Here’s hoping they buy it.
I carry Renata’s limp body out in my arms, her face and chest smeared with blood. It’s mine, drawn from a deep cut across my palm. Willow trails close behind, bawling her eyes out. She hits me across the arm, against my back, her fury so convincing I almost believe her grandmother is dead. As always, my darling wife’s phenomenal acting skills may prove useful here. We need anything and everything to sell this act.
Esteban and Arturo get within five feet of us. Too close, if you ask me. Renata’s heart rate has slowed and she’s incredibly still, but I don’t want them to be able to see the slight rise and fall of her chest as she breathes. Thankfully, Willow is quick on her toes. She charges forward, screaming at Esteban as she slams her fists against his chest.
“You’re a fucking monster!” she seethes. “I hope you burn in Hell!”
Esteban pushes her away with a menacing smile. “I’ll be sure to see you there.”
“It’s done,” I say, setting Renata’s body down on the ground. She’s so still I’m genuinely concerned the snake might have killed her. She’s an older woman, after all. A whole dose of tranquilizing venom must be wreaking havoc on her insides. “Let my family go.”
Arturo nods once toward the guards who are dragging Knox, Heath, and Anna forward. Heath can barely stand, Knox’s face will probably scar, and my poor daughter is clearly traumatized. But it’s all going to be over soon. This nightmare will finally end, and we can walk away with our hands clean and our ties cut.
Esteban outright loses it, laughing like he’s lost his fucking mind. Maybe he was never fully sane to begin with. “Finally,” he breathes. “Finally, it’s all mine. You smell that in the air? Those are the winds of change, my friend. Well done, Zane. I didn’t think you could pull it off.”
“My family,” I repeat. “Release them.”
With a swift wave of his hand, Esteban’s men cut my brothers and daughter loose. Heath stumbles forward, but Knox manages to catch him time. Anna runs to me, prying her gag free so she can sob freely. She hugs me tight, pressing her face to my chest.
“Dad! What the fuck is going on? Are you okay? I want to go home!”
“I’ll explain everything, honey. I’m going to get us out of here.”
Esteban clicks his tongue. “Aww… It’s cute you think that.” He pulls his gun from out of his shoulder holster and points it directly at Willow. “I’ll be taking my fiancé back, thank you very much.”
Willow’s face goes as pale as a sheet. “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.”
“I’m a man who knows what he wants, baby girl. Your father gave you to me first, and I do hate sharing. You’re going to come home with me, Willow, and if you try and fight it, I’ll kill everyone here. The decision is completely yours.”
Anger has been simmering in the pit of my stomach for ages. It’s finally boiling over. All I can see is red. I should have known Esteban wouldn’t let us walk away so easily. He’s a lunatic, plain and simple. If you give him an inch, he’ll ask for a mile—and to him, that means forcing Willow to be with him against her will.
“You’re not taking her anywhere,” I hiss, grabbing Willow’s hand to pull her toward me. I’ve got both my girls in my arms, the two of them trembling in fear. “I did what you asked. The Marrones Cartel, all its assets… It’s all yours. Just let us go.”
Esteban pretends to think about, sighing like the proposition is too hard to contemplate. After a moment, he shrugs. “You know, when I was a young man, my father taught me never to leave loose ends. You never know when they might come back to haunt you.”
“We’re not going to do anything!” Willow snaps. “Why can’t you just leave us alone?”
“What if you decide you want revenge one day? You’ll come after me, I know you will. It’s easier if I just clean this mess up now.”
“No!” I shout.
A single gunshot screams through the air. My heart seizes. I look to my brothers, both unharmed. I look down at Willow and Anna. They’re perfectly fine, too. I’m in no pain, which means I’m not the one who’s been shot at.
When my brain finally manages to focus, I notice Esteban’s suddenly grown incredibly still. Impossibly still, in fact. It takes a second for me to realize the stream of red trickling down the side of his face past his ear. Blood splatters onto his shoulder, staining the fabric. He stares on ahead, his eyes black and empty. I’ve seen this plenty of times before on the battlefield. Esteban might look like he’s awake, but in reality he’s already dead and gone.
His lifeless body slumps forward and lands face first onto the ground, revealing the neatly placed bullet in the side of his head.
Arturo and Esteban’s remaining men panic. It happened so quickly it takes a moment for everyone to realize what has happened. Before they have a chance to react and reach for their weapons in self-defense, they’re picked off one by one by some unseen sniper.
Only Arturo remains, trembling like the coward he truly is. He’s not so strong and powerful without back up. Now we see him for what he is, a weak old man clinging onto the illusion of strength and control.
Willow steps forward, ignoring the carnage around us to confront her father. She bends down quickly to pick up Esteban’s gun, holding the tip to her father’s forehead. Arturo’s body shakes, his knees giving out. His cane falls to his side as his hands fly up in surrender.
“Don’t do this, Willow,” he pleads, the tremor in his voice greatly satisfying.
“How does it feel?” she asks softly, her expression hard and unfeeling. “Tell me, Dad. How does it feel to be powerless?”
“Willow, please—”