Tijuana Nights (The Nights Series Book 1) (32 page)

Her smile was cold when she looked back at me. Javier’s eyes were open and watchful. I felt bile rise to my throat. “He can see and hear everything,” Carmen said with quiet delight. “But this particular snake poison paralyses almost every muscle in his body.” She looked up at Paz with a nod. “Lovely work.”

Between them, they dragged Javier over to me, and Paz produced another pair of handcuffs from her back pocket, cuffing Javier into the same position as me.

“You’re sick,” I muttered.

Carmen’s head snapped towards me, her eyes leering. “You think I’m sick? He’s the one who cheated on me…with
you
. Of all people, he chose an ugly gringa.” She shook her head, causing her mass of loose curls to sway about. She might consider me ugly because of my colouring or race, but I was just as smart and intelligent as she was.

“I think the question you should be asking is ‘what do I have that you don’t?’” I gave her a cold smile. “There must be something that he liked about me. Do you know what it was?”

I could see Paz visibly freeze as Carmen glared at me. “I have everything he needs.” She paused, and glanced down at her husband, her eyes calculating. “He has told me for years that I am the only woman for him.” She spat on the floor next to him. “He is a filthy liar.”

“Don’t think for a moment that I have been the only other woman Javier has had.”

She gave me a conniving smile. “Oh, I don’t. But the rest are all dead.” She crouched down in front of me, lifting my chin so that I looked straight into her eyes. “It is you who has eluded me. And only because of your slutty ways, with your little toy boys who have protected you.” She started laughing. “You thought I didn’t know? I know all about you, McKenna. I have eyes everywhere.”

“Not everywhere,” I countered. “You have absolutely no idea what I am capable of.”

She stood, placing her hands on her hips as she towered over me and Javier with her glare. “You? You are
weak
. You had
no
idea what you were getting mixed up in when you came to my homeland. You
still
have no idea.”

I knew that I needed to keep her talking…that I needed to piss her off. Piss her off enough to do something irrational and stupid. “Still. Your husband wanted me. So what is it, Carmen, that I have, that you don’t?” I stared up at the ex-beauty queen, willing her to come up with something that would surprise me.

“I have everything. He told me a thousand times. That is why I am his
wife
, and not just his mistress.”

“No,” I said, building my confidence. “Your husband liked being with me because he appreciates intelligent company. You see, Carmen – I’m smart. Far smarter than you. Your husband likes women with brains. That is why he chose me. Brains over beauty.” I knew it wasn’t the smartest thing I could have said, nor was it true, but I wanted to piss her off, and I knew that dismissing her gorgeous looks was one way to do it.

Sharp pain lanced through me from her slap, throwing my head back into the mirror. Everything turned a stark white. Glaring hot remnants of her touch were left on my cheek as my vision cleared, but I didn’t bother to try and rub it.

“You have no idea what you’re talking about. I have the brains, and I have the beauty.
If
I didn’t, I wouldn’t have been able to do all this.” She gestured to both me and Javier. “You see, my father was a great man, and one of the reasons why this operation has run as smoothly as it has. Now that he is dead, my legacy is dead.” She stared down at me, her dark eyes boring into mine.

“So you’re having father/daughter issues, then? That’s what all this is about?”

Carmen laughed. “No, no, my dear. I’m pleased my father is gone. He basically sold me off to this prick.” She threw a nod towards Javier. “All because of business. My father was one of the biggest suppliers of cocaine in Mexico.
I
was a
business deal
! But now that my father is dead, my brother has set up new connections with the Santa Muerte, and they have invited me in.”

She put her hands on her hips, looking momentarily pleased with herself, but then her features twisted into something dark again as she looked back at me. “
You
have almost destroyed that agreement. You were meant to die, and your friends were supposed to wipe out this cartel, and therefore prove that I am a leader, deserving of a high position in the Santa Muerte.”

My mouth was dry. It was hard to keep up with the ramblings of a crazy woman, but I was getting the distinct impression that this whole operation was a set up. My team had been set up. I had the overwhelming desire to rip my cuffs off, and smash her head into the mirror behind me. This whole situation was her fucking ambitious fault.
She
was the reason we had almost died multiple times is this bloody country. All because she wanted to switch allegiances. “I know you think this is a smart move,” I said through gritted teeth. “But they will kill you as soon as you go over to their side.”

“That’s where you’re wrong. I have the brains. I have
always
been the brains behind this entire operation. They need me.” She turned to Javier, and toed his leg with her foot. “You will see,” she said, more to him than to me. She turned on her heel, and stormed down past the glowing fish tank, and into the room beyond. She was shouting expletives at Paz. I had the distinct impression that her night was not going as planned.

Paz walked into the room, closing the door silently behind her. Her phone was pressed to her ear, as she spoke in hurried Spanish to the recipient. I watched her with curiosity. Even with the scarring on her face, she was still a stunning looking woman. I could tell she was irritated with Carmen, but she had been suppressing it well. Now that she was in a different room from Carmen, I could see it written all over her.

I looked at Javier. He was the core reason why I’d come to Mexico. Now he was in the same state as me. Well – I hadn’t been drugged yet, but we were both cuffed to a rail. A part of me was wondering why the hell Carmen hadn’t injected any of that stuff into me yet. Now that I knew her master plan, I knew that I was more than a liability.

