Chapter 2: Escape
It was his sixth birthday. It was supposed to be a good day. It was also his sister's sixteenth birthday. It was supposed to be a good day for her too. But it wasn't. It was the worst day of his young life.
Father had gathered the whole family onto a big plane and flown them all here to this big house in Venezuela. Angie looked really pretty in her white dress, but she was so sad. Little Kurz had always thought that weddings were supposed to be happy events.
"Vincent!" Eleanor shouted at him when she had found him hiding under one of the pews in the church. He hated that name. Vincent was his middle name, but only Angela ever called him Kurz.
"Yes, ma'am," he said as politely as he could after crawling out.
"Come here, and don't leave my side. Do you hear me?"
He nodded. Oh how he hated his stepmother! She was always mean to Angela and himself. Never in his young life had he seen her smile.
> > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > >
Angela fought the fear and anger with every ounce of her strength. Fear of what her new husband would do to her tonight and anger at her father for selling her off to the highest bidder. Worst of all, she would be separated from her little brother.
It wasn't fair! On her tenth birthday, Angela had been there when Kurz was born to Natalie Weber, one of Luciano Rizetti's three mistresses. As her mother lay dying after the birth, she begged Angela to always protect her baby brother no matter what. Was she breaking that promise now? Father had said he would kill Kurz if she disobeyed him, but would he really? It didn't matter. She was now the property of Carlos Espinosa, and there was nothing she could do to change that.
"You don't look happy, my dear," Espinosa whispered into her ear.
She forced herself not to flinch. "I don't want to leave my brother," she said quietly.
He chuckled. "Don't worry, child. I'm planning a trip to America later this year to finalize the deal with your father. If you behave yourself, I might take you with me."
She said nothing. So this is what it's going to be. A lifetime of bullying and manipulating until my soul is broken.
"At any rate," he continued, "I have a gift for you."
She looked up at him in surprise.
He chuckled again as he gestured to the man standing behind him.
Local peasant stock, she surmised. She guessed his age to be around twenty. He probably wasn't very bright, but he would be utterly loyal to his master.
"His name is Alejandro. He is your bodyguard. He will be yours to command unless, of course, you ask him to violate orders that I have given him."
"I understand," she said quietly. "Thank you, sir."
"'Sir!' You need not be so formal with me, child. You are my wife. You may call me Carlos."
"Carlos."
"Good." He turned to her new bodyguard. "My wife's safety is your number one priority, Alejandro."
Allejandro nodded curtly. "It is my honor to protect her for you."
From that moment on, Alejandro was a constant presence. He never intruded, but he was always near.
> > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > >
Six months is forever when you're only six years old. But that was how long it had been since Kurz had seen his sister, and now, she was coming home for a visit. She was even going to stay with them!
Father had brought him with to meet her at the airport. She was much prettier than he remembered. Despite the warm day, thought, she wore a silk scarf around her neck and long sleeves. She still looked sad, but as soon as she saw him, her face lit up. Dropping her dignity, she shouted his name and ran to him. Without waiting for permission, Kurz took off to meet her. He gave her the biggest hug he could, and she returned it in full. "I missed you, little brother."
"I missed you too."
Even though he was a "big boy" and should have long since grown out of such things, Angie picked him up and carried him over to their father. It was the happiest moment he had experienced since she'd left. She set him down when she stopped, and he clung to her hand, hoping he would never have to let go.
"You're looking well, Angelina," Father said cordially.
"Thank you, father."
"Who's your friend?" he asked indicating the stern-looking man who stood behind her.
"My most faithful bodyguard."
"Is he any good? I'd hate to think of my only daughter in the hands of an amateur."
"He serves his master well."
Father nodded in reply, then walked toward the plane to greet his guest. "Carlos!"
"Angie?" Kurz said when they were alone. "Are you home for good now?"
She shook her head sadly. "I'm afraid not, munchkin. I'm only here for a few days."
Kurz began to pout.
"Don't worry, kiddo. We'll spend as much time together as we possibly can."
> > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > >
After six months, the thought of lying with a man of fifty three was still repulsive, but she endured. She coped by sending her mind elsewhere—sometimes to childhood daydreams, to movies she had seen or books she had read. Other times she would simply listen to the voices that occasionally whispered in her mind. Tonight, she retreated into her memory.
"Alejandro," she said quietly, as she always did when she wished to engage her watchdog in conversation.
"Yes, Senora?"
"My husband has ordered you to protect me above all else." She paused, but, as was often the case, he didn't reply. "Would that include protecting me from him?" She looked up at him to catch his reaction. "If the need were ever to arise."
"It is my duty and my privilege to protect you, Senora. But your husband would not harm you. He treasures you…"
"My husband cares nothing for me!" she interrupted sharply, looking away.
