Borrero came over and tipped the water over Evaristo’s head. He immediately jerked in his seat, blue eyes wide and crazed, the gag sucked into his mouth as he inhaled hard. Now he looked older. This was good. I didn’t like the idea of having to torture a boy, even though I would do it to get what I needed.
As Evaristo jerked against the metal leash and fought against the bonds, I stooped over in front of him and looked him in the eye.
“Welcome,” I said to him. “I think you know who I am. And I know who you are. And we’re going to play a little game, you and I. I think you’re very good at playing games, aren’t you federale?”
Water streamed down Evaristo’s face. His eyes widened at first then narrowed as he seemed to recognize who I was. Of course he recognized me. I was their number one target, and it had just been his rotten luck that he was dispatched to go after the Tijuana cartel instead. Too much pressure from the DEAs in California. They wanted the drugs to stop appearing in their backyards but hadn’t quite figured out that all the drugs came from somewhere.
“Ah, you do know me,” I said, reaching out to brush his hair off his forehead. He flinched at my touch, as he should, and I was briefly, uncomfortably, reminded of Luisa. I swallowed that down and kept my focus on him. “So, the question is, how long do you want to play this game? You can make it really easy for yourself. You can talk right away and I won’t even have to use this.” I lifted the battery pack. He didn’t seem affected in the slightest, which was admirable considering he knew what it could do. “I also give you my word, and you should know my word is good. If you give me what I want, I will let you go. I won’t drive you up to the PFM building in Mexico City, but I will let you walk out of here alive. You understand?”
Evaristo didn’t nod but I could see in his eyes that he did understand. And he didn’t like it. He was already prepared to put up a front and he had no idea what I was going to ask of him.
“We’re not interested in your organization,” I told him. “We’re interested in your information. I want everything you have on Angel Hernandez. I know you know where he is, but you haven’t been given the bureaucratic authority to capture him yet. What a pain in the ass bureaucracy is, am I right? They couldn’t even save your own sorry little ass. You wanted Hernandez and you got me instead.” I put one hand on the ball gag and the other held the battery in view. “Are you ready to talk?”
He gave me nothing. I pulled down the gag and he gulped in air.
“Well?” I prodded.
When he caught his breath, his eyes sliced into mine. “Fuck you,” he said, spittle flying.
I raised my brow. “They’ve trained you well.” I sighed and straightened up, looking down at the battery pack. “I think I’ll keep you ungagged. Screaming gets me off.” I shot him a smile. “And you will scream. They can’t train that out of you.”
I looked over my shoulder at my security team. “Any of you bothered by screaming?” I asked them, knowing they didn’t mind it at all. Morales grinned eerily.
Within minutes, Borrero and Morales stripped Evaristo naked, threw more water on him, and I had attached the picana prod to the battery pack. Diego held the pack, in charge of the voltage, and I waved the prod at Evaristo’s neck. It was a good, sensitive place to start. “Let’s see what you’ve got.”
What Evaristo had was a huge capacity for pain and screaming. Can’t say it didn’t turn me on.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Luisa
“This is where you will be staying with Mr. Bernal,” the kindly Evelyn Aguilar told me, opening a door to a very spacious master bedroom that seemed to take up the whole end of the house. I stepped in gingerly and looked at the rustic furniture and terracotta tile floors. It was simple, yet I knew that the furniture only looked shabby and probably had cost a fortune. The view was of the south and the crooked mountains rising from the desert floor. The windows were small and deep-set into the adobe walls, so the view was partially obscured. I knew it was that way for our protection, from intruders and from the desert sun.
I gave Evelyn a small smile. “It’s lovely. But I’m afraid I require a room of my own.”
Thankfully she just nodded and said, “Oh yes, come with me,” and didn’t question why I wouldn’t be sleeping with my husband. Perhaps this was normal to her. Perhaps when Javier had stayed here before, he hadn’t quite been alone.
My stomach clenched at the thought. Even though I had known about his callous infidelity before I confronted him, the fact that he fessed up to it so easily, and without any remorse, continued to make me sick. He knew he’d hurt me and he just didn’t care.