The Vargas Cartel Trilogy (Vargas Cartel #1-3)(40)

“Hola,” Ryker said, lifting one hand in a hesitant wave. “?Habla usted ingles?” he said to no one in particular. The words rippled through the village like a bomb. Heads turned, more people peered out their open-air windows.

After a few moments of lingering silence, a lanky man in his early twenties stepped forward. He wore dark jeans and a faded blue t-shirt. “I do,” he said, shoving his hands into his pockets.

“Hi. I’m Rick, and this is my wife, Tina.” My mouth dropped open. What the hell was he doing? Why didn’t he tell him our real names?

“I’m Roberto.”

“Nice to meet you, Roberto.” Ryker held out his hand and the man shook it. “We need your help. My wife and I were separated from our tour group. Can I borrow a phone to call our hotel?”

“I don’t know.” The man rocked back on his heels.

“We have money.” Ryker pulled out his wallet and waved five hundred pesos in front of him, which amounted to forty or fifty U.S. dollars, probably more than this guy made in a week. I cringed, imagining the entire village charging us and stealing his wallet, but I buried my doubts. I had to believe Ryker knew what to do, because I sure as hell didn’t.

“Un momento,” the man said, snatching the money from Ryker’s open palm, before slipping away into a nearby house.

My eyes darted to Ryker. He smiled, wrapped one arm around my waist and kissed the top of my head in a surprisingly intimate gesture. His touch warmed and comforted me, even though I knew he did it for our audience rather than for me. I buried my head in his chest, playing the role he demanded. Unfortunately, part of me wanted it to be more than a role.

“Here,” Roberto said, interrupting our embrace. He held out an old flip cell phone with hundreds of scratches and nicks. It looked as though Roberto had dropped his phone in the garbage disposal more than once. Hopefully, it still worked.

“Thank you.” Ryker plucked the phone from Roberto’s hand. Ryker threaded his free hand through mine and led us to the crumbling rock wall adjacent to the buildings. I trailed in his wake, too exhausted to do anything but blindly follow him, stiffness and pain settling into my joints with every step. I was dead on my feet.

“Who are you calling?” I whispered after we sat down.

“Ignacio,” Ryker responded, not looking up from the phone.

The name triggered a ripple of fear through my body. I squeezed his hand, seeking a connection to him. I didn’t want to see Ignacio or any of those other people again, but I didn’t have a choice. Ryker must have noticed my reaction because he dropped my hand and wrapped his arm around my shoulder, pulling me closer to him. He ran his hand up and down my upper arm, lulling me into a false sense of security.

“It’s me,” Ryker said into the phone. I couldn’t hear Ignacio’s words, but I didn’t have enough energy to care what he said anyway.

“I found her. She’s fine. I’m fine, but we encountered some trouble today.”

Ryker nodded. “Yes, Dario. You should’ve briefed me about that shit. He’s dead, but we’re stuck. We need you to come and get us. We’re at that village just west of the villa. I can’t remember its name.” Ryker paused for a few strung-out beats. “Yeah, that’s the one. See you soon,” he said before disconnecting the phone.

“Is he coming?” I asked, searching his face.

“In the morning.”

“What? Why?” I sputtered.

“He’s not at the villa.”

“Seriously?” I said, shaking my head. “Then, tell him to send someone else. We need to get the hell out of here.”

He tilted his head to the side. “We’ll be okay. It’s not that long.”

“So what are we going to do? Sit here until morning? Maybe stretch out on the dirt road and wait for someone to run us over with their donkey cart and steal your money.”

“Donkey cart?” He managed a faint smile. “Don’t be so dramatic. You didn’t expect this to be easy. Did you?”

“I was hoping.” Nothing seemed easy anymore. Even returning to my white-walled prison cell at the villa wasn’t easy.

“Maybe you’ll stop running then.”

“I’m done running,” I answered, but then he smirked, pissing me off. “For now, Rick,” I amended using the fake name he gave Roberto.

He laughed. “Sure thing, Tina.”

“Ugh. I hate that name. Couldn’t you have used my real name?” I drew circles in the dirt with the tip of my dusty sandal.

Ryker’s smile faded. “No. People are looking for you…for me.” He stood up. “Let’s see if I can negotiate a place to stay until morning.”

He didn’t grab my hand or wrap his arm around me this time, and I hated that I noticed his lapse. “I’ll wait here,” I said sullenly.

“Fine.”

Five minutes and a few exchanges of money later, Ryker returned. “We have a place to sleep.”

“Five star accommodations, I assume,” I said, pushing my body off the rock wall. “I’d kill for some air-conditioning, a shower, and five hundred thread count sheets.” I sounded like a bitch, but I didn’t care. “A change of clothes would be nice too.”

“I can only promise you a bed. The other stuff will have to wait until you get home. Maybe Evan can take you on a vacation when you’re released, and he can treat you to all the stuff you’re missing.”