The Secret Between Us
Chapter 45

[IZAN]

Watching the women’s faces as they get into the vehicle that will take them to their destination breaks my heart. Each one of them knows the nightmare that awaits them and I wish I could tell them not to worry, that everything will be fine, but I can’t, not if I want this to go as planned. Once they are all in the vehicle, I get in too and signal the driver to start 《Here we go》 I say inside and pray to heaven that Mateo’s plan doesn’t fail. The vehicle starts moving and I try not to look at the women so they don’t realise what is about to happen, and there is no room for failure tonight.

[…]

Little by little I was complying with the supposed delivery of each one of the women, although in reality I know that as soon as they got out of the vehicle, there was already an operation set up to make sure that each one of those involved in each brothel went to jail. I know it’s a race against time, that I can’t take longer than expected with each delivery, and even though every woman I let out of the vehicle was crying like I’d never seen anyone cry before, I had to hurry.

They were tears of despair, anguish and above all hatred. I don’t even want to imagine what goes through her mind when she thinks what will happen to her life. I cannot assimilate that Lorenzo, my brother, and even my father are part of all this, that, for money, they turn these women’s lives into a torment. I think of my baby, of her future and I swear that I die just contemplating the idea that something like this could happen to her -The last one- says the employee who drives when we are arriving at our last destination, but for some reason, he stops as soon as he enters the car park -The police! – He shouts and as I stand between the two seats in front of him, I realise what he is talking about, there are police, FBI and even CIA cars in front of the place. The agents are taking cover behind the doors of the vehicles while a group of armed men are shooting at him – We have to go! – He announces and that is something I cannot allow to happen. I look at the girl sitting in the last seat, and without him noticing, I wave my hand to ask her to calm down and that everything will be okay, but I doubt she understands me, she doesn’t speak English or Spanish.

I take my courage, I take the gun Lorenzo gave me from the waistband of my trousers and feeling inexperienced in the matter and under the woman’s frightened gaze, I approach the driver and getting into the space between the two seats, I point it at his head -Don’t even think of moving from here- I threaten him being aware that if everything goes wrong I will have been exposed.

I know I’m playing all my cards, but he has to go down too, otherwise I’ll be the one in danger -Izan, what are you doing? – he asks angrily.

-What I have to do,” I answer firmly.

-You are a traitor,” he sentences.

-Get out of the van now! – I order and he slowly opens the door, “Don’t do anything stupid,” I warn as I keep pointing at him and he opens the door to get out.

-You’re going to regret it,” he threatens and I ignore his words.

-Move! – I shout and as I finish opening the door, one of the CIA agents is already waiting for him.

-Is there anyone else inside? – He asks me as I handcuff him.

-Just the girl,” I answer, getting out of the vehicle.

-Perfect, the others are already in jail and the other girls are safe,” he informs me and the look of the man he is taking is threatening.

-The others? – I ask, referring to my father, my brother, and Lorenzo.

-Everything under control,” he assures me and suddenly a burst of gunshots is heard coming from inside the property that was acting as a brothel. – He warns me, but the moment I try to take cover behind the car door, I feel a pain too intense in my back.

It hurts so much that I fall to the ground without being able to do anything else. In the midst of my confusion I see the driver falling next to me full of b***d and the CIA agent as well. I try to reach for my mobile phone that fell next to me, but everything goes dark, I don’t even have the strength to move my arm and I’m not even able to know what’s going on around me anymore. I only hear the sound of gunshots, voices, sirens that fade away as time goes by and suddenly I don’t know anything more.