Page 9

“You admit that your car is a little much ?” he teases me. “ There are a lot of people with nice cars in Santa Barbara, but if you’re trying to lay low and not be spotted, that would be a good idea. I’ll have an SUV delivered to your new house. Don’t tell me no.”

“ Gracias ,” I murmur obediently instead as I pull around the corner. There is the driveway just as he said, and as I drive in, the garage door begins to open as well. “Why is the door opening, Dad?”

“I’m watching you from home on the cameras ,” he explains.

“ The entire outside of your property is wired for security. The fob for the garage is inside on the kitchen counter, and the door from the garage into the courtyard has your great grandfather’s birthday as the code to enter.

It’s the same for the back door of the house as well. ”

A snort escapes, because that’s just random enough to work. My father is a mastermind, and no one can tell me otherwise.

“That’s a nice touch,” I tell him, parking in the garage and startling as it begins to close behind me almost immediately. “Dad?”

“ That’s also me ,” he says apologetically. “ Whenever you come home, you close it behind you as soon as you’re clear, okay?”

“Yeah,” I say, breathing out the scared breath I was holding. “Fuck, that scared me.”

“I’m sorry ,” he states. “ Okay, now go ahead. The overhead lighting should have turned on as well.”

Opening the door, I see the light is on. I get out and go around to unload my one suitcase and weapons case. That’s how much I’m bringing with me on this new adventure. My nerves are sparking, my heartbeat reminding me of the sound of a drum.

Clicking the key fob to close and lock the car behind me since my hands are full, I walk to the door that’ll allow me entrance into the courtyard. Releasing my rolling suitcase, I enter the numbers for the code, and the lock makes a satisfying beep.

Somehow, that helps my anxiety as I open the door and shove my bags inside of the courtyard. I’m holding my phone against my shoulder, but instead I pull my Bluetooth out of the pocket of my suitcase and connect it so I can shove my phone into my jeans pocket.

Hands now free, I pull closed the door behind me and lock it before drawing my gun. I trust my father enough that he wouldn’t lead me into a trap, but I also am in the habit of clearing a space of any danger.

There’s still light in the sky since it’s barely three in the afternoon, and the sun is shining brightly. It’s warm, the trees in the courtyard offer lots of shade, and there’s also a small covered area that’ll offer me a place to hang out when it rains.

It reminds me of Rachelle, rainy days, and screaming into the wind when she needed to blow off steam. I would do almost anything to be able to go back to one of those days. No matter how hard it was to know she was struggling, she was alive. There was hope for good things back then.

Grabbing my suitcase with the hand that has my gun, I pick up my weapons case and walk through the courtyard.

It’s peaceful in this space, and I can see the swing just like Dad said.

Despite my anxiety about what lies in the house, the tall brick walls surrounding the courtyard block me from the rest of the world.

It’s like having my own secret garden. There’s not another house around me for at least a block, and it feels kind of odd that there isn’t. Yet, since I hate people and the idea of neighbors gives me hives, I love this for me.

Entering the code for the back door of the house, I hear my father through my ear piece, his voice worried.

“ Liliana? Are you still with me?” he asks. “ What are you doing?”

“I was getting lost in how pretty this courtyard is,” I confess, opening the back door. It appears to open into the rest of the house, and the kitchen lies to the right, while the living room is to my left.

“It is, isn’t it ?” Dad says smugly. “ Remember that all the tech info and keys are going to be in the kitchen.”

“I will. Need to clear the house first,” I explain, putting my luggage just inside the door and keeping the weapons case in my hand. I’ll set it just inside of the kitchen so it’s not in the way.

It also has a finger print scanner on it, which means that no one other than I can open it. Flicking the lock closed on the back door, I keep my firearm in my right hand as I check out my new home.

“ You have your gun with you?” Dad asks.

“I do,” I say, not telling him I brought in the weapons case. If someone is in the house, they’ll hear me. This may be fairly paranoid, but it keeps me alive. “The kitchen is nice. I like that the windows all face the courtyard.”

“The entire house opens to the courtyard ,” he says. “ It’s shaped in an L shape . ”

My hands both on my gun, I continue to explore. I can see the door that leads down to the basement, and flip on the light to walk downstairs. The space is huge, though I’m not really sure what I’ll do with it. The washer and dryer are down here though, so I’ll be down here regularly.

Maybe I’ll convert a section into a home gym so I won’t have to join one. Musing about it to my father and the possibilities, I return upstairs to continue to walk the property. As I walk what appears to be a long hallway, my father asks me to stop.

“ It looks like a long hallway without a purpose to the stairs, right?” he asks. “ On your right there’s a bathroom, but on your left, you’re going to see the beginning of a bookcase.”

Nodding, I make a sound when I see it. The wood is a beautiful dark color, and it extends from the floor to ceiling.

“It’s gorgeous,” I murmur.

“ Put whatever books you’d like in it, but it also houses a secret door. You’re going to see War and Peace on the third shelf. Pull the third volume straight toward you,” he says seriously.

