AN: Early post!! If I have it ready, I can't sit on it. So, I hope you enjoy!

Day Seven:

Friday, July 14th

Location Unknown - Could still be California or Tijuana, I don't fucking know, anymore

Bella

After my talk with Elena, I didn't hear back from her. I had asked Esteban if anybody had mentioned anything to him, but he didn't know. It frustrated me. All I wanted was something to help me forget about this place. Any weed would do. Hell, I was so desperate I would happily smoke some swag. But the hours dragged into oblivion. I had no idea what day we were on, but I assumed two moons had come and gone. I should have asked somebody, but when you were only allowed limited questions, you tend to save them for the most dire, and knowing the date would depress me even more.

"Esteban," I whispered as we sat on the couch. "Are you holding, by chance?"

He shook his head. "I'm not allowed to."

The door opened and cut him mid-sentence. We both looked up as Sophia came strolling in, and my stomach was instantly uneasy. The last time she was there, I was drugged, and she smacked me around. I had no interest in reliving that again.

Why was she there?

My eyes followed her around the room for a while, watching her take a glass out of her bag and a bottle of pills—the fear struck me of what would come and how I was powerless to stop it. As a reflex, my hand shot out and grabbed Esteban's. He didn't pull away immediately, only giving a squeeze, but as soon as Lado walked in, Esteban yanked his hand free and jumped up from the couch.

Lado slid his glasses down the bridge of his nose. "Este, go outside."

Then...something happened. I don't know what, but I think I drank something. It was cloudy and lukewarm, and it tasted like aspirin. It was hard to think or keep anything straight. My awareness kept on going in and out, and...and...the smoke. It billowed and smelled good, reminding me of Jasper's cigarette. I tried to focus and keep my eyes open, but everything felt heavy. It was hard to keep my head up. If they would just let me lie down, I would sleep, but I was still tied to the chair.

Lado... the monster.

He stood before me, and I could see the cherry from his joint. Leaning forward, he gripped my cheeks and lifted my head. His wet lips were pressed against mine. He exhaled the smoke, only allowing me a small taste. It was still too strong, so I eagerly tried to inhale as much as possible. But his primo made me cough.

"Next time," Lado whispered, "ask me for what you want."

Like a fading dream, I could only recall snippets: Sophia crushing pills, Lado pouring white powder into a clear liquid, Esteban in the corner wriggling his hands, the tub being filled with water. Then hands were on my face again, lifting my head and putting a glass to my lips.

Lado murmured, but his voice sounded hazy, as if I were underwater. "Drink up, Isabella."

I had drunk from the glass, and soon after, I could feel the world spinning around me; catching a glimpse of Sophia undressing and Lado's fading voice. "Time for your bath. Bath time."

When I came to, Esteban was standing over me, pulling a blanket up to my chin. I wasn't in a chair anymore; I was in a bed. The sudden change and disorientation startled me, and I jerked away from him. There was no hurt or rejection, only kindness in his eyes. I didn't blame him for my circumstances or his helplessness to stop them. Just like me, he was in a situation he couldn't escape.

"How long have I been out here?" I asked, my throat hurting and feeling severely dehydrated.

"Just a few hours ago..."

A sweeping panic overcame me as I tried to determine if I was sore in places I shouldn't be, but I couldn't tell; parts of me were still numb. "What did they do to me?"

Esteban's eyes were filled with guilt and sadness.

And I realized I didn't want to know.

He helped me sit up, and I saw a glass in his hand.

My head shook, not wanting to be doused in a sedated fog again.

He said, "It's okay."

I trusted him and drank what he offered. It was ice-cold milk. There was instant relief for my parched throat. He refilled it twice more.

At that exact moment, Elena's plane landed several miles away at the Chachawilla Indian Reservation. Since my men had been causing a ruckus in California, she could no longer sit idly by in Tijuana. She told Lado about her plans long after they were underway. He, of course, argued with her, saying he needed time to arrange for her to come to the States.

You see, Elena was on the FBI's most-wanted list, and coming to California could have her arrested. Mexico doesn't extradite their people to the gringos. She was safe there, it wasn't up to Lado.

"I miss, Magda," she said.

So, Alex arranged for Elena to fly into the Indian reservation on a medical flight transport. Her alias was a cancer patient named Ava Robles; when her people wheeled her out in a wheelchair, she had the hospital gown and IV bag hookup to push the narrative further.

Not that she needed any of that, but Elena loved being dramatic.

The next day – fuck, it could have been next week for all I knew – Sophia and Esteban were packing up the things around me. No one said a word to me. They had their orders to bind my wrists with cable ties and sit my ass on the couch. Esteban was in charge of that, but before anyone could see, he put his blue hoodie on me.

He said, "to keep you warm."

When Lado walked in, he noticed the hoodie, but didn't speak to Esteban; he only addressed me. "Okay, sweetie-pie, time to go." A guy walked over to me with a bandana. "Last looks," Lado said, as they prepared to cover my eyes. Before they did, I took one 'last look' at the 'Ophelia' painting, which they destroyed.

My world once cloaked in blackness, I had to rely on others to help me from the couch and out the door. The one holding my hand was Esteban. He squeezed it to comfort me. I was scared, and he knew it. The kid who looked out for me when no one else would, and despite our rocky start with pizza and endless hours of telenovelas, he became a friend to me.

As they led me outside, I tried to look around as best I could. It was midday, maybe around noon or something. I felt the sun's heat coming from directly above me. The dirt and pebbles under my feet told me I was out of the city, but not far enough for the crashing of waves. Probably somewhere in the forest or desert.

