“You don’t have to carry me,” I mumble. “I can—I think…nope, I can’t walk—thingsssss are blurry.”
“You’re slurring your words.” He laughs. “You sound like a hissing cobra with those dark eyes of yours.” That makes an image flash in front of me.
“Cobra, cobra,” I pronounce the word carefully. “I’ve seen a gold cobra.”
“Wow, you really don’t drink much, do you?”
“Two cobras, after he hit my face.”
Mark stops. “Who hit your face?”
“American man.” My head flops to the side. I’m so tired. “I remember now. I’ve seen him before.” Mark sits me down on the bottom of the stairs. He pulls out his cell and calls someone. I lean against the wall, watching the stairs blur together as another memory comes to me. “He has a ring that has—” I tip forward, but Mark grabs my shoulders, stopping me.
“What has she had?” Cole’s voice booms in front of me.
“A tail,” I answer, very matter-of-fact. “Wait, now, that’s not right.”
“She’s had two Tale of the Devils.” Mark moves over as Cole comes into view.
“And I saw two cobras,” I remind Mark.
“Yes, Savi. Gold, right?”
“Mmmhmmm.” I nod. “With black eyes.”
“Where did you see this?” Cole asks.
“Right after he hit my face. It hurt a lot.”
“The American,” Mark adds. “She said she’s seen him before, something about a ring.”
“Yes, a ring,” I squint at my fingers, trying recall which finger it was. Cole takes my hands in his.
“Where else have you seen him, Savi? The American.”
Memories start flashing in front of me. They’re all going by so fast.
“Baby, look at me.”
I try to focus. I hate when these flashbacks come; it stirs so many emotions.
“It’s okay, I’m here,” he reassures me.
“Once at a restaurant with Lynn. He was at the bar, watching me,” I say quietly, trying to concentrate. “And at the market.” My head turns to one side as I remember something else. “His boots made a sound that was different, like nails tapping on tile.” I lower my voice. “He came to my prison one night.” I swallow, remembering. “He stood over my bed, staring down at me.” I raise my hand to my lips. “He whispered something in Spanish and kissed his two fingers and pressed them to my forehead.”
“Do you remember what he said?”
“Yeah, he said, ‘Pronto serás mia, mi amor.’”
Cole’s eyes widen, and fear runs across his face.
“Are you sure that’s what he said? Think, Savannah.”
I nod a bunch of times. “Yes, I wanted to know what it meant so I could research it, but forgot about it until now.” I push my hair out of my face. “I think I might be drunk. Wait-wait! What does it mean?”
“I’ll tell you in the morning.” He scoops me up and carries me up the stairs.
My head is spinning like a Ferris wheel. “You don’t have to carry me!”