Page 44 of The Witness

When I’d finally made my way to the headman, I didn’t want to look. The collection of dangerous men, the deference, and thestrange quiet in the area. If Sandoval was in this room, he was in that fucking chair.

I forced a wide grin to curve my lips and proffered my tray, trying to keep a fall of hair over half my face when I turned in the man’s direction.

“Black bean fritter?” I dared a glance, and my knees almost gave out.

It was Rafa Sandavol.

A flash of utter and complete loathing like I’d never felt for another person turned my feet to lead.

I wanted to kill him.

It wasn’t a passing thought, it was a base need. Like breathing air. I wanted to kill him.

The icy hot rage burning in my veins wasn’t like anything I’d ever experienced before. I never hated a person before this moment. Not really.

The tray in my hand shook slightly. I considered using it to bash in his skull. End this here and now. Slam the metal edge against his temple, deal the killing blow.

My pulse beat hard and fast, echoing in my ears. But for the bodyguards and the room full of people, I’d do it. I had what it took to commit murder. Cold-blooded murder. Premeditated murder.

The man deserved it.

If only the situation was different…

Sandoval looked up. His gaze hardly touched my face on the way to the tray. His lip curled, and he shook his head. My black bean fritters were not to his liking. The completely human way he considered and dismissed my offering kicked my brain and my feet back into gear.

What the hell was I doing?

I escaped the vicious thoughts in my head and pulled back from Sandoval. Only a few more men in the circle to feed. I keptmy back to him as I made my rounds, not sure how I kept from crying or puking as I did it. As soon as I could, I made a beeline for Gunter and told him where Sandoval sat.

I slammed through the swinging kitchen door at a jog. I needed air.

Camellia stood talking with the food expediter. I shoved my tray into her hands.

“I’m going to be sick.” It wasn’t a lie.

Bile climbed up the back of my throat and tears streamed down my face. The plan had been for me to feign sickness after I found Sandoval and rush back to the hotel room. No need to act. The nausea rolling in my gut was all too real.

“The closest bathroom is that way. Don’t come back.” As Camellia pointed, she looked the annoyed boss from head to toe.

I ran down the hall, my thundering steps echoing off the concrete floors and walls. My toe caught on a black rubber floor mat and I stumbled, almost falling.

My heart felt ready to explode by the time I jerked the bathroom door open. A button popped off the black uniform vest and clattered over the tile floor when I ripped open the polyester straitjacket. I turned on the tap and dunked my hands in the cold water. Then scooped some over the back of my neck and down my throat, soaking the starched white shirt’s collar.

I braced my hands on the countertop and hung my head, eyes closed. The memory of Gabriela Cantoral’s white bed sheet floating up in the sky and then falling to the surface of the sapphire blue ocean filled my mind.

A sob threatened to break free.

I lifted my head and took stock in the mirror. I looked like shit. Hair mussed. Makeup smeared and my eyes red. The urge to vomit, thankfully, had passed. Plunging my hand into the running water, I filled my palm and rinsed out my mouth.

Time to get it together. I’d convinced Michael and Gunter that I could handle my part in the plan to take down Sandoval. I’d volunteered to be bait in the trap. Looking at my reflection, it was a good thing my role required me to look scared because I was terrified.

I took a scratchy brown paper towel from a small stack on the counter and wet the corner. I wiped away the mascara under my eyes, trying to restore my appearance.

Tonight, I’d pointed the finger at one of the most dangerous men in the world. A man that already wanted me dead. A shiver raised the hairs on my arms and made my breath catch. There was no going back now.

“You got this,” I told my reflection.

I was a shit liar.

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