Flirting with Disaster (32 page)

“Okay,” he told the kid. “You know you haven’t done anything worth dying for. So what else is there, Gabrio? Is there another reason that you want to kill yourself?”

Gabrio stared at him for a long time, tears filling his eyes. His voice became a plaintive whisper. “Because I want to see my mother again.”

Dave felt as if the floor had just fallen out from under his feet. Oh, Jesus, this poor kid really did have nobody in this life, so he was looking ahead to the next one, hoping for something better. Dave had to get him out of this situation. Out of this town. Out of this fucking
country
.

“When did your mother die?” he asked.

“I was ten.”

“Tell me about her.”

Gabrio shrugged, his arm starting to tremble from the weight of the gun. “I—I don’t remember much.”

“But you loved her.”

He nodded.

“My mother died when I was just a kid, too. She had cancer. I don’t remember much about her, either, but still it was hard growing up, you know? But I want you to think about something. As much as your mother would like to see you, too, do you think she’d want it to happen like this?”

Gabrio blinked again, his respirations becoming slower. More measured. “No.”

Dave held out his hand. “Then why don’t you give me the gun?”

Gabrio stared at Dave a long time, sweat trickling down his forehead. Finally he eased the gun away from his temple, revealing a deep red mark where he’d pressed the weapon so hard against it. He lowered the gun to the floor beside him.

Dave resisted the urge to pounce on it, instead moving forward slowly, leaning over and sliding it from Gabrio’s grasp with a small, silent breath of relief. The kid pulled his knees up and rested his elbows on them, then dropped his head to his hands, his shoulders jerking with sobs.

Dave turned to see Lisa staring at Gabrio, her body tense, as if she was feeling every shiver of emotion the poor kid felt.

“How could Ivan do those things?” Gabrio said, tears choking his voice. “How?”

“I know how you feel,” Lisa said. “It hurts. You feel betrayed. I know—”

“No! You don’t know! Goddamn it, he’s my
brother
!”

To Dave’s surprise, Lisa eased forward and sat down beside Gabrio on the floor. After a moment, she slipped her arm around his shoulders. He tried to shrug away from her, but she persisted, leaning in close to him and speaking quietly.

“Gabrio, listen to me. Sometimes you’ve got to cut loose. You’ve got to admit that everything you came from is crap and there’s something better out there for you.”

“Better? Yeah, right.”

“I told you already. We want you to come back to the U.S. with us. Adam has a friend who will help you get a visa.”

Gabrio looked up. “A visa?”

“Yes. What Sera told you is the truth. Adam wants you out of here. He knew if anyone found out he was alive you’d be in danger, so he refused to leave without you. You saved his life, and now he wants to save yours. We all do. That was why Sera came to talk to you yesterday, and it’s why we’re here now. For you. We want you to come with us.”

Gabrio looked at Lisa with total disbelief. Clearly the kid couldn’t imagine a scenario under which anyone would take his welfare into consideration. Ever.

He wiped his face on the shoulder of his shirt, then shook his head. “Ivan could still find me. And if he does . . .”

“He won’t even know where you are,” Lisa said. “But even if he tries to come to the U.S., he’s going to have to go through us to get to you. And we’re not going to let him do that.”

Dave could only imagine how scared this kid must be. And now Lisa was telling him there was a way out. His posture said he didn’t believe her, but his eyes were silently praying she was telling him the truth.

“I—I can take care of myself,” Gabrio said weakly.

“I know you can. Most of the time. But sometimes when things get bad, everybody needs a little help.”

The kid was calmer now but still so confused, so lost. He looked up at Dave. “What’s going to happen to Ivan?”

“Probably nothing,” Dave said. “His crimes were committed here. He’s a Mexican citizen. He’s got local law enforcement on his side. Even if what he did comes out, he’ll probably never be prosecuted.”

Gabrio took a deep, shuddering breath. “I know he should pay for what he’s done, but . . .”

“But you don’t want to be the one to make that happen,” Lisa said.

“That’s right. I’m not giving my brother up. No matter what. I’m not telling anyone anything he’s done. You can’t make me do that.”

“You won’t have to,” Lisa said. “You won’t have to say anything against your brother. I promise you. Okay?”

“He’s not always bad,” Gabrio said. “I know it seems like he is, but he’s not. Not always.”

“I know,” Lisa told him.

“Maybe someday he’ll stop.”

“Maybe he will.”

He bowed his head again, his eyes closed, still torn between the only existence he’d ever known, no matter how shitty it was, and the unknown of going with them. Lisa stayed right next to him, doing everything she could to transmit a sense of hope into the kid. Finally he swallowed hard and turned to look at her.

“Where are we going exactly?”

Dave breathed a sigh of relief.
We.
The kid had made his decision.

“Monterrey first,” Lisa said, “so we can get Adam to a hospital and get your paperwork in order so you can enter the U.S. Then San Antonio.”

Gabrio responded with a deep, anxious breath.

“I know it scares you to go to a new place,” Lisa said. “And it scares you to trust anyone. But this time it’s okay. I promise you it’s okay.”

“Will you be there?”

Lisa nodded. “Yeah. I’ll be there.”

Dave took a step forward. “We need to leave as soon as possible. So if there’s something you want to take with you, grab it now.”

Gabrio ground the heels of his hands into his eyes, then swept them across his shirtsleeve, glancing up at Dave as if he couldn’t bear the thought of another man seeing him in tears. Finally he got up from the floor and headed down the hall toward a bedroom.

Dave gave Lisa a hand up, and she sank into a kitchen chair with a breath of relief. “God, Dave,” she said softly. “I was so afraid he was going to pull that trigger. I’m so glad you were here. I couldn’t have talked that gun out of his hand. No way. You were so calm. You said just the right things.”

