Page 5 of Run with Me

I tookhold of Xavier’s arm as he smiled, and we followed Ben inside the Bistro, the town’s only bar and motel, to the locals known as the doorway tohell.

“Don’t worry. You’re safe with me,” Xavier whispered, when we were out of earshot. Safety was definitely on my mind, but not as much as walking out of here alive. Someone like Xavier, whose confidence and fearlessness it seemed had no limits, came from a different world. He might have been brave, but he didn’t know Ben the way I did. The man was a monster.

All right, so he was traveling across the country, on his own, for a friend’s wedding. Then he picked up a scorpion with his fingers and just tossed it out the window. And now, he didn’t seem to worry about Ben. He was either very brave or very stupid. No matter how many times I tried to use my body language to caution him, he ignored my warnings, despite acknowledgingthem.

“Xavier, we should leave. He’s… he’s a very bad guy.” I tugged on his arm for the second time today, wishing John were here. He’d know what to do, and most importantly, he’d never allow Xavier to go inside the Bistro.

The wooden door behind us slammed closed, its echo reverberating in my ears. We followed Ben inside the old western-style bar, with swinging candle chandeliers, a wooden staircase to the side, and a balcony with tables and chairs. Upstairs, eight doors that led straight into bug-infested motel rooms were locked. The Cortez boys, Ben, his brother and their two cousins with their respectful families, had been living here for two years now, ever since the youngest, Mateo, turned twenty-one, despite each one having a house nearby. I didn’t know a single person who actually slept up there, though, other than Ben and whichever woman he chose for the night. There were rumors around town that sometimes the girls didn’t even have a choice. The thought made my skin crawl.

Most of the décor was wooden. An overpowering range of brown and gold tones in the room blended into one, making it difficult to concentrate on just one piece of furniture, most of which had been imported from Mexico. When my gaze caught a new decoration hanging on one of the walls, a human skeleton, I almost choked on my own breath. I bet it was real, too, and made a mental note to pray for the poorsoul.

“A very bad guy,” I repeated, squeezing Xavier’sarm.

“I’m not doubting you, but I have a feeling if we don’t comply, the price will be greater.”

Maybe Xavier wasn’t stupid afterall.

Handsome and smart.

As I looked at him from the side, I saw a special spark to his deceptively youthful appearance that made him seem as if he really knew what he was doing. Didhe?

“Have a seat.” Ben pointed to the table before calling out, “Hey, Mateo! A couple of cold ones for our guests.”

Ben’s brother reached over the counter from behind the bar and poured beer into ginormous mugs while Ben pulled out a chair. The last thing I wanted was to sit down in this horrid place, infested with the Cortez family. I wanted to hate the motel with every last bone in my body, but Ben was right. The Bistro did look nice. He must have had it renovated in the past few years. The wood was sanded and polished, and the curtains in the four front windows appeared white from the inside, but I guessed the continuous dust outside must have dirtied the glass, making everything appear in bronze and copper tones.

The candle wax had been scraped off the floors and the tables weren’t full of beer bottles. It looked too good to be true; and my mother had always taught me that if something seemed too good to be true, it probablywas.

Had Ben staged this? Had we both fallen into histrap?

“Nice place.” Xavier looked around the room, sliding a chair back for me. He didn’t appear nervous at all; but then again, he didn’t knowBen.

“I’m glad someone knows how to appreciateit.”

Mateo set the pints of beer on the table. I didn’t want to drink anything offered, but I’d been at the chapel since dawn, and the world around me was beginning to spin. The adrenaline I felt pumping through my veins wasn’t helping either.

“You’ve got a room available?” Xavier asked.

No! No, no, no.

I reached underneath the table and squeezed his thigh, as if we were a couple and it was one of our signals. He didn’t even flinch.

What’s wrong withhim?

“He’s staying at the parish,” I interjected, before putting the glass of beer to my lips. I wanted to get my cracked lips wet, but it was so cold that when my mouth touched the foam, I thought I’d gone straight to heaven, so I sipped some more to quench my thirst.

“That old place? Nonsense. You’ll stay here. We’ve got two free rooms upstairs, and because it’s the fiesta, they’re at half price. A hundred bucks will buy you a room and a breakfast.”

I almost spat out the beer I had sipped. I couldn’t think of anyone from our town occupying a room here and wondered why Ben had said that. And a hundred bucks? He was crazy!

“Anna here is just jealous of the hospitality. All you have to do, chiquita, is say the word, and a room will be yours.”

The way he looked at me with his predatory eyes made my skin crawl. Shooting daggers through my eyes at Ben, I leaned over to the side. “You better sleep with your eyes open, Xavier. This town has a history of burning down buildings with people inthem.”

Xavier didn’t even flinch. He kept his gaze on Ben and was more relaxed than anyone I’d ever seen around one of the Cortez members. He didn’t know their danger. He didn’t know what he was dealing with, and I had to look out forhim.

“How about a game of chess?” Ben asked.

“We’re not staying,” I said firmly.

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