Haunted

CHAPTER 49

RAMON SAGS AGAINST ME, DEADWEIGHT, THE LAST flutter of his heart going still. I step back and let his body drop.

Vampire is reluctant to relinquish control, but Culebra is close and his urgency comes through.

We have to go.

I let my head fall to my chest, shake it to clear away the animal and look up at Culebra with human eyes.

“Thank you,” he says.

“It was for your family. And Adelita.”

“I know.”

Culebra hands me a rifle and we start after Max. There hasn’t been a sound from the villagers, not a light has gone on in any of the shacks. It’s full dark now, and as I glance back at Ramon’s body, a shadow among shadows, I wonder if anyone will venture out to see if he’s really dead.

Or maybe no one cares.

I stop to pick up the duffel, thinking it’s beginning to feel like an extension of my arm.

But thanking Max for packing it.

Culebra and I move quickly and quietly through the brush. He doesn’t seem to have any trouble seeing in the dark or keeping up with me. It’s not long before I hear footfalls ahead and know we’ve almost caught up to Max.

From the direction of the road, the sound of an approaching vehicle moving toward the village. I tilt my head.

“I think Luis’ men are returning. We’d better hurry.”

We pick up the pace, trotting through the underbrush, oblivious to the growls and hisses that rumble around us as we disturb other night predators on the prowl. We are not challenged and in minutes, we see Max ahead.

He hears our approach and peers into the darkness. “Anna?”

“Right here. Luis’ men are at the village. I don’t know how long it will take them to learn what happened from the villagers. They don’t know who we are, but they know we have Luis. They’ll come looking for him.”

Luis has been listening. He looks behind us. “Where’s Ramon?”

“Dead,” Culebra says.

Luis spits at the ground. “He was a traitor. He lied to you. He brought you here to die. Let me go and Pablo will reward you. You were a good soldier once, Tomás. You could be again.”

I think Culebra is going to ignore Luis. He stares at him, no expression at all on his face. Then, with a single, quick thrust, he slams his rifle butt into Luis’ gut.

Luis doubles over, unable to draw a breath as the air rushes from his body, gasping until his face is blue from lack of oxygen.

Culebra grasps a handful of Luis’ hair and yanks him upright. “Your brother called me a traitor once, too. And had my family killed. Ramon told you lies about me and you believed him. When I left the cartel, I left this life behind. I took my vengeance in my own way. I never came after you or your brother. You and Ramon should have left it alone, Luis.”

Luis struggles to breathe, his chest heaving. Culebra shoves him away and he collapses on the ground, rolling into a fetal position in an effort to force oxygen into his lungs.

Max takes Culebra aside. “We don’t have time for this. When we get to Ramon’s, you can beat the shit out of him. Hell, I’ll help you. But we have to get there first.”

Culebra’s eyes are still on Luis, but he gives in with a grudging nod. He reaches down and hauls Luis to his feet. When he prods him with the barrel of his rifle, Luis moves. Unsteadily, at first, but faster as he catches his breath.

Adelita trots beside me as we resume our trek. “Is he really dead?” she asks.

“Yes.”

“Did you kill him?”

“Yes.”

“The way you killed the bastardo in the truck?”

I let my eyes find hers in the dark. Her expression is neutral. No fear. No unease. “Do you know what I am?”

She hesitates only a moment. “I think so. ¿Eres vampira, no?”

“And that doesn’t scare you?”

She raises her shoulders. “You have not hurt me. You have protected me. The evil in this place resides in the souls of men. Like Ramon and Luis.”

“They can’t hurt you anymore. Max will see to that. If you want, he can get you into a program across the border.”

Adelita’s expression sobers. “Then who will stay to protect other girls? To tell the world what is happening here?”

I remember the conversation we had when I convinced her to stay put while I went back to help Culebra in the village. “You can do both,” I tell her. I think of Stephen. “I know just the person who will help you.”

She lapses into silence, perhaps considering if such a thing could be possible. I’m silent, too. Wondering if introducing Adelita to Stephen is the last conversation Stephen and I will have.