Thank you to the reviewers once more! I tend to forget so please keep reminding me if you're interested in reading this!

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CHAPTER 6

After that everything was hazy. Lina fell down on the bed and fought to keep her eyes open. Her eyelids were incredibly heavy, but she forced them to stay open when she saw two men entering the room. Their figures were all foggy and she couldn't see what they looked like, but she heard them speaking Spanish. She saw them grab Sands who was lying on the floor, apparently passed out. The other man began to drag him out of the room and the second man said something pointing to her. He came closer and foggily Lina thought she had to make a run for it, but she was too tired to even move a muscle. When she felt his hand closing around her arm, she slipped into complete darkness.

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Lina woke up to someone shaking her slightly. She opened her eyes slowly and saw Sands sitting across the room on a chair. He was awake, but it only a second for Lina to notice that his hands were tied behind his back. She also noticed they weren't in room number 7 anymore, they were now in the backroom next to the reception counter.

"Ah, sleeping beauty awakes!" she heard someone say and turned to look at the speaker. It was a fairly tall, strong build Mexican who didn't look too pleasant. Next to him was another man. He was shorter and leaner and had long, black, dirty hair that hung over his face. He had a sleeveless shirt and she saw his arms were full of tattoos. Those were the men she saw in the room, but there was a third man in the room too. It was Raulo. He was sitting by a table nearby and was smirking at Lina. She tried to move her hands but noticed they had been tied like Sands'.
What was going on? Who were those men and what did they want?

"So gringo, you really thought you could get away with our money?" the tall man spoke to Sands. "I can assure you it won't be that easy."

Lina connected the two dots and came to the conclusion that these must have been the guys who had followed them while she was locked up in the trunk.

"But it was close though wasn't it?" Sands said in a calm tone. "If it weren't for my little friend here", he nodded toward Raulo, "I would have been long gone by tomorrow."

When he said that, Lina realized something and remembered their sudden passing out right after their dinner. "You put something in the wine!" she said accusingly to Raulo. She gave herself a mental kick in the ass for drinking the wine. Sure, what was the harm…

"Smart girl", Raulo said in a sarcastic tone. "Just my little version of a genie in a bottle. Makes you feel all nice and relaxed, doesn't it?"

She stared at him in disbelief. She had thought he and Sands were friends. Why had he done something like this?

"I'm really quite disappointed in you Raulo", Sands said. His voice stayed light like he was talking about the weather.

Raulo shrugged. "Well, like I said, business is slow. And a man needs to make a living. Nothing personal, amigo."

Lina had come to know Sands during the last days well enough to see that he was mad as hell. But he covered it nicely.
"Alright, I admit it; you've got me", he said smiling and shrugging in defeat. "Why don't you just take the money and we'll be fair and square."

"Fair and square?" the smaller of the two men asked, "I don't think so", he said shaking his head and smiling. "I mean you won't be having the money or your pretty girl here but… I'm not quite satisfied with that." Lina's eyes widened when he pulled out a gun pointing it at Sands. All her reasonable thinking abilities just seemed to seize to exist when she was around guns.

"As a matter of fact, I don't think I'll be satisfied until I see you dead", he continued. He was standing now closer to Sands pointing the gun right to his head. Sands didn't show any signs of being intimidated. And he probably wasn't intimidated so easily. From earlier events she had gathered he was used to living on the edge of a razorblade. But she wasn't, and she was scared enough for the both of them.

"What about the girl?" Raulo's voice interrupted suddenly. "Could I keep her?"

Not believing her ears she turned to look at him and then at the tall man. He was staring at her. What did Raulo mean by keeping her?

"Si, you can keep her. Consider it a part of your reward", he then laughed. The man with the gun was looking at her now too.

Keep her? They couldn't do this! When Raulo stepped up and pulled her up on her feet, she gave a desperate look to Sands. He looked at the girl with his face un-motionless.

Lina had time to wonder if he was going to do something or just sit there and get killed, before Raulo pushed her against the table.

"Come here, beautiful. I've got you all to myself now and I promise you we'll have a good time", he said and then his lips were on her mouth. By now it was certain what his intentions concerning her were.

Lina tried to wiggle away and squeeze her mouth shut but he forced it open and sneaked his tongue inside. He tasted bad; almost like a rat had died in his mouth. His hands went to her behind and he pulled her so close that Lina could feel the bulge in his pants. She could see the other men behind him, now both laughing at her humiliation.

But while their attention was focused on the couple, Sands had somehow managed to free his hands. The man who was pointing the gun at him was now standing with his back turned to him. Quick as a panther Sands jumped up from the chair, put his arm around his throat strangling him and grabbed the gun from his hand. The other man turned around when he heard it and Sands pulled the trigger hitting him in the chest.

He fell to the ground.

Sands pushed away the guy he was strangling taking his gun and shooting him as well.
Meanwhile, Raulo had released his hold on Lina and was making a run for it. Sands let him run a while. It was like a cat playing with a mouse, he knew he couldn't escape. Then he shot him, sinking a bullet in his leg. Raulo fell to the ground yelling from pain and grabbing his injured leg.

