Page 31 of Resurgent
I’m standing at the thatched beach bar, waiting for our drinks, when I hear my name.
“Liam. Liam!Eres tu?”
It’s the man I saw yesterday. Shit. My intuition was right. But who the hell is he?
I instinctively reach for my knife, but of course it’s not there. You can’t walk around a resort in swim trunks with a knife strapped to your leg, so I’d left it in the beach bag that we’d tossed on the chair before we went out to surf, and where Charlotte is waiting for me now. That might be a good thing, if I could somehow telepathically tell her to grab it and run. But I don’t dare look her way. She still has a chance to get away if he doesn’t see her. Posing as newlyweds was supposed help us blend in and not attract attention; I never thought about someone Iknewrecognizing me. How am I going to explain Charlotte?
I tilt my chin up by way of greeting, acting casually uninterested. Best to proceed cautiously until I know what I’m up against. “Si. Como estas?”
He claps me on the back like we’re old friends. “Damn. It’s good to see you. I thought I saw you yesterday, but I couldn’t believe it. I heard you were dead, man!”
I turn my body so I can see Charlotte. She’s watching the other surfers as she casually rubs suntan lotion on her legs, completely oblivious to the fact that our gig is up. The man’s back is more or less to her, so if I can stall long enough, hopefully she’ll look for me, see me talking to him, and go back to the villa. In the meantime, I’ve got to figure out who he is, and what he wants.
“I was.” Following his lead, I shoot him a friendly grin. “Got blown up in Pakistan.” I’m not telling him anything he couldn’t have read in the newspaper.
He places pudgy hands on either side of my face and kisses both of my cheeks. “It is a miracle then, no? What happened? You must tell me everything. I was broken up when I heard the news. And not just because of the guns.”
As I suspected, he’s with the cartel.
He continues. “I told Salome what a shame it was when I heard the news.”
“HowisSalome?” I ask, wondering who the fuck Salome is.
“Ah, she is good,amigo. But my God, you should hear the woman. ‘Why are you always at work, Manny? Why don’t you ever spend time with your children, Manny?’” He mimics a nagging Hispanic wife perfectly. “So I brought them here for the weekend to buy myselfun pocito de paz.” He rolls his eyes, making holding his thumb and forefinger together to indicate exactly how much peace he’s getting.
Manny. The name doesn’t mean anything to me, but at least now I know what to call him.
“But you tell me what happened to you.” There’s a hint of steely authority in his tone, and I realize that I’ve got to play this carefully. I decide to go with the truth as much as possible, without giving away any more than I have to. I steal a surreptitious glance over at Charlotte. She still hasn’t looked my way.
“There was an explosion. Everyone thought I was dead. But someone—I still have no idea who—saved me, and got me to the hospital, where he or she left me. It was a long, grueling recovery, and I had no cell phone and no way to contact anyone for a long time. As soon as I could travel, I came here as soon as I could. I arrived in Guadalajara a day or two back.”
He nods, apparently satisfied with my story. “Bien. You have contacted El Gato then?”
Fuck. This is going from bad to worse. If he knows who I am and knows El Gato well enough to casually ask whether I’ve seen him or not, he knows a hell of a lot. And it’s not going to be long before El Gato knows I’m alive and in Mexico. Without the guns.
“Not yet.”
His bushy black eyebrows knit together as his eyes narrow. “No? Porque no?”
“Sir. Your drinks.” I’d stepped away from the bar, trying to pretend I hadn’t just ordered two Mango Tangos to avoid giving away that I’m not here alone. However, seeing me engaged in conversation, the bartender has walked around to give me the two glasses of frothy frozen drinks that no self-respecting man would ever order by himself. Fuck.
Manny’s eyes light up. “Aha! Por supuesto!I saw you with a woman yesterday. In fact, it’s why I thought it wasn’t you. Well, that and the long hair. Who is she?”
It’s on the tip of my tongue to tell him that she’s no one, just a woman I hooked up with, to keep her safe. As soon as they realize she means something to me, she becomes a pawn that can be used against me. But just then he turns around, and so does she, and the moment stretches into an eternity as she looks at him and then at me, the uncertainty and fear in her eyes like a knife in my gut. This is exactly why I can’t get attached to anyone. I can enjoy making love to—no, fucking—Charlotte, but I need to remember that’s all it is.
“Ah yes. Themamacitafrom the beach yesterday. My Salome noticed the rock on her hand. She’s your wife?”
I could deny it, say she’s married to someone else and having an affair with me. But I don’t think it’s going to make any difference at this point, and some part of me doesn’t want to dishonor Charlotte that way, as ridiculous as it sounds. And for a fraction of a second, I’d liked the thought of her being my wife.
“Si. We were together, in love, before the accident. She was heartbroken when she thought I’d been killed, and then when she found out I wasn’t, she devoted herself to attending to my every need.” That’s the God’s honest truth. I grin, thinking of her hand around my cock this morning. “I couldn’t leave without her. We’re taking a few days here for a quick honeymoon before I take care of what I came for.”
He nods. “I must meet her.”
“Perhaps we could all meet for a drink later this evening,” I suggest. That will give us a few hours to disappear.
“Of course. I’d like that. I will bring Salome to talk to yourmujerand we can catch up on old times. But you must introduce me now.” There’s an edge to his voice that belies his jovial attitude.
Fuck, fuck, and double fuck. As a SEAL, I’ve worked on cases involving the drug cartels before, albeit peripherally, and I know when a lieutenant—which Manny undoubtedly is—issues a request, it’s a death wish to refuse it. Of course, it might be a death wish not to.
“Sure.” I hope to hell I sound calmer and more unperturbed than I feel as we walk toward Charlotte. She’s watching us with confusion on her face.Never underestimate the power of fuck it,I remind myself. But for the first time ever, I’m having trouble buying into my own motto.
