He slowly belted his pants and gave me a dry look. “You really are the love them and leave them type, aren’t you?”
“So now you’re trying to be funny, after all this time?”
Diego sat back down on the bed, lips pursed, hands folded in front of him. “Here is the thing. Evaristo is with us.”
“With us?”
“Yes,” he said with a nod. “With us. He switched.”
“You don’t just switch.”
“In this land, in this work, you do. You know that. Este switched.”
I curled my fists together, trying to breathe out my annoyance. “Este never switched. He was always planning on doing this. We both knew he would try something.”
“But he still switched. He turned on you.”
“Well, so did a lot of people.”
“Not Luisa,” he said.
I raised my hand. “I don’t even want you to even mention her name,” I snapped. “She has nothing to do with this anymore. She can’t. This is about revenge Diego, that’s all I want. I want everything back to the way it was and I want dead bodies at my feet, do you understand that? And I don’t want no fucking federale agent standing in my way, regardless if he switched or not.”
“He won’t. He’s here to help us, to be part of us.”
“He’s lying. We can’t trust him.”
“I think we can. And we need someone like him. Young and bright and determined. You know his story of how he grew up, he was never meant to be part of the federales and those damn politicians; they turned on him right away, demoted him. You were right about that, they were too afraid he snitched.”
“He did snitch,” I said. “He gave us the info. Just too fucking bad that has to take the backseat until I’m out of here and done with Esteban.”
“He’ll help us,” he said imploringly. “And you’ll want his help.”
“Why?”
“Because he made a bargain with Esteban. He’s got surveillance on him.”
“So do we,” I said.
“But not like the federales do. And yes, we know he’s at the compound, but we have to make sure. And if we don’t get Este there, we have to be able to track him. We have no idea what he’s been doing on the side all this time.”
I shook my head and sat down. “I don’t like this. Adding people in, it’s too complicated.”
“I know, patron. But he’s here, now, downstairs, and setting something up that will get you out of here immediately.”
I looked at him sharply. “What? I don’t need help getting out. I paid for this.”
“He’s going to make a statement after, saying you are still in your cell and unharmed. It will let us do everything we need to without anyone thinking you’re loose, that you’re a threat. Este will be caught off-guard.”
“Wait,” I said, my mind struggling to catch up. “Make a statement after? After what?”
“You need your own brand of crazy to fight his crazies,” Diego said, standing up.
Suddenly an alarm went off from somewhere in the building.
“What the fuck is going on?” I asked. Outside the window, red lights flashed, spotlights were searching the hills.
“Prison riot,” Diego said. “They’re all being let out of their cages and whoever is left standing is coming with us.”
“Well, that’s a bit unnecessary,” I said. “Not to mention morbid. A fight to the death, the winners join us? Who are we, savages?”
“You have no idea what’s going on with Este, do you?” he asked and I saw a glimmer of something sorry in his eyes. It made my palms sweat. “After I tell you, you’re going to want to create as much fucking mayhem as possible.”
“It’s Luisa,” I said. “I heard.”
He gave me a terse smile. “It’s not just Luisa. Javier, it’s about your sister. Alana.”
Even with the flashing lights, the god awful siren blaring in my ears, everything in the room seemed to still.
Alana.
I could barely speak. “What about her? She’s dead.”
“I know.” He breathed out deeply. “But it was Esteban who killed her.”
Funny how some words could render you immobile. I could only blink at Diego, trying to comprehend what he was saying.
“Excuse me?” I finally said, my hands balling up into fists again, nails digging into my palm. I absently noted I needed a manicure, as if that was something normal and safe that I could focus on.
“Perhaps you should sit down,” Diego said, carefully laying his hand on my shoulder.
I shrugged him off. “Esteban killed Alana?” I repeated slowly.
“It was printed today in one of the papers,” he said. “I am guessing you didn’t see.”
I shook my head once, my mouth open, fumbling for words, for anything.