Page 207 of House of Cards

He glances up, possibly noting the lack of fresh blood on me. “Alive?”

I shrug. “For now. Did you see a guy in a blue windbreaker?”

“No, why?”

“Zoey’s brother.”

“Jesus, Elonzo brought him with? And I thought you were sadistic.”

I let out a humorless laugh as I check one of the soldiers for a pulse. Me and Troy both stand at the same time to give the dead bodies one last scan.

“Someone else is missing too,” I muse as I pick my way through the bloody corpses. “Elonzo’s second in command. Might have taken Ricky out of the room before they started shooting hostages.”

Speaking of…

I head over to the villa’s staff, coaxing them up off the floor, gently but quickly. A woman with white hair who’s obviously seen her fair share of violence in the past seems the most lucid.

I draw her aside, motioning to the traumatized staff. “This everyone?”

She glances at the other staff, eyes flickering as she does a mental head count, then she nods. “Sí, señor,?3 but Thomas and Manny, they—” she cuts off, mouth pursing, “—they killed them outside.”

Those following our conversation either look confused, or just as unsure. Guess most of them were in their beds in the staff quarters when the raid began.

“Can you drive?”

She hesitates, then nods. “Sí, señor.”

“You know the way back to town?”

Another nod, this one firmer than the last. “Sí, señor.”

“Take one of the vans in the garage and drive the others to the urgent care in town. Ask for Dr. Edgar. Tell him I’ll be along later to settle their bills.”

“Dr. Edgar,” she repeats carefully, then glances over at the huddled staff and beckons them with an imperious, “¡Ándenle síganme!”?4

She leads them out of the entertainment room, waving her hands like she’s herding sheep, not victims of a cartel hostage situation. But judging from the shock on their faces, a hard hand might work better than gentle cajoling.

That’s what I tell myself, anyway.

I scan the dead bodies, but none of them look like Zoey’s brother.

“I need to find Ricky,” I tell Troy.

“Weneed to find him,” Troy says, falling in line behind me.

“You need to bring Zoey downstairs.”

Troy gives my half-naked body a disparaging glance. “It’s been a busy morning, so I’m guessing you’ve forgotten you’re mortal.”

I grit my teeth, but it’s useless arguing.

We rush silently through the lower half of the villa, searching for any trace of the two missing men.

“It’s not enough, you know,” Troy murmurs.

“What is?” I frown as I glance at him, trying to read his unreadable face.

“Really think she’s gonna care if you saved one guy?” His eyes flick to the ceiling, in the direction where Zoey waits.

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