Love or Money (17 page)

“Yeah,” she said, watching him. “Much better than the night before.”

“
Bueno
.” She stood rigid as he came over to her and put an arm around her waist. What was it about him that was putting her on edge? He kissed her, and she relaxed slightly. She must be imagining it, or maybe it was just nerves about this deal today.

His hand found its way underneath her clothes, squeezing a breast. He stepped forward, slowly pushing her back, his kisses hungry, and his hands slow and insistent. She jumped slightly as she felt her ass unexpectedly touch the wall. He pressed her against it with his body.

“Ah, Rielita,” he murmured. “You’re so hot.”

“You are too, Isaias.”

He laughed softly. Then, in a quick movement, he brought his forearm up against her throat, slamming her back.

He gave her a clenched-teeth grin. “You’re so hot, you’re gonna burn in hell, you fucking cunt.”

Chapter Eighteen

For a moment, Riel was too shocked even to struggle. She stared up into Isaias’ vicious eyes, trying to get a breath with his arm barred across her throat. He smiled a tight smile and slammed her against the wall again. Lights flashed in her skull.

“You think you can fuck with me, Riel?”

“Isaias, what—” she wheezed, but he cut her off.

“I saw you’d called Lizette, so she and I had a little chat. Thought you could fuck me out of that money, fuck over your poor sister, and run off? I know Nora Mejia is your fake ID. I figured it out after those
pinche bobosos
at the border let you go. I know that you wanted that money transferred to you.”

Riel’s ears rang with panic. She tried to shake her head, her chin twitching back and forth as it hung on his arm. Her mind was racing too quickly for coherent thought; the only thing she could think to do was deny it. He pressed his arm tighter against her throat, and darkness began to close in.

“Don’t play me, you cunt,” he said. Then he took his arm from her throat and grasped her wrist roughly, pulling her toward the door so hard her joints popped. “You still with Evan? Or is it Mishmash that’s getting a cut of this deal? Is that why you were all, ‘Oooh, Isaias, don’t kill him’?”

She opened her mouth to respond, to say something, anything, but he cut her off again.

“Don’t bother. You’ll have plenty of time to tell me the story later.” He grinned and shoved her against the door, his lips and furious eyes inches from hers. “Thank your lucky stars you’re so fuckable, or I’d just kill you now. But I’m still going to get a good bang or two out of you, Rielita. What happens to you afterwards depends on how good you are.”

He opened the door and pulled her out, his grip on her wrist so tight her hand tingled. She stumbled after him down the stairwell, the nonskid surface scraping her bare feet.

Her breath wheezed in her sore, tight throat, and sweat ran down the back of her neck. With a jolt, she realized she’d left her phone back on the bedside table, along with the earrings, which she’d taken out before going to sleep.

She cursed inwardly. Would they be able to convict him without a recording?

Right now, just worry about getting out of this alive.

A shiny blue Impala was idling out front. As Isaias shoved her in the backseat, another thought occurred to her that made her weak: what if Isaias had stopped Lizette before she could transfer the money?
And what did he do to my sister? He wouldn’t punish her for something I did, would he?

Then she realized that the FBI would have heard him threatening her in the bedroom before they left, and she closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. Would they abort the mission and come arrest him before the drug deal was done, and ruin the chances of a good sentence?

Or what if they can’t come at all? What if something happens, and I get stuck with him?

She shoved the thoughts away. She had to keep her head clear. She had to think of something, play her part.

They pulled away from the curb. The driver was a guy with shoulders twice as wide as his seat, a sleek, black ponytail hanging down his back. His brown eyes flicked to the rearview to examine her with mild curiosity.

“Don’t bother trying to escape, Riel,” Isaias said. “The child locks are on, and we’ll fucking cap you if you make a move. I can get a piece of ass elsewhere if you cause me any trouble.”

“Isaias,” Riel said, her hands tightening on her knees, “I’m not going to try to escape. And I wasn’t going to run off with the money.”

“Fucking save your shit, bitch. I don’t know exactly what your game is, whether you’re working alone or with someone, but I know you’ve been scamming me.”

