from these three, and he knows it. His gaze slides over to me, and the glower he gives me sends a shiver down my spine. I tense up, and pull my eyes away from him. I know exactly what he thinks of me right now, exactly what he would do to me given the chance—exactly how he would repay me for betraying them like this.
Malo slaps on a pair of zip-tie cuffs, and yanks Rayo toward the door. He stumbles slightly, but Malo hardly seems to notice, as he pushes him toward Thor and Sin.
“Take him downstairs,” he spits out, the words laced with a murderous anger I haven’t heard come out of his mouth before. Not even when he thought I was the one who fucked him over.
“We need to get him back to the compound,” he continues. “For questioning.”
Thor nods in agreement, and he and Sin each take one of Rayo’s arms and steer him toward the door. Rayo seems to know better than to fight this; he knows he’s caught, and, judging by the look on the Kings’ faces, one wrong move, and they’ll take the excuse to finish him off for good.
I stand up again, my heart pounding in my chest. I can still feel the spots on my arms where Rayo grabbed me, can still hear his words rolling around my head, like some kind of torture. I know what he would have done to me, given the chance.
I shiver, and then try to push that thought aside. But he didn’t get the chance, that’s what matters here. He didn’t get the chance to hurt me, and that’s what I need to remember. Malo sees me hanging back and he pauses before he follows the other two down the corridor.
“Maria,” he murmurs, and somehow, the sound of my name on his lips settles something in my chest.
I let out a long, shaky breath. “Sorry,” I mutter, and I wrap my arms around myself and head to the door. “Can we get out of here?”
“Of course. Vamos,” he replies, and he shoots a look ahead of us, where Rayo is being bundled down the stairs toward the car waiting outside.
“We need to get him back to the compound,” he growls. “Ask him a few questions. See what he knows.”
Judging by the look on his face, I know he isn’t talking about having a chat over some coffee. Rayo is going to be forced to give up everything he knows, or he’s going to pay the price for it.
But after what he’s done, it’s hard to feel sorry for him.