Page 138 of More than Paper

“Yes but—”

“Stop. I’m in this with you till the end, remember?”

She lets out a big breath. “Okay.”

“Santiago is coming, so put on your confident face.”

We review the plan for the evening, and Santiago assures us that he has a car waiting to take Valeria’s mama as well as us to Bogotá so we can fly out and never come back.

All Santiago wants is for us to go away and never try to claim any of Alejandro’s fortune. He could just kill us, but one thing Santiago has is what he calls “honor.” A promise is a promise to him, and he gave us his word that if we were his spies and worked against Alejandro to help him overthrow him, that he would give us our freedom. But if we ever set foot in Colombia again, he will kill us.

Besides our passports and wallets, nothing will go back with us. Not that we brought a lot when we arrived. Valeria has told her mama to make sure she has her passport and any jewelry she wants on her.

We spend the day going through the motions and trying to keep our nerves to ourselves.

Alejandro is plotting with his men to take down Santiago. According to Santiago, the men will turn on Alejandro in a surprise attack.

Both V and I hope that is what happens, or we are toast.

Alejandro has planned a big dinner party. It’s Santiago’s birthday, and it’s his way of shaming him publicly for plotting against him.

It’s a formal party, and I’ve been fitted for a tux, and V’s wearing a gold evening gown. It’s the color Quinn wore for Vivian’s award gala and reminds me we’re close to getting what we want. In Valeria’s clutch is the pistol I gave her earlier this morning.

The banquet hall in Alejandro’s compound has tables and chairs set up for over one hundred men. Men of all levels in his organization have been invited.

Only the top, most trusted advisors, would usually be invited, but Alejandro is planning on sending a message.

Everyone is seated, and Alejandro stands up and invites Santiago to join him. V grabs my hand, knowing that this is the moment we either live or die.

Alejandro speaks in Spanish, so I don’t know what he says except for a few words here and there. The women in the room all make a surprised sound, but the men stay quiet.

They all know what is occurring.

Alejandro starts to yell at Santiago, but Santiago is beaming. Alejandro makes a motion for the men to stand up, but only half of them do.

Surprise fills the faces of both Alejandro and Santiago. They each thought more men were on their side.

V’s eyes go wide, as do her mama’s, and over the next few seconds, screaming and yelling take place, guns are pulled, and bullets are flying everywhere.

I pull V to the floor, under the table, to try and shield us from the shots that are echoing from everywhere. Men start to fall all around us, bleeding and crying out for help.

The paramedic in me wants to try and save them, but V holds me back.

I see an opening to run out of the room. V grabs her gun out of her clutch, and I grab mine as well, and we are about to run when her father lands in front of us.

He reaches out to us, blood gushing out of his chest, begging for help. I am about to help him when V grabs my arm. “No,” she says.

Now that Alejandro is at our feet, the path to run is not so clear.

More men fall, and the gunshots become less and less. Eventually, there are no more gunshots.

Alejandro bleeds, reaching for us, but V continues to say, “No,” to me.

V and I look at each other, trying to decide if it’s safe to move or not when Santiago strolls over to us and kicks Alejandro.

The next few minutes are painful to watch as Santiago inflicts as much pain upon Alejandro as possible. It’s only after Alejandro is dead that Santiago puts his head under the table.

He knew we were there.

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