NINE
A Final Goodbye
I unlocked the door to room twenty-three of Hotelera Sosegada before walking directly to the air conditioner to switch the unit on. The appliance rumbling as it began its efforts to cool the room, I sat on the bed and removed my boots. Tossing them aside, I reclined on the bed and closed my eyes, hoping Ana would join me.
The day after I'd fucked Teresa, I'd tracked Letícia down at Árbol. In my more than five weeks in Mata, I'd realized the women rotated through five of the largest bars in town, the ones located nearest the two nicer hotels, trolling for customers. I assumed since all the money went back to Javier for his cut, there were no territories to protect.
Ana had been there when I took Letícia to the hotel, and I'd seen the hurt in her eyes that I'd chosen a competitor over her. I had a job to do, and taking Letícia somewhere private where I could get a blood sample and swab her pussy was part of it, but just as I wouldn't kick a dog for no reason, I didn't like seeing the hurt in Ana's eyes.
I'd done what I needed to with Letícia, but before I left the room, I'd told her to go home, with the warning that if I saw her in Mata before Thursday, the deal was off. I wasn't willing to risk a case of cock-rot just for a little information. She promised to take herself out of circulation for the next three days, and that she'd meet me at Árbol, Thursday morning, at nine. As I was leaving, she'd reminded me to bring
her
watch. I'd smiled, reminded her it was
my
watch until she fucked it out of me, and left her in the room.
In the room, I'd placed Letícia's blood and swabs on ice in a cooler, and though I wanted to get them back to the doc as soon as possible, I'd taken the time to stop back in at Árbol. Ana was still there, her puzzlement clear that I'd returned after less than ten minutes. I'd invited her to join me in our normal place today. She'd said she'd think about it. I hadn't pressed, not wanting to remind her that our relationship was still, technically, professional.
As I waited on the test results, I'd made sure I had dinner in town each evening before prowling the bars and asking for Letícia. Nobody had seen her for the last several days, so I was reasonably certain she was holding up her end of the bargain.
Yesterday, Tuesday evening, I'd gotten the results of Letícia's tests. She was free of disease. I'd been somewhat surprised that Ana had been, even though every whore I fucked carried a supply of condoms, but less so that Letícia was. Not because I thought Letícia was better than Ana, but because finding Ana clean indicated that Javier wanted to keep his whores healthy.
I was dozing when a rap on the door jerked me awake. With a stretch and a yawn, I made my way to the door. Ana was there.
"I'm glad you came," I said as I stepped back.
"Are you?" she asked, her tone sharp. "I thought maybe you'd rather fuck that dried up old bitch Letícia."
I couldn't help but smile. "Why, Ana Sofía Quintero... are you jealous?"
"Fuck you, you gringo bastard. You don't mean anything to me. You're just another customer." I held her gaze a moment, amused by her annoyance. "Are we going to fuck or not?" she demanded.
My smile spread. "You want it up front?"
"Yes."
I struggled not to snicker. She was really pissed. "Four hours, like normal?"
"Fine."
I slowly drew the fat envelope containing the money given to me by Voice from behind my back. I held it out to her. "Here you go. That should cover it."
She stared at the envelope for a moment. It was obvious that, unless the envelope was stuffed with ones, there was more than the two hundred dollars I owed her tucked inside. "What's this?" she asked as her eyes flicked from the envelope, to my eyes, and then back to the envelope.
"This is our last time together. I want to give you this." She took the envelope, opened it, and then looked back at me, her shock clear. "That's ten thousand dollars... for you."
She stared at the contents of the envelope for a long moment before she turned her gaze to me. "But... why?"
"Because I want you to have it... for your little girl."
Her face crumpled. For the briefest of moments, I thought she was going to try to refuse, or maybe cry, but then she folded the money and tucked it away into her small purse. Had the bills not been all hundreds, it wouldn't have fit. "Thank you," she whispered as a single tear rolled down her cheek. She wiped it away and no others fell.
"You're welcome."
"I don't understand. Why would you do this for me? I'm just a whore."
I stepped in close and caressed her cheek softly. "You may be a whore, but you're not
just
a whore. Life dealt you a shitty hand and you're doing what you have to in order to survive. I want to help."
She held my gaze for a long moment before snuggling into my chest. "I'm sorry for what I said."
"It's okay."
"It's none of my business, but...?"
"I had something I needed to do with Letícia, in private, but I didn't fuck her."
"Was it related to you fucking her that one time... and what happened in the police station?"
"Yes."
"Are you in trouble?"
"With Javier?" She nodded against my chest. "No."
"I'm glad."
"I'm sorry I upset you."
"Are you?"
"Yes." I gently pushed her back and then tipped her face up. "If things were different, maybe..."
She shook her head as she snuggled into my chest again. "That's just a dream. Women like me... we don't get to have dreams."
Her statement hurt. "I wish I could do more to help you."
"You've done more for me, and treated me better, than any man ever has. And now... with the money..." She shook her head. "Thank you... for everything."
I caressed her cheek until she looked up. I lowered my lips to hers. Maybe, just maybe, I could take down that asshole Toro and give Ana a chance to find herself a better life. I wasn't willing to kill that fucker in cold blood, but I was going to do my damnedest to put a noose around his neck and draw it tight.
