Page 35 of Liar

“Will you be okay if I go and do this?” Diego shakes the explosives.

Will I be okay left here alone with his boss?

“Go raise hell.”

Diego pauses. “Boss?” One word formed as a question. But Hayden seems to understand. He replies with a simple yes.

It’s enough. Diego sprints off.

“Be careful,” I shout after him, before turning my attention back to the man standing next to me.

“He’s right in warning you to keep your distance.”

“Is that what you want?”

“I’m not in a position to want anything.”

My lips part in surprise. “And if you weren’t a cartel boss?”

“I’ll always be a boss, in one form or another.”

One form or another, as in mafia?

I scowl at him, standing there and implying things I don’t want to consider. Right now, I almost prefer the long silences. “You didn’t answer either of my questions. Not really.”

“I have work to do.”

I grind my teeth together. He’s dismissing me, isn’t he? Like nothing happened out here at the firing range.

He heads in the same direction as Diego then stops and retraces his steps. Reaching inside his pocket, he withdraws the small, black pistol he was firing earlier. He offers it to me, grip first. “Use this.”

Hispersonalgun?

I stare down at it.

“Sometimes the best choice of action is to play it safe.”

“Do you mean the gun, or something else?”

“Take it.” He grabs my hand and folds my fingers around the warm barrel. For the briefest of seconds, his hand remains on mine.

“Hayden.”

He steps back.

How can he walk away without acknowledging the truth? I might be seventeen, inexperienced, and in over my head with a man like him. But I feel it in my bones—the most fragile of bonds drawing us together, one that grows stronger and more intense every time I’m in his presence. I muster my courage and toss out my challenge like a stick of dynamite, my thumb locked down on the detonator.

“You should know this about me,” I call after him. “I’m not always a girl who plays it safe.”

9

Everyone had been talking about the party. A poolside event on a yacht with food, drink, music, and dance. Nothing of this magnitude has ever happened before, the local-government-run zócalo festivals having been canceled each year due to violence. Ironic that María Fernanda, whose cartel has ruined multiple public events, is now hosting one herself. Locals are encouraged to attend, no matter their allegiance. Weeks after the truce between cartels began, the streets are quieter and Loreto is experiencing a rebirth.

Reason enough to celebrate.

My invitation from Señora Margarita Rivera to perform as a showcase dancer at the event came two weeks ago in a crisp white envelope. I read the invitation so many times, I memorized it.

I am writing you on behalf of María Fernanda, who has asked me to assemble a few dancers to entertain attendees at a party being held on May twenty-second. I hear wonderful things about your dancing and look forward to a preview of your performance prior to Nacionales. If your talent is as strong as my gratitude will be for you bestowing me this favor, this may turn out to be a win-win situation for us both.