This isn’t like him. He’s too erratic to stall me. Then again, I don’t really know him enough to form such an opinion. I just know he’s an asshole from our phone calls and, of course, our unforgettable first meeting.
I stop and hold the doll close to me as my spine tingles.
That’s when Thiago steps out from the dark archway to my right.
Seeing him again twists my insides into all kinds of knots.
He gives me a toothy smile and crooks his finger for me to come to him.
“Look at you, so desperate,” he taunts. “I can smell your desperation and your fear.”
I move closer and closer until I’m right in front of him.
He glances down at the doll, and to my horror, he balls a fist and throws a punch straight in my face.
I scream from the impact and go flying backward, my face feeling like it might fall off.
More men step out of the shadows. There are so many, but I focus on the monster in front of me.
“You nearly had me, Lucia. Nearly. Until my guard checked in and gave the code word for trouble. Do you want to know what it is?” He laughs and comes closer, ripping the doll from my body. The gun falls out. He picks it up but pulls out his, too, so he can point both at me. “It’s the word fire, said three times. It means we’ve been compromised. I knew there was no way in hell you’d be able to get Alejandro’s baby girl away from him, but I thought maybe you could. You were desperate enough to do anything.”
“Please, no.”
“Oh, yes. I promised to kill you. That’s exactly what I’m going to do.”
He cocks the hammers on the guns.