Chapter 10

Laurie

“He doesn’t know anything. I told you that. I was careful. I’m always careful,” I say.

Carlos just gestures to the evidence paused on screen. “It doesn’t matter, he’ll disappear just like the other one.”

I get to my feet, unsteady with the drugs, and with the fear now blazing through me.

“Don’t you hurt him. He did nothing wrong. He brought me back.”

He grabs my upper arm and drags me out of the room and into the hallway. “He did plenty wrong.”

He reaches into his pocket, and my already fogged brain takes too long to connect what he’s holding in his hand.

The needle pierces my skin before I can dodge.

He yanks open my door and shoves me inside. I know there’s no chance to escape my fate when he sneers at me. “I gave you everything. And the second you thought my back was turned, you stabbed me in it.”

I stumble towards him, my limbs growing more sluggish as I try to protest Parker is innocent.

But my mouth and my brain have separated, and whatever drug Carlos just injected into me, I’m losing the fight to stay on my feet.

“It didn’t mean anything,” I slur.

Carlos’ laugh sounds bitter as he moves to close the door. “Our arrangement was clear. You knew the rules but you willingly broke them for a man you don’t even know. You belong to me, Laurie. And on Monday, I will have the legal rights to lock you up permanently.”

I stagger to the right and slam into the table. “No. You can’t. I’ll be good. I’m sorry. I made a mistake.”

Carlos’ face is blurring as he peers at me from the doorway. “It’s too late. You had a taste of freedom, and it was your last.”

The door closes with a finality that makes my body tremble. It was a game. All of it.

He let me think I had a chance. But it was all an illusion. Tomorrow I’ll marry him, and then I’ll be completely at his mercy.

I stumble towards the bed, and collapse, shoulders shaking as sobs overtake my body.

Not only have I sealed my own fate by giving myself to Parker, but I’ve also sealed his too.

Just like he did the last time I defied him, Carlos will arrange an accident. He’ll force me to drink enough like he did last time.

I’ll slip into oblivion and wake up in a mental ward with the doctors convinced I tried to commit suicide.

Only that time Carlos got me out. It was a warning.

This time there will be no escaping the chains he’ll lock me in.

I have to find a way to get out of here, I have to find a way to break free.

I can’t marry him. I don’t love him. And he infects everyone he touches with poison.

Somehow, in the corners of my muddled mind, I know Parker has given me a reason to fight.

I somehow make it to the bathroom and grab the razor I used to shave my legs.

Knowing Carlos will hear me, I scream into the room as I slice my wrist. “I would rather die than marry you.”

Pain bites into the fog the drugs created, but the sight of blood sends enough adrenaline surging through me to give me hope I can stay awake.

I stagger into the bathroom, blood dripping down my hand, and close the door.

I slide, tears stinging my eyes, to the cold tiles, and press my back against the door.

In seconds, Carlos will come for me.

And when he does. I’ll be damn well ready for him.

***

Parker

Panic is building until I feel like my veins are on fire.

“I’m going back. I’m not leaving her with him.”

Amaya is still rubbing at her throat, but the fight seems to have gone out of her.

“You can’t win. He’ll have something on you. And you won’t ever see her again.”

I slide the gun down the back of my pants and feel the cool steel bite into my back.

My eyes already checking for traffic, I don’t look at her as I ask. “I know what he has on me. And I don’t give a shit if it gets out.”

She blows out a weary sigh. “You’re in the minority. He only employs people he knows have secrets. It’s a brilliant tactic, really.”

I chance a look at her and see the bitterness on her face. “By the time you sign on the dotted line, he already knows your weaknesses, and if you mess up, he reminds you of what’s at stake.”

She’s not telling me what she has to lose, but she is explaining a bunch. “It ensures loyalty,” I say.

She nods and runs her hand through her cropped hair. “And compliance.”

I can only guess what those things are. “What does he have on Laurie?”

She pulls a face. “Laurie doesn’t apply. She’s his pet project.”

I give up waiting, and the second I find a clear space, I spin the wheel so I’m heading back to Carlos’ building.

Amaya growls from beside me. “You won’t get through the gate.”

