Dirty Deeds(67)

Finally he came back on the line. “Alana, where are you?”

“I’m at the Crowne Plaza in Mazatlan.”

“Okay, good,” he said. “Hold on.” I waited while I could hear him typing in the background. “Listen I’m going to come pick you up but you have to meet me, all right? Just go to the corner of Marina Mazatlan and Sabalo Cerritos. It’s a few blocks away. Stay where you are, around people, in the lobby of the hotel. Don’t talk to anyone, don’t go with anyone. We’ll be there in an hour.”

“Okay,” I said, feeling panicked all over again. What about Esteban? Was Derek right about that? “Will it be you picking me up?”

“Yes,” he said.

“Where is Javier?”

“He’s not here right now.”

“Okay,” I said quietly.

“I’ll be driving a white SUV. We’ll stop and get you. I’ll have men with me to watch over you and make sure you’re coming alone. These were Javier’s instructions if you were to call. We’ll take you back here and you’ll be safe, understand?”

“Yes, I understand.”

“Be safe,” Juanito said and hung up.

I sighed and when I tried to return the phone to the cradle, I dropped it. My hands were shaking. I didn’t know if I could wait for an hour in the hotel, even if I was around people, knowing that Derek was upstairs.

He hadn’t come for me yet and to be honest, it worried me. I was torn up inside, knowing deep down that Derek would never harm me, not now, but also knowing he once was paid to. Our relationship, my love for him, was built on lies. How could I be sure that the good, brave man I saw was the real him. What if that was the lie? What if all the wonderful things I saw in his soul was nothing but an illusion and I was duped into it by big muscles and hot sex?

My heart told me it was real. But your heart is what got people killed. I knew I would die at some point for some reason or another, but I would never let it be over my heart.

I stepped away from the phone and walked out of the lobby and into the sunshine. I decided to wait at the hotel next door instead, which wasn’t as nice. Finally when the time was ready, I headed across the road. I was still surprised to see that Derek hadn’t followed me but then again, it had been his livelihood to be invisible.

There was barely any traffic on the road so it was quite obvious when the big white SUV came barreling toward me. Aside from some people at the beach across the street, there were no other pedestrians either so it was quite obvious who I was.

The driver of the SUV rolled down his window. He had a full face, maybe even younger than me, but I could tell he was a bit of a heavyweight.

“Get in,” he said.

“Are you Juanito?”

I think he nodded. He jerked his head at the back door which then popped open. “Get in,” he repeated.

I took in a deep breath, put all my faith in my brother and got in the SUV.

There was a man in the back, staring out the window and another man in the passenger seat doing the same.

I gingerly sat down beside him and the man turned to look at me. He had bright brown eyes and a narrow face, almost lupine in its quality.

“Shut the door, if you please,” he said to me.

I leaned over and shut it. The locks immediately came on and the SUV sped away. I studied the guy more closely.

“Are you Juanito?” I asked.

“Put on your seatbelt,” he said. “And no, I’m Benny.”

“Benny,” I repeated. Meanwhile Benny was looking behind him. “Are you sure you weren’t followed?”

I didn’t know what to say to that. “Well, I’m not sure but I don’t think I was.”

“And the man you’re with, you told Javier you had a boyfriend. Where is he?”

I shrugged. “I don’t know. Not with me. I left him.”

“Why?”

“Because I couldn’t trust him.”

He seemed to mull that over. Then he sat back in his seat and stared out the window again.

Silence choked the car.

I had a bad feeling. I eyed the bag I brought with me, thinking about the gun inside. If something went wrong, would I have enough time to grab it? Would I even stand a chance against these three men?

“Where’s Juanito?” I asked, trying not to sound as nervous as I felt. I nodded at the man in the front seat. He still hadn’t turned around and I couldn’t see his face in the mirrors. “Are you Juanito?” I asked him, raising my voice so he knew I was talking to him.

He turned his head just enough for me to see a scar on the side of his cheek, made all the more prominent by the fact that he was smiling.

My blood ran cold.