“We’ll just take the girl and the woman for now.”
“What about the Paititi Three?”
“Lock them in their rooms. We can come back and get them,” ABCs replied. “Besides, they are not what they used to be. The woman and girl are worth more.”
The guard looked shocked. “What if we can’t make it back? There is sure to be some fallout from this raid.”
ABCs shrugged as if to say, So, and turned to look him hard in the eyes, red flints spinning around his irises. “Why do you care so much?”
Creeped out by the intensity of the red glow in those eyes, the guard feigned indifference and shrugged too. “Fine.”
Giving the guard a final suspicious look, ABCs took one of the guns and turned to exit the bathroom. He didn’t look down the hall as he stepped across and shoved open the door into Carmen’s room. The three women huddled on the bed around Elena.
“I thought I told you two to go back to your room.” He raised his handgun and gestured toward Frederica and Rosaria. “This time, I mean it.” The red glow in his eyes intensified.
Terrified at the sight, Frederica and Rosaria gave Carmen a reassuring glance and slid from the bed, making their way out of the room. The guard followed them out, pushed them into the next room, and shoved the door closed. He rested his hand on the door and hung his head for a moment, doubting whether he could sentence these women to be left alone in a locked room deep in the middle of nowhere. The idea of that type of death sentence disturbed even his compromised soul. He knew who they were. He had seen them perform. He believed, as many did, that they were nothing short of Incan royalty. Turning the lever to lock the bolt, he vowed silently that he would return for them no matter what, then turned to go back into Carmen’s room.
“What took you so long?” ABCs said without looking back.
From behind, the guard bristled while cutting him an annoyed look.
“Get the girl.”
Resignedly, he walked toward Carmen. She rarely saw him without his sunglasses. He only risked taking them off when they were alone. Her eyes met his for a moment and she whispered, “Miguel, no.”
He hesitated. Miguel hadn’t heard his name in a while. ABCs just called him ‘guard’. He rarely even spoke to the other guards. They had become accustomed to staying silent so as not to draw any attention from their overbearing boss. Besides, the work was often so unsavory, they didn’t even want to discuss it. They couldn’t bear to talk of home. So, silence reigned.
Hesitating for an instant, he shrugged and began to take Elena from her.
Carmen grabbed her around the waist. “NO.”
“Let go,” ABCs said as he jutted his handgun at her.
Miguel pulled Elena a little more forcefully. She tried to squirm but, exhausted from the trials of the day, couldn’t manage much effort. He gave Carmen a pleading look in an effort to let her know that it would be easier to let go rather than fight.
Her eyes hardened, conveying she intended to make her stand. She had been cooperating since her capture, biding her time. But she looked to be done with that.
Miguel could see it in her eyes. He adjusted his grip under the girl’s arms and used his strength to pull her free.
Carmen fought more intensely now, grunting as she tried to keep hold.
ABCs stepped forward and jammed the barrel of the handgun into her forehead, knocking her back on the bed.
Elena came alive as Miguel lifted her. She kicked and flailed, her soft cries growing louder, more intense. He pulled her in tight, but handled her gently, as he would one of his own children. Miguel gave ABCs a contemptuous look that went unnoticed, then turned away from Carmen, averting his gaze from the abuse she was about to take, and stepped toward the door.
𓂓
Unintimidated, Carmen looked up at ABCs with a loathing that had festered for years. His intense red eyes glared back at her. He pushed the barrel of his gun into her forehead.
“You’re a low-level demon, nothing more,” she spat at him with contempt.
The Alphabet King howled at Carmen, “I am Armando Beltrain Cardentias! No one speaks to me this way!”
“I remember the stories you shared, poco hefe, while lying in bed next to me after you finished, my arms still handcuffed to the metal rails of the headboard. What, did you think we were friends? Lovers? Did you think sharing stories of compassion after raping me would win my affection?”
ABCs paused, remembering the intimate moments he would always savor. His demeanor softened. “I—”
Carmen cut him off. “You know, we all call you Little Armando. We all know your real story,” she taunted him. “I wonder, does your monogrammed underwear still hang from the rape tree?”
ABCs’ face contorted into a mix of hurt and hatred. “That is not what happened.” He had fooled himself into thinking that some part of her did not completely despise him—that, one day, he would not need to force her. Enraged by his own delusions, his own foolishness, he pulled his hand back to deliver a lazy backhand slap with the gun. But she reared back, letting it pass in front of her. Pushing up on her hands, she got her feet under herself and sprang from the bed with surprising ferocity. ABCs stepped back in shock as she pushed his arm with the gun down and swung over in a wild arc, slapping him openhanded on the face. He stepped back as she attempted to claw by him and make for the guard holding Elena.
“Miguel!” she cried out.
He didn’t turn. The tenderness she’d shown him in the past made little difference now. Miguel knew he had no say in Carmen’s fate. At this point, he could only protect the girl. She couldn’t be allowed to see this. No one, especially a woman, defied The Alphabet King.
ABCs pushed Carmen down on the floor with his weight and swung the gun back around to bear on her. She scrambled to her knees and raised her head to face him. He didn’t want this to escalate any further. He did not want to damage his property. He profited from her being there.
With a scowl on her face, Carmen reached up for the gun and shoved it away, standing up, flailing violently, uncontrollably landing forceful blows with the heels of her clenched fists.
ABCs had to close his eyes and pull his head back a bit. He pulled both hands up to shove her away and she grabbed them, fighting to resist with all her might. Without warning, a gunshot cracked in the room. ABCs realized he’d had his finger on the trigger and the gun had shifted in the scuffle. He’d accidentally shot his greatest Prize.
Carmen fell to the ground, limp, blood pooling out from under her, a blank stare on a face that only a moment ago was so alive. The celebrated yet tragic life faded, then slipped away from the leader of the Paititi Three.
Her body spasmed for a few seconds, then, in an instant, she was gone.
Chapter Sixteen
Her leg throbbing with pain, her head pounding, it took Jackie some time to make it down the hall without being noticed. She approached the open door and heard the scuffle inside, Elena crying out loud. A woman’s defiant rage echoed from within. What is going on? She stopped, hidden in the shadows as a guard emerged from the room holding Elena tight to his chest. Jackie flattened along the wall a few paces away. She clenched the knife in her right hand, the blade pointing down, her thumb locked over the end of the handle. The guard was hunched over, looking down, and didn’t notice her. The explosion of the gunfire erupted from the room, causing a jolt of fear to pass through her. The guard’s head jerked back to the door, then his gaze fell. He loosened his grip on Elena and she slid through his arms to the floor. He gripped her shoulders to keep her there. Jackie thought she saw a look of sadness pass over him. He seemed to soften a bit.
