“Hey, how did they get past the front gate?” he suddenly asks, changing the subject.
“Who?”
“Omar and his cabróns.”
“I assume they were let in by the guard.”
“Federales?” he asks incredulously.
“I don’t know. I was asleep when they got here,” I snap at him.
“Really? Did you dream of me?”
He laughs when I suck my teeth. I stab the end call button, then toss the phone onto my bed and throw myself onto my back.
Enzo will no doubt tell Papa that I called him because he’s a sneaky son of a bitch. I should have taken Guillermo up on his offer since he seems to exude more loyalty than most. But then I remind myself that he doesn’t work for Miguel so why would he care?
Why the hell do I?
I close my eyes, place my hands over my face and let out a frustrated, muffled scream before I roll over onto my side and try to go back to sleep.
* * *
“What did you do?”I snap at Ana Sofia. She’s covered in blood, frantically chopping at what I assume is a large animal. But her gasp at being caught tells me that not all is as it seems, and when she lets out a sob, I know it isn’t. “Sofi!”
She drops the machete and begins to cry even harder, “I didn’t mean to!”
I step around her to see what she’s taken down then sigh when I realize it’s Pedro. My heart begins to race as I take in his body. There’s a hole in his back, almost dead center, and she’s managed to cut his arms off.
“Okay, listen to me,” I tell her as I lean down and grab her by her shoulders. She buries her head into my neck and continues sobbing, but this is no time for tears. “You go inside and get cleaned up. If anyone sees you, you just tell them that you were attacked by a feral dog or something and that I’m taking care of the rest, you understand me?”
Her eyes are closed so tightly that I’m worried she’ll never be able to open them again. “Ana Sofia,” I prompt her sharply, giving her a shake. “Do you understand me?”
Another sob wracks her small body, but she finally opens her eyes and nods frantically in agreement.
“Good, now go,” I say giving her a gentle push toward the house.
I listen to the sound of her small feet breaking branches on the run back to the house. When I can’t hear her anymore, I drop down to my knees and pick up the machete. I’ll be able to finish what she started in no time since I’m stronger than she is.
I won’t let her get in trouble for this and I’ll do my best to explain to Papa what happened while leaving her completely out of it.
An hour passes before I’ve managed to cut his body into manageable pieces. I get to my feet and begin to stack them, then glance down at the ground when his head rolls toward me. I linger for a moment, taking in the frozen look of pain—the mask of death given to him by a little girl who wanted nothing more than to be liked.
And she wanted it so desperately because the boy loved me.
I grind my teeth for a moment before I pick up his torso and place it on the pile I’ve made. As I go back for his head, something inside of me switches. Almost like an insatiable need—the kind of thing we used to share when he would sneak into my room at night.
I reach down and pick it up in both of my hands and hold it up. Even in death, he’s still so fucking beautiful.
I gasp when I hear shouting behind me and start to shake when I recognize Papa’s angry voice lumbering toward where I’m standing.
As quickly as I can I begin to walk deeper into the woods, keeping my head low, and staying off the beaten path until I’m able to loop my way back to the pool area. Once I make it undetected, I decide to go into the small shed and wait until it’s safe again.
I close the door firmly behind me, place Pedro’s head on the ground, and lean my body back against the entrance, my eyes flitting toward the ceiling.
Even though the sun is shining outside, it’s a little hard to see in here, but it’s the only place I know I’ll be able to make to in time.
I blow out my breath as my eyes wander down toward the floor. I don’t know why I’ve become so enamored with what’s left of Pedro, but I can feel it calling to me.