Harmony (Part 2 Of 16)
“Miss, we take this bus.” The old lady’s bony fingers curled around her elbow. “Take this bus. Go to Dangriga.” Her wrinkled face creased with even more lines.
She could take the bus with the old woman. It’d be safe now. Stacy looked up at the tall stranger. “Thank you, but…,” Stacy searched for the right words in Spanish. It was her second language and she didn’t want to insult the man. “I will take the bus with my friend.”
“She is no friend.” Those dark eyes narrowed on the old lady. She hissed words Stacy hadn’t yet learned in reply. “For your safety, little dove,” he repeated, his voice was barely a whisper, “come with me.”
His persistence made Stacy even more nervous. No one would be that concerned over a stranger’s safety, not unless there was something in it for him. “I’m sorry.” She turned and followed the woman.
$
So was he. Eduardo saw the way Gomez watched his little dove, like a wild dog contemplating his next meal. Who the hell allowed such a beautiful woman to travel alone? Stupid Americano men.
Stupid Eduardo. It was none of his business, what Gomez did. Eduardo sauntered back to the car, kicking pebbles as he walked. His job here was done, the border guards had been paid, their assurances of loyalty given. The Boss would expect him back. He should go. The little dove was a beauty, her gray eyes gentle and kind, her curves soft and rounded, but he had done his part. He had offered her a choice and she hadn’t chosen him.
Just once he’d like to be chosen.
Gomez laughed, a tinge of triumph overlaying the menace.
“You go back without me.” Eduardo didn’t meet Javier’s eyes. “I’m taking the bus to Dangriga. Pick me up there in five hours.” It would take that long on these roads.
“The Boss said nothing about going to Dangriga,” his friend repeated.
“This is personal, not business.” The Boss would hear about it though. The Boss heard about everything.
“Personal, right.” A laugh. “No woman is worth five hours on a bus with Gomez, Eduardo. Not even your plump pigeon. This is not your problem. Leave it be.”
“I can’t.” She would be harmed. Gomez and his men followed the woman into the bus, sniggering and making obscene hand movements. He couldn’t allow that.
A heavy sigh. “You never can, my friend .” Javier slapped his shoulders. “I will meet you in five hours. One minute late and I come looking for you, yeah?”
“Yeah.” He was a good man, Javier. He always had his back.
$
The elderly woman sat in a single seat by the door. Stacy needed extra room for her backpack so she sat in a double seat. The men filled the seats around her, guns casually held on laps, laughing and joking about going hunting. What they were hunting, Stacy wasn’t quite sure, the animals changing over the conversation, but the sexual implications in their comments were clear. The bus started, music blasting from the beat-up radio.
The short man sat in the seat across from her. “Who is waiting for you in Dangriga, pretty lady?”
Stacy’s hands tightened on the backpack. Had she made a mistake? “My…”
“None of your concern, Gomez.” The big man, Eduardo, ducked his head as he stepped into the mini-bus, the vehicle lowering an inch. “Hold this.” He wrenched the backpack from Stacy’s fingers, tossing it into the short man’s lap.
“That’s mine,” she protested.
“And Gomez will take care of it, won’t you, Gomez?” Eduardo sat down, stretching his arm along the seatback behind her head. Heat radiated from him.
Read Part 3 Here July 21st
on July 14th, 2010 at 1:31 pm
Your story is very suspenseful and you are killing me. But I doo love how he refers to her as his dove…. I love those kind of endearments.
Hope all is well honey! Miss you!