Marie, Laura - Miss: Senorita and the Soldado [The Miss Series 2] (BookStrand Publishing Romance) (12 page)

“They thought their sister was dead, for Christ’s sake, Williams. Let them help where they can. We can use their skills and the cooperation of every department we’ve got.”

“What have you got so far, and what do you need from us?” Salvatore asked.

“Right now, we need all the information we can get from your sister. She has spent the last year right by Armando’s side. She’s bound to know information our undercover agents weren’t privy to,” Williams said.

“She needs to recover—”

Jack looked up towards the ceiling, knowing his baby sister was upstairs, home, alive, but on the defensive.

She downright refused to talk to Gustavo, Williams or any of the other agents. When she found out her brothers were all DEA agents, she nearly passed out. She stayed close–lipped, and that was a bad sign.

“Let’s get something straight, Givani. You and your family really shouldn’t be involved or privy to any information we have thus far. It’s not proper protocol, and to tell you the truth, I want to find out what your sister knows first. Why did she wait until now to try and escape? Why did she freeze up when she found out her brothers were DEA agents? There are a lot of questions,” Gustavo stated, making it perfectly clear that he didn’t trust Elloisa and questioned her loyalty to her family and the agents.

“How dare you stand in this house and make accusations about my sister. Who the hell do you think you are?” Mathew demanded with his fists at his side as he stepped up in front of Gustavo.

* * * *

They were the same height, but Gustavo was more muscular and a lot more highly trained. But he didn’t share that with the over-protective older brother.

Gustavo thought Mathew was a good agent. He had investigated the whole family except Elloisa, and that’s who he was after.

“Montoya, cool it, will you? These are my friends. These are good people,” John interrupted as he pushed himself between the two men.

“I think your agents should leave. Elloisa will be safe here with us, and when she’s had some rest then you can speak with her,” Jerry added as he motioned towards the door.

“Unfortunately, we need to speak with her as soon as possible. Let’s plan on tomorrow morning. Bring her to the office around ten o’clock in the morning,” Agent Williams said before leaving the room.

They agreed, and the agents left the house.

* * * *

“So what do you think, Dad?” Salvatore asked his father once the agents left.

Jerry rubbed his hand over his face and exhaled.

“I think they’re closer to getting Sintorez than they’re letting on,” Jerry replied then sat down behind his desk.

“I don’t want that guy Montoya near Elloisa. He already wants to hang her, accuse her of who knows what…” Mathew began to say but his father interrupted.

“Gustavo is an excellent agent, son. He’s thorough, and it takes a lot to gain his trust. It doesn’t matter what anyone else says. He needs to make a determination himself. He’s not one to mess with either.”

“What’s that supposed to mean? Am I supposed to be scared of him? Am I supposed to back down when he accuses my sister of being a criminal?” Mathew was yelling now and Salvatore and Jack were by his side. They were just as pissed off as their older brother.

“All I’m telling you, Mathew, is that we should be glad Gustavo Montoya is so involved with this case. Do you remember the Lopez gang, the one that imported the highly potent cocaine through Columbia and into New York and Bayside Queens?” Jerry asked, and each son nodded his head yes. It was a famous case and a major bust for the DEA.

“Well that was Montoya. He worked undercover for two years. He had to do some crazy shit and even take out over a dozen men. Believe me when I tell you that Montoya is definitely who we want involved with this case.”

Mathew understood what his father was telling him. He also had wondered why Elloisa had waited so long to attempt escaping. Why now? What was her motivation? He had a million of his own questions.

“Let’s get some dinner then see how Elloisa is doing. I don’t want you interrogating her, do you understand? She needs us to be her family, not DEA agents.”

“Yeah, Dad, we understand. All we want to do is love her and make her feel safe. I still can’t believe she’s alive and right upstairs,” Jack added as they walked out of the office.

Chapter 8

It was seven p.m. and Elloisa was still sleeping in the bedroom.

Teressa checked on her three times and so did her father and brothers. She had been tossing and turning. Having one bad nightmare after the next and always Armando was capturing her again.

She had apologized each time one of her family members came to her aid. She was embarrassed and knew they had questions.

Elloisa wasn’t too surprised when she dreamt about Rosalie’s death. The young woman who Ramos had forced to be his played out in her dreams since the night of the incident. It was the beginning of her hatred for Armando and all that he stood for.

She would awake in the middle of the night dreaming of the vicious murder of Rosalie. Armando was there comforting Elloisa and reminding her that it was a lesson she would never forget. He made his threats to her own life in whispers and kisses against her skin.

“You would not be so foolish to defy me, right, Elloisa?” he would ask as he held her in a tight embrace. Then he would manipulate her body to his liking so he could possess her in every way, body, mind, and soul.

She was powerless against his control and manipulation. She could only succumb to his authority for so long. The nightmares continued, the desire to be free grew stronger, and her hatred for the monster who owned her became a game of survival. It wasn’t until she decided that she would rather die than continue to live under Armando’s thumb that her plan began to evolve. Thoughts of Rosalie filled her mind.

Elloisa never forgot that day and night and the evilness and lack of respect for women, for life, that Armando and Ramos exposed her to. She would be scarred forever because of what she witnessed.

Rosalie was an attractive Mexican girl with long black hair and big dark eyes. Elloisa enjoyed her company when she first arrived at the compound. She was only twenty when Ramos captured her and demanded she stay. He swore he would kill her whole family, her mother, father, and three sisters if she left. Elloisa befriended her, and they spent as much time together as allowed. But Ramos was so different from Armando. Rarely did Armando strike Elloisa. At least, not on a daily basis, like Ramos did to Rosalie.

Ramos always smacked her around and continuously forced himself on her. It was tragic, and when Elloisa tried to help her, Ramos threatened her as well. It caused a huge fight between Ramos and Armando every time.

