41
Lead or silver?
I lay down on one of the garden's hammocks with a glass in hand.
One thing became clear to me from the conversation I had with Andrey, after he had dealt with El Gordo and Huang himself, was that even after subjecting them to various tortures, they remained steadfast.
They had nothing to do with it.
It was then that I decided that my right-hand man deserved to know the truth.
"Promise me you won't tell anyone what I'm about to tell you."
"Do you know me so little as to doubt that I would give my life before revealing a single secret of yours?"
I was convinced that was the case, but talking to anyone about Yuri made me feel vulnerable, a feeling I had rarely experienced.
"My brother didn't die, he's alive and well, and I think he's behind everything that's happening, even though he tells me he isn't."
"What?!" he exclaimed. It was the first time I had seen Andrey so surprised.
"Let's talk outside, I don't want anyone to overhear us, it's dangerous."
I took him out to the garden; the conversation was going to be long. I didn't want to skip anything so that he would fully understand the predicament I was in. Andrey listened attentively, as he always did when the matter was complex. By the end of my story, his face looked as if he had attended my own funeral.
His expression was very serious when he asked:
"Do you want to accept your brother’s proposal?"
His tone was clinical, soulless, I was sure all he intended was to not show his opinion on the matter, which was exactly what I wanted. I had no friends, Andrey was the closest thing to one.
"What I want is your honest opinion."
"Don't take offense, boss, but it seems to me that your brother has put your neck on the chopping block. You don’t have many options; either dance to Yuri's tune or betray him and ally with your husband."
"I needed to hear that from someone other than myself. At another time, I wouldn’t have doubted for a second, I would have gone to the death with Yuri, the idea of being a traitor to my family does not thrill me."
"But you've fallen in love." There was no judgment in his gaze, only understanding.
"I'd like to say that what causes me not to want to get out of bed, the pain in my chest, and the knots in my stomach is the flu, but no, it's my husband."
"I understand."
"I know you do, that's why I called you to come back with Aleksa."
"Let me tell you something. You are like the wind, free, independent, you have the power to extinguish the candle or fan the flames."
"That's very nice, but in this case, with that pair of torches, the only thing I can provoke is a firestorm, no matter which way I blow. Neither my brother nor my husband will give in. Yuri is too clear about what he wants and won't hesitate to run over whoever he needs to achieve his goal. And if I expose to Romeo what I've been keeping silent these weeks, when he has stood up to his entire family for my honor, I don't know if he can forgive me. In fact, I wouldn't."
Andrey stroked his neatly trimmed beard.
"Your husband will be angry, no one likes to have things of that magnitude hidden from them. You have to be prepared for his reaction, but if you explain it to him the same way you did with me, with the love Romeo has for you, I’d say he might come to understand. It was about your brother, it wasn’t an easy decision, considering you married him as part of a pact. Their worlds are very similar, both know what it means to betray family, and if you had told him from the beginning, we both know what your husband would have done."
"Kill Yuri," I exhaled.
"Exactly. You could tell him tied to the bed, after sex, so if he doesn't react well, you can work your magic until he calms down." I offered him a restrained smile. "Still, you can’t let another day go by without telling him, unless your decision is to accept your brother’s proposal."
"I’ve thought about it a lot, and even though at another time Yuri’s proposal would have been a cause for celebration, I now know it wouldn’t fulfill me. I thought I could regain the happiness I felt with him by staying by his side, but I’ve realized that you can’t regain something you’ve lost. My happiness is with Romeo."
"Then you have no choice but to forge an alliance with your husband and put your brother against the ropes."
"Are you talking about subduing him?"
"For example."
"Impossible, he won’t want to sacrifice his empire and come under the Capulet yoke," I sighed. "I swear, right now I’d rather he was dead," I growled in frustration.
"If you want..." he suggested.
"No, I wasn’t asking you to kill him. I’m trying to think of an alternative, but I can’t come up with one."
"I wouldn't want to be in your shoes; it’s a tough situation."