I work my jaw and nod. “No, I won’t.”

I send her a pointed look. “But you will.”

She chokes on a laugh. “No fucking way. I’m not helping you. I can’t.”

I frown at her. “Why are you protecting him?”

She glares back at me. “I have my own secrets.”

“And it’s worth it, is it?”

Amaya’s voice comes out a ragged whisper. “It’s not just about me. I have a girlfriend. She’s not ready to come out to her family.”

I shake my head. “That’s it? That’s why you stay?”

Her expression sours further. “Not just that. I had a husband. A long time ago. And the last time I saw him, he nearly put me in a coma. I relocated, changed my name, and started working for Carlos.”

I shake my head. “Fuck. So, Carlos just has to leak your address and let him do the work.”

She nods. “He has his number on speed dial.”

If I get any angrier, I don’t see how. “Help me get Laurie out, and I swear to God, I will put this sonofabitch either behind bars or in a coffin.”

This time Amaya doesn’t laugh. I can feel her steely gaze on me as I approach the block I know Carlos owns half of.

When I pull the Jeep to the side of the road, I find her gaze locked on me. “He has surveillance on every entrance. Six guards to a floor. Every door is alarmed, and every guard is armed. It would take a ghost to get inside without him knowing. The best I can do is tell him you ditched me somewhere and went to the lookout on your own.”

I frown at her. “So, you were going to kill me?’

She shrugs. “Nothing personal.”

I give her a wry smile. “Wet work never is.”

Her face falls, but she gives me a grim nod. “Fair enough. I deserved that.”

I can’t deal with Amaya right now. I need to think. Things are coming to a head way quicker than I anticipated.

And sitting here in my Jeep with Amaya when she’s given me an idea isn’t going to solve anything.

I slide a glance sidelong. “Is there anyone inside who hates him enough to help?”

Amaya snorts a laugh. “Are you kidding me? Everyone who works for him hates him. If they don’t, it’s because they haven’t finished orientation yet.”

My eyes sweep the road, scanning for any possible trouble as I formulate something resembling a plan.

“Who has access to Laurie?”

“Only her doctor.”

I glance at her. “Physician or psychiatrist?”

“The latter. Dr. Natalie Jenkins is her name.”

“Is she loyal to Carlos?”

Amaya screws up her face as if thinking. “I’m not sure. I’ve only spoken to her a few times. She’s a personal friend to Carlos and the doctor he called when Laurie tried to top herself. She had to assess Laurie before Carlos could bring her home.”

I’m distracted by movement coming from behind me and it takes me a couple seconds to recognize why the traffic is pulling over.

Amaya looks in her rear-view mirror and cringes. “That’s a private ambulance.”

I pivot in my seat and my heart jumps to my throat as I see the flashing lights coming from behind me.

I turn to look at Amaya and a slow smile creeps over her face.

I floor the gas, grab my cell, and pray Laurie didn’t do anything undoable.

***

Laurie

Disjointed voices and scattered images of shouts, the wood splintering and being carried on a stretcher filter through the fog my mind is clothed in.

Awareness rushes through me at the medicinal smell in my nose and the feel of starched sheets against my bare arms.

In my joy at being out of Carlos’ apartment, I try to open my eyes, but a menacing growl beside me makes me jam them shut.

“I don’t have time for this. The surgeon said the cuts were superficial. She can come home tomorrow. I can still go ahead as scheduled.”

I can hear the low murmur of activity coming from outside the door of what I know is my private hospital room.

“Mr. Rodriquez, she’s clearly not fit to—”

“I didn’t ask for your professional opinion. That’s not what I pay you for.”

Her reply comes out weak. “She’s mentally compromised. It wouldn’t stand up if questioned.”

I already know Carlos' answer before I hear him utter it. “That is not your concern. You’re here to sign the damn paper releasing her. My patience is wearing thin, and I need her dressed and ready to go in the next three hours.”

Since she’s always told me Carlos has my best interests at heart, I’m more than surprised when Natalie, my psychiatrist, seems to be arguing. “This goes beyond unethical. It’s immoral and I refuse to do it. If you want to fire me, go ahead.”

