Chapter 29

I CRANK THE ENGINE OVER AND PULL THE TRUCK BACK onto the road.

"I need to ask you a few questions," I say. "Are you up to it?"

"Yes."

"Who were you with in the village?"

"I don't know for sure. No one ever said his name. They called him El Jefe."

"How did you and the others end up there?"

A catch in her breath. "Some men came to my school. They said they had work that would pay well. They said we would be gone only a week and would be brought back to our village after. They said we would be treated with respect."

Her voice drops off. When I glance over, she's pressed the palms of her hands against streaming eyes.

"I'm sorry to have to..."

"No." She regains herself quickly, wipes away the tears with the back of her hand. "I want to help. What do you need to know?"

"How long have you been gone from your village?"

"Longer than a week. Three weeks, I think. I lost track of time."

"The men who took you, do you know where they come from?"

"Near San Fernando. They spoke of it often during the drive. How they were anxious to return there when they finished delivering us. How they hated these trips because the 'cargo' was so much trouble. Running drugs was a lot easier."

Adelita has been staring straight ahead as she speaks, her voice steady but without nuance. She could be reciting a school lesson or repeating a tedious anecdote told to her by a tiresome old relative.

I look around as we drive. There are few places to hide the truck and I begin to worry how long we have before someone comes looking for it.

Time for another plan.

Off to the left about one hundred yards there is an outcropping of rock. I leave the road and head toward it.

Adelita glances over. "What are you doing?"

"I can't see any way to hide the truck. I don't know how much time we have before it's missed. If the driver's friends come looking, I want them to find an accident that will convince them no one escaped. I may need to siphon gasoline from the truck to start a fire."

She nods that she understands. "There is gasoline in a plastic jug in back. I don't know how much is in it."

"I'll check."

The truck bounces and rattles over the desert floor, making conversation impossible. It takes effort just to lock your jaw and grind your teeth together to prevent the jarring from shaking anything loose.

As we approach the rocks, I slow down and stop. "I want you to get out here. I'll see what's in the back that we can use."

"I want to help," she says.

"I know. And you will. But I can take care of this. You should sit here in the shade and rest."

She draws in a breath as if to argue, but I reach across her and open the passenger door. "Please. Trust me. Do as I ask."

And after a moment, she does. She climbs slowly out of the cab and finds a shady place under a scrub oak. I wait until she's settled to put the truck in gear once more and head for the rocks.

When I'm ten yards out, I stop again. I don't relish going into the back of the truck, but I know what I have to do. When I open the doors, the smell of blood hits me with the force of a blow. It's hot inside and close and the harsh buzz of flies already drawn to the bodies makes the atmosphere even more unpleasant.

Even vampire is repelled. But it's vampire strength I need so I call her forth. Reluctantly, I climb into the back of truck. I don't look at the girls. Not yet. The driver I heave onto my shoulders and jump to the ground. I take him to the cab and prop his body into the seat. Then I return to the back just long enough to find the gas can Adelita mentioned. I give it a shake. It's almost full.

Now comes the hard part. I have to make it look to the casual observer that there are three bodies here, not two. I hate touching their bodies. It seems disrespectful. But I drag them together so they're near the door and almost on top of each other. As if they died trying to get out. I sprinkle gasoline over the bodies, whispering an apology to the girls. I am about to burn away their very existence. The only offering I can make is the promise to avenge their deaths.

I slam the back doors closed, snap the padlock. There's a small porthole window in one side of the doors. I use my elbow and smash it in. I don't want to take the chance that the fire might be snuffed out for lack of oxygen. I want it to burn long and hard.

I carry the can to the cab. I push the dead man over and squeeze in next to him. I soak him and the cab in gasoline. Then I turn the ignition and put the truck in reverse.

I see Adelita in the rearview mirror. She is watching, concern and uncertainty on her face. I take one of the cigarettes from the pack in back of the seat, carefully light it, throw the match out the window. When I judge I am far enough away to create the right impact, I change gears, jam the accelerator to the floor and the truck leaps forward.

I open the door, ready to jump out but stupidly, I have miscalculated. The truck hits the rocks before I can jump with enough force to crumble the hood and shatter the windshield. I bounce forward against the steering wheel, the sickening crack of a rib making me recoil with pain. The cigarette falls from my lips and the cab becomes an inferno. I throw myself sideways out of the burning cab and roll away.

The ball of flame leaps skyward. I hear Adelita running toward me before I see her. From her vantage, she could not tell if I escaped the inferno. When she sees me climb to my feet, her relief is physical. She grabs my shoulders and hugs me to her, speaking in Spanish and crying until her body shakes.

