Chapter 15
Janet woke up and quickly took a shower and got dressed in a navy-blue T-shirt and a pair of jeans. She slipped on a pair of ballet flats and headed out of her room. As she walked past the living room, she saw Sanaa and Kim sitting in there watching TV. She crossed her eyebrows and went to investigate.
“Morning, girls,” she said.
“Hi,” they chorused. The two of them were still wearing their pajamas.
“What’s going on in here?”
“I asked Sanaa if we could watch TV,” said Kim. Janet wasn’t surprised that it was Kim that had initiated the entire thing. Her little sister was very outgoing and friendly.
“Where’s ma?” Janet asked.
“Outside with my daddy,” Sanaa replied. Kim nodded her head in agreement.
“Huh?” Janet wasn’t expecting to hear that. It was only 9 a.m., and everyone had already woken up and started their day. “Okay, play nice with each other. I’ll be right back.” Janet rushed down the corridor. She slid the glass doors open and walked out .
Her mother and the sheikh were sitting down at the table drinking tea. Janet wondered what they were talking about.
“Morning, sheikh,” Janet greeted Basil.
“Morning,” he replied.
“Hi, Ma.”
“Hi, Janet,” her mother replied. The sheikh rose to his feet with his cup in his hand.
“I suppose I should leave you both to catch up,” he said. He walked towards Janet, who stood in the doorway.
“Have you had breakfast?” Janet asked him. She wanted to ask him if he slept well, take his hand, hug him, kiss him. However, she couldn’t do that. She wasn’t sure where she stood with him, and she knew that she didn’t deserve him.
“I have.” Basil touched Janet’s arm. “You should eat too and relax. You look tense.”
Janet smiled and nodded. Basil walked into the house and shut the door behind him. Janet went to sit down next to her mother.
“How long have you and the sheikh been dating?” her mother asked.
“What? Nothing is going on between us,” Janet replied. Her mother narrowed her gaze at her .
“I’m not blind.”
“Honestly, we’re not dating and we are not in any kind of relationship.”
Her mother said nothing for a moment. She just looked at Janet and then smiled. “He’s a good man,” she said.
“What makes you say that? What were the two of you talking about at such an early time?”
“He brought Kim and me here for two reasons, according to him. He wanted us to be safe, and he needed me to be there for you. He thinks you’re having a hard time with knowing who killed Sanaa’s mother.”
“He said that?” Janet was having a hard time, indeed. She was sad and felt guilty, but she didn’t know that the sheikh knew or cared.
“He deeply cares for you. I believe he came to find us because of his love for you. I don’t think he’d have done that for someone else.”
Janet ran her hand through her hair and crossed her arms over her chest. “All I did was work at a shipping company, and then my life turned upside down,” she said. Her mother took Janet’s hand into hers.
“There’s no use crying over spilt milk. What’s done is done. Just be good to him and Sanaa. That’s how you can repay his kindness,” said her mother. Janet nodded.
“I have to go into town,” said Janet. “I need to go to town to pick up Sanaa’s inhaler.” Sanaa’s inhaler was almost empty and it was time to pick up another from a pharmacy.
“Alright, do you need me to come with you?”
“No, I’ll be back soon.” Janet touched her mother on the shoulder before she went into the house. She checked on the girls before she left. Sanaa and Kim were still watching TV together. Janet smiled at the sight of Sanaa and Kim hanging out together. She had a feeling that her sister would bring Sanaa out of her shell.
Janet walked off and headed out of the house. She quickly walked down the driveway and then headed out of the gates. She wanted to get to town and return quickly.
She walked down a long road which led to town. The road wasn’t so busy, it was a quiet residential area. Janet thought about Basil, about that kiss they had shared the night before. Janet traced her face with her fingertips and then traced her lips. Basil had caressed her face and stared into her eyes. Janet giggled to herself.
Suddenly, she saw a black Camaro stop in front of her. Janet remembered seeing it a week earlier. The window rolled down, and a man poked his head out. “Excuse me, sorry to bother you, but I was wondering if you could direct me to the bus station,” he said to her so politely with a smile on his face.
“Oh, the bus station.” Janet tucked a lock of hair behind her ear and stopped walking. She lowered her head so that she could talk to the driver and direct him to the station.
Janet’s heart stopped when she saw a familiar man sitting in the passenger’s seat. His cold gaze gave her shivers. It was one face she had hoped never to see ever again.
“Long time no see,” he said to her. He lifted his shirt, flashing a gun that was tucked into his belt. “Don’t even think about running,” he said.
