The Fallen (Angelic Redemption) (10 page)

Covering her mouth so she wouldn’t cry out in
surprise, Joaquin twisted her wrist to force her to let go of his bag. She
stared up at him, at first startled, then disappointed, and finally just
resigned to her fate.

“What must I do to make you fear me, young Heidi? Should
I tie you up? Maybe I can twist your wrist until we hear a snap?”

“You’re not going to help my friends.”

“No, I’m not,” Joaquin said, shoving her onto the
bed as he returned his bag to the chair. “What exactly was your plan? These
men, the ones hunting you, will have people looking for you at all of the
obvious places. You can’t go to the border, the airport, the consulate. The
cartel has too much money for you to just walk away. That’s why we are hiding
in plain sight. None of them will expect that.”

“Then what? My friends are going to die.”

Joaquin glanced out of the curtains with a shrug.
“No, they’ll probably be sold into slavery, maybe ransomed. Death won’t come
quickly and you’re naïve to think it would.”

Heidi glared at him. “Why are you doing this?”

“Doing what? Protecting you from your stupidity? I
honestly don’t know.”

“What exactly is your plan? We hide here in plain
sight until what?”

Joaquin shrugged again and Heidi’s glare
intensified.

“You don’t know. You have no plan and refuse to
let me make my own. My friends meanwhile suffer. Maybe it was the devil that
brought us together?”

“It does make more sense.”

Heidi could only sigh and Joaquin could only watch
her. The urge to comfort her, to appease her insane ideas increased, but he
fought the temptation.

As awkward as he felt with her glaring at him, Joaquin
couldn’t break her gaze. He kept waiting for her to lose her temper and
explode. Instead, her eyes betrayed only annoyance.

The phone’s plaintive ring startled them out of
their standoff. While it might have been a mistake, a misplaced finger which
rang up this room rather than another, Joaquin doubted it.

“Get your stuff.”

Heidi didn’t protest, grabbing the store bag with
her belongings, while he seized his bag of supplies. Retrieving his gun,
Joaquin opened the door slowly, scanning the empty hallway. Waving her out the
door, he kept an eye on the hall behind them as they headed towards the stairs.

Once outside, Joaquin directed Heidi to the van he
had stolen while she slept. Just when it seemed they would make a clean getaway,
Heidi plopped herself on the ground. When Joaquin yanked at her arm, she went
limp and he lost his grip.

“What are you doing?” he whispered.

“I don’t trust you. You won’t even tell me your
real name.”

“What does it matter?” Joaquin grumbled, slipping
his gun into the holster and leaning down to force her into the van.

“You think you can hide from what’s happening and
keep your distance from me and your mission by lying, but you only delay the
truth,” she said, wiggling free from his grasp and crawling away. She grabbed
the tire of another car and held on tightly.

“Stop this now.”

“Tell me your name.”

She was insane, Joaquin realized. Standing over
her, he refused to play games with a crazy woman. He would force her into the
car, even if he had to rip her apart to do it.

Joaquin pulled at her long limbs, but she didn’t
budge. Just as he started to admonish her again, he detected the hushed voices
of men approaching from the stairwell.

“You’re going to die,” he said, still fighting to
tear her free of the tire.

“We all die,” Heidi whispered, her face
determined, maybe even amused. “What do you care? You should leave me to die.
My days as the devil’s bait can be over.”

“Fine, fine,” Joaquin said, almost desperate
enough to give into her craziness. “My name is Paulo, okay? Now, let go.”

Heidi glanced up at him with a dismissive frown.
“Not until you tell me your real name. If God’s will means so little to you,
just leave me to die. I dare you.”

Joaquin could have strangled her right then. Yet so
far, he hadn’t even found the resolve to tear off her limbs. Feeling the heat
growing on the back of his neck, he calculated the time it would take for the
cartel’s men to find them.

“My name is Joaquin.”

Smiling, Heidi let go of the tire. Pushing past
him and into the van, she hunched in the backseat. Joining her in the car,
Joaquin settled into the driver’s seat just as footsteps approached. Leaning
over, he hoped they wouldn’t search each car in the lot. If the men found them
though, Joaquin wouldn’t mind releasing some of his frustrations.

“Are you happy now?” Joaquin whispered.

Heidi smiled at him. “You struggle against God and
it bruises your soul, but He’s always fine in the end.”

“Please shut up.”

Heidi’s smile widened, but she did as she was
told. The men finished their search without putting in much effort. For a few
minutes after the men disappeared back into the hotel, Joaquin waited, all
while crouched over with Heidi grinning at him like a crazy woman.

Joaquin wished he might hate her, for it would
make his plight easier. His life had never been about these complications and
he felt too old to start indulging in them now. Even so, he found a smile on
his face as he straightened in the driver’s seat and started the car.

Joaquin did not rush from the parking lot. Instead,
he waited to see if the men returned. When the parking lot remained silent, he
eased the van from its spot and headed away from the hotel. Heidi crawled from
the backseat and settled on the floor in front of the passenger seat.

“How do you think they found us?” she asked.

“They probably sent out a description of us. We
stand out and it wouldn’t have taken long for someone to notice.”

“I dreamt a monster told them where we were.”

“Yes, well that would make much more sense,
wouldn’t it?”

A smiling Heidi held her knees to her chest and watched
him. “Do you have a plan?”

“Yes.”

“Is it a good one?”

“Not particularly.”

“I want to trust you.”

Joaquin eyed her for a moment then nodded. “I
know.”

“I think you’re worthy of my trust.”

