Heroine Hearts Read online

  She goes and sits on the trunk at the end of the bed. I know she’s waiting for me to strike, to make a decision of what to do, but instead, I catch a good look at her. Her beauty is like none I have seen before and I know it’s entirely wrong of me to begin thinking about her as I am, but she’s stunning. She wears no makeup and her hair hangs freely. I’m a lucky man for being allowed to spend time with such a woman who, in the face of everything she’s clearly had to deal with, still doesn’t look mortally wounded by it.

  “You’re a very confusing man,” she says, gripping the sides of the trunk as she looks at me. “And I’m scared that you don’t fit in here how they want you to.”

  “I probably don’t,” I say, stepping toward her.

  “Your actions proved otherwise,” she grouses, tilting her head sideways. “I have welcomed a lot of men to the El Salvador, done my job with each new one and the same way I did the last, but you come along and you refuse it all.”

  “I’m not in the habit of raping women,” I gripe, my brow furrowing. “It’s not in my nature and I’m not about to acquire a need to start.”

  “Then I hope for your sake, you’re a good liar, Javier Santos,” she muses, jumping as a knock comes from the main door.

  I frown as I watch her jump up to remove her dress once more and rushes to the bed, messing up the sheets and pillows, leaving them a crumpled heap. In a frantic panic, she rushes back over to me, ripping the towel away from my body, leaving me stark naked.

  “What the fuck are you doing?” I ask her, looking down at myself.

  She doesn’t look away from my semi-erection and I feel a blush heating my cheeks. Fuck, yes I was turned on by her innocence and beauty, but at least, I had a towel to help cover it up. Now, she’s staring down at my cock and I have no idea what she’s doing!

  “Well?” I bark, causing her to jump.

  She lifts her head up, her eyes shooting up to meet mine.

  “Trust me, I’ll be thanking you for a lifetime if you do this.”

  She quickly steps back, almost running to the door. She opens it and faces the entrance allowing a large brute of a man in.

  “Beautiful as always, Princesa,” the new guy states. He steps by her and throws my luggage onto the bed. “Hector,” he announces and puts his hand out. “Already a fan of your work.”

  “I’m glad,” I appeal to his amusement and shake his hand.

  I feel it weird how he doesn’t even seem bothered by my nudity; instead, he takes it in his stride. Yet I don’t. When he releases my hand, I go and grab my towel, wrapping it around my waist once more.

  “I hope Eighteen is keeping you good company,” he speaks, looking over his shoulder at Eighteen before returning a gaze at me. “Santiago says she ain’t good in the sack, but I’ve never been disappointed with her.”

  “So far, she’s pretty damn good,” I comment, looking at Eighteen as she stands before me looking nervous as fuck. “Pretty damn tight if you ask me.”

  “Right, man?” he asks, grinning like a Cheshire cat. “You’d think a pussy done as many times as some of the girls here wouldn’t be such a pleasure, but that bitch there feels fresh each time.”

  “Was thinking of getting another round in before dinner,” I remark, hoping he’ll leave sooner than later.

  “Well, don’t let me keep you. You got like twenty minutes or so before Joaquín will want you down stairs.” He gives me a grin before approaching Eighteen. “See you at dinner, Chica.”

  He slaps her ass and she closes her eyes as he does so.

  “See you for dinner, Javier!” he calls out, leaving completely.

  Eighteen follows, closing the door promptly behind me. There’s a moment she lingers staring at the wooden panels before she turns back to me. I can’t help but look at her firm breasts as she stands before me, but when she moves, I remind myself to look away.

  “Why did you do that?” I ask her, following her across the room. “He could’ve easily caught us both out.”

  “You’ll realize in this place, if you aren’t going to be a part of the game, you have to play a part. You either live it or learn to fake it.” She picks her dress up and my towel, throwing it at me. “You can get dressed now.”

  With her piece said, she leaves the room, leaving me to stew over the moment.

  I get to sit beside Joaquín, but opposite Santiago. Apparently, the fucker likes to manhandle the girls as they put the food on the table for us. There isn’t an ounce of respect for any of them.

  “You’re seemingly a lot politer when you’re not in the middle of warfare, Javier,” Joaquín states after I thank one of the girls for bringing me a drink. “It’s a first in this place.”

  I smirk, exhaling somewhat of a chuckle as I bring my hand up to rub my jaw. I could spill some bullshit about how I’m a good guy really. One who’s just been led down the wrong path, but in all honesty, I don’t have time for that.

  “I’m not a follower of that motto... treat em’ mean, keep em’ keen,” I tell him honestly, the room falling silently at my attitude. “I find you get further with a girl who gets shown a little chivalry than one that doesn’t. Easiest way to get into their panties.”

  “Did you try that one on Eighteen?” Santiago asks, a little snicker in his words. “She seems smitten.”

  “No,” I say, laughing at the irony of the moment. “She willingly threw herself at me.”

  “That’s my girl!” Joaquín exclaims, giving her an appreciative wink from across the room. “She knows how to do the job like none other. “However...” Joaquín starts, but quickly trails off, his face darkening somewhat. “We do need to discuss the matter of Jenny’s death.” There’s a pause, allowing the tension to rise as he watches Eighteen shift from foot to foot. “It doesn’t matter that the death is covered up, but we know we honor the girls who fall in their time here... and she’s back over the border still.”

  “We can always get her body brought back,” Santiago observes, causing my interest to prick.

  “Eighteen,” Joaquín orders, putting his fingers up to snap them at her. “Come here, Princesa.” She obeys his command and approaches him, taking a spot to his right. “What happened?”