“This is a funhouse,” I tease him, dropping my gun to my side as I pull the book toward my body. There’s a click and then the bookcase section moves forward to show that it’s a door. Pushing it open, I grin as I see the office. “Dad…”

“It’s cool, right ?” he teases me.

“This is amazing,” I agree.

“ Use it as an office, turn it into a private movie theater, whatever you want, ” he says. “ This house is yours.”

“I love it so far,” I say, walking into the space in awe. There are no windows, which protects me from others knowing that this exists. “This would make a fucking awesome movie theater.”

“If you need a contractor, I’ll set it up,” Dad says. “I am worried about you. A new start could be good.”

“I know,” I sigh. “Everything is kind of shitty. I feel upside down.”

“I know ,” he grunts. “ New beginnings, okay, mijita ? Try for me.”

God, that feels like a fucking gut punch, and I make a face as I leave the secret room. I am glad that there’s also a panic room outside of this. There are different security measures that go into them.

I make sure to close the secret door so no one will know it’s there, and then find the stairs. They overlook the full bank of windows, allowing me to sigh as I look at how beautiful the courtyard is.

“ I hope you don’t mind,” Dad says. “ I asked Emil to change all of the windows to high impact glass. Nothing short of a bomb is getting inside there.”

“I can’t say that’s overkill, because that’s the nature of our lives. However, changes like that, cameras, etc take time. So how long have you known that Mr. Emil was going to send me here?” I ask him.

“ A month,” Dad grunts. “ We waited as long as possible before telling you.”

“That’s not nice,” I admonish playfully as I get to the top. Fuck, it’s pretty up here. The beams are exposed, giving the house an openness that allows me to breathe.

It’s difficult to explain, I just feel like the windows and the high ceilings add dimension and character to the house. It’s also why I loved sneaking up to the tower to hide with Rachelle. I feel safer when I’m up high, and less claustrophobic.

The two rooms that are up here are huge, and I can’t stop smiling as I look around. There’s also no one in the house but my crazy self.

Putting the gun away in the holster at my back, I have my dad teach me the ins and outs of the safe room. Sure, I could read through it all, but I really enjoy his passion as he explains it all.

“ Your fingerprint is how you’ll get into the room, and that’s already loaded into the system ,” he says.

The closet is huge on its own, and I walk to the back and see a small fingerprint scanner waiting for me. It’ll be completely invisible to others once I fill this up with clothing. It’s like living in hidey holes, but I love it. This is what I need, I think, to quiet some of the nightmares.

Stepping through the door into the safe room, I see it’s an already furnished bedroom. Everything I need is here, and I can set the room outside of this one up as a fake one. My lips spread wide as I collapse onto the bed.

“Thank you,” I sigh happily to my father.

“ You’re welcome. Enjoy the house. The information for the security system is downstairs too, Lili. I just deactivated it from here,” he says.

Taking care of me, even from Portland. I hate that he’s worrying about me, but he would tell me that’s his job. The only thing I can do is figure out my own shit.

“I’m going to go downstairs and figure out how to set it. Will you stay on the phone with me?” I ask, getting up.

“ Of course,” he says.

Walking out of the safe room, I set everything back and head downstairs. It only takes me three times to set the house alarm, and then I bring my things upstairs.

The first thing I do is unpack, making sure that my clothes are hung up and the weapons case is within reach in the closet. Then, I start the fun part.

Online shopping! I haven’t been excited about anything in a long time, but decorating and furnishing a house is doing it for me. While there are plates in pretty patterns and kitchenware in the kitchen, I need a couch for the living room.

Moving through a list I quickly write out in the comfort of my safe room, I order what I need before glancing at the time. Frowning, I pull out my phone and call Maurice Collazo to make sure our meeting is still happening tonight.

“ Hola? ?Quién me llama?” Maurice asks with a snarl.

Rolling my eyes, I rattle off who I am in Spanish and why I’m calling.

“ Liliana,” he curses as if my name is a bad word. “ I’m so sorry, I didn’t have your number saved. This won’t happen again. I assume you’re in town?”

“I am,” I grunt. “I’m about to leave for our meeting, and want to make sure I haven’t been forgotten.”

My voice is aloof and cold as I wait for my answer. The truth is that I almost forgot, but I won’t tell him that.

“ Yes, I’ll send you the address, Liliana,” he says quickly. I have it, but I thank him anyway.

“I’ll see you soon,” I say, hanging up. Sighing, I grab some clothes and walk into the large bathroom off the bedroom.

My shower is quick, and I skip washing my hair before I redress in fresh clothes. After brushing my teeth and putting on some makeup, I carefully place my weapons on my body, making sure that a few can’t be found easily.

It’s no fun if they either find all of them, and it’s suspicious if they can’t find any at all. It’s a tightrope of sorts, one I’m used to walking.

Five minutes later, I’m running down the stairs in a pair of black jeans, a short sleeved green shirt, and boots.

I’m making sure to wear a belt with my pants so that I can hide my death wire, along with a lightweight jacket to hide my gun at the base of my back.

My long, dark hair is pulled back into a braid for all of my sharp pins, effectively keeping it off my neck as well.

Off to show that I not only can fit into this life seamlessly, I can also get men to bow and scrape for my mercy.