Love or Money (13 page)

Riel hid her face in her hands, willing herself to stop trembling. “What can I do? Isaias hates me. I don’t have an in with him. There’s nothing I can offer you that would help.”

“We have a plan, Nora,” Norton said. “Or should I say, Gabriella.” He raised his eyebrows at her.

Riel winced, and wiped her eyes. “What’s the plan?”

Riel sat listening, chewing her cheek, as Officer Norton told her the plan. Meanwhile, Mishmash tapped the button for his automatic narcotics drip, humming under his breath.

“It’s a good plan, right?” he said when the cop had finished.

Riel’s brow furrowed. “But what about after? What happens to me and Evan after that?”

“You’ll be immune from prosecution,” Norton said. “We’ll even work with you on the probation violation. You’ll be off scot-free.”

She stomped her feet. “But for how long?” Both men watched her silently, wide-eyed. “I never wanted to get involved in this drug bullshit in the first place,” she said. “Isaias made me. I want to have a normal life. I want to go to college. I want to get a little house with Evan, and have…and have a cat, you know. A normal life.” She felt heat rise to her cheeks.

A hazy sentimental grin spread over Mishmash’s face. He tapped his painkiller button again. “A cat.
Que lindo.
” Norton was gazing at her almost curiously. Then Mishmash sighed. “How about this,” he said. “You do this thing for us, you get free rent on that house we were going to look at for two years, and I’ll give your man a job at one of my car lots or something. A real job, good money, all above-board. You can go to college. I’ll even buy you a kitten.” He grinned. “Sound good?”

Riel sat stiffly as both men gazed at her. Finally, she nodded. “But only if Evan is okay. If something…” She flinched, sending a fresh wave of tears down her cheeks. “If something happens to him, all deals are off.”

Mishmash nodded. “We have a bargain.” He tried to hold out his hand toward her, then winced and grunted. “I can’t hold up my arm, mama.”

Riel stood and went over and gently shook his hand, which was cold and sweaty.

“Just make sure that cat doesn’t tear up my carpets,” he said.

She gave him a teary smile. “Deal.”

Chapter Twelve

They went back down to the waiting room after talking to Mishmash’s doctor. Norton had another conversation with the woman at the help desk while Riel found a seat near a tired-looking young woman, who was trying to contain a grumpy toddler with a huge, red lump on his head.

The young mother gave Norton a suspicious sideways glance as he sat down with a sigh next to Riel, and Riel had a moment of dizziness. It seemed like this had been the longest day of her life, and it somehow culminated in her hanging out in a hospital, on friendly terms with a cop.

“They’ll come get us when your boyfriend is out of surgery,” he said.

Riel nodded, staring at her knees.

They sat forever. To Riel, it felt like the sun should be up, like hours and hours had passed, but according to the clock it was only a little after eleven. The sky beyond the windows remained dark, the glass reflecting the scene within the waiting room in a warped parody. Riel’s thoughts jumped around like agitated monkeys, and it wasn’t until Officer Norton came back with a plastic-wrapped ham sandwich and a Coke that she realized she was trembling with hunger.

She fumbled with the packaging so badly that Norton took the food back from her. He unwrapped the sandwich, popped the tab on the soda, and returned them.

“You’ve had quite a night,” he said.

She nodded, the soda sloshing in the can. She tried to steady herself.

He jerked his chin toward the food. “Eat something. I swear it helps.”

“I’m not hungry.”

“Eat it anyway.”

She stared at the smashed ham and cheese. Nothing had ever looked more unappetizing, but she took a bite. It didn’t taste bad, but it felt weird in her mouth. She swallowed it down her dry throat, washed it down with soda, and looked sideways at the cop, who was regarding her curiously. Her brow wrinkled.

“Have you ever…” She licked her lips, frowning, and he smiled faintly.

“Have I ever shot a man?” he said quietly, and she curled in on herself, nodding. He passed a hand over his forehead. “In fact, I have. Once.”

She examined his face. He stared distantly at the far wall, shifting in his chair. “Line of duty, about two years ago. Guy came at me with a gun, and I didn’t even think, I just let loose. After, I found out the gun wasn’t loaded. It was some kid, twenty-three years old. I thought he was whacked out on PCP or something, but he was actually schizophrenic.” The corners of his eyes crinkled as a look of pain passed over his face. “I didn’t know any of that. Wish I had.”

