The Captive Liar's Eyes

11. Chapter 11

Chapter eleven

“Not here,” I whispered.

Rafael glanced along the empty arcade, then opened the door to a narrow linen room and waited for me to enter. He left it cracked behind us so we could hear anyone approaching.

Rafael had served my mother before I was born. Silver now marked his temples, and lines framed his eyes, but he still carried himself like the guard she’d trusted above all others. He’d always been my fiercest protector, ensuring my safety while living among the cartel.

His gaze dropped to the basket again. “Did anyone see you?”

“No.”

“The prisoner?”

“He was blindfolded…but he knew I was there.”

“Christ, Isabella.”

“He needed water.”

“He’s Ciro’s prisoner. You have no reason to bring him anything.”

“I heard what he said to Father. His people are coming for him.”

Rafael studied me. “And you believe that?”

“He sounded certain. I believe he expects them to come.”

“That isn’t enough to stake your life on.”

I glanced toward the cracked door before lowering my voice.

“When I asked whether his people would come for him, somehow he realized I wasn’t only asking about his rescue.

I guess since I’d brought him water against Father’s orders and come in through a hidden entrance, he assumed I wasn’t there just to be friendly.

I needed to know whether the men coming for him would take someone else with them. ”

Rafael’s brows furrowed as he shook his head. “You told him you wanted to leave?”

“No. I didn’t have to. He just made the connection.”

“And then what did he say?”

I hesitated before telling Rafael the truth because it would tear him apart.

He wanted nothing more than for me to escape this prison, but freedom meant he might never see me again.

Worse, there was a real chance I wouldn’t survive.

He’d always been more of a father to me than Ciro Delgado ever was, so that possibility would be unbearable for him.

“He said that if I helped him reach his people, he would make sure I left with them.”

Rafael scrubbed a hand over his mouth. “Desperate men promise anything.”

“It’s not that I trust him.” The admission bothered me more than I expected, after the way Lachlan had treated me. “But he’ll fight with everything he has to get out. If I can help him before Father and Marcela damage him too badly, he’ll still be strong enough to help us both.”

“That isn’t good enough.”

“I know.” I chewed on my lower lip. “But it’s the best shot I’ll ever have.”

Lachlan might leave me behind the second his cuffs came off. He might decide Ciro’s daughter was too dangerous to bring near his men. The promise he’d made while blindfolded and chained could’ve been nothing more than the right words to keep me coming back.

But he still represented my first real chance at freedom since Mother died.

“I’m leaving with him,” I said. “I need your help to make sure the route I know is still usable. I’m asking for information, Rafael. Not permission.”

I hesitated, chewing on the inside of my cheek. “And I need something else right away.”

Rafael’s eyes narrowed. “What?”

“Whatever key opens the restraints around his wrists and ankles.”

His face went still. “No.”

“Rafael—”

“You don’t understand what you’re asking for.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “The moment those cuffs come off, you’ll be alone with a man strong enough to kill you before you reach the hidden door.”

“He had the chance to frighten me and didn’t.”

“He was blindfolded, chained to a chair, and desperate for your help. You have no idea what he’ll do once he can move.”

“He isn’t one of Father’s men.”

“No, he isn’t.” Rafael shifted on his feet and crossed his arms over his chest. “But don’t mistake that for virtue.

I’ve read the reports your father brought home.

Lachlan Byrnes is an Irish mafia captain tied to the American mafia and a new order called The Syndicate.

Among its ranks are Nikolai Volkov, a Russian Pakhan whose specialty is operating in the shadows of the underworld using elite hacking skills, and Luca Genovese, the head of New York’s old guard.

The rest of their men have powerful connections across the world.

Lachlan runs an exclusive Manhattan club with his brother.

Expensive club upstairs, illegal casino and criminal business underneath. ”

I’d expected danger. Hearing Rafael put it into words still made me shudder.

“He stood with the men who burned your father’s club to the ground and freed the women your father intended to sell,” Rafael continued.

“They’ve intercepted his weapons, attacked his routes, and started tracing the money and companies behind the flesh trade.

Byrnes has enemies in organized crime, government, and every criminal operation The Syndicate has disrupted.

Men like him don’t survive by being harmless. ”

“That doesn’t make him like Father.”

