Page 52 of Hit and Run
“We’re taking you to meet with yourbuyer.” He says it like it puts a sour taste in his mouth. I drop my head.
“Yeah. I knew it was coming. It was only a matter of when,” I tell him. I stand from the mattress and walk toward the bathroom.
“You’re a little steadier on your feet,” he says.
“The oatmeal must be giving me some strength.” I give him a small smile before ducking into the bathroom to brush my hair and teeth.
“Make sure you pee before we leave,” he calls out. “It’s a long drive and I’m not sure when we’ll make our first stop.”
As soon as I’m done in the bathroom, the kid grabs the bag of what are now just shirts and panties and walks me down to the main floor. Scarface is pacing the hallway, talking on the phone. He sees us standing there and quickly gets off the phone.
“Let’s go. We meet with the buyer tomorrow morning,” he says. With that, we walk out of the house and load up in a blacked-out SUV and begin our drive to my new future.
What feels like forever later, we arrive at our destination. We’ve been in the car for close to twelve hours. I still have no idea where we are. I lay across the back seat half the way here, unable to sleep because of all the nerves. Scarface climbs out of the car and opens the back door to let me out. We walk to our room and Scarface drops onto the bed closest to the door.
“Don’t even think about trying to run,chiquita,” he tells me. “I’ll hunt your ass down and kill you.”
Within minutes, he’s passed out and snoring. There is another queen-size bed and a small couch. I walk to the couch and lay down.
“You can have the bed,” the kid says.
“If he wakes up and I’m sleeping in that bed, he’ll be pissed,” I tell him. He nods and takes the bed.
I get a few hours of sleep, but I might as well have gotten no sleep at all. Scarface wakes me up with enough time to pee and then we leave. We pull up to a deserted rest area on the side of the highway. There is a car and two men already here.
“Hermano, get the girl,” Scarface says, then climbs out of the car. The kid climbs out of the car and helps me out of the back seat. As we walk closer to the two men, I notice they tower over Scarface. Their expressions are unreadable but intimidating. From a distance, they look like twins, but up close, I can spot some differences. One is a couple inches taller than the other. The taller one has greenish hazel eyes and the other has blue. The taller one also has a clean-shaven face, while the other has some scruff. Both are well-built men.
“Ricardo,” the man with hazel eyes says. “You’re late.”
“I’m sorry,” Scarface says. His real name might be Ricardo, but he will always be Scarface to me.
“Don’t let it happen again,” the man deadpans. He walks over to me and the kid steps away.
“I was surprised to get your call, Finn. Only one girl and two weeks earlier than your scheduled shipment?” Scarface says to him.
“Not that it’s any of your business, but she’s a gift for a friend,” the man now known as Finn says as he looks me over.
“I hope he likes them feisty. Thisputawill take some time to break.” Scarface gives an evil smirk. The blue-eyed man is shooting daggers at Scarface. Finn’s eyes are locked on mine, his back toward Scarface.
“The feistier, the better.” Finn winks at me. The fear I felt before melts away. Something in me is telling me I can trust these men. Finn turns to Scarface. “I’ll give you ten thousand less than what we discussed before.”
“I can’t do that.” Scarface shakes his head.
“You can and you will,” the blue-eyed man says. “She looks like she’s been starved and you’ve admitted she still needs work.”
“But she’s still one of the most beautiful girls we’ve had,” Scarface argues. Finn walks to his car and pulls a bag out. He walks to my side and tosses the bag at Scarface’s feet.
“You were also late. Take the money and go,” Finn growls out. Scarface’s eyes go from Finn to me, lingering for too long. He picks the bag up and tosses it to his brother.
“Let’s go,hermano,” Scarface says and climbs into his car. The kid gives me one last look, sadness in his eyes then climbs into the car. Finn, the other guy, and I stand there until they’re no longer in sight.
“Are you alright,” Finn asks. The other man is on the phone.
“Yeah, I think so,” I tell him honestly.
“You’re safe now, I promise,” he tells me. I’m not sure if I should believe him, but I do. “I’m Finn, and that’s my brother Lochland.”
“I’m Sienna,” I tell him. He smiles like that was something he already knew.
