Chapter 15

15

Bea

B ea ran breathlessly along the corridor.

She’d struggled for hours against the stupid lock, had been just about ready to give up when, suddenly, the pins had clicked into place and the door had opened.

There was nobody in the corridor, but that didn’t mean Bea wanted to hang out here any longer than necessary. With every step, her heart thumped against her chest. She wasn’t cut out for this. She wanted to lock herself back in her room and climb under the covers but that wouldn’t help Rogue.

It was the memory of Rogue’s expression, the look in his eyes as the quads had gotten closer and closer, that kept her going. He knew what was going to happen, and instead of throwing her under the proverbial bus, he’d done his best to keep her out of it. He hadn’t told on her.

She knew that because her uncle hadn’t come to kill her yet. Which he would, if he knew she’d begged Rogue to take her away, that she’d offered to pay Rogue with money her uncle knew nothing about.

Rogue hadn’t said anything, and she didn’t know if that meant he was dead, or if her uncle just hadn’t found a way to get him to talk yet. But she couldn’t worry about that. The only thing she could do was try to get his friends here to help him.

She stopped outside her uncle’s door. Though the room was silent, there was always a chance he could be inside, and she had no idea what she would say if he found her there but she had to take the chance.

She turned the handle and opened the door. Light streamed in from the windows, revealing the large, thankfully empty, four-poster bed. She remembered how it’d taken four men to drag the thing up the stairs, and how it’d then had to be disassembled because it wouldn’t make it through the doorway. Remembered how angry her uncle had been. As if it’d been the door’s fault. Focus, Bea. Focus.

To her left was her uncle’s walk-in closet, and Bea ran inside, moving so fast she slammed her elbow against the wooden edge. Biting her lip to stop herself from crying out, she opened the first drawer. It was full of colorful branded boxer briefs. Not something she wanted to see. No phone. No phone in the next drawer either. Or the third one. She breathed in deep before opening the fourth and last drawer. It’s been years. Maybe he threw it out. Maybe ? —

Then she saw it. Such an innocent-looking object, but Bea knew that little plastic box might just save Rogue’s life. She took it in her shaking hands, looking for the power button. Please turn on. Please.

For an instant, nothing happened. Then the well-known logo appeared. Bea held it tighter. She wanted to run back to her room, but that would only increase the risk, since she’d have to bring it back later. It was safer to make the call here.

She counted the seconds while the phone powered up. Seconds that stretched into a long minute until the phone finally asked for a PIN code.

Bea prayed she remembered her father’s PIN code correctly. She typed each number in ever so carefully, breathing a sigh of relief when the phone accepted it.

Realizing she didn’t even know the name of Rogue’s friends, she dialed the number she’d committed to memory only a day ago; it seemed so much longer.

It rang once. Twice.

“Hello,” a deep voice said.

Bea almost dropped the phone. Idiot.

“Who are you?” she asked fearfully.

“Is this Beatriz?” the voice asked. “Where’s Rogue?”

“You have to help him,” she breathed.

“Where is he? Where are you?”

“I don’t know exactly. We’re back in my uncle’s hacienda, I know that much. My uncle locked me in my room. I managed to get hold of this phone, but I don’t have long.”

“Shit.” The voice sounded fainter now, and she realized he’d moved away from the phone. “It’s the girl. She and Rogue were captured. They’re back in the Cruz estate.” A fair summary of the situation, but he could do that later, when she wasn’t risking her life.

“I’m Slate,” the man said.

“I have to go,” she said, her voice shakier than she’d like.

“Wait, Beatriz, wait. Is Rogue okay?” There was real concern in his voice now.

“I don’t know. I don’t know. He was unconscious when we were brought back. I don’t think he’s in the main house, but there are so many buildings. Please come. They’re going to kill him.”

“No,” he barked. It took her a moment to realize he wasn’t speaking with her. “It has to be sooner than that. Tell the DEA to go fuck themselves if? — ”

The DEA?

Bea’s insides liquefied. Rogue was working with the DEA? The DEA would arrest her, too. The DEA would? —

It doesn’t matter. It’ll be worth it if Rogue survives.

“We need some time, Bea. We can’t get there until tomorrow morning. Can you find out where Rogue is being kept, and let us know?”

A small whimper escaped her. He couldn’t ask that of her. Not when what she really wanted to do was get back to her room and wait for everything to be over. Then she thought of Rogue. Tomorrow morning might be too late for him. “I’ll try,” she said.

“Please tell Rogue to hold on.”

Bea cut the conversation and erased the call from the phone log, then powered down the phone. Hands shaking, she put it back in the drawer, struggling to remember the exact position she’d found it in.

She made it back to her room without any incident. She closed the door carefully behind her. There wasn’t anything she could do about the lock, but hopefully her uncle would think he’d been the one to leave it unlocked.

If he ever comes back.

Her stomach rumbled. Now that she thought about it, she was weak with hunger. She’d been drinking water from her bathroom but hadn’t had anything to eat in a whole day.

What if he intends to leave me here to starve?

Her old self might have curled into a ball, but Bea wasn’t that person anymore. She’d found her way off the hacienda . Sure, she’d been brought back, but even then, she’d found her way out of a locked room and contacted Rogue’s friend. She wasn’t going to curl up and cry. She was going to drink some water, rest, and stay alert. Tonight, she would go exploring.