16. Chapter 16 #3
“The servant stair from my room ends behind the lower storage rooms,” she said to the wall. “From there, we can take the utility corridor south beneath the main house.”
I almost laughed.
“You’re briefing me now?”
“I’m making productive use of the time.”
“By all means, Mouse. Carry on.”
“We can’t cross the western loading yard. Mateo had another camera installed above the service doors.”
“Can we get around it?”
“Yes. The old drainage channel beneath the south retaining wall is still open.”
“You’re sure?”
“The man I trust checked it.”
“The same man who shared what Ciro had learned about me?”
“Yes.”
Good. Mouse had at least one ally with access to Ciro’s intelligence and enough freedom to move around the compound without drawing attention. A man in that position could make the difference when we were ready to move.
“How long from here?”
“Ten minutes if the corridors are clear.”
“And with me moving like an old man?”
A pause.
“Perhaps thirty.”
I looked over my shoulder at her back. “That was cruel.”
“You asked.”
I grinned.
“The channel empties into a ravine below the retaining wall,” she continued. “We follow it downhill and stay off the service road. The rows of coffee trees will hide us once we clear the wall. The banana grove is denser, but the ground is rougher.”
“I’ve heard dogs. Where do they patrol?”
“Along the eastern track at night.”
“Guard posts?”
“Two on the lower perimeter. One overlooks the service road. The other sits above the southern fields.”
“Vehicles?”
“Father’s men watch every road leaving the finca. Taking one would tell them where to look.”
Smart.
She hadn’t merely dreamed about escape. She’d studied the compound long enough to understand what would actually get her out instead of killed.
I finished, closed my pants, and adjusted my waistband.
“You can turn around.”
She did.
I was braced against the worktable, breathing harder than I wanted.
Her eyes narrowed.
“You need to sit down.”
“I’m fine.”
“No, you aren’t.”
“Getting brave with me now?”
“You can barely stand.”
“I just walked across the room.”
“And now you’re holding onto a table.”
I stared at her.
She lifted her chin and didn’t give an inch.
Damn, I liked that.
“Sit,” she repeated.
That one word carried enough command to make me wonder how she’d sound using that tone with my hands on her.
“Yes, ma’am.”
I returned to the chair before my leg embarrassed me by proving her right.
She handed me the water bottle. After several slow swallows, I lowered it, and she passed me the remaining bread and banana.
“There’s another complication,” she said.
“All right. Let’s hear how much worse this gets.”
“Isabeast has been buying loyalty inside the compound. Mateo and several of the guards answer to her as much as they do Father now.”
I stopped chewing.
“Does Ciro know?”
“I don’t think so.”
Interesting.
Men with guns couldn’t answer to two masters forever. Eventually, somebody started shooting.
“If they turn on each other…” Her voice rose with excitement. “That could give us the distraction we need.”
“Aye. It could. But if Ciro catches on first, he’ll lock down every inch of this place.”
She absorbed the warning without flinching. “Then we need to be ready before he does.”
That was the kind of mind I’d need beside me when we ran.
I finished the water and set the bottle down.
“What happens to you when we get out of here?”
Isabella went quiet.
For a moment, I thought she hadn’t understood the question.
“I leave El Salvador with you.”
“I know that, Mouse.” I leaned back carefully against the chair. “I mean, after. Where do you want to go? What do you want your life to look like when Ciro isn’t deciding it for you?”
Her fingers twisted together in front of her.
“I don’t know.”
The answer came so softly that I almost missed it.
“You’ve never thought about it?”
“All the time.” She gave a small, uneasy shake of her head. “But imagining freedom is different from believing I might actually have it.”
That answer caught me off guard.
Her gaze moved toward the hidden door.
“I’ve spent years thinking about how to get outside these walls. But I never let myself think very far beyond that.” She swallowed. “It hurt too much.”
There it was.
Not a woman without dreams. A woman who’d learned not to look too closely at something she might never have.
She looked back at me.
“And I don’t know what happens when your people find out who I am.”
“They already know who Ciro is.”
“That isn’t what I mean.” Her fingers tightened together. “I’m his daughter, Lachlan. What if they decide that makes me useful to them too?”
She wasn’t questioning whether I’d keep my promise. She was afraid I’d carry her out of one cage and straight into another.
“They won’t.”
“You can’t promise what other men will do.”
“No. But I can promise what happens if anyone tries.”
She waited.
“Lucian is my brother. Nik, Luca, and the others are brothers I chose. They’re dangerous men, Mouse, and none of them are going to trust Ciro Delgado’s daughter simply because I tell them to.”
Her chin dipped, as though she’d expected exactly that.
“But they won’t hurt you. They won’t use you against Ciro, and they sure as hell won’t hand you back to him.”
“How can you be certain?”
“Because I know the men I call family.”
She still looked unconvinced.
“And because you’ll be with me.”
That got her attention.
“You helped me get out of this chair. When the time comes, you’ll help me get through those walls. Getting you somewhere safe becomes my responsibility. What you do after that is yours to decide.”
“I don’t want to be anyone’s responsibility.”
Despite everything, the answer almost made me smile.
“Good. I wasn’t planning to carry you around in my pocket.”
She rolled her eyes.
“I’m telling you that once we leave this place, Ciro doesn’t get to decide what happens to you anymore. Neither does Isabeast. My people may have questions. Hell, I have questions. But while we figure out the answers, no one touches you, trades you, threatens you, or sends you back.”
The tension in her shoulders eased a little.
“You really believe they’ll listen to you?”
“Absolutely.”
A tiny smile appeared.
“So,” I said, “what do you want once you’re out?”
Her smile faded, but not from fear this time, as she thought about it.
“A life.”
“What kind?”
“I don’t know if it sounds foolish.”
“Try me.”
“I want to open a door without wondering whether I’m allowed through it.”
She shifted on her feet.