Lina stared horrified at the two motionless bodies on the floor. She had never seen people being killed before. Blood from the taller man's wound was spreading on the carpet, soaking into it. The other man had taken a clean shot right between his eyes.

Lina didn't even notice she had fallen on her knees while observing the slaughter.

Sands was pulling the rest of the rope off of his hands. "Bloody idiots, don't know how to tie a rope", he mumbled to no one in particular.
Like in slow motion Lina saw the tall man laying on the ground suddenly lift his hand. He still had his gun in his hand and he was pointing it straight at Sands' back.

"Look out!" she heard herself scream.

Sands heard her warning call and turned around. He didn't have time to dodge and the bullet hit his side. He staggered back a step or two but quickly recovered his balance. The man on the floor had lowered his gun. Apparently he didn't have any strength left to shoot again. Sands gave him a murdering look and then aimed the gun at him.

"Can't you", a shot echoed, "even", he fired another shot, "die!" The man's body twitched with every bullet that penetrated his skin. Lina startled with every fired shot.

Sands gave her a quick smirk. "Thanks for the heads up, darling."
He slowly made his way to Raulo, who now being unable to walk was trying to crawl away. He stopped when Sands pointed the gun at his face.

"Where are you going Raulo?" he said with a playful voice. "I thought you wanted the girl?"

Raulo looked up at Sands. Fear was shining from his eyes.
"Oh no, no! Of course not! I was only… joking!" he tried to laugh, but failed miserably.

"Joking?" Sands said tilting his head to the other side "So you were joking when you were kissing and touching her?"

"Si, si! Only joking" Raulo nodded quickly.

"And I guess you were only joking too when you told those rats we were here?" Sands said pointing his head toward the dead bodies.

"No! Please, I only did it because I need the money for my family!"

"Raulo", Sands shook his head, "it's me you're talking to. You're ex-wife and kids are living with a wealthy man now, doing very well. You haven't paid one peso of child support in your life."

There was a small pause before Raulo spoke again.
"Okay! So I needed the money for myself, alright. I'll admit it. I'm sorry! Please, please don't shoot me! We have been friends in the past…" He kept rambling on and pleading.

Sands just looked at him for a long time.

"Alright Raulo", Sands finally said. "I won't shoot you, on the account of our friendship. Unlike you, I respect my friends". It was a comment that would've made Lina raise her eyebrows, if she hadn't been so upset.

"Gracias, amigo, gracias!" A relieved look fell on Raulo's face. "God bless you!"

"Now I want the money they gave you for ratting me out and everything you have in the safe", Sands ordered.

"All?" The relief in him changed into disappointment. "But, but… that's everything I have!"

"I already said I won't shoot you. Which one do you prefer, die rich or live poor?" Sands asked raising the gun again.

"Okay, okay, I get the point!" he said quickly. "The money is behind the counter and the key to the safe is in the cash register."

"See, I knew you'd come to your senses", Sands said with a small smile and tucked his gun away.

Instead of going to the counter Sands walked to the bodies of the two men, searched their wallets and took all the money in them. Thief all the way.

Then he turned to Lina, helped her up and removed the ropes. Lina still stared at the bodies in total shock. He caught her attention by grabbing her chin and turning her face to his.

"Now, you be a good girl and go get our stuff from the room. Take it to the car and wait there." His voice was gentle, almost like he was giving simple orders to a child. "Can you do that Lina?"

Relieved that she wouldn't have to stay in the same room with the dead men, she nodded and headed to room 7. The door was open and she went in. The food tray was still on the table and the empty wine bottle was lying on the floor. Focusing a sudden anger rush on it she kicked it across the room.

As fast as possible she gathered up all their stuff and carried it to the car. She didn't even glance to the backroom that she had pass on her way out. She put the bags in the trunk suddenly remembering that it hadn't been long since she had been the one shoved in there. Now she had just helped the man who had done it? But it had been her life in stake too. She hadn't wanted to stay there with Raulo and his bad breath, had she? Maybe it was better to just do like he had said and wait in the car.

After five or so anxious minutes Sands came walking from the motel carrying a suitcase. He threw it in the trunk and sat on the driver's seat. He started the car. "Damn that suitcase is getting heavy!"

That was no wonder. He had probably gotten a nice sum from Raulo plus the money he had stolen from the men earlier. And speaking of Raulo…

"Is Raulo still alive?" she asked carefully. Sands turned to look at her.

"Yes. I said I wouldn't shoot him, didn't I?"

Lina was surprised that he was letting him get away relatively easily. He had betrayed him, and after all he didn't seem like a very forgiving man.

Lina turned to look back at the motel, and just then there was a big explosion and she screamed. The motel was blasted into a million pieces right in front of her eyes.

She gasped in horror. The building was on fire and burning debris was flying everywhere. She stared at the destruction and then turned to Sands who had a big grin on his face.

"But I never said anything about blowing up." He touched his forehead as a salute to the review mirror. "Adios, amigo."

Lina turned to face the road ahead of them. She felt a little sorry for Raulo even though he had been a real bastard. But only a little sorry. Apparently Sands had a bad effect on her.

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R&R please!