I mesh my lips together, pushing up and walking to them. Taking a bottle out, I rush back for him, set the lantern down, and then twist the lid off.
“Here.” I bring his body forward and he groans in agony, but doesn’t resist. “Open your mouth.”
When he opens it, I pour the water in. He doesn’t stop drinking until the entire bottle is empty.
“Fuck, I needed that.” He slouches back again and I put the cap back on the bottle. He looks me over thoroughly in my cocktail dress. “I see you did what I said. You made the king notice you.” He smirks.
I shrug. “I did what I had to do to survive here.”
“I hear them talk about you. La Patrona,” he mocks. “How did you gain such a solid position here?”
I look down, studying my red toenails. “Long story.”
His smirk fades and his eyes grow a few shades darker. “You have to get me out of here.”
“I’m not even supposed to be down here.”
“You promised,” he grounds out.
“I know I did, but it’s not that easy. This is the first night where none of them are on my ass. He’s starting to trust me. I can’t break that. I’ve been trying to think of ways—hoping to convince him to let you go. I thought you were in the shed but when I didn’t see you that day—”
“They took me out of there when they brought that white-haired guard and his whore in. Brought me here. What are they in there for?”
I squeeze my eyes shut for a moment. “They aren’t in there anymore.”
He frowns a bit, and when realization hits him, he sighs. “Shit. Dead?”
“Yeah.” I look him over again. “Why didn’t you tell me you knew Toni? He’s your cousin, and in the shed, when we first met, you acted like you didn’t know him at all.”
His mouth twitches. “I didn’t trust you.”
“Do you now?”
“Well, seeing as you’re the only person that can get me the fuck out of here, I guess I have no choice, huh?”
“Why should I break you out?” I stand, picking up the lantern. “I mean, you did lie to me. I’m on good terms with the boss. You knew Toni—knew exactly how he was. What else do you know?”
“I don’t know shit,” he spits out. “All I know is that Toni was fucking stupid for crossing The Jefe. He shouldn’t have gotten so goddamn cocky. He brought whatever happened to him on himself.”
When his eyes glisten, I ease up on my temper, but not completely. “Did you . . . did you know he killed my father?”
When I ask that, his eyebrows shoot up, as if he’s really shocked to hear it. “Lion?”
“You know that name too?”
“Of course I do. He’s the reason I’m even here, in Mexico. He gave me the job, to look after The Jefe. To watch him and make reports, make sure he wasn’t doing anything stupid. I never understood why he had me tailing him, but I wasn’t going to ask questions. He paid me too well for that.”
“But you got caught.”
He looks away.
“That doesn’t explain why he still has you here and is doing this to you.” I gesture to him. “What does he want to know?” He doesn’t speak. He keeps his gaze away, focusing on the shelves above. I frown down at him, taking a step back. “I’m not even supposed to be down here, Henry, so you better start fucking talking or I’ll leave you down here to rot.”
When I take another step away, he panics, his only chance at survival slipping away. “Shit—fine! He thinks I work for someone named Hernandez.”
“Why?”
“He saw some old pictures on my camera of me with that crew but I don’t work with them. I don’t care about that stupid fucking wannabe cartel—hell, I didn’t even know they were organized for that shit. I was with them one night at a fucking bar, hung out at their penthouse because they invited me, and that’s it. I got drunk, got lots of pussy that night, and went back to watching Draco Molina. I never even met anyone named Hernandez. I went back to doing my fucking job. He caught me a week later, saw the photos I took with them, and thinks I’m one of them too. I’m not with them. I don’t know shit about them, all right? I don’t know what plans they have or what they’re trying to fucking do. I don’t know anyone by the fucking name of Thiago either, so I wish he would stop asking me that shit!”
“Shh!” I hiss. “Keep your voice down. I’m not even supposed to be down here—let alone walking around freely. They’ll notice I’m gone soon.” I release a thick breath, lowering to a squat. The LED light causes his eyes to glisten. I can’t tell if his tears are from rage, fear, or both.