Borrero glared at him and walked over to me. “You all right, Luisa?” he asked as Esteban stomped off the porch and headed toward the barn.
I nodded, trying to catch my breath. “I guess I said the wrong thing.”
Borrero watched me curiously for a moment before his eyes drifted off to Esteban in the distance. “You know I’m supposed to keep you safe. If Javier had seen what I had just seen …”
Javier would have probably chopped Esteban’s arm off.
“I know,” I told him, trying to smile. “It’s fine.”
“I’ll be watching you, you know,” he said, and now I couldn’t figure out if it was for my own protection or because Javier might have told him about his own suspicions.
“I’ll be staying out of trouble, don’t worry,” I said to the sicario before heading back inside the house.
***
I stayed out of trouble by staying near Evelyn the entire day and helping her with her chores. The more we talked, the more I realized that she was far smarter than I had initially thought, and we had a lot in common. We both had to hide behind a mask. I wore a beauty queen one and she wore one of an old maid, but we both were so much more than we appeared to be.
Evelyn told me that the ranch had been used a lot recently for the sole purpose of training. While I knew that Javier was trying to set up his own army to battle against those crazy Zetas, I didn’t realize so many of the camps took place here. It was good to know that we were improving the army we already had, the ones who could battle it out against the Gulf Cartel and whomever else declared us their enemy.
Speaking of enemies, the only time I was away from Evelyn was when I was with Evaristo in the basement. He looked only marginally better than he did yesterday and he wasn’t as talkative, but he still watched me with almost reverence as I applied the ointments and fed him his pills.
It was around eight o’clock when Diego and Javier returned home from wherever they had gone. They quickly corralled Morales and went walking around the property as the sun was dying in the west. I guessed they were discussing whatever it was they had learned that day, the next steps in the plan to get Hernandez.
When it was close to nine, I quickly finished the wine I was having with Evelyn — I’d had more than I meant to, my nerves getting the best of me — and headed to Javier’s room, hoping to find Esteban.
I didn’t. It was empty. I wondered if I should go looking for him or if Javier would.
But before I could answer that question, Javier walked through the door, Esteban in tow.
“Please sit down. Both of you,” Javier said, gesturing to the bed with an open palm. His tone was light and I started to have some hope that he wasn’t about to kill us.
That was until he went and locked the door.
“What’s this about, Javi?” Esteban asked, seeming more bored than intrigued. He was good at pretending. I knew he had to be at least shitting himself a little bit. Even sitting next to Esteban felt electric and dangerous.
Javier eyed us coolly. “I’ll get to that. You’re not armed, are you Este?”
Esteban exchanged a quick glance with me then shrugged. “I’m always armed.”
Javier held out his hand. “Give it to me.”
Esteban didn’t move. “Why?”
“Because we’re all friends here, aren’t we? And friends — real friends — shouldn’t need to arm themselves when they’re with each other. We are real friends, the three of us, right? Don’t you dare prove me wrong.”
I swallowed and watched with bated breath as Esteban nodded and slowly pulled out his pistol from the back of his shorts. Javier snatched it out of his grasp and walked over to the dresser, placing it on top.
“Doesn’t that mean you need to disarm yourself too?” Esteban asked.
Javier smiled like a snake. That panic in the pit of my stomach started to squirm.
“Of course,” he said, and he brought his gun out, putting it beside Esteban’s. I didn’t dare mention that I knew Javier had a small pistol strapped to his leg and a knife on the other. I saw him strap them on before he pulled on his pants that morning, like he always did. Patrons believed in extra protection.
“So why exactly are we all gunless pussies now?” Esteban asked.
Javier leaned against the dresser. “I didn’t want anyone to freak out from what I’m about to ask you. A favor.”
A favor?
“What is it?” I said, trying not to sound scared.
He cocked his head slightly and appraised me for a moment. “A little fantasy of mine.”
I frowned, not sure what he was getting at.