Layers Deep (23 page)

I lifted the
glass to my mouth, focusing on his eyes. When he threw his shot
back and closed his eyes for a split second, my arm shifted. The
liquid in my glass flew back right into the plant behind me. I
wiped my mouth with the back of my hand.

Martinez
didn’t waste time pouring another one. The bastard was trying to
get me drunk. All three of the shots ended up feeding the shrub of
a plant behind me. I swayed from side to side and added a giggle or
two, fluttering my lashes and leaning forward. He ate it all
up.

On the fourth
shot, I looked away. But the reflection in the bar mirror showed
that he’d slipped a powdery substance into my glass.

When my
attention returned to the booth, Kendra’s head flew up, her eyes
wide open as if she was trying to warn me of my death trap.

“Bathroom,”
she said.

“Hold it.
We’re almost done.” Martinez’s gaze never left the lethal shot
waiting in front of me.

“I can hold
onto your pet in the washroom. Unless you’re afraid she’ll bite.” I
leaned back against the seat, indifferent.

He hesitated a
moment before saying, “If she escapes, you’re her replacement.”

“Grrr.” I made
a cat-like gesture of scratching the air with my nails.

He gripped my
wrist before I stood up. “Drink first.”

My poisoned
tequila shot waited.

Kendra’s eyes
bulged again.

Slowly, he let
go of my hand and I picked up the glass. There was no way I could
get away with this one, so I looked at Kendra saying, “Let’s go
pee-pee,” as if I were a little kid, and downed the shot.

Martinez
handed me the rope she was tied to, pleased with himself. We
scooted around the booth, and before we entered the bathroom he
said, “You have three minutes.”

The door shut
closed and I jumped into the first stall and shoved two fingers
down my throat. The gag reflex was instant and my tequila along
with acidic contents came up and out like a fountain. My stomach
tightened once more and my shoulders scrunched forward for another
round. Whatever Martinez gave me, it had already begun working into
my bloodstream.

“Holy fuck!”
Kendra covered her mouth. “Run, you should run while you can,” she
barely whispered, her entire body shaking in fear.

I pulled
myself up. The room spun a bit and I rinsed my mouth with water.
Bracing myself on the sink I took a deep breath, pressed my index
to my lips, and looked at her to be quiet.

Hurrying into
a stall, just in case Martinez decided to interrupt, I reached into
my back pocket for my cell and typed: LOBBY BAR. NOW! BATHROOM.

And I prayed
Tristan’s phone wasn’t set to vibrate – or worse yet, silent.

“Who are you?”
she asked.

“It’s better
you don’t know, but I’m not leaving you with him. What did he slip
me?” I worked my fingers past the haze in my eyes on Kendra’s rope.
Most of the drug had probably left in the stream of puke, but I was
sure not all had, and I was beginning to feel the force of its
effects.

“I don’t know,
but it can’t be good. He’ll kill us both for this.”

“Why don’t we
worry about getting rid of him for now? You seem strong enough.
Please tell me you want out of this. We have to work together. I
need you on my side, Kendra. Are you with me?” I couldn’t believe
how much I wished for my gun at this very moment.

The first rope
strap unwound, but there was another one, digging into her flesh.
The last knot must have been glued together. The tips of my fingers
ached, and after I’d broken a nail it finally let go. Red strands
of burnt skin circled her wrists.

“You know who
I am?” she asked wearily, looking back at the bathroom door.

“Yes, I
do.”

“I’m with
you,” she said. A slight hint of hope resonated in her voice.

The room begun
to spin.

I looked for
another exit, but there wasn’t one, except for a small window. If
Tristan didn’t pick up the message, we had to move. Lifting the
latch, I opened the window. Cold night air filled the bathroom.

“Do you know
who he’s waiting for?”

If something
went wrong I needed to know who the buyer was; but of course that
would be too much to hope for.

She shook her
head sideways.

Martinez
knocked on the door. “Hurry up.”

“Almost done,”
I said in a half-drunk voice and checked my phone. No reply.

“Is he alone?”
I asked.

“I don’t think
so. And they’re always armed.”