Against the pain of broken ribs, I put my arms around her and hug back just as fiercely.

Chapter 30

AFTER A MOMENT, I PUSH ADELITA GENTLY AWAY. "We need to get out of here. I'm sure they'll spot the fire in the village. We can't be here when they come to see what happened."

She steps back. "Where are we to go?"

I take her hand and lead her back to and across the road, going as quickly as I can. I feel the broken bone begin to knit, but the process would be much less painful if I could just stop and let the magic of vampiric healing work unfettered. Instead, the constant tug and pull of keeping up a brisk pace makes me wince with every step.

Adelita sees it. She stops abruptly. "You are hurt."

"Never mind. It's nothing. We can't stop now. My friends are not far. We need to get to them as quickly as possible."

She frowns but I turn away and keep going deeper into the brush. Already I hear the rumble of a motor approaching from the direction of the village. Adelita can't hear it, but I can. If I were by myself, I'd wait and see who they sent out. See if the fire coaxed Santiago from his hiding place. But I can't risk Adelita's safety. If anyone spotted her, she'd most likely be blamed for the accident. My hope is that I can get her back to her home or at least have Max send her to a safe house while we finish what we came to do.

Adelita and I continue toward the spot where the three men hunkered down to await nightfall. It's hot, dirty work, pushing through bushes that catch and scrape at our skin and arms. There are clouds of pesky no-see-ums that rise from under trampling feet and swarm around our heads and into our eyes. I guess we traveled farther in the truck than I realized. Finally, we're at a point where I think I can reach Culebra telepathically, and I draw Adelita to a stop.

"We'll rest here a minute," I tell Adelita. Seems more plausible then telling her we're stopping so I can contact my shape-shifter friend via a mind meld.

Adelita's look of sympathy says she figures I want to stop because my ribs hurt, and she doesn't argue. She does hear the engine from the approaching vehicle now and takes cover. She makes herself as small as possible by folding her body against the thickest clump of bushes she can find. There is fear shadowing her eyes again. I mimic her action and place a finger to my lips.

The sound of a truck engine draws closer to the scene of the "accident." I put off trying to communicate with Culebra so I can listen to the flurry of activity... doors opening, footsteps running, excited yelling. I understand some of the conversation. First there is confusion as to how the driver, a new guy, could have left the road and hit the rocks. Then anger that he must have been drunk or high. Finally, a furious round of arguing as to who would be the unlucky one to break the news to El Jefe. He won't be happy that he lost a truck or that the driver cost El Jefe the income he would have gotten from the girls when they were put to work back in town.

That last bit brings a bitter smile to my lips. Obviously El Jefe didn't know that the new guy had his own plan for the girls. Rape and murder. He's probably better off dead. So is Toadie if he is the unlucky one who got him the job. I remember how they glad-handed each other in the village.

I catch Adelita watching me with a curious expression on her face. She can't hear what I hear. She must be wondering why I've grown so still, head tilted in the direction of the road. She doesn't ask questions, though, only waits for me to indicate that it's safe to continue our trek. Under normal circumstances seeing me become vampire should have sent her racing in the opposite direction. Instead, here she is, quietly waiting to follow my lead. Her faith in me is extraordinary.

After ten minutes or so, the men return to their truck and head back to the village. The smoke rising from the burned vehicle thins out, and I wonder if I should go back and see how completely it burned. Hopefully, there is too little left to make it obvious two bodies and not three were in the back. If we were in a city, a forensic team would scope it out in a heartbeat. Since I doubt Horatio Caine and his crew are vacationing anywhere near this dump, we may just get away with it.

Time to see if I can reach Culebra.

I open the conduit. Culebra? Are you awake?

The answer comes back immediately. Yes. Where are you? Did you find Santiago?

I'm close. I don't know about Santiago. There is someone hiding in that village. But he never came out. I have a girl with me who may be able to help. I'm hoping Max has a picture in that bag of tricks he brought.

A girl?

I give him a brief recap, including what I found when I followed the truck and how Adelita and I took care of the problem.

There is silence for a moment. Then, he says, I saw the smoke.

I thought you'd be asleep.

He makes a sound like the huffing of a breath. We should be. But something has got Ramon in a state. He's watching Max and me like we're going to bolt. His nervousness is putting us all on edge.

He didn't get a phone call, did he? I'm thinking of Maria. Gabriella would have awakened eventually to find her mother bound and gagged and me gone. If Gabriella did indeed have a cell phone like I suspected, Maria would have lost no time in contacting Ramon and telling him I was on their trail.