“Did he die?”

Norton nodded, then sat up and smiled jerkily. “I still see him fall, see the look on his face. Dream about it.”

“You didn’t know,” Riel said. “Anyone would have done the same thing. You thought he was going to shoot you.”

“And what you did tonight, anyone would have done that too,” he said. “I checked, and the guy you got is messed up pretty bad, but they say he’ll live. He’ll be in jail a long, long time, though.”

Riel took a deep and shuddering breath. It felt good to talk about it, and it kept her mind off of Evan. She wanted to ask Officer Norton how he’d gotten involved with Mishmash, but knew she’d better not, not here in the waiting room with the young mother shooting them curious looks.

The wait dragged on and on. The hand on the clock passed midnight, then twelve thirty. They called the young mother, and others. The waiting room started to empty out, and still they sat. Riel ate half her sandwich, the can of soda going warm in her hand, and began to suspect that they were just stalling, not wanting to tell her,
I’m sorry, Miss Mejia, but there was nothing we could do.

When a white-coated doctor finally approached them at a quarter to one, Riel felt a sick wave of adrenaline that threatened to bring the ham and cheese back up again.

“Miss Mejia?” the doctor said, and Riel nodded, fighting back her hope and fear.

The doctor smiled. “Mr. Anderson is out of surgery. He’s stable, and resting.”

“Oh my god,” Riel breathed, hiding her face in her hands, her cheeks wet with tears.

“He’ll have scarring, but he’ll be fine.” Riel shook with laughter and sobs as the doctor spoke. “Do you want to see him?”

Riel wasn’t sure her legs would carry her, but she got up. Norton kept his arm around her as they trotted down the hall, up in the elevators, and to Evan’s room.

They found him grey and unconscious, wrapped in bandages, but his chest was still rising and falling underneath the thin hospital sheets.

Riel took his cold, limp hand. He looked different, like Mishmash had: his cheeks were sunken and his complexion was grey, but it was Evan. Her eyes blurred with tears, and she pressed his hand to her forehead.

“I told you he’d be okay,” Norton said, but Riel couldn’t answer.

Riel sat by his bedside as he slept, staring at his face, watching him breathe. Nurses and doctors came in and out, checking his IVs and the monitors, and at two in the morning Norton prepared to leave, telling her he’d be back later.

“I’d tell you not to take off on me, but I don’t think that’s an issue anyway,” he said.

“No. I’m not going anywhere.”

Norton left. Riel realized she had nowhere else to go even if she wanted to, no idea what happened after this, but she didn’t care. There was nowhere else she would be right now.

The sky outside the window was still dark, and the ward was fairly quiet.
We’re going to have a house, and legal money, and a cat
.
All I have to do is bring down Isaias.

Her shoulders slumped as she thought about it. But she took a deep breath, let it out.
I can do it. I’ll bring that asshole down, for Lizette, and Laina…and for him.
She squeezed Evan’s hand.

As the sky began to brighten beyond the windows, Riel fell asleep, curled up in a chair at his bedside, still holding his hand.

***

Riel startled awake. She had a moment of bleary disorientation. She was cramped and sore, and sunlight streamed into a room that was too white.

“I was wondering if you were ever going to wake up.”

Riel gasped and jerked upright. “Evan!”

He smiled weakly. A nurse was there, adjusting his bed into a sitting position, placing a tray of food in front of him. She glanced at Riel and smiled. “You his wife?”

Riel avoided Evan’s eyes. “Girlfriend.”

“He’s going to have trouble lifting his arms,” the nurse said. “Can you help him eat?”

“Of course.”

The nurse left, and Riel scooted closer, picking up the plastic spork.

“How’s Mishmash?” he asked.

She nodded faintly. “He’s okay. Better off than you. They got him in the shoulder, but the cops showed up.” Riel stared at the plate, and she wrinkled her nose. “Is this supposed to be meatloaf?”

He smiled, and her heart twisted. He looked so weak. “It might be, or it could be a misplaced surgical sponge. Who cares, I’d eat from a Tijuana trashcan at this point.”