“I figured.” I
pulled out my phone and shoved it down her cleavage right into her
bra. Unfortunately in her tight short dress there weren’t too many
places to hold a phone. “Tristan’s number is there. He’s in this
hotel. Run to a safer place and call him.”

“What about
you?” she asked.

“I’ll be right
behind you. Don’t worry.” Except the accelerated speed at which the
drugs began working had me doubting just a little. Had I not thrown
up, I would probably have been crunched down on the floor,
unconscious.

He knocked
again.

I didn’t
answer this time. We had seconds left.

“Hop up.” I
pulled up the only chair in the bathroom for a boost. She sat on
the window ledge.

“Grab my arms
and lower yourself.” I said.

The jump
wasn’t high, but enough to break a leg if I didn’t lower her.

“Do not turn
back.” I said looking down at her body swinging below me, her hands
clasped with mine. My drugged arms were barely able to hold her
frail weight.

The door to
the bathroom flew open.

I didn’t turn
around.

“You let her
go and I will shoot.” Martinez growled. The click of a gun sounded
in my ears.

I let go of
her hands, mouthing, “Run.”

Once she
turned the corner, I said. “It’s too late, you son of a bitch.” I
hopped off the chair.

And he
fired.

I didn’t hear
a gunshot and didn’t see any blood. The pinch on my shoulder ached
like a day-old bruise, and I looked to the side. A dart with a red
feathered tip stuck out.

Shit! Tristan,
where are you?

My knees
buckled and I crashed to the floor. The disgusting grin on
Martinez’s face slowly faded into black.

He dragged me
by my hair. I felt some of my extensions give out. It wouldn’t
surprise me to see a fist full of black strands between Martinez’s
fingers. The jab in my arm ached. Whatever he had given me
contained a muscle relaxant. I could hardly stand. With the added
effect of the powdered substance I’d swallowed earlier, I was
semi-conscious. Everything around me blurred.

By the time
the barman could have called the police, we had left the hotel. His
confusion was masked when Martinez had said his new bride had one
shot too many. He lifted me in his arms and carried me out the
lobby as if I was already his. The thought pained me, but I had not
the time to ponder. It took seconds to reach an abandoned
alley.

“You just made
the biggest mistake of your life,” he grunted.

The iron tang
of blood in my mouth couldn’t be my own. A faint memory of biting
the son of a bitch put somewhat of a smile on my face. I remembered
spitting out a chunk of his flesh I had bitten off.

The drugs he’d
given me suppressed my ability to defend myself. Julian was right.
I didn’t even get a chance to fight, but I promised myself that the
first moment my body would cooperate, I’d wring his neck. That was,
if he didn’t chop me to pieces first. I hoped Kendra was far away
from this place.

We turned the
corner, and the streetlights lost their glow to the shadows. A rat
skidded away from a garbage container a few feet deep in the alley.
The smell of rotten chicken and decomposing trash filled the air.
Maggots feasted around the perimeter of the overflowing waste,
their round puffed bodies rolling rather than crawling in their
king’s buffet.

Blood trickled
down my arm and fingers, my hand immobile more so than the rest of
my limbs. A loud bang bounced off against the alley walls, like the
whack of an iron skillet on someone’s head. This made me laugh
because I’d never actually heard the sound before, other than in a
Tom and Jerry cartoon, and because where would someone get a pan in
an alley?

The grip on my
hair loosened and Martinez crashed to the ground.

“You bitch!”
he moaned.

I crawled up
to my knees and scooted as far away as I could. Someone’s arms
helped me up. My vision fogged, but I could feel that the frail
arms holding me up wouldn’t get me far.

“You got to
run. His men will be looking for us.” Kendra pulled me backward, my
feet dragging along the littered pavement.

“I can’t even
stand up. Did you call?” I pushed as hard as I could against the
pavement, but my feet preferred to be dragged. It didn’t matter how
much I wanted to stand up, my legs felt like rubber.

“Yes, but he’s
not picking up, and there’s more of them by the hotel now.”

“Don’t fucking
move.” A growl and the sound of a gun click awakened the goose
bumps on my arms.

“I should have
done this a long time ago.”