"And to top it off, my husband’s family is convinced that I’m behind the Mentium distribution. According to them, there are videos showing me that Jonás Sánchez leaked to the press."
"Do they exist?" he asked, doubtful.
"No! I only hid Yuri from you, nothing else. Someone has impersonated me to make them think it was me. I just want to know who it is and strangle that bitch with my own hands."
"Maybe your brother hired an actress, or a model, you look more like one than a mafia boss."
"Thanks for the compliment, can you try to find out who it is?"
"You know I’ll do whatever it takes. Can you give me information on your brother so I can follow him and see what I can do?"
"Of course. Thank you for everything, Andrey."
"Don't mention it."
Once I gave him everything I had on Yuri, my man left.
Adriano went out to play with the dogs and we spent the afternoon together, I even helped him with his math homework. When he finished, he looked at me hesitantly.
"Can you tell me about my father?"
"About Romeo? What do you want me to tell you?"
"No, the other one, your brother..."
That he showed interest in Yuri at that precise moment twisted my insides.
"You don't have to talk about him if you don't want to. Your father is R."
"But I want to. I’d like to know if he was as cool as you."
"You think I’m cool?" I asked, surprised.
"Oh, yes, not everyone can snap a hawk’s neck, kill demons, get their blood, make amulets for nightmares, and have such good aim, it’s cool. Besides, you’re very pretty and smart."
It was the second time I blushed in a day; I might have to see a doctor to check if I had some kind of lightbulb syndrome with all this blushing.
"What do you want me to tell you?"
I wasn’t going to avoid the conversation. Yuri was a bastard, but he was his father, and being bad people was in our DNA.
"I don't know, tell me about when you were little."
Okay, that I could do.
I limited myself to telling him anecdotes. Like when we went hunting with dad and were anointed with deer blood. The kid was delighted, I promised to take him someday, and when Ana María came to get him for dinner, he complained because he wanted to keep listening to Aunt Nikita.
Ana María watched us with maternal contentment, only dragging him away because she had his favorite dinner ready.
My phone rang, it was Romeo, calling from the hospital to tell me he’d be late and couldn’t make it to dinner with the Arasagastis. I told him not to worry, I’d call Andrea and reschedule. I decided to take a bath and get ready carefully, mentally rehearsing the conversation I would have with him.
Maybe Andrey’s idea of tying him to the bed wasn’t so bad...
I took a shower, dressed suggestively, in a jewel-toned outfit that left little to the imagination, and left the phone charging in the bedroom. I wouldn’t need it.
When I went downstairs, I asked Ana to leave. She raised her eyebrows at the outfit I had chosen.
“If you keep wearing such sexy things, we’ll soon have another bambino in this house,” Ana remarked.
“Whenever you want, I’ll lend it to you to go out,” I replied.
She laughed like crazy. “In that thing, I can only fit one leg, and I’d look like a stuffed sausage.” This time, I was the one who laughed. “But you, on the other hand, make me want to pass you through a metal detector and give you a thorough pat-down. I bet Romeo has no trouble drawing his baton.”
“Ana!”
“I’m not lying, and now I’m off. I promise not to leave my room no matter how many cries for help I hear.”
I was left alone with the dogs. The night was fantastic, with a gentle breeze blowing and a multitude of stars shining.
Brutus came for some affection, while Lady Killer remained on guard. I whistled for her to bring me the weapon I had hidden in the garden. The dog immediately sprang into action.
I had trained her to fetch it and leave it at an exact point where Adriano couldn’t access it.
I patted her head and gave her the command to put the weapon back.
Fifteen minutes later, the sliding terrace door was thrown open with force, breaking the tranquility of the night. I stood up with my best smile, it was him; I could smell his scent. I wanted Romeo to see how happy his mere presence made me.
I turned to see his silhouette backlit. He waved his hand, and I thought I saw the glint of a weapon. A shiver ran down my spine before I heard Pablo Escobar’s famous question.
“Lead or silver?”