I don't think so. But who can tell? With these new phones, she might have sent him a text and I'd never know. In any case, are you coming in?

I glance over at Adelita. She's watching me intently again, as if I might be planning to bolt. I smile at her and stretch, as if working kinks out of my legs. She gives me a tiny smile back.

What does Ramon plan to do when it gets dark? I ask then.

He hasn't said. I think he and I should get as close to the village as we can, scope it out. Leave Max behind as backup in case we get into trouble. Can you tell me where Santiago may be hiding?

I explain the layout of the village, tell him where I saw the girls taken.

Were there many guards? Culebra asks.

No. And that's surprising. I only saw one armed man. He had an AK-47. If Santiago was there, you'd think he'd have an army to protect him.

We can't be sure he doesn't. Well, what do you want to do?

I glance again at Adelita. She is leaning against one of the bushes, her head has fallen to her chest. I think the poor kid is asleep. I check my watch.

There's only three more hours of daylight. I'll wait for you and Ramon to leave camp. Let Max know that I'm here. Have you warned him about Ramon?

Didn't have a chance. I told you Ramon is watching us. That's another reason I want Max to stay behind when we go to the village tonight. If Ramon and I get separated, I don't want Max to become a target. I feel better knowing you will be with him.

Let me know when you've left for the village.

Culebra closes the link between us abruptly, as if someone may have called to him. I scoot myself over to where Adelita is sleeping and work my way into the brush beside her. She looks so small and fragile, so defenseless. Another surge of bitter rage against the men who abused her turns my blood hot. When I gather her to my chest, she gives one jerky start. I touch her hair gently and draw her head down to rest on my shoulder and she settles against me. Her breathing again becomes deep and regular. I wonder how long it's been since she felt safe enough to fall asleep?

Chapter 31

ADELITA STIRS AND JOLTS AWAKE, DRAGGING ME back to consciousness with her. She pushes away from me with a sharp cry. She flails her fists and screams out for me to let her go.

I tighten my arms around her. "Shhh, baby," I whisper. "It's all right. You're safe."

It takes a minute, but slowly, Adelita's mind clears as she looks up at me and realizes who is holding her. Her body relaxes, her fists drop. She sobs against my shoulder. I let her cry, get it out of her system, while my senses strain to catch any movement from the direction of camp to indicate they heard Adelita's scream. My gut twists with pain for the girl. Just as vampire blood ignites with thoughts of revenge toward those who are responsible.

I take a quick glance at my watch. It's after midnight. Hopefully Culebra and Ramon have already left for the village. Before I can try to contact Culebra, the sound of footfalls moving slowly and carefully through the brush toward us reaches my ears.

I hold a finger to my lips and Adelita's eyes grow big. She swallows back her sobs, a hand pressed to her mouth. I push her gently away and stand up.

I catch his scent before I see him. Relief washes over me. I smile at Adelita. "It's okay. It's my friend."

Max doesn't have the advantage of super hearing and smell so I head out to meet him before he bursts commando style into our clearing and scares Adelita to death. I meet him about twenty yards out and seeing me pop up unexpectedly right in his path gives Max the start I was afraid he'd give Adelita.

He drops his gun hand and exhales sharply. "Jesus, Anna. Where did you come from?" Then he stops and looks at me. Really looks at me.

"You've got blood all over you."

I raise a hand to my face self-consciously. I'd forgotten.

Max holsters his gun, pulls a handkerchief from his pocket. "Here. At least wipe your face off."

I take the handkerchief, spit on it and scrub at my face. The cloth comes away stained. When I try to return it to Max, he pushes it back at me. "Keep it. Do I want to know whose blood it is?"

"I'll tell you later. Have Culebra and Ramon left for the village?"

"About an hour ago. I expect them back anytime. Were you coming to give us a report?"

"Already gave it to Culebra."

He shoots me a puzzled frown. "How long have you been here?"

"Since this afternoon."

"Then why...?"

"Come on. I have someone I want you to meet."

Max has a perplexed look on his face, but he follows me. When I get back to the place I left Adelita, my heart leaps with alarm. She's not where I left her.

Max is looking around. "Meet who? There's no one here."

I peer into the bushes, catch her scent, the scent of blood, and follow it to her hiding place. "It's all right. Max is a friend."

I had no idea how the sight of an unfamiliar man would affect Adelita. She's trembling, unable to stand or talk, eyes fixed on Max. Her skin is torn where she forced herself into thick brush, rough bark and sharp branches gouging at her.

