46. Santiago #2
“Let’s go,” I told him, wrapping my arm around his shoulders.
He seemed hesitant at first, almost as if it hurt.
And yet, he still said nothing and instead kept his head bowed as we started walking.
And as we did, I glanced at Olivia one last time, but now seeing she was with Ariyan, I knew she was in good hands, which meant I was free to turn my worry to Nacio, who was clearly not okay.
“Did you find Tess?” I asked once we were back in the street.
He gave a small sniff. “No.”
“But we came here—”
“Fuck off, Santi, I said no,” he hissed, then walked ahead of me.
He was always a shitty liar, but not wanting to push him further, I continued to walk slightly behind him until we reached the bus station.
Shrunk into himself, Nacio didn’t say a word the entire ride—which was a first—and instead stared out the bus’s window.
I worried about him, but pushing him now would do no good, so I held my tongue and passed the time scrolling through my phone.
To no surprise, Gabriel had texted me—again.
He’d been messaging and calling every now and then.
Needless to say, I never replied, but I guess it only made him more eager to try.
Now was no different, and not about to text back, I closed my phone, then leaned back in the seat.
“You need to get a fucking car,” Nacio muttered, his face leaned against the glass.
“Why? Don’t fancy the bus?”
He tsked. “I’m sick of being so fucking broke.”
I crossed my arms and spread my legs a bit. “Whatever you’re feeling right now… a car won’t change that.”
“Of course it fuckin’ will.” His bottom lip quivered right before he bit on it. “Money will change fuckin’ everything.”
ARIYAN
Placing a glass of water in front of the young lady, I returned to my desk.
“You said your name is Olivia?” I asked as she took a long gulp, nearly finishing the glass.
“Y-yes.”
Looking away from her, I focused on tonight’s guest list sitting on the desk, my eyes going over the many names, all of which I’d personally picked.
“How odd…” I tapped the papers, then slowly turned to face her. “I don’t recall any Olivia on my list.”
Not meeting my eyes, she brought the glass back to her lips and pretended to drink more.
Stupid little girl.
Until now, apart from a single mistake that was caught prematurely, there had been no intruders at my parties, and tonight, not one but three people who weren’t supposed to be here got in. First the brothers, now her—
“How old are you?”
“Twenty-two.”
I sighed.
“How old are you really?”
“T-twenty.”
For God’s sake.
My first and nonnegotiable rule was no underage people under any circumstances. Therefore, I had no doubt she’d snuck in somehow.
“What name did you use to get in here?”
She swallowed hard. “M-Martina.”
I poked the inside of my cheek, waiting for her to speak more.
“S-she’s my friend, and s-she had a change of heart at the last minute, so—” Her breath shuddered. “—I took her invitation. I’m so sorry.” She started crying again. “I had no idea what kind of a party this was.”
My jaw ticked. “And what kind of party would that be?”
Her eyes went wide before she quickly shook her head. “I swear, I’ll say nothing.” She pressed her hands in front of her. “Please, I just want to go home to my mom.”
I pushed back from my table and circled it. “Are you close to your mom?”
“No.”
“So why did you bring her up?”
“I don’t know.” Her voice wavered. “I guess I want to see her.”
Looking at my desk drawer, where I kept my gun, I reminded myself of the rules.
No second chances.
No loose ends.
No empathy.
My hand was already brushing the drawer’s handle when I remembered Santiago’s stupid smile, along with my promise to him. Feeling as if something had died in my mouth, I forced the taste down and walked back to the girl, crouching in front of her.
“What’s your mom’s name?”
“M-Maria.”
My eyes focused on her long, dark hair that clung to her cheek, right where she had a big bruise, probably from the beating she suffered. I then glanced down her body, taking in the choke marks around her neck and the bruises on her knees.
“If I let you go now, will you tell Maria what happened tonight?”
Pressing her pink lips together, she quickly shook her head. “No.”
“Do you promise?”
“Yes.”
I held her stare, truly held it, and what I saw in her scared eyes was… hope.
I rose to my feet.
“Follow me,” I said, watching as she fumbled to stand up.
Frankly, those high heels she wore seemed painful to walk in, but bad shoes were the least of her problems right now.
If anything, she had no idea how lucky she was that out of all the people she could have bumped into tonight, it was him she came across.
My dumb hero.
I stopped before the office door and turned to face her. “From now on, you don’t utter a word, is that clear?”
Looking at me with her big doe eyes, she nodded.
I slowly opened the door and made sure the hall was clear before stepping out, with her behind me.
We began to walk quietly toward one of the hotel’s emergency exits leading to the staff parking lot.
It was an escape route that I knew no one would use, at least not now, and it was exactly what I needed to sneak her out of this hell.
“Be careful here,” I said as we had to walk down stairs leading to the parking lot. Offering her my hand, she took it, slowly going down with those high silver heels she wore.
Mom used to wear those.
She stumbled, but moving fast, I steadied her before she could trip over. Her breath caught for a second, but then she flipped her long hair back and glanced at me, a hint of a smile on her lips.
“Thank yo—”
She didn’t even manage to complete the word when her head violently jerked to the side with the force of the gunshot, blood spurting out the other side.
Her hand slipped from mine as she collapsed, and I stared at her lifeless body dropping to the ground.
I held still, eyes locked on where she’d just stood and my cheek stained with her blood spatter, before I looked up at the man who’d shot her.
“Here I thought I spotted some strays…” Alejandro said as he slowly stepped out of the shadows, the light gradually moving over his body until his ugly face was revealed. “Turns out it was just a little white rat.”
I gritted my teeth, staring at him with pure contempt.
“I was told some whore snuck into our party. Good thing I came for a checkup, huh?” he said, tossing me the gun he’d just used.
Catching it, I noticed it was my gun.
“How did you…”
“I took it from your office earlier.” He then reached for his pocket before pulling something out. “I also took this crap.”
My eyes widened upon seeing the fox keychain.
“I hope you don’t mind.” He chuckled. “I thought my niece would love it.”
Swallowing hard, I tried to stay calm.
“I’ve already paid this month’s payment, with extra. So why are you here?”
“Clearly to do what you didn’t.” He dropped his smile. “Now, clean this up before someone sees her.”
He hopped over her body on his way to the stairs and began climbing them when he stopped and glanced at me. “And once you’re done, make sure to send me a redhead upstairs, okay?” He scratched his stubbled jaw. “You know what, make it two.”
I dragged my teeth along my lip, trying to think it through, but only one thing came to my mind.
“Is he here?”
“Who? My uncle?”
I nodded when he snorted.
“If he were, you’d be the one lying there.”
I glanced down at the girl and the pool of blood underneath her head, my stomach twisting at the sight.
“What’s the matter, little rat? Don’t tell me a bit of blood suddenly scares you. We all know you’re the coldest motherfucker out there, so why pretend?”
Just give me a break and fucking die, you piece of shit.
“Clean this up and come upstairs. Then, I might just not tell my uncle about your mistakes tonight.”
But not before I gouge out your eyes and slit your throat, you fucking whore.
Wrenched out of my thoughts, I looked up to see Alejandro was already gone.
Finally.
The mere sight of this man, or any other member of that cursed family, was enough to remind me of the chains I’d tied myself with—chains I didn’t realize would have such dire consequences.
Consequences such as this poor girl, who, in a moment of crisis, only wanted to hug her mother.
Unfortunately, she would never have that chance now, and I would never be able to keep my promise to Mr. Rivas.
Ultimately, Alejandro’s cruel actions served as a reminder that, in a fleeting moment of weakness, I’d forgotten I was in no position to make promises, especially ones I knew I could never keep.