been. She is an inspiration to all of the women of this world in terms of strength, dedication, and love.'
Mother Teresa, I snorted. But then as I contained myself I thought about what else she'd said. A woman of strength, dedication, and love. If Carmen was anything, I guess I had to admit that she had all of those qualities ingrained in her. Love for Javier, strength... well, maybe just strength. Strength to be a cartel wife, perhaps? And dedication? I wasn't sure about that one, but she was certainly dedicated to killing me, so I guess she had that too. As for being recognised and likened to Mother Teresa - well... I doubt that would ever happen.
The YouTube clip ended with a load of audience clapping and the host thanking Carmen for 'the lovely social chat'. Social, my ass.
I took the headphones off, and turned to Gabe. "She really knows how to turn it on, doesn't she?"
Gabe laughed as he slid the laptop back to him. "That she does. She won that pageant, and within weeks, she married Javier Amaro. Didn't take her long to become a cartel mother, that's for sure."
I blew out the breath I was holding. "But she must have been so young."
Gabe nodded and slurped on his coffee. "She was. I think she was eighteen when they married. Javier was second in command of the El Diablo Cartel back then, and twelve years older than her. Not too much of an age gap, but Carmen must have seen something in him. Or... he offered her the world."
My mind thought to the millions of horribly ugly men out there with trophy wives, and I shuddered. At least Javier wasn’t one of those men – she’d done well in that department. I drained the rest of my coffee, and sat in comfortable silence at the table with my head relaxed on my arms as Gabe typed away on his computer. Then he let out a low whistle that caught my attention.
"What?" I asked.
He shook his head. "I don't know if you want to know, actually."
Immediately I was curious. He yelled out to River, who came to the dining table moments later.
"What's up?"
"Take a look at this," Gabe said as he turned the screen towards River. River bent down to read the screen more closely, and then he straightened as his eyes cut directly to mine. I got that damn awful sinking feeling of dread again, the same feeling I got when he found out that Carmen was hunting me.
"What?" I said, but it came out more like a hoarse whisper.
He shook his head, sighed, and turned the screen to face me. It was the headline that really caught my attention: Twelve Caucasian Women Decapitated in Tijuana - and Counting.
My hand flew to my mouth, bile instantly rising to greet my throat. "Oh my god," I whispered. I looked up at River, who was staring out of the window behind me. "They're just killing anyone, aren't they?"
River shook his head. "No. They're not. Gabe, pull up the police files on the dead women." Gabe started typing away again on his laptop, and River turned to me. "I guess we'll find out shortly, but I think Carmen and whoever else saw you with Javier has probably put out Rachel White's profile to their contacts. There is a hell of a lot of money banking on your beheading, Mack. A lot of people are going to die in the process."
"Got it," Gabe said a few moments later. He blew out another whistle, and turned the laptop around. I was completely mesmerised by the group of images on the screen. The women varied in their ages, but they did have two similarities. They all had long blonde hair and blue eyes. My hands ran through my own hair, and I winced. As part of the job, both Chase and River had convinced me to cut off my long hair to a close crop, in order to make wearing wigs and disguises easier. I always wore a long blonde wig whenever I was with Javier, as Gabe said from Javier's internet surfing history, being a blonde would be most attractive to him.
I felt sick. I had to make sure I kept a wig on at all times from now on, and not a blonde one. Bile was no longer just starting to rise to my
Mother Teresa, I snorted. But then as I contained myself I thought about what else she'd said. A woman of strength, dedication, and love. If Carmen was anything, I guess I had to admit that she had all of those qualities ingrained in her. Love for Javier, strength... well, maybe just strength. Strength to be a cartel wife, perhaps? And dedication? I wasn't sure about that one, but she was certainly dedicated to killing me, so I guess she had that too. As for being recognised and likened to Mother Teresa - well... I doubt that would ever happen.
The YouTube clip ended with a load of audience clapping and the host thanking Carmen for 'the lovely social chat'. Social, my ass.
I took the headphones off, and turned to Gabe. "She really knows how to turn it on, doesn't she?"
Gabe laughed as he slid the laptop back to him. "That she does. She won that pageant, and within weeks, she married Javier Amaro. Didn't take her long to become a cartel mother, that's for sure."
I blew out the breath I was holding. "But she must have been so young."
Gabe nodded and slurped on his coffee. "She was. I think she was eighteen when they married. Javier was second in command of the El Diablo Cartel back then, and twelve years older than her. Not too much of an age gap, but Carmen must have seen something in him. Or... he offered her the world."
My mind thought to the millions of horribly ugly men out there with trophy wives, and I shuddered. At least Javier wasn’t one of those men – she’d done well in that department. I drained the rest of my coffee, and sat in comfortable silence at the table with my head relaxed on my arms as Gabe typed away on his computer. Then he let out a low whistle that caught my attention.
"What?" I asked.
He shook his head. "I don't know if you want to know, actually."
Immediately I was curious. He yelled out to River, who came to the dining table moments later.
"What's up?"
"Take a look at this," Gabe said as he turned the screen towards River. River bent down to read the screen more closely, and then he straightened as his eyes cut directly to mine. I got that damn awful sinking feeling of dread again, the same feeling I got when he found out that Carmen was hunting me.
"What?" I said, but it came out more like a hoarse whisper.
He shook his head, sighed, and turned the screen to face me. It was the headline that really caught my attention: Twelve Caucasian Women Decapitated in Tijuana - and Counting.
My hand flew to my mouth, bile instantly rising to greet my throat. "Oh my god," I whispered. I looked up at River, who was staring out of the window behind me. "They're just killing anyone, aren't they?"
River shook his head. "No. They're not. Gabe, pull up the police files on the dead women." Gabe started typing away again on his laptop, and River turned to me. "I guess we'll find out shortly, but I think Carmen and whoever else saw you with Javier has probably put out Rachel White's profile to their contacts. There is a hell of a lot of money banking on your beheading, Mack. A lot of people are going to die in the process."
"Got it," Gabe said a few moments later. He blew out another whistle, and turned the laptop around. I was completely mesmerised by the group of images on the screen. The women varied in their ages, but they did have two similarities. They all had long blonde hair and blue eyes. My hands ran through my own hair, and I winced. As part of the job, both Chase and River had convinced me to cut off my long hair to a close crop, in order to make wearing wigs and disguises easier. I always wore a long blonde wig whenever I was with Javier, as Gabe said from Javier's internet surfing history, being a blonde would be most attractive to him.
I felt sick. I had to make sure I kept a wig on at all times from now on, and not a blonde one. Bile was no longer just starting to rise to my
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