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CHAPTER ONE
SONIA
“Run.Do not look back. Do not follow me. Run, Sonia, or he will kill you too. Run!”
My father’s last words before he shoved me into the tall stalks of corn still echo through my mind, blaring the loud order I want to disobey.Run.
Yes, I want to disobey. I want to go back to the house and help him fight against the men who tore past the guards and broke into our home, destroying everyone and everything in their path.
There’s only one reason why I didn’t go after him. Why I allowed him to throw me from him.He will kill you too. The pain in his voice was all I needed to hear to understand the importance of surviving this. My mother, brother and sister all died years ago. I’m the only family he has left.
I don’t go back, but I do glance over my shoulder once, to the horizon, where the glow of the fire now consuming the house I was born in contrasts starkly against the night sky. Though I can’t see the flames themselves, I know without a shadow of a doubt that my sanctuary, my safe place, is gone.
A sob lodges in my throat and I nearly choke on it as I gasp for air, my lungs burning from the effort to race through the thick foliage. The long leaves and ears of corn slap at my face and scrape my arms as I push past, determined to get to the one place that can offer me at least the hope of safety before the men chasing me are able to catch up. The river.
Don’t stop. Whatever you do, don’t stop.
It’s difficult not to give in to fear when the clouds overhead rumble and roil with the encroaching storm, making it almost impossible to discern how close the men are to me. And when the sky opens up and the downpour soaks the ground until every step in the mud is a battle as my bare feet sink deeply, I begin to believe God truly wants to see every last Beltran dead.
As if He’s confirming my thoughts, lightning flashes through the sky, for a split-second illuminating the fields as brightly as if it were day. Long enough for them to spot me.
“¡Ahí va!”There she goes!
I urge my legs to move faster, ignoring the protest from muscles desperate for rest. My wet clothes cling grossly to my body and my hair whips my face, but I ignore that too, because none of those things will matter if I’m dead.
Make it to the river. Just make it to the river.
It’s my only chance. The men after me don’t know the land the way I do. They don’t know that there’s less than thirty-five yards between the fields and Rio Acero. And they don’t know of the steep incline on the other side of the levy that protects the fields or the sharp drop-off that makes this part of the river the deepest and most dangerous. And on a night like tonight, it will be positively deadly.
Just a little farther.
The roar of the water crashing and sloshing up ahead tells me I’m almost there.
Another crack of thunder and a flash of light are followed by the men’s hollers to one another. “¡Agarrenla!”Grab her!The command comes from so near me that I nearly trip from the shock of it. However, this time, I don’t look back. I don’t have time to, because in that moment, a gunshot booms loudly a second before fire erupts over my arm.
I trip, falling hard into the mud as I slap my palm over my injury, instantly feeling the sickening sensation that comes from blood loss. I’ve been shot, but I can’t afford to stop and see how bad the damage is. Instead, I force myself to stand, pushing harder through the mud, rain, and fear.
Move! Move, Sonia, or you’ll die!
I burst through the crops and into the clearing with its gradual incline. I’m almost there. I’ll have to slow down to control my descent toward the water’s edge, then pray that in their haste to get to me, my pursuers fall prey to the angry river.
The sky lights up as I race up the levy and see the black watery expanse below. But before I have so much as a chance to take another step, someone slams into my side so hard, we both tumble down. Everything around me becomes a blur as we roll one over the other down the hill and then, with a deafening splash, plunge into the river.
My scream of sheer panic is muted by the rush of water as we’re instantly swept away. We’re thrown around wildly like ragdolls, churned and spun and then spit out to bob on the surface, coughing and choking before we’re dragged under once again.
All the while, my attacker keeps his hold on me from behind, an arm wrapped tightly around my waist. I flail and kick in an attempt to free myself, but the asshole is too strong.
“Stop fighting me or you’ll drown us both!” he yells.
“¡Puto perro!”Fucking dog!I scream. “Let me—” I’m cut off as were violently submerged.
Again and again, it happens, and the more it does, the more tired I become, until I feel myself depending on him to remain afloat long enough to take a breath.
“Good girl,” he says, and it infuriates me that he believes I’ve given in.
Taking a few deep gulps of air and gathering every last bit of strength I can muster, I reach behind me and grab two fistfuls of his hair and pull with all my might.
He roars in pain and releases me long enough for me to place my feet against his abdomen and push off.
I propel myself forward, glancing over my shoulder to gauge the distance between us. Lightning strikes somewhere far away, yet the shock of seeing his face jolts me as if I were the one who was struck. It’s a face I haven’t seen in years, but the memory of it has been perfectly preserved in my brain.
“San—” His name dies on my lips when I’m caught in a whirlpool that throws me hard against a large boulder.
“Sonia!” is the last thing I hear as my body makes contact with the jagged edges, followed by my head.
And it all fades to black.