“Ew,” Riel said, grinning. “Are you really that hungry?” She pried off a lump of the meat.

“I just feel like I need to eat, you know?”

“You lost a lot of blood.” She held the fork up. “Here comes the airplane.”

He snorted, opening his mouth. She stuck the food in, and his brow scrunched up as he chewed, his eyes darting to the doorway. “So, why aren’t we in jail, anyway? I mean, that was a pretty sketchy situation, to say the least. I figured we’d at least be held for questioning. Or, better yet, why aren’t we dead?”

As Riel poked bits of green beans, meat, and mashed potatoes in his mouth, she filled him in on what had happened after he’d lost consciousness. She started with how she’d shot the man who had shot him, which caused him to give her a long, dark look.

“I’m sorry, Riel.”

She shrugged. “I did what I had to do, I guess.”

“This job freakin’ sucks. But now I’m
really
curious as to why we’re not in jail, or at least you.”

So she told him about Officer Norton, and the deal that she’d cut with him and Mishmash. Evan tried to sit up straight, but just succeeded in making the color drain from his face. “No,” he said, his voice hoarse with pain.

“Evan—”

“No way, Riel.
I’ll
do it, but there’s no chance in hell I’m sending you to…and with that asshole…” He let out a breath through gritted teeth as he readjusted himself in the bed.

“Are you okay? Do you want me to call the doctor?”

“Don’t worry about it. But you’re changing the subject.”

She pressed her lips together. “I’m sorry, Evan. But this needs to be done if we’re ever going to escape this bullshit life, and I’m the only one who can do it.”

He squinted at her silently. She spooned up a lump of Jell-O, held it up for him, but he turned his face away. “You’re not the only one who could do this, Riel. I could too.”

“You know that’s not true. Isaias wouldn’t buy that for a minute. Come on. Eat your Jell-O.”

He grudgingly took a bite, and she wiped his lips with a napkin. “I can handle this,” she said.

“I know you can, Riel. You’re tough as shit. I just don’t want you to have to handle it, that’s all.”

“But you know I’m the best one for the job. And when it’s all over, we can live happily ever after.”

Her eyes searched his, and he smiled, his hand creeping over to take hers. “You really want to settle down with me?” he asked.

Warmth bloomed in Riel’s breast. She smiled. “I really want to settle down with the cat, but it’d be nice to have you around too.”

He laughed, but his eyes were anguished. Then he sighed, the strength seeming to drain out of him. “Just…just don’t get hurt, okay?”

“I won’t,” she said, hoping it was true.

Chapter Thirteen

Riel curled up on the secondhand sofa next to Evan, who sat carefully against the pillows, his shoulder still bandaged. In the armchairs across from them were Officer Norton and a man from the FBI by the name of Christopher McCormack.

Chris leaned forward over his bony knees. He reminded Riel of a stick figure. Even his beady eyes and thin lips seemed sketched on.

“Whatever you tell Isaias to get back in his good graces, that’s up to you,” he said. “But everything hinges on that. If he doesn’t believe you, this whole plan is going to fall apart.”

Riel nodded, clutching her knees.

“After you get him to accept you back, it won’t get much easier,” Chris continued. “You’re still going to have to play a pretty convincing part to get him to take the bait. These situations can get dangerous pretty fast if people start to suspect it’s a setup.”

Evan frowned, a muscle in his jaw twitching. “But you’re going to protect her, right? You’re not going to use her like some sort of pawn to do your work for you without any sort of backup?”

“She’ll be protected at all times,” he said. “We’ll have multiple agents following her every move and staying as close by as possible, ready to offer aid. However, if it becomes necessary for us to become involved before the transaction has happened, it will be harder for us to guarantee her safety in the future, because Isaias will be still out on the streets, and not in prison where he belongs.”

Riel’s hands tightened into fists. “I’ll make sure he goes to jail.”

Evan gave her a desperate look, then stared at Chris with his lips pressed together. Eventually, he nodded. “If anyone can do this, she can. But just make sure you keep her safe.”