Joaquin did not respond, for he did not agree. She
was in a pretty peppy mood though and he didn’t want to spoil it.

“When you were fighting those men at the motel,
were you scared?”

“No.”

“Why?”

“Because I knew I would win.”

“Did you hope you would die?”

He frowned at her. “No.”

“Are you good at fighting?”

“At killing, you mean?”

“Yes. You’re good, right?”

Joaquin nodded.

“Are you a bad man?”

Joaquin eyed her then returned his gaze to the
dark road. “Yes.”

“Do you really want me to be scared of you?”

“Stop talking.”

“No.”

Joaquin grinned slightly. “Do you think your
parents will worry if they don’t hear from you?”

“No, not for a long time. They have their own
lives.”

“What do they do?”

“They teach at the University of Santa Cruz. That’s where I went to college. It’s where I’ve always lived. This is my first time
away from home. I think it’s going pretty well so far.”

Joaquin studied her expression, but couldn’t tell
if she was kidding.

“Your parents think you’re stupid or crazy to be
here, yes?”

“They think I’m finding myself.”

Joaquin nodded. “So crazy then.”

Heidi smiled. “I found myself a few years ago, but
I can’t be myself when I’m with them. I’m too weak, I guess.”

“Are they cruel?”

“No, they’re just lost. When people are lost, but
too stubborn to admit it, they can be unyielding with others who are finding
their way. I was lost and now I’m not. Maybe that will happen for you too?”

“Anything is possible,” Joaquin said, slowing the
car and pulling into a closed gas station. “You can sit here.”

Heidi watched him pat the passenger seat then
wiggled out of her odd position to join him.

“Where are we?”

“It doesn’t matter. I just wanted to see if we
were followed. Now that I know we haven’t been, we’re going back.”

Heidi frowned, but said nothing.

“You should keep your hair down when we return to
town.”

“How come?”

“You look like a little girl which makes me look
like a pervert. We don’t need that kind of attention.”

Heidi nodded, pulling her ponytail down and
shaking her blonde hair free.

“Are your parents alive, Joaquin?”

“No,” he said quickly and maybe harsher than he intended.

Heidi shrunk at his tone. Against his better
judgment, he chose to soothe her with information she genuinely didn’t need nor
deserve.

“My parents were murdered. It’s how I came to this
line of work.”

“I’m sorry.”

For the first time, Heidi seemed genuinely unsure
of him.

“I find you attractive,” Joaquin said, his eyes
stuck on the road and away from her nervous expression.

“I know,” she said casually.

“Does this bother you?”

“Why would it?”

“When a man with your life in his hands finds you
attractive, it could lead to something you don’t want.”

Heidi reached over and flicked his ear.

“Don’t be a dummy. You won’t do anything bad to
me.”

Joaquin frowned at her certainty. After all, he
had no idea where to take her next, let alone how to get her safely out of Mexico. The thought of her falling into cartel hands filled him with a deep dread. He felt
willing to do almost anything to prevent whatever those men had in store for
Heidi.

“I will find us a new hotel until I decide our
next move.”

Heidi nodded, her eyes focused on the darkness
outside. Joaquin knew she was thinking of those women, still pining to be their
great savior. At that moment though, she couldn’t even save herself.

Glancing at her with a growing sense of unease,
Joaquin was beginning to doubt he could save her either.

The three hunters arrived at a hotel around nine in
the evening. They had spent a long and awkward car ride together with only REO
Speedwagon and Journey to break up the silence. Sophie occasionally studied
Roman and Lila, before returning to stare out of the window. Roman sat in the
backseat, watching Lila. For her part, Lila tried to ignore them both.

Ignoring Roman wasn’t easy though. While he didn’t
say anything, she felt him the whole drive. The annoying cold itch had somehow
turned into an annoying warm desire. His proximity taunted her, making her feel
needy and curious and distracted. Lila wanted to keep her mind on the big dog
she was hunting. Instead, all she could think about was the big dog in the
backseat.

By the time they arrived at the hotel, Lila was
desperate to be away from Roman and just as desperate to cling to him. No
matter how infuriating her feelings were, Lila thought she hid her crazy well.

Upon their arrival, they learned the only
available rooms were down the hall from each other. This information clearly
rattled Roman, but he remained silent as he took his keycard. Lila felt him
watching her and knew he was stressing the distance between the rooms. She just
waved him off as she hurried Sophie down the hall. Shutting the door with a
sense of relief and longing, Lila sighed loudly.

“He creeps me out,” Lila said, more to herself
than Sophie.

“Was he your boyfriend or something?”

Lila rolled her eyes and threw her bag on the bed.
“I guess he wants to hookup, but I don’t want a mate.”

“You’re lying,” Sophie said with a grin. “You love
him and want to marry him and have his babies.” Sophie winked at Lila while searching
for the TV remote. “Just go talk to him, but don’t be long and leave me defenseless.”

“You aren’t defenseless. You just act defenseless.
It’s not the same thing.”

“Whatever. Just keep your smoochfest to a
minimum.”

“Did I stutter, Sophie? I don’t want a mate.”

Sophie smirked. “Sure, sure. Now, stop being a
brat about the whole thing and realize how lucky you are to have a sexy guy
who’s spent years searching for you.”

Rolling her eyes again, Lila didn’t sense she was
selling her disinterest well. She desperately wished she really was creeped out
by Roman. Yet she ached to talk to him, to know more about what he was still
hiding. Under the curiosity, another emotion clawed at her – a hungry desire.
They shared a past and she wanted to know that past, maybe even rekindle it.