“I don’t give a damn what kind of life you choose for yourself, but you’re not going anywhere that I don’t sanction.”
His words fall with a loud thud as he opens the door and stalks past the guard in the hall.
I wrap my arms around my midsection.
What am I going to do about Isabel and Valentina?They’re in trouble without me.Penniless.But for now they’re safer in Fall River.Aren’t they?
6
Daniela
“Senhora,” a tall man with broad shoulders calls politely from inside the doorway, “we need to be on our way.”
Cristiano.Growing up, there were three of them: Antonio, Cristiano, and Lucas. They were thick as thieves, and while everyone crushed on Antonio, they would have gladly settled for one of the other two.Except for me. I was only ever interested in the ringleader.
“I need your phone,” he continues.
My phone?“You can’t have my phone.”
“My orders are to take your phone. And I will.” He speaks so calmly it doesn’t register as a threat, but I have no doubt he means it.
“My hope is that you’ll hand it over,” he continues. “We all follow orders. It’ll be much easier on everyone if you do as well.”
“Before I give you my phone, I need to let my roommate know where I am. She’s expecting me home tonight. She’ll worry and call the police. In the US, the authorities take missing women seriously.” I add the last part, hoping it will incentivize him to let me place the call. I can’t just disappear—like Jorge. Isabel will be frantic.
“Give me her contact information,” Cristiano says with that same cool demeanor, as though nothing rattles him. “I’ll make sure a text or email is sent from you, letting her know you’ve been delayed.”
He doesn’t miss a beat, as though they abduct women all the time and are used to dealing with the pesky details.Maybe they do.
As I pull a pen and scrap paper out of my tote, it occurs to me that this is nothing but a ploy. He already knows how to reach Isabel. I’d put money on it.
“You don’t have my roommate’s contact information? I don’t believe that for a second.” I glare at him, waiting for a response.
“There’s very little information we don’t have about you, and those directly inside your orbit. It sounds like you already figured that out,” he says pointedly. “It’s for your safety. But I thought it might be less overwhelming for you if I didn’t rub it in your face.”
“How sweet of you to think about overwhelming me while you’re holding me against my wishes.”
“Your phone,senhora.” He holds out his hand.
I think about making Cristiano wrestle it from me. It’s clearly not his preference. But he’ll do it, if necessary. I can see that too.
It’s not worth it.Better to bide my time and wait to pick a fight I might actually be able to win.
I check my messages and email one more time, then sneak a peek at a photo of Valentina.It’s going to be okayis my silent promise to her.“You’ll both be fine until I get home.”It’s the last thing I said before I kissed them goodbye.
“When I get this back, I expect every photo to be there.”
But for those photos, I have little else of any value. I steel my spine and slap the phone into his outstretched palm harder than necessary.
He doesn’t blink.
“How are your sisters?” I ask as we descend the stairs. “And your mother? I remember how she would sing at Mass on Christmas Eve. The voice of an angel. She must be so proud of the man you’ve become.”
He doesn’t say a word, but when I glance at him, there’s a flash of humor in his expression. I feel like kicking him in the shin to wipe away the amusement.
As we get to the lobby, the traitor in the sophisticated blue dress is nowhere to be found.
“Where’s the receptionist? Preparing to kidnap the next victim?”