I squat so she and I are at eye level. "He will not hurt you. He is here to help get you to safety."

I hold out my hands to her. At first, I think she will refuse to come out, the nightmare of her captivity turning any man not known to her into a new enemy.

But she turns her gaze away from Max and focuses on me. She takes my hand and lets me tear away at the brush holding her until I've managed to make a hole big enough for her to free herself without tearing more skin. I pull her gently to her feet with me.

We walk back to Max.

His eyes widen when he sees the girl, bruised, torn, bleeding, dressed in the remnants of that old blanket. He also sees the fear in her eyes. He makes no move to come closer.

"This is Adelita, Max. She escaped from the village. She is very brave." I touch Adelita's arm. "This is my friend Max. He will help get you to safety."

Max begins to speak softly to Adelita in Spanish. She nods and after a moment, replies to something he asked her. She still has not let go of my hand. They talk for several minutes and then Max says to me, "Let's go back to camp. I have food and water. She looks like she could use something to eat."

Max walks ahead and beside me, Adelita matches my stride without hesitation. She does not take her eyes off Max, though, nor does she let go of my hand. It's no surprise that she doesn't react to the coldness of my skin. I doubt she notices. Shock and fear have turned her own hand to ice.

It's a short walk to the small clearing where the men spent the night. Calling it a "camp" is overstating it. No tents. No campfire. The only indication that anyone was here is Max's duffel shoved under a twisted mesquite. He retrieves it and unzips one of the pockets, pulling a couple of protein bars out of it. He hands them to Adelita.

For the first time since Max joined us, she lets go of my hand. She rips at the paper and wolfs down the first bite so quickly, she starts to choke. I'm at her side in an instant, taking the bars from her hand, breaking off small bits that she eats slowly once she has caught her breath.

Max pulls a bottle of water from the bag next. He hands it to me and I open it and when Adelita has finished the first bar, offer her a drink.

"My god," Max whispers to me while we watch her eat. "Did Santiago do this to her?"

I tell him the same thing I told Culebra... that I didn't know. And that Adelita never heard a name except El Jefe. I also tell him about the other girls, the two dead, the four delivered to this El Jefe like takeout. What happened when I found the driver and the truck.

"Must be Santiago and his crew," Max says when I finish. "Sounds twisted enough."

Adelita has finished the bars and is sipping at the water. A little color has returned to her cheeks, but her eyes remain wary, watchful. Max hunkers down and when I do, too, Adelita follows our lead.

"When do you expect Culebra and Ramon to return?" I ask.

"They plan to stay on lookout until dawn... or until they know for sure if Santiago is in the village."

"Then what?"

"Then we go in after him."

"Did Culebra tell you...?"

"That Ramon doesn't trust me? Yes. It's not a big surprise, though. The story of my coming along out of friendship for Culebra was a little thin. He may think I'm here solely to bust him."

"There's more, too. Maria wasn't going to let me follow last night. Did Culebra tell you that, too?"

He looks surprised. "No. Didn't have much time alone without Ramon. Did she try to stop you?"

"With a big shotgun."

He looks at me, eyebrows raised. "Is she still breathing?"

"Of course she is. I just incapacitated her. Gabriella would have freed her as soon as the girl woke up. I didn't like some of the things Maria was saying. I get the feeling Ramon has a bigger agenda than he's letting on."

Before Max can respond, I catch a sound approaching through the brush, rapid footsteps coming toward us.

I hold up a hand for Max to be quiet.

More than two sets of footsteps.

I jump up, startling Adelita into jumping up, too.

Max is on his feet, gun drawn. "What is it?"

I grab Adelita's hand, force it into Max's. "Get her out of here. I'll hold them off."

"Them? You're sure it's not Culebra and Ramon?"

"Not unless they've grown a dozen more pairs of legs."

Adelita pulls free of Max, stumbles to my side. I look over her head to Max. "Get her out of here. Get to the Jeep, take her across the border. If they catch her again, they'll kill her."

Max doesn't hesitate even for a moment. He scoops Adelita into his arms. "I'll be back as soon as I can. Do you still have your cell?"

"Turned it off. I don't think I have much battery life left."

"I should get back to the river in six hours." He looks at his watch. "Turn it on at eight a.m. I can trace you."

Adelita is staring at me with the blank-eyed look of a wounded animal. She looks like a child in Max's arms. I stroke her hair. "You will be safe. You can't stay here. The men from the village are coming."

She closes her eyes for an instant, then releases a long slow breath as if the fight has left her. Max tightens his arms around her. He nods just once to me and in the next moment, the two are gone.

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