Page 187 of Embriagado
Stupid little girl.
Until now, apart from a single mistake that was caught prematurely, there had been no intruders at my parties, and tonight, not one but three people who weren’t supposed to be here got in. First the brothers, now her—
“How old are you?”
“Twenty-two.”
I sighed.
“How old are you really?”
“T-twenty.”
For God’s sake.
My first and nonnegotiable rule was no underage people under any circumstances. Therefore, I had no doubt she’d snuck in somehow.
“What name did you use to get in here?”
She swallowed hard. “M-Martina.”
I poked the inside of my cheek, waiting for her to speak more.
“S-she’s my friend, and s-she had a change of heart at the last minute, so—” Her breath shuddered. “—I took her invitation. I’m so sorry.” She started crying again. “I had no idea what kind of a party this was.”
My jaw ticked. “And what kind of party would that be?”
Her eyes went wide before she quickly shook her head. “I swear, I’ll say nothing.” She pressed her hands in front of her. “Please, I just want to go home to my mom.”
I pushed back from my table and circled it. “Are you close to your mom?”
“No.”
“So why did you bring her up?”
“I don’t know.” Her voice wavered. “I guess I want to see her.”
Looking at my desk drawer, where I kept my gun, I reminded myself of the rules.
No second chances.
No loose ends.
No empathy.
My hand was already brushing the drawer’s handle when I remembered Santiago’s stupid smile, along with my promise to him. Feeling as if something had died in my mouth, I forced the taste down and walked back to the girl, crouching in front of her.
“What’s your mom’s name?”
“M-Maria.”
My eyes focused on her long, dark hair that clung to her cheek, right where she had a big bruise, probably from the beating she suffered. I then glanced down her body, taking in the choke marks around her neck and the bruises on her knees.
“If I let you go now, will you tell Maria what happened tonight?”
Pressing her pink lips together, she quickly shook her head. “No.”
“Do you promise?”
