Page 21 of Cartel Prince

“A lot’s happened in the past hour. I’m tired too.”

“Sir?”

“Yes,chiquita.”

“Thank you for insisting upon protecting me. What happened in the car doesn’t make everything perfect between us. It’s confusing as fuck, actually. But I feel safer with you than I have since meeting Humberto. I’m too worn out to question things right now. I’m trusting you with more than just my body.”

“I know, little one. I’m trusting you too.”

I let my eyes droop closed, letting my guard down entirely. As I drift off, I feel Pablo’s body relax beneath me as he sighs.

I watch as we fly over a river and plains. I have no idea where we are. I recognize nothing below us. I look up at Pablo, who’s watching me. He offers me a soft smile before he gazes out the window. He looks so at ease. The air of danger and darkness that usually surrounds him isn’t there anymore. He appears youthful, and it makes me wonder for a moment if he’s younger than me. But I know he can’t be.

He’s older than me by two years. He’s nearly thirty-six, and I’m nearly thirty-four. I’m practically an old hag because I’ve never been married. I’m nearly twenty years older than the Colombian national average for women marrying. I’ve gottenplenty of comments about that from myabuelosandabuelas. Both sides of the family. It gets old—just like me.

“Where are we?”

“Arauca.”

Holy fuck.

That’s one of the most isolated regions of Colombia. It’s extremely north—practically Venezuela. There are people here who don’t speak Spanish, only indigenous languages. It’s bordered by the Ele, Cuiloto, and Lipa rivers. I’ve definitely never been anywhere near here. I only know about it from grade school geography.

“You really wanted to escape from the city.”

“My family descends from the Macaguán before they migrated to Bogotá.”

I look back out the window. The term middle of nowhere comes to mind. Never has there been a truer description.

“Your family has a home out here?”

“Yes.”

“What do you do if you need something?”

“There’s a city not too far from the estate. It’s Villa de Santa Bárbara de Arauca, but we have most of the things we need already there.”

There’s a long stretch of flat land that comes into sight. Close to it, there’s a sprawling estate with a wall higher than any I’ve ever seen around a residence. It has barbed wire around the top. Even Humberto’s home doesn’t have that. It makes it look like a prison, yet the house—if you can even call it that—is more like a palace.

“We’re a large family, Flora. Once upon a time, it wasTíoEnrique,TíoEsteban,TíoMatáis,TíaCatalina,TíaLuciana,Mamá,Papá, my brother,Abuela, my cousins Alejandro, Jorge, Joaquin, Javier, and me. That’s fourteen of us. Before my brother, cousins, and I came along, myabuelowas still alive andwent there too.TíoEnrique is married, and my cousin Javier will be soon. That still makes thirteen of us.”

His brother Juan.

HistíoEsteban.

They’re both dead, and my family is the reason for one of them no longer being with Pablo’s. I tuck my chin and pull my lips in.

“Chiquita, you had nothing to do with mytío’sdeath. Do you blame me for your father’s?”

I shake my head. “It’s not the same. You remember yourtío. I never knew my father.”

“That doesn’t mean you don’t miss him or at least having one. If I blamed you, you wouldn’t be sitting on my lap. None of what happened today would have. I’d still have helped you, but I definitely wouldn’t want you the way I do. I don’t think you’d have agreed to any of this if you blamed me for Domingo’s death.”

“True.”

“When we land, a car will meet us and take us to the house. I know what it looks like from above. It’s not to keep anyone inside.”

That doesn’t reassure me.