73. Rafael
Iwave at the cook who’s on his way to the parking lot at the camp where I’ve been training for the last month.
Antonio said I’d be here four to six weeks. Three weeks ago, maybe even two, I would have been ecstatic to leave. In the interim, I’ve learned a lot about myself, and I’m not sure I’m ready to go.
But I’ve been summoned to the office, and I suspect my time here has come to an end.
“Captain,” I say to the instructor in charge who’s been kicking my ass for four weeks and rubbing my face in the dirt when I’m down. “You wanted to see me.”
“Cristiano is on the phone. You can take the call in there,” he says, pointing to a smaller office in the back.
“Do you know what it’s about?”
He shakes his head, but he doesn’t seem concerned. “If you stand there all afternoon, you’ll never find out.”
What a ballbuster. I go into the office, pick up the landline, and press the blinking key. I’m surprised I even know how to work one of these dinosaurs. “Hey.”
“Rafael, it’s Cristiano. Lucas is on the call, too.”
Cristiano and Lucas calling.That has never happened. Something’s wrong. “What’s going on?”
“We need the layout of your father’s house. Can you help us with that?”
“Yeah. Of course. Why?”
“We don’t have a lot of time for discussion,” Lucas says, sidestepping the question.
This has something to do with Antonio.“Is Antonio there?”
“No,” Cristiano grunts.
This is bullshit. “What the hell is going on?”
“We need your help,” Lucas says testily. “Antonio needs your help.”
“Then tell Antonio to call me himself.”
There’s nothing but silence for what feels like fucking forever. I knew it. Antonio’s in trouble.
“This is complicated,” Cristiano says, carefully.
I’m not letting these fuckers play me like I’m a kid who needs to be protected. “I love complicated.”
Lucas huffs. I’m close to both of them, but Lucas has far less patience for me. Our childhoods were not that different. And I’m the annoying little brother he never had.
“It appears Daniela was lured to your father’s house. We’re not sure why, but we believe she’s being used as bait to get Antonio there. It worked. The minute he learned she was there, he headed straight over.”
With every word, my head spins faster and faster until everything’s a jumble.
“Wait a minute. Tomas is dead. My father is little more than a vegetable. Who lured them there?”
“We don’t know. Antonio is outfitted with a listening device, but we won’t know anything until he gets inside. The house is huge. We need a layout so we can form a plan to rescue them.”
Not without me. A família primeiro. Sempre. “I’ll give you what you want, but I’m going, too. They’re my family.”
“That’s not happening,” Lucas says, like he’s a goddamn king.
Like fuck it’s not happening.
“Look, I have a lot of respect for you both. I’ve always looked up to you. But this is how it is. If Antonio is incapacitated, I’m in charge. I’m going. You can come, too, or you can blow me off and go off on your own, but that’s insubordination.” My heart pounds as I lay out the facts for Antonio’s top men.
“Nobody said Antonio was incapacitated. And you’ve never been in this type of situation before,” Lucas responds pointedly.
“It doesn’t sound like either of you know what the deal is with Antonio. I haven’t been in a situation like this, but I know that house, and I know those guards better than anyone else you’re bringing in with you. I can handle a weapon. You both know that.”
They don’t say a goddamn word. I’m sure they’re plotting a way around it.
“You should know before you put yourself at risk,” Cristiano explains, “that Daniela recently named you Valentina’s guardian if anything should happen to her and Antonio.”
Nice try, Cristiano.Although it does give me pause. What would happen to her if— That’s what they want you to think. It might not even be true.
“That’s just more incentive for me to go in and drag their asses out of there. I’m not ready to be anyone’s guardian.”
“Fine. Be an asshole,” Lucas mutters. “But send us the goddamn layout so we can start working on a plan.”
“Rafael.” Cristiano’s tone is sober. “I shouldn’t be the one to tell you, but once you leave the camp, you’re liable to hear. I don’t want you to be blindsided.” He takes a deep breath. “Your Aunt Lydia was killed in a plane crash.”
My knees buckle, and I grab the edge of the desk to steady myself. “When?”
“On her way back to London after the harvest.”
On the plane I was supposed to be on.
“And not one of you fuckers had the decency to tell me before you buried her?”
“No burial. Her body hasn’t been recovered. There hasn’t been any kind of service.”
Jesus Christ. I can’t form the words. She was my only real connection to my mother. Antonio must be devastated. Everyone’s gone. Or in danger. My chest hurts. How could this have happened?
“If you’re going into that house, you need to put your head on straight,” Lucas chides.
He’s right.Man up, Rafael.This is no time to be a pussy. “Don’t worry about me. Where’s Valentina?”
“With Santi, and Mia, and my mother. They’re at the apartment in the lodge.”
“We need the sketch.”
I grab a sheet of paper out of the printer and sit down to draw. “I’m working on it.”
Because of my dyslexia, reading’s never been easy, but I can calculate complex math problems in my head, and everything becomes clearer when I draw it out. As I sketch the interior of the house, it occurs to me that there’s another way in.
“I want to talk to Ruiz,” I tell them. “He was my mother’s guard, and he tried his best to protect me after she was gone.” He was the only one on the inside who stuck his neck out for me. “Up until he retired, he was the head guard at the house, in charge of security. The younger guards all respected him. They always listened to him. He could help get us inside.”
“It’s too risky,” Lucas says before he even considers it. “What if he sells you out?”
“He would never do that. Besides, Antonio and Daniela are being held prisoner, and you think the guards are going to be surprised to see Antonio’s men show up? No one needs to sell me out for that. Let me talk to him. He might not be willing to help, but if he’s not, he won’t say anything. You can work on a plan while I go to see him. We have nothing to lose.”
“We have to try,” Cristiano mumbles.
“Do it,” Lucas adds, resignedly.