"Senor Espinosa is a wise…"
"My husband is a fool. He has no idea the value of the gem he purchased from my father. If he did, I would not now be languishing here in this gilded prison."
"You have a beautiful home, Senora, and many servants. You are free to ride your horse every day. Your husband gives you many expensive gifts. It is nothing like any prison I have ever known.
"A cage made of gold, my friend, is still a cage."
He remained silent, and she was content with that. His presence was always comforting to her in her loneliness.
Carlos finished with her and, as was his habit, promptly rolled over and went to sleep. Angela waited until she heard him snoring before quietly slipping out into the hallway. To her surprise, she saw Alejandro dozing in a chair outside the door. She stepped into the corridor and gently pulled the door closed behind her. The sound was enough to rouse him. "Senora?"
She put a finger to her lips to silence him. "I just wanted to check on my brother," she whispered. "I haven't seen him in so long."
"I've been ordered to keep you here, Senora. Your husband believes you may try to escape."
"I'll try nothing of the sort." It wasn't really a lie. She had every intention of succeeding.
"Very well," he replied as though not believing her. "I will accompany you."
She nodded and led him to Kurz' room. "Please wait out here. I don't want you to frighten him."
"Of course, Senora."
He took up a guard posture while she slipped inside the small bedroom, closing the door behind her.
She crossed the space, which was well lit by nightlights, in a heartbeat. Kurz looked like a little angel asleep in his bed. With one hand, she gently shook him, while keeping the other ready to cover his mouth if he screamed. "Kurz," she whispered to rouse him.
Slowly, he opened his eyes. "Angie?" he said loudly, making her jump.
"Sh! You must be very quiet now, Kurz. You and I are leaving tonight."
"Really?" he whispered excitedly.
She nodded. "Do you remember the bag I gave you to hide in here before I left?"
"Uh huh."
"I need you to get it for me, while I pack some clothes for you."
> > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > >
Kurz was overjoyed. He and Angie were going away forever. It would be just the two of them from now on. By the time he had gotten her bag out of its hiding place, she had another bag filled with some of his clothes and his most favorite toys.
"OK. Get dressed." She handed him a pair of jeans and a T-shirt, which he quickly put on, and then she dressed herself. "Now we just have to climb out the window. We're on the first floor, so it'll be easy."
He simply nodded, just then beginning to get scared.
"I'll go first. Then I'll help you out, OK?"
He didn't get a chance to answer as the door burst open. "There you are, you little slut! I thought you might try something foolish while you were here."
"I'm leaving, Carlos," she said, sounding as scared a Kurz felt. "You can't stop me."
He barked out a short laugh as he crossed the room to her. He grabbed her roughly, causing her to gasp in pain. Kurz was frozen to the spot as the man began to hit her as hard as he could. In his terror, Kurz never saw Allejandro enter the room. Suddenly, the big man pulled Carlos away from Angela and threw him down onto the bed. Alejandro's enormous hands encircled the other man's neck, crushing it until Carlos moved no more.
"Alejandro?" Angela said shakily.
"It is my first duty to protect you from all danger. Including your husband, Senora." He turned his head to look at the dead man lying on the bed and then back to Angela. "Senorita."
Angela began to shake. Kurz' paralysis left him, and he rushed to her side. "Angie!"
> > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > >
Angela willed herself back under control for her brother's sake and hugged him tightly. She was not quite able to believe what she had just witnessed. Alejandro had lashed out against his master for her sake. When he had called her "Senorita", it was the first time that she realized he had fallen in love with her.
"Senorita," he said quietly. "We cannot stay here."
"Right," she answered, regaining her calm. "Out the window."
"Your father's security?"
"The appropriate men have already been bribed."
"Good. Let's go."
An hour later, they found themselves outside the bus depot. Alejandro pulled a fat wad of bills from his pocket. "Take this, Senorita. It should be enough to take you anywhere in the country."
"What about you?" Angela asked, not really wanting to leave him.
"We should not stay together. They will be looking for us."
"Where will you go?"
He smiled crookedly at her. "I have friends who will hide me."
Angela reached up and kissed him on the cheek. "Be safe, dear friend."
Gently, he took her hand and kissed it. "Farewell, Senorita." Then he vanished into the night.
"What do we do now?" Kurz asked when he had gone.
She looked down at her brother and smiled. "We get on a bus and get the hell out of New York."
"Angie! You said a swear!"
She chuckled. How odd it felt to laugh after so long. "You're right. I did. I'll just have to figure out a way to punish myself, huh?"
Kurz giggled. "That's silly!"
She laughed with him and then sighed. "Are you ready to go, munchkin?"
"Oh yeah! But where are we going?"
"I don't know. Anywhere but here."