Dave sat down next to her. “So did you.”

“I know exactly how he feels. Exactly. He feel so alone. Like there’s nobody on earth who cares if he lives or dies. And it’s not fair, really, because it’s nothing more than an accident of birth.”

Dave nodded. They sat in silence, the wall clock ticking away the seconds. Then Lisa turned to him, her voice fading to a near whisper. “Do you remember when you were talking to your daughter the other night on the phone, when she was watching
Cinderella
with John and his wife?”

“Yeah?”

“Do you know I’ve never even seen
Cinderella
? Or
Bambi
, or
Snow White
, or
Mary Poppins
. . . .” She looked at Dave, tears clouding her eyes. “Please don’t think you’re spoiling Ashley with all that stuff. Please, please don’t. A kid needs those things so much. . . .”

Dave slipped his arm around Lisa and hugged her close, knowing that from now on he was going to look at his life, and his daughter’s life, in a whole new light.

“Even after all that’s happened, he still doesn’t want to do anything to hurt his brother,” Dave said. “Can you believe that?”

“Yeah,” Lisa said. “I can believe it.”

Dave thought about how she’d held out hope about her own brother to the point of traveling hundreds of miles to San Antonio on the off chance that he’d taken a turn for the better. If anybody could understand how Gabrio felt, it was her. And she promised she’d be there to help him when they got to San Antonio, a promise he knew beyond all doubt that she would keep.

I don’t want to depend on anyone, and I don’t want anyone
depending on me.

Dave hadn’t bought that when Lisa said it two nights ago in Monterrey, and he sure wasn’t buying it now.

Gabrio returned a few minutes later carrying a tattered canvas bag.

“Anything else?” Dave asked.

The kid glanced helplessly around the filthy little house, then reached up and rubbed a crucifix he wore between his thumb and forefinger. Finally he shook his head.

Dave stood up. “Then let’s go.”

chapter nineteen

Sera picked up a tray of drinks off the bar, wishing she knew what was happening at Gabrio’s house. Forty-five minutes had passed since she’d phoned Dave to tell him Ivan was here. It would take ten minutes for them to get from her house to Gabrio’s. What in the world was happening?

She glanced over to Ivan’s table, where he, Juan, and Enrique sat drinking as usual. So far, so good.

The bartender had slipped away for a moment, so she ducked behind the bar, made a couple of drinks to fill an order, and put them on a tray. Coming back around, she scooped up the tray to take it to one of the tables.

“Sera.”

She turned back, shocked to see who was standing behind her.

Robert Douglas.

At nearly six-foot-two, he towered over her, staring down at her with dark eyes that had once seemed merely unapproachable. Knowing what she knew now, they seemed cruel and merciless.

What did he want?

Calm down. He comes in here all the time. Nothing new
about that.

She set the tray of drinks back down on the bar, hoping he couldn’t see her hands shaking. “Hello, Robert.”

He settled onto a bar stool. “I just wanted to let you know that I’ve got a charter flight coming down tomorrow afternoon to take me back to San Antonio for Adam’s memorial service on Thursday morning. I know the two of you were close. I thought maybe you’d like to come along.”

You bastard.
The words beat at her mind, clawing to get out. He was playing it straight down the line, as if he weren’t the one who’d ordered Adam’s execution, as if he weren’t the one who had sabotaged Lisa’s plane, as if he weren’t the one who had caused this terrible chain of events that just might end up with a young boy getting killed. Of course he’d show up for the memorial service. People would question it if he didn’t. And he would stand there with a pious look on his face, listening to one person after another saying wonderful things about Adam, a man whose shoes Robert wasn’t fit to lick.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “I wish I could, but I’ve been sick for the past few days and missed work. I really shouldn’t miss any more. But if you’ll extend my condolences to his family I’d appreciate it.”

“I will.” He shook his head sadly. “Adam’s death was such a shame. He was a good friend.”

Sera swallowed the anger that boiled into her throat, warning herself to say very little. The last thing she needed was to tip off Robert that she knew more about this situation than she should.

“Yes,” she agreed. “I’m going to miss him.”

“Did you see the news report about Lisa Merrick?”

Sera’s heart beat frantically. “Uh . . . yes. I did. It said she survived the plane crash that killed Adam. And that she was smuggling drugs. I can’t imagine that she would do such a thing.”

“I’m afraid it’s true,” Robert said. “Of course, no one believes Adam had anything to do with it. He was just flying back with her on a regular run when she also happened to be carrying contraband. He was nothing but an innocent bystander who got caught up in a drug war.”

Your drug war, you bastard.
“They said she was arrested trying to smuggle something on a plane into the U.S. Is that true?”

“Yes.” Robert shook his head sadly. “Some people do things that the rest of us will never understand.”

To her surprise, he reached out and covered her hand with his where it lay against the bar, giving her a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “If you’d like to reconsider attending the service, I can arrange a hotel room for you for tomorrow night and then fly you back down here after the service on Thursday. Are you sure you won’t come with me?”

His hand tightened against hers, and Sera thought she was going to be sick. “No, Robert,” she said, extracting her hand from beneath his. “As I said, I have obligations here.”

“I understand. I’ll be flying out at four o’clock tomorrow. If you change your mind, you know where to find me.”

With that, he tossed a few hundred pesos on the bar and walked out the door. She hated him with every ounce of her being. If he never got what was coming to him in this world, she prayed he’d get it in the next one.

She picked up the tray of drinks again. When she turned, she saw Ivan rising from the table where he’d been sitting with Juan and Enrique, tossing down money at the same time.

No, no, no!

She set the drinks back down on the bar and hurried over as nonchalantly as she could, pretending to be clearing the table behind where he’d been sitting.