Today's weather reflected my mood – cloudy and grey.
The gang had taken us to some docks where 2 gaunt and creepy looking Hispanic men waited for us with yellow stained grins.
I gulped when one of them in a straw brimmed sunhat and smoking a cigar made eye contact with me.
"Buenos días, amigos!" He greeted us. "It has been a while, has it not?"
"Far too long, Alvaro. You haven't met our old friend, Nigel and his woman! We haven't seen in him nearly 4 years." Pedro grinned. "It's almost like a reunion!"
Alvaro looked towards me and Ranger and grinned hungrily before addressing the man next to him. "Gilberto, Podríamos tener suerte esta semana…"
I didn't know what he had said but Ranger pulled me behind him and kept a firm grip on my wrist.
From the corner of my eye, I noticed Ezio and Pedro eyeing us before glancing at each other. I was starting to lose faith in my little fairy tale I had told Ezio in the kitchen yesterday.
"Have you got what we asked for?" Cortez asked stepping closer to them.
Gilberto snickered. "Yes, but with something else that is even better! An orphanage accidently burnt to the ground last Sunday. None of the Children were harmed but we have them all sleeping below deck!"
It took everything I had not to burst into tears as I remembered Pedro telling me about the addict's nieces they had sold.
However Cortez, Pedro and Ezio didn't look very excited about the news.
"Joderidiota!" Ezio snarled. "What are we supposed to do with a bunch of brats?!"
"It will take weeks, if not, months to sell them! And where are we supposed to keep them during that time?"
Alvaro and Gilberto didn't seem happy with the response they received as they scowled at the 3 of them.
Alvaro opened his mouth but Ranger jumped in before he could speak. "How old are the children? I actually need a few for…labour matters, at whatever cost."
The men glanced at each other.
"How old do you need them to be?" Asked Gilberto.
Ranger shrugged. "Old enough to walk and talk."
They both grinned. "The youngest in there are four or five years old and the oldest are barely teenagers."
"How many children are there all together?"
"15. And they're all in the boat."
My body went cold and hollow as I felt my heart break. I stared at Ranger who was smiling calmly. "Name your price."
.
Ranger, Gilberto and Alvaro negotiated in Spanish so I couldn't pick up on what they were saying. It took them about 15 minutes to finally agree on a price. By the way the crooks grinned at each other, the final amount sounded higher than they had anticipated.
"I will have one of my men come to take them to my headquarters." He said before taking out his cell phone and punching in a number.
Alvaro and Gilberto laughed and clapped each other's hands together before jumping aboard the boat to lift a wooden crate on to the dock.
Cortez and Ezio walked over and picked it up before heaving it towards the car. Pedro opened the trunk and they all threw it inside; grinning at each other.
"Santos." I turned around while feeling my eyes widen in disbelief. "I need you to come over and pick something up for me. "
Wait a second…Santos? As in, Lester Santos?!
Ranger glared at the ground as he listened on the phone. "Yes, 95k. No more, no less."
$95000 for 15 children? If my math skills were correct that would have been about $6000 per kid!
"Excellent. But you better make sure none escape."
Ranger buying orphaned children? It was like an oxymoron; those words could never fit together to make that sentence!
Oh God…Please don't let it be true…Please tell me that Ranger isn't enforcing child labour and trafficking…
I remembered the offences…it was no mistaking that Nigel Sarbello's name was definitely on that list….
.
.
.
We were all in the car on the way back to the villa where Ranger had me leant against him with his arm across my chest.
Before leaving the docks, we waited for about an hour and a half until Lester appeared.
From where? Beats the hell out of me!
He wasn't dressed in his Rangeman uniform; he was in a black dress shirt and blue jeans with a large gold cross hanging from his neck.
I had tried my best to catch his attention but he acted as though I was invisible by walking straight passed me.
He exchanged a few words with Alvaro and Gilberto before looking at Ranger, who gave a single nod, and went aboard the boat with them.
Ranger shifted me towards the car before I could see them speed off across the water.
There was no denying it now.
My Ranger was gone.
I don't think he even existed.
My memories of our first night together back in Trenton played through my head. It was the same night he had told me to go back to Morelli- saying that I was safer with him.
He must have used that as an excuse to use me.
Looking back, I must have been so gullible to fall for his charms.
When Pedro said they hadn't seen him for 4 years, he must have been using that time to build my trust because he figured that he had found the perfect woman; stupid and naïve enough to take with him to prevent them all from going homo.
But the week and half?
I could only justify that it was the time I had left.
What else could it be?
