My stomach cramps. This whole situation is so fucked up. Esteban seems to be exaggerating, but the thought of Willow harming herself to escape this place lingers in the back of my mind.
“Is there anything else we should know?” I ask him.
“She’s manipulative,” he says. “She’s a beauty, my fiancé, but she ran off last month and had herself a good time in Vegas.”
Esteban smiles. It doesn’t look quite right, like a snake whose skin is pulled uncomfortably tight. The blankness of his eyes creeps me out. Beneath his politeness is something dark, ugly, and twisted—dangerous and unhinged.
“Would you like to see the dogs?” he asks. “I’ve hired a dog trainer from San Antonio. He trained all my dogs to attack with the sound of a whistle.”
“That’s alright,” I say. “I’m sure we’ll become acquainted with the guard dogs soon enough.”
Heath pulls out a notepad. “What does Ms. Allegra’s schedule usually look like? My brothers and I will do our best to plan around her day.”
Esteban pulls a cigarette out of his pocket and lights up, taking a heavy drag. “She spends most of her days complaining. Then crying and screaming. Her father doesn’t let her out of her room anymore. Because she can’t be trusted.”
Anger licks at the nape of my neck. I really want to put this man in the ground, but I can’t do that without jeopardizing our safety. How dare they treat Willow this way. A sane man in my position would tear up our contract on the spot. This isn’t the kind of work Phillips Security was created for. Willow was right—weareher jailers. But if we stay on, I can keep her safe and try to find a way to get her out.
“You’ll have full access to the place,” Esteban continues. “Mi casa es su casa.”
“That’s very generous of you, Mr. Becerra,” Knox says, except he doesn’t sound the slightest bit thankful.
“Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to get packed. I have a long flight.”
Esteban wanders off, humming to himself while he smokes his cigarette. His voice eventually fades into the distance, his form disappearing from view.
Knox and Heath are beside me in an instant.
“Dude,” Heath whispers. “Dude, what the fuck?”
“Iknewwe shouldn’t have taken this job,” Knox grumbles under his breath. “What do we do? It isn’t too late to pull out.”
I shake my head. “We do what we were hired to do—protect her. This changes nothing, do you understand me?”
Knox crosses his arms. “Look, I don’t know what the two of you got up to in Vegas, but we can’t afford for you to let your personal feelings get in the way of seeing clearly.”
“Iamseeing clearly. If we pull out of this contract, Becerra will start asking questions and that may very well harm Willow. We’re professionals. We’re going to stay and do our jobs and try to get her out.”
Knox squints at me, clearly not buying what I’m selling.
Heath slaps our youngest brother on the shoulder. “Think of it this way—do we really want to decline our first ever client? How bad will that look on our company’s reputation? It took months for us to set this contract up. If we back out now, who knows how long it’ll take to find someone else willing to hire us.”
Knox grinds his teeth, appearing to mull things over. After a few moments, he huffs. “If this ends up biting us in the ass…”
“It won’t,” I assure. “Now get to work. Go through our usual perimeter checks.”
“And what areyoudoing,” Heath asks me without his usual chipper air.
“To get answers,” is my terse reply.
Chapter 15
Willow
Ihear him coming before I see him, the heavy footfalls of his shoes against the floors echoing in my ear. When Zane steps into my room, I rise from my seat and suck in a sharp breath.
“Don’t come too close,” I tell him, my heart racing in my chest.
“Why?”