Page 25 of Naughty and Nice
“And people in,” I added. I reached for my badge. Shit. It was in my purse. “I need a badge.”
“Where’s yours?”
“In my purse in apartment 17.”
Horace handed me his badge. “Lock the door from the inside.”
“Thank you.”
A chorus of hushes filled my ears as I opened the door and stepped inside. “I’m Liliana,” I called out to the darkness.
Voices I recognized came from all directions. I imagined the layout of the room. Some voices were coming from above and some at my level. “Shh. Listen. We’re safe in here. I have a key to get us out. First, we need to give our guards time to do their job.”
“Cabezõn’s men?” The question came from the darkness.
“I don’t know,” I replied honestly. “Where is everyone?” Again, voices came from all around the large room. “Please, come down here, near the lectern.”
It wasn’t possible for one’s eyes to adjust in the total absence of light. Instead, other senses took over. Hearing became more acute. The ability to sense the warmth of another person and the scents of soap, lotions, and perfumes became distinguishable. Shoes scuffed against the vinyl flooring as the ladies made their way to the front of the room.
“Can we all hold hands?” I asked, reaching out for someone’s touch. I waited a minute. “Is there anyone not holding someone’s hand?”
No one replied.
“I’ll start. Let’s reassure our friends that we’re safe. I’m Liliana Ruiz. I’m safe.”
I squeezed the woman’s hand to my right.
“Yo soy Maria. Estoy segura.”
“Yo soy Sara. Estoy segura.”
“Yo soy Julia. Estoy segura.”
“Yo soy Celeste. Estoy segura.”
The announcements continued, each woman sounding more and more confident. After the last statement, we accounted for fifty-four of the fifty-six residents.
“Donde estan Martina y Darya?” a familiar voice asked.
“Shopping,” a voice I recognized as Reina’s said. “I sent them a text telling them to return before Javier made us all come here.”
I hoped they didn’t get the text. I didn’t want them coming back to whatever was happening outside.
Chapter
Eleven
Nick
* * *
“Get over there now,” I ordered. Granted, the person on the other end of the call wasn’t used to taking orders from me. “Papá, you’re closer. Em and I are on our way. Get to the apartments.”
“El Patrón doesn’t want me there. If he did, I’d still be in charge.”
My teeth ached under the pressure of my jaw. “Em and I are twenty minutes out. We were sent on a fucking diversion near the shipyard. Cabezõn’s men are threatening the apartments. We have our regular guards. The more power we can get, the better.”
“They’re fucking whores. If Cabezõn thinks we’ll sacrifice soldiers for whores, he’s wrong.”