“We will,” Chris said. “And this is how we’ll do it.” He opened his satchel and took out a cell phone, which he gave to Riel. She turned it over in her hands, running her fingers along its edges. It was a brand new iPhone in a floral print case. “All calls on this phone will be monitored,” Chris said. “Not only that, but it has a very sensitive microphone in it that will pick up any noise within a fifty-foot radius and transmit it to our command unit. They’ll be recording everything, so it’s absolutely imperative that you have this device on you at all times when you’re speaking with Isaias. It also has a tracking device installed, so we’ll know where you are and can be ready to respond if you need our assistance.”

“How will you know for sure when she needs help?” Evan asked. “It’s not like she can just yell, ‘FBI, I need your help’. She’d be dead before you got there.” He winced, passing his hand across his face.

“There are several ways you can alert us that you need help,” Chris said, looking at Riel. “One of those ways is verbally. Repeat the phrase, ‘Don’t do this’ three times in a row. The microphone will pick it up and we’ll come for you. In most situations where you’d need us to come in, saying that three times wouldn’t seem too out of context.”

“Sure,” Riel said, tugging at her hair. She imagined Isaias backing her against the wall with a gun to her head.

“You can also dial three-three-three-pound if you need help,” Chris continued. “That will bring backup immediately. And there’s also these.” He reached into his satchel again and came out with a small box.

Riel took it from him, and opened it. Inside were a pair of round earrings; they looked like onyx set in white gold.

“For me? You shouldn’t have,” she said.

Chris grinned wryly. “They’re cameras. Each one has a tiny lens behind the ‘stone.’ If you get into trouble, we’ll probably be able to see that and make the call whether we should come in. But you can also alert us by tapping on one of the earrings, two sets of three taps.
Tap, tap, tap, pause, tap, tap, tap.
Got it?”

Riel nodded, tapping on her earlobes.

“The battery pack is hidden in the setting and should be good for several months,” Chris said. “Hopefully this mission won’t take longer than a few days, but if things go haywire and it ends up taking longer, we’ll work something out to get you replacements.”

Riel pulled the earrings from their case, turning them over in her hands. The bases were very thick, and they were heavier than she expected. Her spine seared with adrenaline when she thought of what was to come. Would she have the courage to pull this off? She didn’t know.

And what if it really did drag on for months? Could she stand it?

She felt a hand on her knee, and looked up into Evan’s green eyes.

Riel squared her shoulders and smiled at him, and he smiled back hesitantly.
I can do this. I’ll do it for him, so we can be together happily ever after.

She picked up the phone again. “I’m going to call Isaias now. Is that okay?”

Officer Norton and Chris exchanged a glance, and Evan’s hand tightened on her knee.

“Now?” Evan said. “Not now, Riel. You have to give this more thought.”

Riel shook her head. “No, I don’t. I know what I’m going to say, and if I put it off, I’m just going to have time to over-think it and get scared.”

Evan winced with pain as he leaned towards her. “Riel—”

“I’ve got to do this, Evan. It’s the only way. And it’s better to just get it over with than sit around worrying about it.”

They exchanged a long look. Finally, he nodded, and she thought she saw him blinking away tears.

Riel took a deep breath and picked up the phone. She glanced up at Chris, who was looking at her proudly. “It has a San Diego area code?” she asked. “This phone?”

“Yes. It’ll come up on caller ID just like any other phone from this area. It won’t say ‘FBI Informant,’ we promise,” he said dryly, grinning.

She stared down at the screen. Luckily, she had Isaias’ number memorized from all that time in prison, when his was the only number he’d wanted her to call. Her fingers trembled as she dialed it, and she had to backspace a couple of times.

She gulped air as it rang. Would he answer if he didn’t recognize the number? Maybe, or maybe not. Should she leave a message?

After the fourth ring, when she was beginning to lose hope, there was a click, then a pause. “Hello?”

Riel felt sweat pop out on her forehead, her stomach lurching dangerously. She hadn’t realized how much she hated hearing his voice. “Isaias?”

The line rumbled as he snorted into the receiver. “Is this
Riel?
”

“Y-yes.”

“I can’t fucking believe it. How do you have the guts to call me?”

