Page 75 of Embedded
I watched the sky behind his head and saw how angry it looked toward the mountains. Maybe Mother Nature could help me out.
“Yes,” he decided to reply.
“I never knew how to ride. That was something I always wished I’d been taught.” His men started to move like something was about to happen, but I kept talking, hoping to fill his brain with nonsense before I took a strike. “There was this one horse. He was brown and white and had all these beautiful markings. He was such a sweet thing with a white nose and a long, gorgeous mane.” Armondo signaled something to Bruno, and he squinted over my shoulder. “He loved to run toward me and then stop really fast.” I laughed lightly as my eyes darted to follow where Bruno looked. “I knew he’d never hurt me. It was just as a game like—will your mother be joining us here?”
“No, she’s staying in the States.” I stilled as I digested that tidbit. He didn’t seem to notice what he’d said. His attention was totally on his men.
Then, in the blink of an eye, they all left. I was suddenly alone with Archie. At least I could use the glare from his teeth to see if I couldn’t find a flashlight.
“Was it something I said?” I joked and gained a glare from him as I sipped my wine.
Holy shit, Esmeralda was staying in the States. As far as I knew, that woman never crossed the border, not in all the years that I worked in Mexico. Why now? I needed to find out where she’d gone. It had to be connected to the realtor and the lawyer. What the hell was she up to?
Rain started to fall and made a soothing noise as it bounced off the stone patio. Archie stepped forward, grabbed my arm, and yanked me out of the chair.
“You’re finished. Up to your room.”
I pulled away and rubbed my arm as we headed inside with him tight on my heels. He walked me to my bedroom, then I turned and hoped there wasn’t a camera in my room, but if there was, my idea could still work.
“Wait,” I stepped forward, “my window won’t close, and my guess would be that Bruno wouldn’t want a flood on his guestroom floor. Can you shut it for me, please?” I held out my hands like I’d hated to impose. He scrunched his nose as he thought about what I asked. To my delight, he marched into the room and slammed the window shut. I needed him in there for another moment. “Any chance I could get the rest of that wine? In fairness, I wasn’t finished yet.”
“No.” He left, and I smiled as he went. I really hoped the cameras had caught all that. Regardless, Buno wouldn’t’ve wanted him in my room.
“Well, good night, then,” I called after him. There was nothing more I could do but settle in for the night. I only hoped I wouldn’t have a visit from Bruno. I shuddered at the thought and wondered again what he was up to.
The next morning, I begrudgingly changed into yet another of the white cotton dresses Bruno liked. The one that hung in the closet for me tied tightly like a corset up the front but at least it wasn’t so snug I couldn’t breathe. I detested having to wear what he wanted, but it was either that or a bedsheet. I wondered what kind of fetish he suffered from that made him want me to dress this way. Yuck. I quickly forced the thought from my brain.
The house was quiet as I made my way through the sunroom and into the kitchen where I snagged an orange from a bowl. I could see a few soldiers way out on the property with their rifles slung over their backs as they stood guard. They chatted then laughed when one of them said something. I grabbed a grocery bag that sat in the corner, hooked it on my wrist, and headed outside to peel my orange. I took a seat in the morning sun and began to drop the peelings into the bag. My hopes went up as I wondered if Blackstone could possibly be close and that was why Bruno and his men had left. I wondered if they were still gone. One could dream.
A snore nearly made me jump right out of my skin. I thought I was alone. Archie was passed out in the chair in the far corner. I spotted an empty wine bottle upside down between his feet.
I looked away and rolled my eyes. This was perfect. Bruno would kill him if he caught the only person he’d left to watch me drunk on the job. Which meant…I shaded my eyes and pretended to scan the grounds when, really, I studied the area around where he slept. It had to be a dead zone for cameras. Yes!
I stood and continued to peel my orange as I made my way toward him. I pretended to fumble with the peel, then silently acted like there was a bee. I tossed the peels in a fake attempt to bat at the non-existent insect and sent them toward Archie. Reaching for my chest like I was terrified I laughed and started to clean up my mess. I should have gotten an Emmy for that performance. I drew closer to the open-mouthed idiot and spotted his flip phone. I prayed I was right, and no camera could see me as I leaned close and saw it was clipped to his belt like it was still the early 2000s. I breathed out through my mouth slowly, then in, and with steady hands and my breath still in my lungs, I unclasped the magnetic latch and inched the phone free. He jerked his arm, and I froze, waiting for his eyes to open, but he just snorted and fell back to sleep. I tossed it in the bag with the peelings and walked calmly back to where I’d been sitting.
I made sure all evidence of my orange was gone before I slowly walked outside. I made my way around the side of the house, looking about as if enjoying the view.
“Is the girl awake yet?” a man said in Spanish. He was out of sight around the corner I was about to step around, so I changed course and headed toward the avocado trees instead. My hands shook as I tried to remain calm. I knew I’d have a very short window to use the phone. Once Archie woke up and realized it was gone, he’d back the cameras up, and unless he was a complete idiot, he’d make the connection it was me who took it.
Finally, I found a spot and reached inside the bag and pulled out the phone. Only, as I dialed, the reception was bad.
Damn!
I hurried through the trees toward a nearby hill. My flat shoes gave me very little traction as I climbed the bank. The rain from the previous night had made the soil like clay, and it was slippery. It also stained the shoes from creamy white to brown, and I knew that was going to be bad. With each step, I watched to see if the ankle bracelet would flash red and alert Bruno I was running.
Finally, I got a set of bars at the top of the screen, and my heart soared.
A text message popped up, and I clicked on it.
Bruno: Chili back tomorrow. Separate him and Nicole. Kill Chili.
No! I quickly dialed the number Savanah told me to remember if I ever got into trouble. I pressed the button and hoped they’d answer
“This is Daniel, leave your name, number, and the reason you called.” I felt defeated when the beep came.
“Daniel, it’s Nicole. I’m at the house that Chili is about to visit. Don’t send Chili. They’re going to kill him. Eric Noah’s alive, and Esmeralda is staying somewhere in the States. I found evidence about –” A noise made me freeze as I looked up into the face of a farm worker. He was an older gentleman, his skin weathered by the sun, with hands that showed years of working in the fields.
“Shhh.” He placed a finger over his lips and head-pointed. I saw a guard approaching us. The farmer made a motion for me to get down behind his massive bag of avocados. I didn’t hesitate and made myself as small as I could. My heart pounded so loudly I thought it might out my location, and my knees threatened to buckle.
