DANGEROUS MERGERS
Chapter 12
Julio Manoso sat alone on the loggia outside of his bedroom and watched while the young woman placed the breakfast tray down on the small table. The soft ocean breeze that always greeted him in the morning would soon be replaced by the heat and humidity of the day. She started to back away from the table when the old man caught her with his steady gaze. She lowered her eyes as a hope of escape, but Julio reached out and took hold of her wrist and then drew her closer. He ran his weathered hand up and down her arm, enjoying the soft, supple feel of her youthful skin.
"¿Cómo te llamas?" (What is your name?) Julio's cultured voice was low and soothing.
"Sonia," the young girl's voice trembled.
He tightened his grip on her forearm and edged her closer until her thighs touched the arm of his chair. His hand traveled down until it rested on one of her slim hips; his outstretched thumb moved in a back and forth motion across her taut abdomen. Her trembles became more pronounced with every stroke. Julio smiled. He would take great pleasure in robbing her of her virginity, a true feat for a man his age! He slid his hand from her stomach to her backside and squeezed. What he wouldn't give to be this young and firm again! He used his hold to guide her around the arm of his chair until she was forced to sit on his lap, one small butt cheek resting against his groin.
Without hesitation or worry, Julio covered one of her breasts with his hand. He enjoyed the opposing reactions of the girl's young body: she shook with fear, yet her nipples tightened to hard points when he brushed them with his fingertips. He smiled when he felt his own body start to react and his erection grew stronger.
Sonia closed her eyes, hoping to blot out the reality of what was happening. She'd heard the other maids' whispers about how this man destroyed women. She was paralyzed by fear, but her reaction to his touch terrified her even more. Why did her skin feel fevered and her stomach tight? When his cell phone rang, she screamed and jumped from his grasp and wasted no time in making her escape.
"What?" Julio snarled into the phone. "When?" His full attention was now given to the caller.
"Excellent," Julio smiled up into the bright morning sky. "I will be there no later than seven o'clock tonight." Still smiling, he disconnected the call. At last, someone had talked.
oOoOo
Stephanie paced as far as the confines of the small kitchen would allow. Every now and then, she would steal a quick glance out the window. She would give anything to be able to step outside and enjoy the sunshine, but she knew that doing so would endanger all the brave people who were trying to help her get to safety. And Ranger.
She worried her thumb over her wedding band and forced herself not to cry. Now was not the time for tears, but for strength and determination.
"Senora?" Stephanie blinked away her thoughts and looked into a pair of tired eyes that were surrounded by heavy wrinkles. Manuel waved his hand in the direction of the table where he had spread out a map.
She joined him and placed one of her hands down on the curling edge of the map. It was hand drawn, but well detailed. Thanks to her Geography teacher, she recognized that it was a map of Cuba. Manuel pointed to a small circle that had been darkened by a pencil.
"Aquí," he said and pointed to the floor.
"Here," Stephanie said. Manuel smiled and nodded.
He trailed his finger from the dark circle along the coastline to a large 'X'. Well hell, everyone knew what that meant; 'X' marked the spot.
"Havana?" Stephanie said and pointed to the 'X'.
"Sí!" Manuel nodded with excitement.
Stephanie looked back down at the map. She studied the other details that had been drawn between the dark circle and the 'X'. For the first time in the last few days, she felt hopeful. According to the map, reaching Havana didn't look like it was going to be all that hard. Maybe this whole nightmare would soon be over.
"Guantanamo," Manuel said and pointed to a larger circle located on the other end of the island.
Stephanie blew out an exasperated sigh. Shit, now that was a problem.
oOoOo
Ranger grimaced with disdain as he angled himself inside the cloned version of Big Blue. The minute he had her home safe, he was going to buy her as many cars as needed just so he'd never had to see the stateside version of this cumbersome piece of metal again. Hell, he might just buy the thing from her grandmother and have it blown up!
Will popped his head inside the open window on the passenger side. "Make sure you take good care of our Blueberry Tank, although I have to tell you, nothing ever seems to happen to this car." Will patted his hand on the bottom of the window frame. "You look good behind the wheel, my friend." Snorting with laughter, Will stepped away from the car after knocking twice on the hood.
Ranger shifted the car into gear and pressed the gas pedal down hard and quick, knowing the tires would throw road dust into the air when he pulled away. He glanced in the rearview mirror and smiled at the sight of Will holding up his middle finger.
oOoOo
The informer debated the danger of double-crossing Julio Manoso. What the hell, life was a gamble anyway, he thought and punched in another string of numbers and waited for the call to be answered on the other end.
