“I see you somehow managed to get your hands unbound,” Soledad observed in a cool voice.
Shit, she’d forgotten about that. “I used my teeth.”
“Very sharp teeth,” Soledad said. “I’ll remember that. Though if I’m any judge of character, and unlike you, I am, I’d say you spent the night with a lover, not worried about your very limited future.”
Jenny managed a creditable laugh. “And just how did that happen? I’m afraid none of your thugs are my type.”
“No, my men know better than to go against my wishes. I’m just wondering if we have another visitor at the compound that my men have managed to overlook. Ramón!”
One of the guards who dragged her in immediately stood at attention. “Yes, Madam.”
“Madam?” Jenny repeated with an unwise laugh. “Who do you think you are, Evita Perón?”
Soledad’s smile was pure evil. “You really think you are wise to bait me?” She turned to the guards. “Go out and search this place. Check in with those useless outside guards to see if they’ve seen anything. Go now! This one will be no problem for me to deal with.”
Jenny waited until the two men left. “I’m a lot bigger than you are, Soledad, and my hands are no longer tied. And I’m really pissed.”
Soledad finished her coffee, then folded her hands on the table, giving Jenny her full attention. “Yes,” she said. “But I have a gun and no morals. I would kill you for the fun of it. You would hurt me only if it were a matter of life and death. Which, I promise you, it is.”
“You want me to attack you?” Jenny said incredulously, trying to ignore the baseball bat that was just out of reach.
“After you break into your brother’s fucking smartphone,” Soledad said sweetly. “And it depends on my mood and how long you make me wait. If you’re quick, then I’ll do the same, a single gunshot to the head. If you drag it out like you did last night, then I will smash every bone in your body. And if you think you’ll be in too much pain to talk, you’re wrong. No matter how much pain you’re in, there’s always more coming, and you’ll be able to tell me what I want even if I’ve broken every bone in your body.”
“Might I suggest you leave my jaw intact? Otherwise you might not understand me when I spill state secrets.”
Soledad shook her head. “Did no one ever tell you to watch your tongue when you’re in a dangerous situation? And trust me, your position is extremely precarious. If I get too angry I’ll simply shoot you and wait until I get back to Puerto Claro to have a professional hacker break into the phone. I have things to do up here, but I can change my schedule if you annoy me enough.”
“Here’s an idea—why don’t you simply ask my brother. He’s working for you, isn’t he?” It was a wild guess, but closer to the mark than she would have wanted.
Soledad looked startled for a moment, and Jenny felt her stomach tighten further, particularly when Soledad laughed. “You think your brother works for us? How delightfully naïve you are.”
Sudden hope rushed through her. “You mean he doesn’t?” she said, not caring if she was letting Soledad see her vulnerability. “He’s innocent?”
“You idiot. Your brother doesn’t work for us—we work for him. Though I can hope to change that in the near future, he’s a nece
ssary evil. He took over from the Corsini family, and he knows the routes, the connections, the players. With the information contained on the smartphone we can put him out of business, which obviously is not in his best interests. He wants this phone back as much as you and your Committee friends do. Maybe more.”
It felt as if she’d been slapped in the face. “I don’t believe you,” she said, knowing in her heart that it was the unacceptable truth.
“Don’t you? Well, you’ve always been good at believing what you want to believe. I’ll give you one hour to break the phone—otherwise I will begin to break you.”
Jenny picked up the smartphone with real hatred. She had been so certain it would prove her brother’s marginal involvement with the human trafficking. Maybe Soledad was lying to her, trying to rattle her. But Jenny’s faith had been shaken.
Jenny rose from the sofa, holding the phone in her hand. “Sit down!” Soledad snapped, and Jenny could see the small gun she held in a freshly manicured hand.
“I need to pace,” Jenny said, edging closer to the row of windows. The air-conditioning had been turned off that morning, and one of the sliding doors was open, leading out onto a narrow deck that hung out over the deep ravine cut into the rainforest around them.
“And I need you to sit down,” Soledad snarled.
“Some fresh air,” Jenny pleaded. “That’s reasonable, isn’t it? After all, there’s nowhere I can go except down, and I’m not ready to give up yet. I’m going to stay alive as long as possible.”
Soledad regarded her for a long moment. “You’re right,” she said. “There’s nowhere to go out there. Go and enjoy your last taste of fresh air.”
Well, Jenny thought, she may be stupid when it came to trusting people, but Soledad had the foresight of a gnat. The cell phone was going to go sailing into the ravine, hopefully to smash against some rocks but at the very least to be lost forever in the tangled jungle. The moment she threw it Soledad would shoot her, and she wasn’t ready to die yet, but when push came to shove the phone was going over the edge, and maybe, just maybe, she’d go too, rather than give Soledad the satisfaction of killing her. And satisfaction it would be—she could practically feel Soledad’s murderous intent. The sweet young woman had disappeared, leaving a poised, beautiful monster in her wake, and Jenny wasn’t about to underestimate her.
If only she could reach the baseball bat things would be easier. She could smash the phone with it, smash Soledad with it before she could get off more than one shot.
But that one shot would kill her, and she hadn’t given up on Ryder yet. He had to be somewhere around, hiding from the guards, waiting for his chance. Unless he’d already been captured and killed.