They hadn't done anything to me yet but I knew I had to keep my guard up.
.
.
The crate dropped with a loud thud against the marble floor of the living room.
Cortez stabbed a crowbar between the lid and the base and yanked them apart with a violent thrust. Pedro threw the lid aside and we all crowded around to look inside. It was filled to the brink with packets of marijuana leaves.
Ezio picked up a packet and inhaled it; his eyes nearly rolling back into his head. "Ahhhh!" He sighed. "The true smell of success and money!"
They all laughed as the second crate was opened. This one was filled with weapons. I could only name 2; a few flamethrowers and medieval looking maces.
They started to take out heavy guns that looked as though could shoot about a million bullets at once and weird metal shapes with jagged edges. I think I had seen things like that on TV but I couldn't label them…
"So where are these being sold to?" Ranger asked, admiring a gun he held up.
"To all the gangs we find in Brazil and all around South America." Ezio replied with an evil smile. "Brass knuckles and Kat-keychains are a particular favourite. They're good for breaking teeth and gouging out eyes."
I shuddered at the thought and suddenly wanted to keep my distance from all of them.
"Do you think we should test them first?" Pedro asked, inspecting a weapon that was crossed between a rifle and a machine gun.
"Nah." Cortez replied, waving his hand in dismissal. "We don't do guarantees and we don't tell them to buy from us."
The inhumane shamelessness was starting to make me sick. I was very tempted to volunteer to let them use me as a test dummy just so I wouldn't have to witness or hear any more of their evil deeds.
I looked up at Ranger but he was too busy examining the box of weapons. As I looked away, I locked eyes with Ezio who looked at me with derision.
Remembering the terms, I tore away from his gaze and pretended to look at the guns Ranger held up to observe.
After about 5 minutes, I excused myself and hurried down the hall to our bedroom. I locked myself in the bathroom and supported my weight against the sink basin.
I didn't recognise myself in the mirror. I was sickly pale while my eyes were watery and puffy. It took me a while to notice that I was breathing heavily as my stomach heaved; just making it in time to kneel in front of the toilet where my breakfast ended up.
Until I was sure I had thrown up the last of it, I got back up and splashed cold water in my face before taking sips to get rid of the taste.
I went back into the bedroom and stopped in my tracks when I found Ezio standing by the door to the hallway.
"Ezio…" I said, unable to hide the surprise in my voice or find the right words.
His eyes were fixed on me with an icy glower as he started to come forward; his fingers curled. "Nigel was quite inimical to our suppliers when they noticed you." A smirk appeared on his lips. "But then again, who could blame them?"
I started to back away when he was a foot from me. He tilted my chin with one finger so I had no choice but to meet his bitter hold.
"How long have you and Nigel been together?"
Oh great. 20 questions again.
I made a hasty shrug. "…a…a while…"
He frowned. "Long enough for him to tell you what he…is associated with?"
I thought I did.
"We don't talk about things like that much..."
Ezio's stare never shifted. "When you say a while, how long do you mean?"
I swallowed as I carefully chose my answer. 4 years and give or take the number I had known Ranger for. "…about 3 years…"
The smirk reappeared. "3 years huh? Yet you seemed…surprised when Nigel bought the children off of Alvaro and Gilberto."
A lump lodged in my throat. "15 is a lot."
"True, but I thought you would have already known about the business we deal with. And your little story from yesterday? It seems very unlike Nigel to be so possessive over one woman…"
That was more painful than a stab to the heart.
"You know what he did to Chapman." I said with new found defiance in my voice. "And what's stopping him from doing it again?"
Ezio was quiet for a moment before saying, "Is that a threat?"
I swallowed. "Why would I have to threaten one of his friends when they have all been so hospitable? And they all seemed very understanding about…personal space."
He raised an eyebrow before smirking again and sliding an arm around my waist. "You need to learn to be more specific, Stephanie…"
He pulled me against him but I placed my hands on his torso and pushed him away. "And you need to learn about courtesy!"
Without waiting for a response, I stormed out the door and made my way down the hall back to the living room.
There was no one there but I could hear laughter coming from the kitchen.
This was my chance.
Before Ezio could appear, I hurried to the main door and sneaked outside. It was too risky going to the front gate so I knelt down and kept close to the wall; heading towards the back.
I was back where Chapman nearly stabbed me and I remembered the shed that blocked my way for an escape route.
I went around it and couldn't believe my luck.
A hole had been cut and bent in the fence- just big enough for a skinny man.
So that was how Chapman got in…
Without a second thought, I climbed through and took off running.