They walked me a few feet, and then it was just Esteban. He told me when to step up. The cold metal and smell of manure led me to believe I was being transported in a trailer. Esteban was gentle and eased me down into a sitting position. He walked away, and then the door closed. It was risky, but they had tied my hands to the front, and I reached up and lifted the blindfold just a smidge. As I previously thought, I was in a horse trailer.

"Este!" Lado exclaimed.

I quickly put my blindfold back on, but I continued to listen intently to everything going on around me. The shuffling of feet in the dirt, the voices near and far, and the sound of car doors closing.

Lado, though, was right outside the door of the trailer, so I heard everything.

"Hey, what's up?" Esteban inquired.

"It didn't work out," Lado said. "You're too sensitive."

Then a gunshot rang out, and a body fell to the ground. My hands flew to my mouth to stifle the whimper that wanted to come out. Tears ran down my cheeks as terror and sadness ripped through me. Lado had killed Esteban. That poor kid with kind eyes died because the cartel wanted bastards. I was crying, but quietly. I didn't want Lado's attention to be drawn to me, and most importantly, I refused to appear weak.

They could drug me, slap me around, and do unimaginable things to me, but I would not break.

The scar on my chest served as proof that I could overcome anything.

Yes, at the end of this, I will be stronger.

Sometime later, the trailer stopped, and two men took me out. Again, I tried to pay attention to everything around me. There was concrete, then a stone walkway, and finally, cool, soft grass. The sun moved from overhead to directly in front of me. So, I knew wherever they were taking me, we were headed west. It was quiet, no beach or city bustle, but I couldn't be sure where they had taken me. The chlorine smell filled my nose, and I wished they would throw me into the nearby pool. Not even a minute of walking and sweat poured out of me. I didn't want to take off Esteban's hoodie, though.

Finally, we came to some shade, and they stopped pushing me forward.

"Have you been treated well, Isabella?" Elena asked, pulling off my blindfold. I glanced around; Lado was to my right, and the beautiful Elena stood before me. She was wearing a white silk blouse and slacks, and a gorgeous diamond necklace, which looked to be at least thirty carats. Elena gently placed her motherly hand on my face. "Are you all right?"

I wanted to yell and scream, "No! I am not all right. They have drugged me, probably raped me; I couldn't be sure, and they killed the only person who fucking cared about me!"

Lado said, "She's fine."

Elena snapped. "I'm not talking to you, Lado!" She turned back to me, but I hesitated; my fear of Lado overcame my bravery. He had just killed Esteban. It would take nothing for him to kill me. Elena saw my inner turmoil and continued to look back and forth between Lado and me. "Are you all right?" she asked.

I nodded slightly and whispered, "I'm fine."

Elena knew I was lying, but also probably didn't want to know. Ignorance was bliss. She stepped back and said, "Good. Good. Chucho! Take her to the guest house, please." In Spanish, she continued, "Amparo, let her take a bath, and please give her anything she needs."

One of the men put the blindfold back on me, and we started to walk away. However, we didn't get far before Elena began attacking the men around her.

Elena asked, "So, Lado, now I'm talking to you. Let me see your eyes." He pulled off his sunglasses. "Is everything all right?"

He nervously played with his mustache. "Yes, Madrina, why do you ask?"

She slapped his face hard. "You make me sad, Lado."

Jaime was nearby and smirking. He had been waiting for Elena to lay into Lado. The arrogance from him had gone unchecked for far too long.

"I have to come to Gringolandia to find this out?" Elena fumed.

Lado looked over at Alex, and Alex just shrugged, as if to say, "Cabron, you brought this on yourself."

"You thought I wouldn't notice three million dollars and seven of my men dead?"

Inwardly, I smiled at that—my men, fuck yeah! You kill them all, baby.

"When did you start making decisions on your own, you ungrateful piece of shit?" Elena growled as she got right in Lado's face. "I made you, motherfucker. I did. Don't forget whose tits you suckled, you idiot!"

Lado cleared his throat. "I'm very sorry, Madrina." She paced angrily. "It was stupid of me not to tell you right away. I just wanted to prove to you that it was these Cheech and Chong guys who are stealing your money. So, please." He held his hands together in prayer. "Allow me to talk to them."

Elena knew what that meant: they would be tortured.

"Yes, and men will say anything to stop the pain. Bullshit, Lado," Elena said, sounding bored of him. "You're stupider than you look! These two kids, all they care about is their girl. They wouldn't do anything to risk her life."

She was right. All they cared about was me, but allowing me to waste away for a year wasn't going to happen, and they were risking everything to get me home.

We would let Elena believe what she wanted.

She continued to rant. "But it's distracting us from our bigger problem, which is El Azul."

Lado shook his head but didn't argue.

"To the point that he has infiltrated himself into the northern group, which is under your control." Elena gestured to Lado and Alex. "But if you think I'm the only one who's going to be losing money, you're in for a surprise. First of all, those three million? You're going to pay for it." She pointed to Alex. "Yeah, you, too." The hammer was coming down hard on them, and she wasn't even close to being done. "Second of all, you're going to find me this fucking piece of rat shit that gave up our stash house to Azul. Or else, I'm going to have to go after your wives and your children and, if necessary, your whore mothers!"

Alex looked at Lado and said, "Fucking thanks for that!"

Elena sat down at the table, but nobody moved. She waved at them dismissively. "You may go now."

Alex wanted to apologize and tell her how much he wanted her to know the second they found out, but Lado kept saying he would handle it. When Elena looked up at him, there was still an angry fire in her eyes. He knew saying anything right then would be a mistake.

"What are you waiting for?" she asked sharply.

Alex simply nodded and walked away.

Thanks for reading!

We're back on track with the movie.