“No. The reports say The Syndicate draws lines your father doesn’t. That may make Byrnes better than the cartel trash around here, but he’s still a mafia man. If bringing you with him endangers his brother or his organization, you have no idea what he’ll do with you.”

“He doesn’t have to be perfect.” I tightened my grip on the basket.

“I’ve learned how to survive my father and the men living under his roof.

I’ll be able to get away from Lachlan when the time is right.

But I’ll never build his trust or get his help while he’s chained to that chair.

And honestly, at this point…it doesn’t matter if he kills me.

I’m already a walking corpse. However slim my chance of using him to escape, I have to take it. ”

Rafael lowered his head as my words settled between us.

When he looked at me again, the line between his brows had deepened, and fear and resignation battled in his dark eyes.

I hated putting him in this position, but fate had given me a weapon in the form of an Irishman, and I wasn’t about to waste it.

“Then learn more before you free him. Go back. Speak to him again. See what he does when you tell him no, when you can’t give him what he wants, and when he has nothing to gain from being gentle with you. Push him and find out what kind of man he really is, mi nina hermosa.”

“We may not have that much time, but I’ll do my best.”

“You’ll have even less time if you aren’t careful.” His voice hardened. “The instant anyone finds Lachlan out of that chair or sees any evidence that he’s been helped, Ciro will understand that someone inside the compound is working against him. From that moment on, your life will be forfeit.”

I swallowed. “Can you get the key?”

Rafael held my gaze for several seconds. “The wrist and ankle restraints take the same key. I’ll get you one.”

Relief warmed my chest.

“But you will not use it until you’ve gotten a better feel for the man he is,” he added. “Don’t be desperate to escape, or listen to his promises, and certainly don’t ever think he’s that different from the men of the cartel.”

“I understand.”

“I hope you do.”

His eyes closed briefly.

When they opened, something in his expression had changed.

“And listen to me, mi nina.”

I nodded.

“Marcela didn’t return alone. Mateo Cruz came with her.”

I’d heard the name before, usually connected to shipments, security, or women my father wanted moved without anyone asking questions. “Her operations lieutenant?”

“And the man managing the guards who answer directly to her.”

“They all answer to Father.”

“Not anymore.”

The words landed hard.

Rafael lowered his voice. “Marcela pays better than Ciro does. Cash, watches, women, promotions. A few of the men get her attention in bed and confuse that with power. Mateo doesn’t need to sleep with her. He wants what she’ll give him if she rises above your father.”

“She’s building her own faction inside his own compound?”

“Yes.” Tension pulled at his face, making him look older than he had moments before. His gaze shifted past me, checking the doorway again.

“And Father doesn’t see it?”

“Your father believes every man here belongs to him because his name is on the payroll.” Rafael’s mouth tightened. “Marcela understands that loyalty can be purchased more than once.”

I thought of the satisfaction in her voice when she called Lachlan her pet. She wasn’t waiting for Father to give her power. She was taking it out from under his nose.

“How many men are loyal to her?”

“I don’t know yet. Enough to make any escape more dangerous.”

Fear sent a chill down my spine, but I forced myself to focus and get what answers I could before we were interrupted. “What about the old drainage route?”

“It’s still your best chance.” Rafael moved closer. “Use the servant stairway to reach the lower storage rooms. From there, take the utility corridor south. Don’t cross the western loading yard. Mateo just had another camera installed above the service doors.”

“Good to know.”

“I may disagree with what you’re doing, but I’ll always do what I can to protect you.

” His voice softened. “The old drainage channel beneath the south retaining wall is still open. Once you’re through it, follow the ravine downhill and stay away from the road.

The dogs have been moved closer to the eastern track at night. ”

“How are the coffee rows?”

“Use them for cover after you clear the ravine. The banana grove offers better cover, but the undergrowth is thicker and will slow you down.”

Most of the route was familiar. My mother had taught it to me in pieces, disguising survival lessons as games while guards followed us through the gardens and the surrounding forest. Rafael was telling me what had changed since then to help keep me safe.

“I’ll try to create a distraction when you’re ready,” Rafael said. “But I can’t promise what it will look like yet. Things are too volatile. One disturbance could empty a corridor or fill it with armed guards.”

“How will I get the key?”

“Before dinner, I’ll put the key in a fake sardine tin at the back of the lowest pantry shelf.”