“Mateo,” she breathed. When Janet had seen that black Camaro the week before, it just hadn’t set right with her. The man she had seen had scared her. She had seen him staring at her and then he followed her back to the sheikh’s house.
“Pablo has been looking for you,” said Mateo. Janet’s stomach knotted up. She didn’t know what to do. She wanted to run away, but she knew that she wouldn’t get far. Mateo was in a car and had a gun.
“Why? I wasn’t worth anything.” Her voice trembled. She tried so hard to speak in a normal tone, but she was struggling .
“Get in.”
“No.”
“Janet, you wouldn’t dare argue with me,” he warned.
The driver got out of the car and grabbed Janet’s arm. “Get off me,” she cried out desperately. He pulled her and opened the backseat car door and shoved her into the car. He shut the door and got into the front seat. Janet sat up and saw Mateo pointing a gun at her.
“Sit still,” he said. The driver got into the car and drove off. Janet’s eyes welled up. Her worst nightmare was coming to reality. When she ran away from Corpus Christi, she knew that the choice she had made would get her killed if she was caught. She knew too much about the cartel’s business to be left to live freely.
The driver sped up the car and Janet couldn’t even figure out where they were going. Or maybe because she was frightened, she couldn’t think of what to do. She didn’t know how to save herself.
They arrived at some warehouse by the river. Mateo got out of the car and opened the backseat door for Janet. He pulled her out of the car and shoved her. “Move,” he said. Janet tried to run, but he grabbed her arm before she could get away. He slapped her across the face. “Behave!” he said. Janet touched her face where he’d hit her. He picked her up and threw her over his shoulder. He carried her into the big warehouse.
Mateo threw Janet onto the floor. Janet looked around the warehouse. There was nothing in there except four members of the cartel. They were all glaring at her and grinning.
“You have some balls on, little lady,” she heard a voice say. She instantly knew who it was. Pablo. Janet turned and saw him walking into the warehouse.
“Pablo,” she said as tears flowed down her face.
“You dared to do what most men wouldn’t do, leave the cartel,” he said.
“I was only your secretary. I wasn’t really part of the cartel. I didn’t mean anything to you or your business.” She tried to plead with Pablo by making him realize that she was too insignificant to kill.
Pablo approached her and stood above her looking down at her. “You know far too much for me to keep you alive,” he said to her.
“I won’t tell anyone anything, please let me go.”
Pablo crouched down and leveled his face with hers. She could smell the cigarettes and cheap cologne. The smell just made her sick. “All this time, you’ve been living with Basil. That’s another reason for me to kill you,” he said .
“Basil? I just work as a housemaid, that is all.”
“For Basil though.” His expression grew dark and scary. Janet wondered how Pablo knew Basil. He seemed to hate the fact that she worked for Basil. It didn’t make sense to her why he was bothered by that.
“Mateo, shall we kill her slowly or quickly?” Pablo asked his right-hand man.
“Slowly, she doesn’t deserve the mercy of a quick death,” Mateo replied. His scar deepened as he smiled at Janet. His smile gave her shivers. The other men were leaning against the wall, watching the entire thing.
“I agree,” said Pablo. “I liked you, you know.” Pablo pulled out a long steel knife out of his pocket. He took out his handkerchief and wiped it slowly while keeping eye contact with Janet.
In that moment, all Janet could think about was Basil. She didn’t want to die before she had the chance to be with him. She had known him for a short while, but he had quickly become an important part of her life. She had gotten used to seeing him every day and spending time with him on the patio.
More tears rolled down her cheeks as she mourned the relationship that hadn’t gotten a chance to begin. Janet also felt sad about leaving Sanaa alone. She had grown to love the little girl. She couldn’t bear not being able to see her again.
At least my family is safe, she thought to herself. She was glad that they were under the care of the sheikh. She didn’t want anything to happen to them.
“Before I kill you, I need to know why you ran away,” Pablo said to her. Janet swallowed before she answered.
“I knew what you were going to use that truck for, and I didn’t want to be a part of that or work for someone who kills people.”
Pablo gave her half a smile. In a swift movement, he cut Janet’s arm, causing her to scream out in pain. “It’s sharp enough,” Pablo said, looking at the knife and smiling in satisfaction.
Suddenly, the metal door of the warehouse was flung open. Janet screamed and hugged herself and looked down. She thought more members of the cartel were coming in.
“Back away from her right now.” Janet heard a familiar voice.