Page 67 of Don't Let Go

My blood ran cold as he stared me down. Maybe I shouldn’t have said that with such a bite since he did have me backed into a corner.

After a moment, Vincenzo chuckled, toying with a curl of my hair before backing away. “Just drive the damn car, and we’ll call it a day.”

I tapped my fingers on my arm. I didn’t see any way out of this. We were alone, and he drove me to some forgotten mechanic shop in the middle of nowhere. I had royally screwed myself over.

“Fine,” I finally said more to myself than to him.

Vincenzo kicked the front tire of the Porsche. “Good girl. Follow my lead, and don’t get too crazy with the throttle. We don’t wanna blow the engines on these babies.”

I slipped behind the wheel of the Porsche. The black leather seat molded to my body. The car roared with power. This car had to go over a hundred miles per hour in seconds. It was amazing to drive something so elegant, but these were hot rollers. I knew the mob took part in illegal trade, but I never played a hand in it, until now.

As Vincenzo drove out of the abandoned shop, I followed along, and Tyler replied to my text, wishing him good luck. He seemed so lighthearted and happy when my world rapidly turned from dull gray to raven black. That’s when I messaged him for help. I shouldn’t have done that.

Why did I reach out to Tyler? I was so stupid. Tyler couldn’t help me. No one could.

I shoved my phone into my bra and followed the chrome blue Lamborghini. Vincenzo drove down a couple of different dirt roads. We were in the middle of the desert. There weren’t any light signals, only bent stop signs.

About fifteen minutes later, we arrived. Three Mexican guys with guns holstered to their hips waited for us in front of a semi-truck with a trailer claiming it belonged to a grocery store. My heart leaped into my throat, making it hard to breathe. I killed the engine and took a few moments to get out of the car. I wanted to peel out of there, ditch the car somewhere, and go home. Only that would get me into hot water with the mob for botching the deal.

Vincenzo pounded fists with the three strangers. They looked at me like I was a sweet treat. I glared at them, warning them I wasn’t part of this trade.

One of the Mexicans reached above the back tire of the Lamborghini into the tire well and pulled out what looked like a bag of flour that was taped up there. He took a pocket knife from his belt and cut a small hole into the bag. He licked the dust off his knife, nodding to Vincenzo with a smile. “Nothing better than freshly cut smack, am I right?”

Fear prickled along my spine. This was more than about luxury cars. We were also smuggling heroin. There was a line I drew with the mob, and it was drugs and the sex trade. Paolo almost got me with that “adventure” lie a while back, but this was a low blow. To have his cousin drag me out to the desert and do this kind of dirty deal. Everything about this felt wrong, almost as if this was behind the mob’s back. Why else would we be in the middle of the desert, moving cars packed with drugs to shady guys who had tattoos proudly claiming they belonged to the Diamond Snakes, one of the biggest Mexican drug cartels in the west?

Could Paolo and his cousins be undermining the mob? Could they betray their blood like that?

My blood froze in my veins. I was in grave danger. If they were rats and didn’t think much of family, then I was nothing but a loose end. While the boys talked shop, I slipped away and texted my mamma.

SOS!! Please use the find my phone app and pick me up ASAP!

I had nowhere to run. There was no cover in any direction. We were surrounded by dirt and cactus.

She messaged me back faster than I thought she would.

I’m looking it up now. I’ll be there soon!

I feared when she came because I had to explain why I was there, but it beat being with the devil’s cousin and those tatted-up gangsters.

The semi turned over. They must’ve loaded the cars. The deal was finished. I hid the best I could behind an old port-a-potty. I heard footsteps approaching, crunching the tiny rocks with their boots, but they stopped a few feet short before discovering me.

“Hey, hombre, you want a ride back? You need to give us directions, though.” One of the strangers yelled.

“Yeah. I’m coming.” Vincenzo kicked the dirt, causing a dust cloud to engulf me.

I squeezed my eyes shut, praying he left and that I wouldn’t sneeze.

“See ya around, chica,” he murmured before leaving.

I sighed in relief and hit my head on the back of the port-a-potty as the semi drove away.

What a damn idiot I was.

Tyler kept texting me, but I couldn’t explain. I ignored him and hoped my desperate texts didn’t make him lose the game.

I waited for a little over forty minutes until my mamma pulled up. I fell into the passenger’s seat and put on my seat belt.

She clicked her tongue, unable to speak at first. As we drove down the dirt road that met with a paved street, she finally asked, “What happened?”

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