Page 86 of Lethal Abduction

“Except for you,” Juan says softly. “You were hiding in that room when your boyfriend was killed. You saw this man’s face, Abby. That’s why you’re so afraid.

“Let me help you. I can get you out of this country. Give you a new identity and enough money to start again. Nobody, including my son, will ever know we had this conversation or even that you’re still alive.”

“He’llknow.” My voice is barely a whisper, and tears hover at the back of my eyes. “Maybe here, in Bogotá, you can protect me. But that man has eyes everywhere. In airports. In governments. Why do you think I never contacted the Australian embassy? The man you’re lookingfor has ambassadors on speed dial, Senor Cardeñas. You were right when you said I’d rather rot in here than set foot outside these walls. In here, I’m safe. But the minute I step into the street outside, not even you can help me. Or not for long.”

“I don’t think you understand, Abby.” Juan’s eyes are black as obsidian. “I have survived this world a long time and killed more men than I can remember. But I like to think I operate by a code of sorts. When my friend’s daughter went missing, I asked the triads,my allies, for help. They refused to help me. I cut off their supply in retaliation. So far, this is just business. Unpleasant, perhaps, but business nonetheless.” He shrugs, his face cold. “In our world, this is the way diplomacy is done.

“But then this man sent you and your boyfriend to my country. To myson.”Juan slaps the table with barely restrained fury, making me jump.“This mancame into my house, and he stole from me. And then he murdered an innocent girl just to send a message. This is not business—it is not even worthy of the namewar.”He leans across the table, his eyes gleaming with fury. “This is an atrocity of the dirtiest, most dishonorable kind. A man like this is not to be bargained with. He is vermin, a vile creature who must be utterly destroyed. So let me rephrase my request.”

Juan puts a tablet down on the table. It has rows of photographs on it. They blur in front of my eyes.

“I could have killed you, Abby. Instead, I’m offering you a chance to live.”

And whether I like it or not, the chance you’re offering might be the only one I get.

Hope surges inside me, sudden and dangerous. I push it down brutally, before it can take root and start to grow.

Of all the things in here that can kill a person, hope is the most lethal.

“When you see the face of the man who killed yourboyfriend,” he says, “you’re going to point to it. Then you’re going to tell me his name.”

“It won’t matter.” My voice is barely a whisper. “I don’t know his real name. Not even Nico knew who he really was.”

For a moment I see Nico’s face, back when we were still dreaming together in Thailand. Long before Colombia. Back when he was just a lanky, grinning kid with long hair in a red bandanna, his skin teak dark from the Asian sun.

We were so young. And so fucking stupid.

“Then give me the name you have,” Juan is saying. “That, and a face, is all I need. With those two things, I can find this man.”

And if you don’t, sooner or later, that man is going to find me.Anything is better than sitting here in terror, just waiting for Jacey to invite me to a room like this one. For it to be my head that decorates someone’s tabletop as a warning.

Suddenly, I know what I’m going to do.

“I can help you.” Even I can hear a new strength in my voice. “But we’re going to do this my way.”

Juan’s lip curls. “I don’t think you’re in any position to bargain with me.”

“I don’t have any reason to trust you either.” I fold my arms and sit back in my chair. “You say nobody knows I’m here. You promise you’ll get me out of the country. Give me a new identity, money. Why should I trust you? And why would you do any of that? Once I give you what I know, you have no reason at all to keep me alive.”

His eyes narrow. “Would you prefer to rot in here, then?”

“If you’re going to kill me anyway, what do I lose?” I stare back at him. “The prison holds a beauty pageant once a year, did you know that? Maybe I’ll enter. The winnings are enough to make prison a lot easier, at least for a year or two.”

Juan lights a cigarette and glares at me through the smoke. “What are your terms?”

“I will give you what you want,” I say. “But not until you give me all the things you promised and get me out of Colombia. As soon as I’m sure I’m safe, and not being followed, I will contact you with the information you want. And there’s something else.”

He snorts. “You ask a lot for someone with nothing.”

“I need to know you will kill him.” I say it flatly, not taking my eyes from his. “I need you to promise me that you will do it yourself.”

We stare at each other in silence for a long time. All that’s missing is a clock on the wall and the audible sound of seconds ticking past.

Finally, Juan nods. “Bien. I will get you out of Colombia, with a new passport and enough money to start again. Once you are safe, you will contact me with the information you promised.” His mouth curves in a reluctant smile. “You missed your calling, Señorita Chalmers. You might have made a lot of money in our business.”

I give a choked laugh. “I don’t ever want anything to do with your business again, Señor Cardeñas. Not for as long as I live.” I nod at the tablet. “I’m going to need to take that with me. Let’s get this done.”

SK Compound, Myanmar

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