“I’m not lying. I never planned on taking the money from Lizette. I didn’t tell you that I’d talked to Lizette because I knew you’d think that I was pulling some hustle, but I was worried, you know, if something happens…if we get shot…the police are going to know it’s gang related, right? And don’t they take all your assets if they suspect you of gang activity? That’s what they told me in prison. And they take the other person’s assets and property too, if you’re married, so that would include anything in Lizette’s name. I just wanted her to be safe, Isaias. You know that. She’s my
sister
.” A lump rose in her throat, tears pouring down her cheeks. “You didn’t…you didn’t hurt her, right? She didn’t do anything—”

“She got what she deserved,” Isaias said. “And save your stories, Rielita. I’ve got better things to think about besides your bullshit right now.”

Riel hugged herself tightly, trying to control her sobs. “What did you do to her?”

“Don’t worry about it. It’s none of your fucking business.”

She gritted her teeth. “It wasn’t her fault, it was me. And I wasn’t doing anything wrong, anyway. Please believe me, Isaias. I’d never hurt you or Lizette. I just…just in case…”

He looked back at her, his expression making her stomach drop. “Just in case we got busted? Why are you so worried about that, Rielita? You gonna snitch us off too?”

Her heart skipped a beat. “No, I’d never—”

Isaias reached back and shoved her hard into the car door. She cried out, bringing her hands up in front of her face. The car swerved slightly. “Take it easy, man,” the driver said.

“Just shut up, both of you,” Isaias said. “I don’t want to listen to you right now, Riel. You fucked this shit all up and I had to work all night to get the location of the pickup and the hit moved, in case you’d tipped Mishmash off. You’re lucky I don’t beat you six feet underground right now, you fucking
puta
.”

Riel curled around her knees, this new piece of information sinking in like a knife. Would the police know about the new plans? She didn’t know if they had ways of spying on him other than her phone.

They wound through the city, taking a small highway toward the coast. The bare branches of the trees were just starting to show a green fuzz of new leaves, and the sun shone, the blue sky contrasting with the bright silver of the broken, puffy clouds. It was such a beautiful day, and Riel’s heart ached, wondering if she’d survive to see another. She wondered if her sister were still alive to see this one.

The congestion of the city thinned out, the overpasses and buildings giving way to mixed forests and farms. Riel expected to hear sirens, for police to surround them, but all remained quiet. Had they decided not to abort the mission, or did law enforcement just not know where they were? The GPS tracker was back in the apartment, and they were going south instead of north, as they’d originally planned.

Isaias put music on, and he and the driver, who he called Marty, chatted idly about different bands. Riel concentrated on keeping herself under control, trying not to worry about what was going on with the cops and with Lizette.

The farms grew few and far between, the trees became more numerous. Isaias’ and Marty’s conversation moved to some show that was on HBO. They seemed to have forgotten she was there, which was fine with her.

The highway cut west between wide meadows, then started climbing the Coast Range, the sun dappling the highway between the tall branches of pines and broadleaf maples. Riel’s foot was jittering, her mouth dry. She couldn’t stay silent any longer.

“Isaias,” she said. “What are you going to do with me?”

Marty’s eyes briefly found hers in the rearview. He looked mildly amused, and she pushed back her anger.

“You and I are going away, just like we planned,” Isaias said. “What happens to you after that depends on a lot of things, like how good you fuck me, and how much someone else will pay for a backstabbing slut like you when I’m done. I’m guessing you’ll probably end up dead.” He laughed, and Riel felt sick.

They drove back down out of the hills, and took a winding back road through farms, their forgotten outbuildings half-hidden by tangles of blackberry vines. They topped a rise, and the sweep of the blue-grey Pacific came into view, making Riel’s heart jump.

“
Allá está
,” Marty said, pointing a thick, tattooed finger toward a tiny boat heading for shore.

They pulled off on a rutted dirt road cutting between stunted trees frozen in windblown poses. They jounced down a steep slope, the tires skidding and brush scraping the side of the car. “Slow down,
wey
,” Isaias said. “This road
es puro puto.
”

Marty slowed a little, and Riel’s grip on the edge of her seat loosened slightly. They got to the bottom of the slope and parked on the edge of the dunes.

