Page 115 of Liar
“Yes. Don’t hang up.”
I note the time. “What do you want?”
“To make amends for what I’ve done.”
Dios mío. Of all the nerve waking me up because he’s feeling guilty. “I already traded in my favor. Goodbye.”
“No. Wait. This is important. I don’t know how to tell you this.”
I sigh. “Pray, do so and quickly so I can go back to sleep.”
“Your brother has been beaten.”
I’m suddenly wide awake. “What?”
“My uncle’s men caught him somewhere he shouldn’t have been. They beat him but he managed to escape. Luckily, I recognized him slumped over on the side of the road. I hid him inside the trunk of my car and took him to my hotel. I wrapped tourniquets around his arm and leg—a doctor would be able to tell what’s broken, but I don’t dare call a doctor or attempt to move him. Right now, he’s passed out.”
My hands shake as I pull up the app. Dios, no. Diego is no longer on the border but somewhere in Tijuana—in Eduardo’s hotel room if he’s to be believed.
“The Sureños are searching for him.”
My world spins, my worst fear realized.
“I did this for you, Luciana. To make amends. But he needs medical attention.”
“Where are you?” I demand. Knowing his location. Testing him to see if he’s lying. He hurt me once already by doing Ignacio’s bidding. Who’s to say this isn’t another attempt at ruining my life?
Eduardo reads off the hotel name and address. Diego’s exactly where Eduardo says he is.
Still ... “Send me a picture. I need to see if it’s as bad as you say it is.”
Seconds later, several pictures of my unconscious brother pop up, and I stifle a cry.
“My uncle will send someone looking for me if I don’t report in by noon.”
What choice do I have?
“You don’t trust me, do you?”
“No.”
I hear his hiss. “On my dead mother’s soul, this isn’t another one of my uncle’s bullshit vendettas. I shouldn’t have listened to him at Nacionales. I care about you, Luciana.”
Tijuana is about ten hours by car. If I leave now ...
“Swear to me you’ll care for him until I can get there?” My voice trembles. I can’t lose Diego. I’ll never survive it.
“I swear it on my life.”
I hesitate, then say, “Thank you, Eduardo. From the bottom of my heart.”
It takes me a few minutes to get dressed and collect the medical supply kit from the bathroom cabinet. Another minute to call Hayden—though he doesn’t pick up this time.
And several more minutes for the guard outside to drive me to Javier’s house. I pound violently on his door, waking him up for once instead of the other way around. By the time he answers, I’ve lost patience. “Hurry. Get dressed. You need to accompany me to Tijuana. Hayden will kill me if I go alone.”
“Luciana. What’s happened?”
“My brother’s hurt.”
