Raul smiled, showing his teeth. “I cannot tell you how glad I am you said that.” Offering his hand, he clasped Jack’s in a firm shake. “I’ll handle the negotiating. You just kill the bastards and bring my daughter back.”
Chapter Five
Ariana awoke with a hundred angry little men drilling behind her eyes. Groaning, she reached her hands up to cover them from the bright light shining on her face.
Something wasn’t right. Lots of things. Too many things.
Focus!
The bed she was sleeping on felt too soft, and there was something curiously furry underneath her. Pushing herself up to a sitting position, she squinted her aching eyes open to look around.
“What the hell…”
She was in a completely unfamiliar room on a luxurious four-poster bed with gauzy drapes hanging at the sides. An ugly gilded mirror hung on the opposite wall, angled perfectly to reflect the bed, which made her grimace with distaste, even more so when she realized that the fluffy surface was real jaguar fur. She pulled her hands away from it in disgust. Real fur? Who would even consider such a thing?
Looking around, she saw open balcony doors; the afternoon sun that was slanting in through them had been the bright light that had landed on her face. There were tall trees visible outside the window and that was all wrong, everything about this room was all wrong. Including the clothes she was wearing, black pants and a blouse she didn’t recognise and which didn’t seem to fit her quite right. A pair of cheap jogging shoes had been crammed onto her sockless feet, making them sweat uncomfortably, but at least they seemed to be the right size, or close enough.
Pushing herself upright with another wince of pain for her pounding head, she headed over to the window to look out. She didn’t get there, though; the door clicking open behind her made her whirl around.
“Tomàs!” she said with a gasp of relief. “Where are we? What’s going on?” She looked behind him for Elliot, frowned to see that Tomàs was alone. “Where’s Ell?”
“Elliot’s dead, Ariana.” His voice was flat and quite steady, his expression remote.
She sucked in a shocked breath and took a step back. “No. No, that’s not possible.” What the hell happened? The last thing I remember is… driving to the airport, actually. Glancing back to the window, she asked, “Where are we? Was there an accident?”
Tomàs nodded. “We’re in Guàlize. You’re the guest of my new boss. And I’m sorry about Elliot and the others, Ariana, but their deaths were necessary.”
“You killed them,” Ariana said in stunned realization, seeing the uncaring expression on his face.
Slowly, he nodded again. “I did.”
She stood staring up at Tomàs in disbelief. He had the grace to look shamefaced, not meeting her eyes.
“Why?” was all she could think to say, in the end.
He let out a harsh little laugh. “Money, why else?”
Ari blinked and shook her head. “Tomàs, my father will pay you more for my safe return, you must know that…”
“Not even your father is rich enough to outbid El Lobo Negro, Ariana.”
The name took her breath away. El Lobo Negro. The Black Wolf. Rumor said that he was a Colombian who had left the cartels of his own country and brought their brutal methods to Guàlize a decade ago, but if anyone knew his real name, they would not speak it. His alias and a blurry image headed her father's Ten Most Wanted list.
If Tomàs was working for The Black Wolf, if she was truly in the power of that monster, she wouldn’t be returned to her father alive. Fatalistically, Ariana accepted the inevitable truth. After her mother's death, she’dd made her father promise her, no matter what befell her, he would never put her safety above the needs of the Guàlizean people. He would never, ever negotiate with El Lobo Negro, not even for her sake.
“Take me to him,” she said, her head held high, though inside a part of her wept at the knowledge that she would never see her father again.
“You can shower and change first; there’s a bathroom over there,” Tomàs gestured. “And a wardrobe full of clothes, all in your size.”
“Which you provided to that murderous scum so he could obtain the clothes. How long have you been planning this, Tomàs? You didn’t even know I would be coming back to Guàlize until a few days ago.”
“We knew you’d come back one day,” Tomàs said with a shrug. “And this wasn’t the only plan to get you here, Ariana. Just the opportunity that presented itself soonest. Now why don’t you go take a shower?”
Her skin crawled at the very idea, because she’d just realized there had to be a camera in this room, that Tomàs and maybe others had been watching her sleep. How else had he known to come in when she’d gotten out of bed? And if there was a camera in this room, there would likely be one in the bathroom, too.
“You’d love that, wouldn’t you?” she spat, rage and grief bubbling to the surface and pouring out in her words. “You want to go back to your monitor and jerk off watching me strip off my clothes and take a shower? No fucking way, you murdering bastard. I’d rather wallow in pig shit than give you the satisfaction.”
He took a small step back, seemingly startled by her intensity. “There’s no camera in your bathroom.”
She didn’t believe him. “Maybe not that you can see, you moron. Maybe it’s for your boss’s private entertainment. Well, I’m not putting on a show for him either.” Ariana planted her hands on her hips and glared at Tomàs. “Take me to him. Now.”
“You are not giving the orders here, princess!” he snapped back, expression twisting angrily. “I’m not being paid to cater to your every goddamned whim anymore. I work for El Lobo Negro now, and if he orders you stripped and whipped for behaving like the bratty, entitled little rich bitch you are, I will gladly wield the lash!”
She wasn’t going to show fear, even though Tomàs was a big man and he was advancing toward her with clenched fists. Lifting her chin, Ariana looked him straight in the eye. “And what happens if you hit me now, Tomàs? Because my guess is that The Black Wolf has ordered me delivered in perfect condition. Touch me without direct orders, and it’ll be you with the stripes on your back — that is, if he doesn’t just shoot you in the head. I’m his bargaining chip, after all. You’re just the hired hand who’s already shown that he’ll turn on his employer for enough cash.”
Tomàs’ expression darkened further, and for a moment, she thought he really might hit her. She held still, though, face turned up defiantly. This disgusting scumbag had killed Elliot, Emma, and her other friends. If he was stupid enough to hit her and get himself shot for it, well, that was one less problem she’d have to deal with. Tomàs knew her, after all, knew the way her mind worked. She was betting that nobody else here did, and that might, just possibly, play to her advantage if she was able to figure out some way to escape.
Tomàs Fuentes was a former FBI agent, though, and he was no fool, despite the rage and resentment fueling his actions. He stopped moving forward, instead glaring at Ariana for a moment before shrugging. “Fine. You want to go to him now, you go to him now. We’ll see how he deals with your disobedience.” He pointed at the door. “Now move, or I’ll put you over my shoulder and goddamn haul you down the stairs like a sack of flour.”