However naïve or insane, she did trust him. The thing was, she’d squandered so much time focusing on the slaves at the estate that she’d only seen Matias as a monster. But when she looked at him, really looked hard into his eyes, she saw a monster that would never hurt her without reason.
Alone in the backseat with him, she rested her head on his shoulder and tried to absorb some of his calm strength. Nico sat in front with Burd behind the wheel. Chispa had stayed with the helicopter pilot to wait for a refueling truck.
Headlights bobbed in the rear window. Burd had brought two armed soldiers in ski masks—lower ranked cartel members according to Matias—who followed behind in a separate sedan with Frizz and Picar.
Outside the window, tiny villages twinkled by. Despite the ramshackle sheds and the bleakness of poverty, the communities seemed tranquil beneath the full moon, scattered across the mountains and surrounded by cultivated fields.
During one of her late night conversations with Matias, he’d told her about these poor rural populations. These indigenous people bred their chickens and labored in their fields of corn and coffee. Their children attended the nearest schools, sometimes hours away, and played with dolls and footballs like any other place in the world.
But it was a hard life. Land was expensive, and the whir of bullets and helicopters were a constant invasion. While the people were resigned to it, the buzz of rotors always sent them running for cover, often forcing them to abandon their farms and move elsewhere until the violence ended.
She’d thought about this when Matias’ helicopter had landed in the field of an impoverished village. How many families were cowering in their homes, waiting for Matias to leave? How many other gangs were prowling this area right now?
“This is it.” Nico’s heavy accent rose above the hum of the engine.
The headlights behind her went dark as Burd pulled into a long gravel driveway. A porch light glowed at the end of the drive, illuminating the front door of a rickety house. Several cars parked out front. Overpriced luxury cars that didn’t belong in this poor village.
Prickles raced down her spine. “What is this place?”
Nico pulled on a ski mask and twisted in the front seat to toss another mask to Matias.
Her mind flashed with images of the night Van delivered her to them. “I hate those fucking masks.”
Matias eked out a sad smile then slipped the ski mask over her head, covering her nose, mouth, and neck. “You’ll stay with Nico.”
“Why?” Her throat sealed up. “Where are you going?”
“Just until I get through the door.” He adjusted the itchy fabric on her face until only her eyes peered out.
He exchanged a look with Nico, and while they both exuded calmness, there was an undercurrent in their confidence. Not fear or worry. Something akin to grief.
What was this place? Why were they here? Her mouth dried, and she grabbed the 9mm on the seat beside her, having no idea why she needed it or who she would be aiming it at.
Halfway up the drive, Burd turned the sedan around and parked, with the headlights shining in the opposite direction of the house. The second car was nowhere in sight.
Burd shut off the headlights but kept the engine running. “I wait here in car.” He crammed the words together with a thick Colombian accent.
“Where’s the other car?” She anchored her gaze on Matias.
“They’ll come in on foot.” He touched his lips to the material over her mouth in a whisper of breath.
Every cell in her body sighed then snapped tight as Matias pulled away and stepped out of the sedan. The interior lights remained off, and the door hung open, letting in the rhythmic chirp of insects.
In the next breath, his silhouette melted into the darkness. She felt like she was going to be sick.
The crunch of his boots on gravel faded in the direction of the house. He had about a hundred feet to walk before he would appear beneath the glow of the porch light. If the other guys were sneaking onto the property, this must’ve been some kind of ambush. Who the hell was in that house?
Nico exited the sedan and stopped by her door, his whisper muffled by the mask. “Keep quiet.”
With the 9mm in hand, she climbed out into the balmy night air. She didn’t hear people nearby or vehicles in the distance, much less see any signs of civilization other than the house. But she felt something, a prickly unrest crawling through the black landscape.
Was someone out there? Watching them? Maybe it was the skeletal shapes of the surrounding trees or the fact that she couldn’t see Matias, didn’t like her hearing hindered by the mask, and didn’t want to be alone with Nico. Whatever it was, this remote place gave her the fucking creeps.
She leaned toward Nico, closer than she was comfortable, to speak low at his ear. “Why isn’t Matias wearing a mask?”
“Someone has to show their face at the door,” he whispered, eyes darting to the house and back to her. “I’m too recognizable.” He removed a huge handgun from his waistband and flicked off the safety. “This is how we always do it. He’ll be fine.”
Always do it. She searched the eye opening of his mask and found his gaze more alive than ever and tinged with deep emotion. Whatever was about to happen, he seemed uncharacteristically affected by it. That only made her stomach cramp harder.
With a crook of his finger, he beckoned her to follow him up the driveway.
She switched off the safety on the 9mm and gripped it with both hands. Her finger trembled beside the trigger guard, and her breath huffed heat against the mask, wetting the material. Stepping softly through the grass to match Nico’s steps, she trailed behind him toward the house.
The only assumption she