She clutched the phone in her sweaty palm. “Isaias, I—”

“You really think you can come crawling back after you fucked up so bad, ditched me for that dipshit
joto
you’re all wet for? No way, Riel.
Vete a la chingada.
”

She half expected him to hang up, but he didn’t; she could still hear him breathing on the other end. For all his bluster, he wanted to hear what she had to say, and she gathered courage from that.

“Isaias, it’s not like you think,” she said. Her voice shook, and she let it. “I was pissed off at you, I’ll admit it, but I didn’t actually want to leave. I didn’t want it to turn out like this.”

“What bullshit is this?
Que soy menso
? You really think I’ll believe you?”

“Please, just listen.”

“I’m listening, Riel. Go ahead and say your lies.”

She squeezed Evan’s hand, trying to bring her heartbeat under control. “After you and I got in that fight, I ran out of there. I was pissed off. I wasn’t really thinking. I found some guy on the street, borrowed his phone, and called Evan.”

“You weren’t thinking, all right,” Isaias said.

“What was I supposed to do? You think I wanted to go back there? You
hit
me, Isaias! You were being a total
puto.
”

Her heart pounded in her ears at the silence on the other end. Evan and the two cops were looking at her wide-eyed. This was a gamble, maybe, but this act wouldn’t be believable if she weren’t pissed off.

“Maybe I overreacted a little,” Isaias finally said. “But after the bitchy things you said…”

“I shouldn’t have said them. But I didn’t want to work there. I didn’t want to be a whore. And you’re my sister’s husband, Isaias. I love Lizette more than anything in the world, and how do you think it makes me feel that I want…” Riel swallowed the vomit that crept up her throat. “I mean, I can’t fuck you no matter how much…” Evan’s jaw twitched and he clutched her hand so hard it hurt, but she rolled her eyes at him.

Isaias was silent for a moment, and when he spoke there was a sly smile in his voice. “I knew you wanted it,” he said. “I knew you were just
haciendote la dura.
”

“It would be wrong, Isaias. And how could you even want me? You have Lizette, and she’s so much prettier. She’s always been the pretty one.”

“No, Riel,” Isaias purred. “Don’t get me wrong, your sister is beautiful, but you’re so much hotter. Those luscious tits of yours, and that round little ass. Come back to me, Riel, and I’ll show you how gorgeous I think you are.”

“But my sister…”

“What she doesn’t know won’t hurt her. Besides, you’d be doing her a favor. With the kids, she’s too tired to fuck anyway.”

Riel winced. “I want to come back,” she said. “Will you promise not to hit me anymore?”

“I’ll be gentle, Riel, I promise. I’ll be real gentle, until you tell me you want it harder.”

She fought back her nausea. “Really? You’ll take me back? And you’ll be nice? Because I don’t want to stay here anymore.”

A note of curiosity tempered his sickeningly flirtatious tone. “Why? What’s going on there? They treating you bad?”

She met Evan’s eyes, trying to give him a reassuring look. “Evan’s got me working for some asshole named Mishmash, but it’s a bad scene. We got shot at. Evan and Mishmash got hurt bad. They missed me, but now the police are all up in our shit. The guy doesn’t have it together, and I’m…it’s scary. I don’t think I can take it anymore.”

Isaias laughed. “Mishmash, huh? I’d wondered where you’d gone.” Riel chewed her lip.
Yeah, right, you wondered.
“That guy’s a loser, Riel,” Isaias said. “You’re gonna end up dead working for that
vato.
”

“Yeah, I know,” Riel said. “And both he and Evan are being dicks. They want me to do…a bunch of stuff that I don’t want to do, like I’m their little bitch or something.”

“Aw, babe, come back home. I promise I’ll take good care of you.”

“Really? Will you take me back?”

“Yeah. I’ll treat you like a princess. None of that getting shot at crap. You know I’ve got my business in hand up here.”

Riel wiped the sweat from her neck. “Okay, but I’ll need money to come up. They’re not letting me keep any money.”

“I’ll buy you a ticket,” he said. “No worries.”

“Thank you, Isaias.” She took a deep breath. “And I think I have something else that will make me coming back worth your while.”

There was a moment of silence. “Oh, really?”

Riel smiled to herself and closed her eyes, imagining Isaias getting the shit beat out of him in prison.