I pictured the pantry, and the shelves packed with tins, sacks, and jars. I could reach it easily enough, but walking into the kitchen without a reason would draw attention.

Rafael must’ve followed my thoughts. “Offer to finish the tres leches yourself before it’s served.”

“I already finished it.”

“Finish the topping. Tell them you want to whip the cream and slice the strawberries at the last minute so everything stays fresh. Then offer to carry the cake into the dining room yourself.”

The kitchen women wouldn’t question that. They’d already seen how determined I was to make Father’s favorite dessert perfect.

“I can say I need vanilla and sugar from the pantry for the cream.”

“Exactly. Take the key, finish the cake, and behave as though nothing has changed. Keep your emotions under control and make sure you’re not caught with it.”

“What about Lachlan?” I asked. “Can you protect him until there’s a diversion big enough for us to run?”

“I’ll stay near the cellar corridor whenever I can, watch who comes and goes, and keep track of whether he’s moved or how badly he’s hurt.

” A vein pulsed at his temple. “I can keep one of Ciro’s idiots from killing him by accident, but I can’t stop what your father has already allowed Marcela to do. ”

“I need him able to make it out of here and through the steep forest.”

He nodded.

“Please, Rafael. Do whatever you can.” I didn’t care that I was begging.

Rafael studied my face. “I’ll do everything I can to keep him alive and on his feet.”

The promise tightened something in my chest.

“But if Ciro catches you helping him, he won’t just kill you.”

“I know.” I cut him off.

“No, Isabella. You need to understand exactly what I’m telling you.” Rafael caught my shoulders in his firm grip. “Your father’s cruelty has no limit when someone disobeys him. He’ll give you to his men and call it punishment. He’ll let them use you because he knows you fear that more than death.”

Cold spread beneath my skin. Rafael understood that threat better than most. A few years ago, one of Father’s soldiers had forced himself on me after I told him no. Until that night, I’d believed I was in love with him.

Rafael had found me afterward on the veranda, shaking and humiliated, wearing nothing but a shirt. He hadn’t asked Father’s permission or waited to hear the man’s excuses. He found the soldier, slit his throat from ear to ear, and left his body in the courtyard as a warning.

No one ever spoke of it again. Not even Father.

Rafael released me.

“You don’t have to do this. If Father finds out you helped me, he’ll kill you.”

“I’ve been protecting you since you were born. I gave your mother my word. You know I’ll die for you, mi nina.”

My eyes burned. “I don’t want you to die for me.”

“That promise was mine to make.”

“Rafael—”

“Then don’t make me spend my life cheaply.” His expression hardened. “Be ready. Travel light. When the opening comes, move fast. Don’t hesitate, don’t look back, and don’t trust the Irishman simply because you want to believe everything you heard through that floor.”

“I won’t,” I whispered, unable to hide the tremor in my voice.

Rafael opened the linen-room door and checked the arcade. “Go. Teresa will notice if you stay away too long.”

I returned to my bedroom alone. The door remained unlocked, as it would until seven this evening, but the freedom felt more fragile than it had this morning.

I set the recipe basket beside the bookcase, then moved into the wardrobe and opened the false panel. The bottle, bread, banana, and wrapped paring knife fit inside a shallow niche beside the narrow staircase.

It wasn’t much, but it could give Lachlan enough strength to hold on.

I’d need much more to get us beyond the walls.

I closed the panel and crossed the room.

Marcela had said she intended to eat and sleep off the flight, but I had no idea whether that meant another hour or several.

Every minute she stayed away gave Lachlan more time to recover, yet it also left me waiting for whatever she had planned when she returned.

I wished Lachlan would feign enough obedience to satisfy her and spare himself some of the pain. But after hearing him defy my father and meeting the man behind that furious voice, I understood he wouldn’t submit, even as an act.

Since he wouldn’t protect himself by pretending, I had to be ready the moment Marcela left. I needed to hear what she did to him, how badly she hurt him, and whether he could still walk afterward.

That meant forcing myself to listen, no matter how horrific it became. Marcela intended to harm more than his body. I had to understand the humiliation and cruelty she used against him so I’d know how to reach him afterward and show him he mattered to me beyond what he could do for my escape.

I hadn’t even reached the stool beside my vanity when movement sounded below.