“My woman is my business! Keep yours in her place!” Ramos yelled at Armando.

“You remember who you are speaking to, Ramos. I will handle my woman, and you be sure to never threaten her again.”

As Ramos walked out of the room, angry with his boss as well as Elloisa, she felt that maybe Armando was on her side. Maybe, just maybe, Elloisa had brought some aid to her friend and Ramos would think twice about the way he abused Rosalie.

She recalled how Armando called her over to him as he leaned against the front of his desk.

Elloisa felt the triumphant feeling like she truly had made a difference and saved Rosalie from further harm.

Elloisa had begged Armando to talk with Ramos. She told him what he did to her and hoped that his jealousy would give some help and protection to Rosalie.

When she stood a few feet in front of him, he smirked then grabbed her wrist, pulling her against his chest.

He snarled at her, looming over her like an animal about to devour his prey. It was the first time she witnessed his wrath. The evilness she saw and felt scared her. This wasn’t the man she fell in love with. Not the one who showered her with love, affection, and gifts back in the States. This man was different.

His voice was low and deep. She sensed the clenched teeth, felt the firm hold on her wrist that pushed against her own back in an awkward position. One turn the wrong way, one inch left or right, and she would be on her knees.

Even his eyes looked evil, and she could see the anger and animal in him.

“You are my woman. You have had plenty of time to learn your place, to learn to respect Ramos, and to keep your mouth shut. Rosalie is not your concern. You spend too much time together. Time you should be spending with me.”

He held her gaze. The intensity of his look, how his hair fell across one eye, his red coloring, and the seriousness of his tone, she would never forget. She knew at that moment he could kill her. If she overstepped her boundaries, if she challenged him in the simplest of ways, her life was over.

It was as if he read her thought process when his lip turned up slightly as if smirking but not totally. He was a manipulator of minds. He enjoyed this part of victimizing and destroying potential challengers. Even her, his own lover.

He rotated her wrist slightly to the left. Elloisa cried out in pain. But her focus was on her friend. Elloisa was her only hope.

“Armando, he’s going to kill her.” She cried out, falling to her knees. Armando was crouching down next to her.

“Did you not hear a word I said?” She had defied him. Had spoken back to him, pleading for her friend’s life, pleading for some common decency and any remnants of the decent, classy man she had foolishly fell in love with, and it cost her a small beating herself. She would never forget the look in his eyes as he twisted her wrist. Armando broke her wrist in two places.

Elloisa cried.

It was nothing compared to the beating Rosalie received.

As Elloisa drifted in and out of sleep, she thought about Rosalie.

The memory of an older woman named Nina entered her thoughts. She was someone’s cousin, and she couldn’t stand the way Ramos treated Rosalie. Plus, she heard what Armando had done to Elloisa for standing up to Ramos. In outrage, Nina attempted to stop Ramos from beating Rosalie one evening by hitting him with a table lamp. Ramos slit Nina’s throat from ear to ear.

He was outraged and so angry that a woman would attempt to stop him. Then he went to Elloisa when Armando wasn’t around. He threatened to kill her as well, but not before she received some of his own medicine for being a meddling gringo.

Elloisa took him seriously, and she knew the time to escape was drawing near.

One night, six months ago as Elloisa recalled, Ramos was raping and beating Rosalie. Rosalie lay naked and battered in the bed when Elloisa was called to take care of her.

Ramos was laughing at the sight. Elloisa was horrified.

A few nights later, once Rosalie recovered, she attempted to escape. Elloisa had no idea why she would try this. It was inevitable that Ramos wouldn’t release Rosalie, no matter how much the girl pleaded with him.

Elloisa was brought out for the chase. Armando wanted her to see the consequences of defying him or Ramos.

She got the message loud and clear when Elloisa and Armando approached a mob of wild dogs. The sounds and images were still embedded in Elloisa’s head. It was disgusting, revolting, and the most horrific sight. The animals had their way with Rosalie, and the men just stared, cheered, and celebrated and Armando and Ramos shoved Elloisa to the front. She tried to cover her eyes and her ears at the screams of pain, but Armando wouldn’t have it.

He held Elloisa’s arms behind her back with one hand and held her neck and head forward with the other.

“Never defy me, Elloisa. Never attempt to leave me,” he whispered then kissed her neck. His kisses became rougher and more intense as the sounds of torture slowly came to an end. Those sounds and the images fed into Armando’s ego. There was no fighting him.

Elloisa cried as he manhandled her, and Armando dismissed the men and cleared the area. The men were still getting in their Jeeps and departing, but Armando couldn’t wait. He was driven, turned on by the vicious murder and determined to express his possession of her. It was as if he became intoxicated by viewing death and violence. She couldn’t fight him. She didn’t dare challenge him. Elloisa had never seen Armando so angry and so intense before, yet her gut told her in this state he could kill without a thought. As the motors roared in the background, men yelled and cheered as they departed. Armando took Elloisa right there against the Jeep. Elloisa recalled crying hysterically and hearing the echoes of Rosalie’s screams of pain in the wind.

It scared the living hell out of her, and she would never ever forget it.

After that night, Elloisa never fought against Armando. In doing so, he treated her rather nicely. Thank goodness for her sake that he wasn’t ready to start a family with Elloisa. That was her worst fear.

Elloisa remembered how she pretended to make love to Armando. She never defied him, questioned him, or acted like she wasn’t in love with him as well. He believed her. She felt she was smart enough to learn from Rosalie’s mistakes. Elloisa also knew that her survival counted on being just as manipulative, deceitful, and sneaky as her captor. Her plan was a success now because here she was, safely back home with her family who she thought was dead. If she had known Armando was lying, she would have tried to escape earlier.