The hair on
the nape of my neck stood like a forest of toothpicks. We had
seconds before Martinez pulled the trigger. This time what he
gripped in his hand was not a dart gun. He paced toward us, the gun
in one hand pointing at Kendra while his other hand reached back to
his head, massaging the spot where she’d hit him. I leaned my body
against the garbage container, feeling something crawling on my
hand.

“You’re a
waste anyways. I think I’ve done a nice trade tonight. An old used
bag for a fresh one. Don’t worry. I’ve tamed feistier creatures
than you.” He looked toward me.

She backed
away. Martinez passed where I was sitting. Kendra pressed her back
into the wall of a building, her hands flat against it. Her gaze
skidded from side to side, then back to me, probably wondering
whether she should run. I urged her with my eyes to go, or at least
try, but with Martinez only a few feet away, he wouldn’t miss the
shot. I squeezed my fists and forced adrenaline into my body. I
wouldn't fail Tristan. I couldn’t let him blame me for not getting
Kendra to safety. Pushing off the metal container, I launched at
Martinez’s mid-section and took him down to the ground.

I twisted his
arm to its breaking point and got him down on his knees. A single
gunshot echoed in the alley and my tummy felt warm. I tightened my
grip on his arm, and he dropped the weapon. I wondered why the back
of my head felt warm as well, and then everything went black.

The sound of a
pulse beeping pinched my ears. The rhythm was steady and quieted as
I listened in. A familiar smell of antiseptic hand wash wafted
around my nose. My head ached. I reached up, but something
restrained my arm.

“Don’t move.”
I heard Tristan’s voice and let out a breath I didn’t know I’d been
holding.

I opened my
eyes a fraction. His beautiful face slowly came into focus from
above. Dark shadows underlined his hazel eyes. A shade of worry
disappeared as I felt my mouth curve in happiness. His scar lifted
slightly on his upper lip. Was I dreaming, or dead? The last thing
I remembered was pinning Martinez down to the ground with his gun
right between us.

“Where am I?”
I didn’t recognize my hoarse voice. My mouth felt as if it had been
stuffed with a hundred cotton balls. My throat ached as if someone
shoved a ten-inch pipe into it. A smooth end of a plastic straw
touched my lips before I even asked for water. I sucked on it for a
few seconds. My jaw muscles hurt.

“You’re in the
hospital. It’s been five days.” Tristan said.

“Kendra?”

Please tell me
she’s safe.

“You got her.
She has a long road of recovery ahead of her, but she’ll be
fine.”

“Good. That’s
really good.”

My eyes felt
heavy.

“It is. You’re
on morphine. Martinez’s thug whacked you in the head before
Martinez shot you.”

“He shot me in
the head and I survived?” Why did that sound confusing? And why was
Tristan wearing a purple wig?

“No, silly.
Martinez shot at your stomach as his thug whacked you in the head.
The bullet flew without damaging any major organs. You were very
lucky.”

“You look
funny. Did Emma color your hair?” I asked like this was the most
important question he had to answer at the moment.

He took my
hand into his. It felt nice and warm. “No,” he chuckled. “You’re on
morphine. It can do that to you.”

“How did we
get away?”

“Kendra threw
herself at the gun Martinez dropped and shot them both.”

“Kendra saved
me?”

“She saved you
and you saved her.”

“And you found
us?”

“It wasn’t me.
I woke up and you were gone. I went to the bathroom and got your
text. I didn’t expect the phone to ring at the same time and
dropped it into the toilet. Kendra called Julian when I didn’t pick
up. He tracked you through your implant – which we’ve removed, by
the way.” It sounded like too much information to process all at
once. I’d have to get him to repeat it all later.

“I think I’ll
have to kiss him again to thank him.”

“Now, I hope
that’s the morphine talking.”

“Nope,” I
shook my head. It hurt. “That’s all me.”

“You’ll have
to stand in line then. It seems Kendra doesn’t want to let her
rescuer go. Julian’s been at her side the entire time. And I don’t
really like you kissing other men.”

My heart
warmed. The two of them had found their way to each other after
all, and Tristan seemed comfortable with that. Why did that feel
like it was too good to be true?

“Sounds like
we’re all going to be okay.” The weight of my eyelids forced me to
close my eyes.