Total pages in book: 59
Estimated words: 55912 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 280(@200wpm)___ 224(@250wpm)___ 186(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 55912 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 280(@200wpm)___ 224(@250wpm)___ 186(@300wpm)
The only standing structure is the small house on the rear of the abandoned lot. There are no rides left, just plots of uneven grass where it’s growing up between old wooden foundations. I pull up outside the house. There’s a hill to the east of the building, a perfect spot. I don’t even have to look up there to know what’s what.
Parking sideways, I slip out of the driver’s side, keeping the car between me and the house. When I peer over the top, I find Antonio walking down old, crumbling stairs. Visibility is getting low, but I can still make out the curve of his lips and the gleam in his eyes.
He’s got his hand wrapped around Simone. She’s wearing a baggy shirt that makes her look skinnier than she usually does, plus I doubt they’ve been feeding her much. As they get closer, she looks at my car. I think a note of hope touches her features. Maybe she has feelings for me. Perhaps that’s why she said what she said. I can’t have that. Jesus, that would be a mess.
“Focus, kid,” Imaginary Jack says, and I snap into the moment. Behind Antonio, there are two men holding rifles, with masks covering their eyes. One of them is wearing a cap.
“My friend,” Antonio says, stopping near the car. “Would you look at this? Alone. Truly a man of your word, but you’ll understand why I must ask you to drop your weapon.”
I stand slowly but keep the car in a cover position, my gun ready. I’ll be able to pop one and get behind cover before they can get me, but I’d rather not risk it. “Tell your friends to do the same. Then we can make the trade, and all go home.”
“We have a laptop. This man here is a computer whizz. He’s going to check it first.”
“No need for a gun to do that.”
“Then, please…” Antonio spreads his hand, then shakes Simone with his other hand. She chokes back a sob, but she doesn’t look broken, not like when I met her when she was still mourning her husband. “Drop yours.”
I’d do as he says if he had his hand on Lena, but I can think clearly when it’s not my woman. “You have a hostage. I’m assuming you have a weapon. I’m putting myself in a bad position by giving up my gun anyway. Meet me halfway.”
Antonio laughs erratically. “Gringo, yes! See? You understand us. The media says narcos are all loco. Can you believe that? But we respond to logic, my friend. Just like any other man.”
I wonder if it was logic that made Antonio invade a family of four’s home and torture the father for some imagined riches. This isn’t the first of his schemes. Luckily for Simone, it’s the least bloody. So far, anyway.
In Spanish, he grunts, “Drop your weapons.”
The men kneel, placing their guns down. I place my gun on the ground, then put my arm behind my back as I carefully walk out of cover, keeping my eyes on Antonio the whole time. The men could go for their guns any moment, too, but I have to trust. Not them, though.
Antonio grins, then quickly reaches into his waistband and grabs a gun. I get mine out just in time. We’re aiming at each other’s heads, but then he grins even wider. He’s enjoying this, the sick bastard. He moves sideways so that Simone’s head is in front of his.
“Silly American,” Antonio says, laughing, as I watch the other two men, waiting for them to do the smart thing and grab their guns. They seem to think it’s over. “Do you know how much I can sell this bitch for?”
“Goodbye, Antonio. I’m sorry you turned out this way.”
He laughs again, and then Simone starts screaming when a shower of red erupts from his head. I kneel and discharge my pistols into the two men, four apiece, then quickly reload. They’ve both got vests on. They’re groaning and gasping in pain. With Antonio’s bulkiness, it was hard to tell. When I look closer, I see the outline of the vest. It’s a shame my buddy wasn’t aiming for the chest.
The men slowly start crawling toward their weapons. I jog over to Simone and haul her over my shoulder. She’s screaming in complete shock. She’s got Antonio’s blood in her hair and over her back. I quickly place her in the back seat, a point of guilt stabbing me that I had to touch her like it’s a betrayal to Lena. It feels that way.
“Focus, kid.”
I grab my gun on the ground and get into the car, screeching away before the men have a chance to shoot back. Simone sits on the back seat with her knees drawn to her chest, shuddering, staring into space. I wish I had some words of comfort.