Page 19 of Traitor

And as I listened to the sets of footsteps tear down the hallway, I braced myself for the trials to come.

While trying to formulate a plan on how to get the fuck out of here.

9

Mateo

I sighedas I stared at the ceiling, feeling my wife’s legs intertwined with mine. I hated nights like this. I hated the nights where she expected me to be home and I had to put up with her incessant need to wear perfume and bras wherever she went. She wasn’t even that comfortable, what with her bony stature and her useless stick-figure-like features.

I missed the comfort of Char’s excess more than I cared to admit.

Nonetheless, when my phone started lighting up I almost leapt for it. I reached over and rolled away from Rosana, feeling her come with me as her arm slid around my waist. I tried not to shiver in disgust at her touch, especially with her cold and clammy hands.

But, when I saw who was calling, I threw the covers of my body.

“Mateo?” she asked with a groan.

I didn’t bother answering her. “What is it?”

The head of my security was panting on the other end of the line. “Sir, I mean, Mr. Emi--.”

The sound of gunfire cut him off and I rushed over to my closet.

“Where are you and why? I’m on my way,” I said.

“No! Don’t do that, sir! Sorry, but your warehouse is under attack!”

Repeated gunfire and yelling battered against my ear as I quickly threw on some clothes. And when I turned around, I saw Rosana tightening her robe around her waist.

“Something wrong?” she asked.

I narrowed my eyes. “How long has this been going on?”

I heard the head of my security grunt. “Just happened, sir! Uh, it’s… shit.”

I walked over and reached for my keys and my wallet. “It’s what? Talk to me, damn it!”

I felt Rosana’s eyes on me as I shoved everything I needed into my pockets.

“It’s Lorenzo’s men! And they’ve come armed with a—get down! Everybody get down!”

I didn’t have to see the gun to know what kind it was. A mounted machine gun started obliterating everything on the other end of the line. I heard men crying out for help and gurgling on their own blood while mine boiled in my veins. I heard the head of my security dragging bodies across the floor and trying to keep me updated, even though they were bogged down and unable to defend themselves.

“Which warehouse?” I asked.

I heard him coughing. “Southern interior. Near the docks. They were waiting for us, sir. They were perch—fuck!”

I pulled my phone away from my ear and quickly typed a message off to my driver. I’d have to pay him overtime and a half for this shit, but I needed to get over there sooner rather than later. And after shooting the message off, I put the phone back to my ear.

“Do what you can do take cover, I’m on my way,” I said.

“Sir, I can’t advise you to—No! Don’t!”

The line went dead and I cursed beneath my breath. I jammed my phone into my pocket and didn’t bother addressing Rosana as I rushed out of the bedroom. Down the stairs I went, taking them two at a time as I saw my driver pull up to the front door. On the nights I spent with my wife, my driver stayed in the guesthouse so that I could get away at the drop of a hat.

But, when I reached for the front door, I heard Rosana giggling.

“You can’t even keep your own warehouse from being attacked, Mateo. What makes you think you going there to get yourself killed is going to help?”