"What?" The man grinned when he heard Miguel's weak imitation of his father's forceful greeting.
"I have information on the woman you're looking for," the man said.
"How much will it cost me?" Miguel asked. When the man on the other end quoted his price, Miguel's jaw tightened. "Agreed. Tell me what you know." Miguel's jaw tightened even more. "Anything else?"
"You will need to hurry if you plan on beating your father there. He plans to arrive before seven o'clock tonight."
Miguel took a moment to enjoy the look he imagined on his father's face when he found out that his son had found the woman first. "Excellent, your payment will be made as usual."
oOoOo
The afternoon hours seemed to be longer than the never-ending morning hours. Stephanie could not remember any other time in her life when she had been this bored. Even sleeping hadn't relieved her boredom. Would seven o'clock ever arrive? She started pacing again and tried to block out the rapid conversation Manuel and Juan were having at the kitchen table. Enrique had told her that they were planning the safest way for them to reach Havana. When she had asked why they needed to go there instead of continuing on to Guantanamo, Enrique had explained that cars and gasoline were a luxury not many people could afford, and that Havana was the closest city where they could borrow one to make the long journey to Guantanamo. She had laughed as she thought about the few cars she had seen; Cuba must be car heaven for anything that was big and ugly, like Big Blue. She shuddered at the thought.
"Senora Manoso!" Enrique was still knocking on the door to the bedroom she was using while he entered the room, his face flushed with excitement. "A Manoso is here and he is driving a big expensive car!" Enrique pulled on her hand. "Hurry!"
"Where is he?" The hairs on the back of her neck were standing at attention.
"He is outside talking to Juan." Enrique's excitement faded as Stephanie hesitated. "Why do you wait?"
Shit, somewhere in the back of her mind, she could hear Ranger warning her to be careful. Why was the man so early? Why was Juan talking to him outside? She crossed the room and stood back from the small window that faced out to the front yard. She held her breath as she risked a peek outside. The two men were standing next to the car; the visitor had his back to the window. He was taller than Juan and dressed in a black suit, his dark hair hung to his shoulders. Well, at least he was dressed like a Manoso, but was he the right Manoso? She watched when Juan shook his head from side to side and pointed down the road away from the house.
Something wasn't right. She tensed when she saw the stranger reach behind his back, but the man pulled his wallet out of his back pocket. She watched Juan's face go blank and he shock his head no. The man reached around to replace his wallet and pulled a gun from his waistband, raised it to Juan's head and pulled the trigger. "Oh shit, that man just killed Juan!"
Not wasting a heartbeat, Enrique yanked on Stephanie's arm until she had no choice but to follow him. Her worst nightmare had just come true in front of her eyes; someone had been killed because they were helping her.
"Here, put this back over your head." Stephanie took the shawl and covered her head. The child seemed familiar with the routine of instant flight.
Enrique pulled one of the pillows from the bed and started shoving it up under her skirt. "What are you doing?" Stephanie yelled as she tried to reclaim her skirt from the child's hands.
"El bebé." (Baby) Enrique pulled Stephanie's skirt back down over the pillow and patted the mound into shape. "Follow me," he led her toward the back door.
Manuel came running around the side of the house and almost collided with them. Enrique spewed a fast stream of Spanish at Manuel and then ran to the opposite corner of the house and knelt down to peer around the edge of the house. He jumped up and waved for them to follow him.
Together, the three hurried toward the front of the house. Stephanie felt Manuel's hesitation when he saw his friend's body lying lifeless on the ground. Without thinking, she grabbed Enrique and Manuel and began to run toward the abandoned car. The owner was probably inside searching the house and this would be their only chance. She opened the passenger door and shoved Enrique into the backseat then dove across the massive bench seat and prayed she'd find keys in the ignition. Manuel climbed in and slammed the door.
Stephanie raised her eyes upward and said a quick thanks when she found the keys still in the ignition. She started the car, dropped it in gear and smashed the gas pedal to the floor, raising a large cloud of dust behind her. She chanced a quick glance into the rearview mirror and saw the man who had killed Juan running out of the front door. She pressed down even harder on the gas pedal and soon the man disappeared from sight.
Five miles later, she pulled in a deep breath and tried to calm down. She glanced at both of her passengers. Manuel was staring at her with wide frightened eyes; Enrique was smiling from ear to ear, eyes shining with adventure.
"Great," Stephanie mumbled, "wait till my mother hears about this; not only am I a car thief, but a ten-year-old seems to have made me pregnant."