No One to Trust - Iris Johansen [60]
Galen’s phone rang.
She tensed.
“Easy.” He punched the answer button. “Galen.”
Elena could feel his muscles tauten. “No way. Talk to me.”
“Who is it?” she asked.
“Chavez.”
She went cold. “He wants to talk to me?”
He nodded. “But we’re not going to give him what he wants. You don’t have to talk to him.”
“Yes, I do. Give me the phone.”
“I can deal with him.”
“Give me the phone.”
He hesitated and then handed it to her. “Two minutes and then you hang up.”
She scarcely heard him. “I’m here, Chavez.”
“I need to know where here is, Elena. You’ve been leading me on a chase.”
He sounded so close, as if he was only yards, not hundreds of miles, away. He’s not close, she told herself. He can’t hurt me. He can’t hurt Barry or Galen. “Go home, Chavez. You’re not going to find us.”
“Your voice is shaking, Elena. You’re afraid, aren’t you?”
“I’m not afraid of you.”
“You’re lying. I always knew when you were afraid. It always made the contests more interesting. Because you were fighting yourself as well as me. But the fear won out, didn’t it? In the end I beat you.”
“You didn’t beat me.”
“Of course I did.”
“I pretended, you son of a bitch. And you were so conceited you were fooled.”
A silence. “That’s not the truth.”
“Yes, it is. Can’t you tell the truth when you hear it?”
“You puta.”
“No, you wanted to break me and make me your whore, but I didn’t let you. You lost, Chavez.”
She could feel his anger vibrating through the phone. “If you’re telling the truth, that only makes me want to find you all the more. We have unfinished business. I’m almost as eager to get my hands on you as I am to find my son. You remember what it felt like to have my hands on you?”
The ropes cutting into her wrists, his hands running over her body. Don’t think about it. “I’ve forgotten. And you’ll never get Barry.”
“I’m going to change his name. I’ll give him mine. Little Rico.”
“No.”
“Yes. After all, he’s my child. I’ll be the one who tells him what to do or not do.”
Smother the fear and the anger. “Why did you want to talk to me? You don’t actually think I’m going to tell you anything.”
“I wanted to hear your voice. It brings back such pleasant memories.” He paused. “And I have someone here who wants to hear your voice too. I’m giving the phone to him now.”
“Elena?”
Oh, my God. She closed her eyes. “Luis.”
“You’ve got to do what he says.” Her brother’s voice was broken. “I can’t stand any more pain. He says he’ll kill me.”
“Why should I care? You betrayed me, Luis. You told Chavez about Barry.”
“I couldn’t help it. I was hurting. I needed a hit. Dominic shouldn’t have told me. He kept it from me all these years. He shouldn’t have told me. I didn’t want to do it.”
“But you did it. You didn’t care about me or Dominic or Barry. All you cared about were those damn drugs.” She blinked back tears. “Well, I can’t care what happens to you now. I have to worry about the people you served up to Chavez.”
“You do care.” His voice was desperate. “Remember when we were children? All the good times … Help me, Elena.”
“By giving up my son? You’ve got to be crazy.”
“I couldn’t help what I did. You were always the strong one. You never understood. I can’t stand pain, Elena. They’ll hurt me.”
“I’m sorry, Luis,” she whispered. “I can’t help you.”
“You have to—”
He broke off as Chavez took the phone.
“What a hard woman you are, Elena,” Chavez said. “He really sounds pitiful. Doesn’t he touch your heart?”
“You might as well let him go.” She tried to steady her voice. “What made you think I’d give up Barry for a man who betrayed me? Do you think I have any feeling left for him?”
“I thought it was possible. You’re an unusual woman, but surely you have a certain softness for the brother you grew up with. You shared danger and good times. Yes, you probably