I hold in a breath, astounded she’s speaking to him that way. I’ve never heard anyone so much as breathe wrong around Carlos.

I try to move my arms a fraction and am met with resistance that can only be restraints placed on my arms for my own safety.

I wait for Carlos’ response, hoping against hope, he’ll listen to her. But he only laughs. “And you’d know all about immoral, wouldn’t you? Now sign the release before I tell the psychiatrist board members about the drugs you’ve given Laurie over the years and about the hit and run you covered up three years ago.”

Oh no. No, no, no.

Natalie inhales sharply. But Carlos hasn’t finished. “That was some girl's only vacation, wasn’t it, Natalie? You got so high you killed an old woman.”

“How did you know about that?”

Carlos steps closer, so close I can smell the expensive aftershave he likes. “You were warned when you entered into my employment, I conduct very thorough background checks.”

“But there were no witnesses,” Natalie says.

Carlos’ voice comes out as a hiss. “There are always witnesses. Your cell phone, your laptop, your email all excellent witnesses.”

“I never gave you permission—”

He interrupts her with a snarl. “I don’t need your permission; I need your compliance.”

I nearly give myself away by groaning as Natalie’s voice comes out meek. “With the drugs already in her system, she’ll need to stay here overnight. She’ll be drowsy, but I can give her methamphetamine tomorrow.”

I can hear the smugness in his voice. “I’ll be here at eight am. Have her dressed and ready to go. I’ll send someone to do her hair and makeup.”

At the sound of his heels on the floor, and the slight increase in noise as he leaves the room, I gingerly open my eyes, and find myself looking at a defeated Natalie.

When she catches me looking, she swallows and blinks away the tears. “You heard that, didn’t you?” she whispers.

I infuse pleading into my voice. “You never believed me when I tried to tell you he was holding me hostage, but please, you have to help me.”

She stares at me, looking washed out under the fluorescent lighting. “I can’t. There are guards placed outside your door. And I can’t afford for you to go to the police. Carlos already knows I’m cheating on my husband. This will destroy my marriage and my career.”

Any hope I held she might be able to help me dissolves as she reaches for a syringe and flicks it.

There’s an edge to her voice, that lets me know she’d never risk her career just for me. “She was just a homeless woman. No one even missed her.”

She leans closer and I manage to raise my hand high enough to knock the syringe out of her hand.

“Don’t do this. Don’t do this to me,” I plead.

She forces a smile. “It’s for your own good. You need to sleep, and by the time you wake up, you’ll see it won’t be so bad.”

I shake my head and try to jerk my hands out of my restraints. “Don’t put me to sleep. At least let me stay awake, you bitch!” I spit at her.

“That was pointless, Laurie. I have plenty of sedatives. Now I’ll have to get another.”

She frowns hard as if expecting an apology, but a buzzing sound coming from her pocket makes her pause, rather than pick the dropped syringe back up.

She slides her hand inside her pocket and answers. “Hello? I’m in the middle of—”

Her face tightens, brow knots even further as she looks at me, then turns her back.

I strain over my pounding heart as I try to hear who she’s speaking to, but only catches snatches of a heated conversation.

Finally, she ends the call and spins on her heel.

Instead of picking up the syringe she dropped, she picks up her bag and finds a new needle.

She sighs heavily as she swabs my arm. “Like I said. When you wake up, you’ll see it won’t be so bad.”

She takes a step closer, her expression tense as she primes the needle for injection.

I open my mouth to scream, but she shakes her head. “Don’t fight it. It’ll be better if you don’t fight it.”

I’m momentarily distracted by movement from the door as I catch sight of Carlos’ face.

Just like he did the last time I was here, he smiles cruelly and keeps on walking past.

I’m so filled with loathing; I almost miss the sharp sting in my arm as my attention is elsewhere.

I can feel the drug spreading through my veins, weighing me down, making me simultaneously relaxed and panicked.

I try to take a breath of air, but my lungs won’t cooperate, my mouth opens in horror, as I try to suck in a breath but find it impossible.

The last thing I see before I fade into blackness is Natalie peering down at me like I’m an experiment gone wrong.

And maybe, when all is said and done, that’s all I ever was to Carlos.