“La Maña, the narcos.”
“How did they know he’d be here? We just arrived in town, and no one knew we were coming this way.”
“The other one recognized him and told the patrón who he was, that he was a powerful one.”
“What other one? Who’re you talking about?”
“The other vampire.”
“Another vampire lives here? And he works for these narcos?”
Reyes nodded. “Sí, yes. But he does not work for them. They own him.”
Lana frowned. She’d never heard of a vampire being owned by humans. That didn’t mean it never happened, but wouldn’t Vincent have known if there was another vampire around? He was Enrique’s lieutenant, which, according to him, meant he knew almost as much as the vampire lord himself did. And Hermosillo was his home. Surely, he’d have heard about something like this happening practically in his own backyard? Something was definitely not right here.
“You said they don’t want him dead. What do they want him for?”
“He has power. He’ll be their slave, like the other one, but better.”
Lana stared. The local cartel guys thought they could make Vincent their slave? This was not going to end well.
“So, where do I find him?”
“Go home, señorita. Forget about him.”
Lana laughed dismissively. “Not gonna happen. Now, tell me where they are.”
Reyes sighed and shook her head in an obvious comment on Lana’s sanity. “They have a compound, a hacienda, outside of town. Not far. Go south. There is a big rock that looks like a giant hit it with a hammer. And there is a road. But the hacienda has a wall all around it and many guards.”
“Have you been there?”
“Many times, but I will not—”
“I don’t want your company.” She cut Reyes off, anticipating her protest. “I want to know where in the compound they’re likely to keep him, what building?”
“They will do with him like the other one. It is a small building, a shack, in the courtyard where there is no shade, only sunlight. It has many windows with shutters that can open and close. If the vampire is good, they close all of the shutters. If he is bad, they open and he suffers the daylight.”
“They burn him?”
“It is God’s punishment for his evil.”
Lana rolled her eyes. “What about at night? They can’t control him at night.”
“They do as I did tonight. They bleed him during the day and feed him only a little.”
Lana thought she was going to be sick. This is what they had planned for Vincent? She pounded her fist into the wall, trying to think. She was only one person. She couldn’t take on an entire compound of cartel thugs. They’d happily gut her and leave her to rot. And that was if they didn’t rape her to death first. But she couldn’t abandon Vincent either. She considered calling Michael for reinforcements, but by the time he got down here, it might be too late.
“Is there a time when the guards aren’t paying attention? I don’t know, like a shift change or something?”
The woman tried to laugh, but sucked in a pained breath instead. “This is not a maquila to have bells and clocks. Forget him. Go home.”
“I can’t. He’s . . . a friend.”
“You are a fool,” she said again.
Lana opened her mouth to say, thanks for nothing, but Reyes wasn’t finished.
“If you are set on dying with him, you must act now, today. There is a big delivery and many of the sicarios, the soldiers, are gone.”