Javier’s eyes met mine, and I suppressed a shiver. Carmen’s words came back to me, informing me that he could see and hear everything. I wondered what on earth he would do if he ever got free from this mess we were caught up in. Would he kill her? I would kill her. Or would he respect her even more now? Who knew what really made these Cartel guys tick.

Paz had stopped talking on the phone, and now stood in front of the enormous fish tank. She turned slowly and looked at me. “You killed my lover, you know?”

Bewilderment infused me. “What? Who did I kill?”

“Filipo. He was my lover. I saw you that day on the roof with your boyfriend,” she sneered at me. “Carmen doesn’t know it was you. But I saw you with my own eyes.” She took a few steps in my direction, her hands on her hips. “He was my payday. He was going to get me out of here,” she hissed. “But you screwed that up. Now he is dead, and I will probably be next.”

“Why are you working for Carmen then?”

Paz shrugged. “Because I know which side my bread is buttered. She may actually take me to the Santa Muerte Cartel with her.”

I shook my head with disbelief. “You can’t be serious? Look what happened to her husband.” I looked over at Javier. “She has no loyalty to him and she was married to him.”

“He’s a liar and a cheat,” Paz stated simply. “You… well… your trip to Mexico has screwed up a lot of lives. But it won’t for much longer. After what you did to Filipo? You deserve everything that’s coming for you.” She waved her hand in dismissal at me before I could respond, and turned back towards her fish tank. “Feeding time, babies?” she murmured, the sound of her voice carried over towards me.

I gritted my teeth. Something told me that feeding these fish didn’t mean a sprinkle of fish food.  Paz disappeared through the door, and after a moment, I could hear her moving around upstairs. I had to wonder exactly how big this place was. Something disturbed the waters of the fish tank. Bile rose to my throat as I recognised a human arm with the hand still attached. A leg was the next appendage to hit the water. I had wondered what the fish were waiting for. Another leg and an arm were dropped into the tank, and then a male torso. I thought I was going to faint. I guess ‘getting fed to the fishes’ wasn’t just a Russian mafia term. Not now. Paz took it literally.

The fish moved as if they were one entity. They swarmed around the dead flesh, manoeuvring it, so they could get to more of their dinner. While I was disgusted, I was also fascinated. Javier was watching them too. He didn’t look surprised, but in saying that, he couldn’t move a muscle in his body, so it was pretty hard to express any emotion.

How the hell was I even in this situation? This wasn’t reality. This wasn’t what real people did. I was trapped in some sort of bizarre alternate reality.

I heard a car pull up, and my insides jumped with anticipation. It was probably more cartel members. I groaned. More cartel members, meant more of an audience for the ultimate demise that Carmen had planned for me. Without looking at us, Paz walked through the room, and straight out to the garage. I heard the garage door lift, and she spoke quietly with someone. The garage door rattled to a close, and they stepped into the room. My heart almost stopped as Gabe’s gaze brushed over me.

“I see you have company,” he said quietly to Paz.

She threw back her head with laughter. “Don’t we always?”

He chuckled along with her, but as she turned away from him, his eyes once again cut to mine. My heart sank with the dawn of a new reality. Gabe was in on this. Somehow, he’d been turned. Carmen had got to him. I could see it. Hope of getting out of here alive was dwindling faster by the minute.

“I’m sorry.” I heard a whisper.

My eyes snapped to Javier. “Did you just say something?”

I saw the smallest of nods.

“The poison is wearing off?”

“Sorry,” he said once again, the words almost indistinguishable.

I sighed. “It’s all right, Javier.” As if these things happened on an everyday basis. “Your wife is crazy, although I kind of knew that already.” I blew out a sigh of regret. “I’m sorry too. If it wasn’t for me, we probably wouldn’t be in this mess, and you would still be living your married life in ignorant bliss.”

A thought crossed my mind, thinking of Gabe in the next room. Why would he turn? What on earth would Carmen have that could compel him to go against his friendship with River and Chase? From what Chase had told me, they were completely and utterly loyal to each other. I swallowed as a tear slipped down my cheek. Anger and disappointment welled within me. Chase trusted him! River loved him like a brother. Why would he do that?  I sniffed, and wiped my face on my arm. This was such a huge mess. What an end to my short life. I hadn’t even really lived.

After a while, I could hear sounds of a sexual nature coming from the other room, and I looked over at Javier. He had his eyes on the door. I could see the shadow of a frown starting to form on his features. The thought of Gabe with that woman was starting to make me feel ill. What was he
doing?
He would probably be the next to die at Carmen’s hand.

I hummed to myself, blocking the noises from the other room from my consciousness, while wondering what the time was. I had been awake for a long time, and I was actually starting to feel exhausted. Adrenaline alone was the only thing keeping me awake but it was now starting to wear off, and being replaced with heavy resignation and exhaustion.

Elsie crossed my mind. I missed her. I actually just wanted Elsie's cuddles right now. I wanted to smell the lavender scent of her clothing as she wrapped her arms around me, drawing me into her bosom. I swallowed, feeling tears spring to my eyes. If anything, I wished that I could at least say goodbye, and thank you for being the best substitute mother anyone could ever have hoped for. Peter Pan’s word came to me then:
Death would be an awfully big adventure
. I swallowed hard. Tears sprang forth as I imagined Elsie holding me.

This was the hand I had been dealt. Life surrounded by the deaths of those I loved. Death was everyone’s ultimate calling. I just didn’t think it was quite my time yet.