Riel hugged herself as both men got out of the car. Then Isaias came around and opened her door. His pistol was in his hand. “Get out.”

Riel crawled out, her legs numb, a gusty, salt-scented breeze tangling her already messy hair. Isaias laid a hand on her shoulder, shoving the barrel of the gun in the curve of her back. “Go,” he said, marching her forward.

They followed a faint path through the dunes, dunegrass whipping against her legs. The sand was cold on her bare feet, and every so often she’d step on a sharp rock or exposed root and stumble, which made Isaias hiss and grip her shoulder harder, jabbing her with the gun. A brackish pond spread across the path in the midst of the dunes, and they splashed through it, the water soaking Riel’s pajama pants as she sank to the ankles in the squishy mud. Behind them, she heard Marty curse.

“I’m gonna lose a shoe in this
pinche
quicksand,
wey
,” he said.

“It sucks you down, I’ll throw you a vine, like Tarzan,” Isaias said, and the men snickered. Riel blinked back tears, feeling incredibly alone.

Then they came around the last of the dunes, and the deep roar of the ocean hit their ears. There was a large speedboat moored beyond the swells, and three men were unloading packages from a dinghy beached nearby. One of the guys waved at them.

Isaias nudged Riel with the pistol barrel, and they trudged through the soft sand, stepping over piles of driftwood.

“I’m gonna put this gun up to avoid drama,” Isaias said in her ear, “but you try anything, it comes out again, and I can almost guarantee you’ll get shot in the confusion.”

Riel nodded. The pressure of the gun disappeared from her back, and she glanced around at the dunes and open beach, wondering if there were agents hidden anywhere, or if she were on her own. She felt suddenly small, a little girl caught amongst violent men out here on this vast, windblown stretch of beach.

The men at the dinghy stopped unloading as the trio approached, and stood by the pile of packages on the dry sand. The bricks were wrapped in white plastic and stacked in a rough pyramid about three feet high. Riel’s heart thumped. That was a
lot
of drugs. She wondered if they were real, and supposed they must be—not all of these men could be in on the government double-cross.

In fact, she was probably the only one here who knew. She swallowed hard.

One of the men, short and round with thinning hair, smiled as he wiped the sand off his hands and held one out to Isaias. His eyes lingered on Riel. “You guys must be Isaias and Marty,” he said, clasping hands with both men. “And this one must be the girl I’ve been hearing about.” He grinned wider.

“This is my girl, Riel,” Isaias said, his hand tightening on her shoulder.

The man took Riel’s hand in both of his, which were damp and calloused. “
Mucho gusto,
Riel,” he said. “I’m Rolo.”

She nodded, forcing a smile. “Nice to meet you.”

The two men behind Rolo stared at her. Then one of the guys said something in a low voice, which Riel couldn’t hear over the roar of the ocean, and they all snickered. Heat rose to her cheeks, and she stared out to sea to hide her expression. Would Isaias try to sell her to these men, or others like them? Her stomach churned and she pressed her hands to her belly, fighting off nausea.

The men exchanged a few words as Marty handed over the money. One of the men put the bag of cash in the dinghy, pushed the boat into the waves, and motored out towards the moored speedboat. The rest of them picked up the packages and started hauling them back over the dunes to the Impala.

Riel shoved a brick under each arm and accompanied the group down the sandy path, her scalp tingling and ears ringing. She tensed every time they passed a rise, imagining federal gunmen behind it, but all they encountered were chipmunks and a great blue heron in the marsh that almost gave Riel a heart attack when it took flight, beating its long, thin wings against the blustery air.

They found the car just as they’d left it. No one else was in sight. Riel watched the line of stunted trees, which stood like sentinels, for any signs of movement. Marty removed the hidden panels and loaded the drugs into the car’s secret compartments. She jumped slightly when a raven flew, croaking, from the trees. She caught Isaias glancing at her suspiciously and forced her gaze to her feet.

Rolo and his friend made admiring comments about the Impala and its modifications. Sweat trickled down Riel’s spine despite the breeze, and her shoulder muscles felt like they were about to snap.