  I watch her face cloud over, a sense of grief and loss taking her over. There are more words spoken in her expression than ones that will ever leave her mouth. I don’t know what they’re discussing, but I can tell it was something that is now haunting Eighteen.

  “The solution didn’t work,” she begins to state, seemingly nervous. “The rest of us passed all of the balloons, but Jenny hadn’t been able to. I didn’t know until the morning of our last day that she was having issues. She never said anything to me.”

  “From what I heard, the boys kept you in their room to test the drugs,” Joaquín muses, letting her know he’s been told one side of the story.

  “Yes, el maestro,” she confirms, nodding her head. “I did my job while leaving Chloe in charge of the other girls. They each passed all eighty balloons, they were in the clear. Jenny said she was fine, she was only a few behind, but would be good by morning so we could come home.”

  “And she definitely drank all of the solution?” he asks, furrowing his brow.

  “Yes, el maestro, we drank it all together,” Eighteen once again replies. “I saw that she had drunk it all, but come that final morning, she was still missing at least ten balloons.”

  “And they killed her on the spot?”

  Eighteen nods, dipping her head as the shame of tears washes across her lashes. Joaquín stands up, approaching her swiftly only to tenderly lift her head forcing her to look at him. He treats her with such tenderness that I wonder how he allows everyone else to mistreat her.

  “This was no one’s fault,” he tells her calmly. “She is another fallen soul. There was nothing you could do but come home, Eighteen. You hear me?” he asks her, and she nods her head. “Now, you know how I hate the water-works. You all risk your life for me, but you know never to
fight for the fallen. I hear you did. Is that true?”

  “Yes, el maestro,” she says, lowering her tone with hesitancy.

  Eighteen was standing before him one moment; seconds later, she in a heap on the floor from him back-handing her straight across her cheek. The fact that his calm exterior shows nothing that would allude what he just did makes it worse. I never expected him to mistreat her like he just did.

  Again, my blood boils, and I feel my fist beginning to clench under the table. I calmly remind myself that these men are the enemy. They don’t care about anything but drugs, alcohol, and a bit of ass.

  “You have been warned before, Eighteen!” he bellows at her, leaning down to spit on her cowering body. “You never talk back or refuse my men on the other side anything! You certainly do not go against what they think is right for business!”

  “I’m sorry, el maestro.”

  “Sorry isn’t good enough, Eighteen! Do you know how bad it reflects on me that I send disobedient little girls over the border to do my job for me?” he bellows, his anger becoming more aggressive with each new breath he takes. As if to exert him, he kicks her square in the stomach. “How am I meant to trust you on these runs now?”

  “You can!” Eighteen professes, getting up to look him in the eyes. Her voice is weak, still recovering from having the wind knocked out of her from the force of his kick, but her argumentative tone is solid. “I’m the only one that knows how to look after these girls on those runs and you know it! You hear me?”

  “Back off, Joaquín, you cause her any abdominal injuries and she’s not worth shit,” Hector steps in stopping Joaquín from lashing out again, standing up, he even comes over to help Eighteen up off the floor. The way Joaquín reacts to the other man tells me there’s more respect here than I thought. “You know they’re like precious fucking cargo to us!”

  I wonder how a man like Hector earned the right to argue with the boss’ actions, disbelieving in his punishments and taking such a public stand. From what I had heard, that was almost a suicide mission.

  “We can use the other method,” Joaquín mocks. “Fill her belly any way possible. I don’t even care if we have to cut them open to do it.”

  “They’re less viable that way... the girls and the drugs, that is,” I state on instinct, not even thinking about the words.

  “And how the fuck do you know that?” Santiago asks, sitting up-right to lean forward toward me across the table. “How the fuck does a nobody like you, know something that important?”

  I shrug. “I’ve learned a lot in my life,” I casually reply, looking him straight in the eye. I’ve opened my mouth up now, it’s time I showcase what sort of asset I can be. “You want her fit for this, then I suggest you lay off the heavy-handedness and keep with the strategy you use.” I look directly to Joaquín after that. “In the intestines, they’re more protected, less likely to rupture or cause any harm to the mule carrying them before they can dispose of them into the right hands. You start putting them into their abdominal cavity and you’re asking for trouble.”

  “How do you work that out?” Joaquín asks, sinking into his seat to forget about Eighteen. “Seeing as you know more than me, Javier, explain.”

  “I’m not here to step on toes,” I say, admitting an easy defeat to show my alliance. “I expect you know a lot of this, but changing your method only leads to complications for her and any other girls health, but you end up having wandering balloons of cocaine in their bodies. You’ll have a massacre on your hands and lose girls quicker than any of you take to ejaculate when fucking any one of them. You have a foolproof plan, it’s clearly working, why would you change that now?”

  Joaquín takes a moment, pondering on what I’ve said. He exchanges a few glances before reverting his gaze back to me. Under it, I start to feel my pulse race as nervous energy releases into my bloodstream. I’ve either done the worst thing possible or shown myself as an asset once more.

  “Fucking man talks sense! He thinks just like we do,” Joaquín declares, throwing his hands up in the air at the triumph. “We keep this man on board before we fuck up anything! You keep proving yourself like this, Santos, and we’re in for a real treat with you. We need some level-headedness around here.”

  “Think the treats on him tonight,” Santiago mentions, relaxing back in his seat. “Tonight we celebrate the new recruit.”

  Suddenly I feel an immense amount of pressure land on my shoulders as all eyes fall on me before noise erupts and we get lost in the beginning of the festivities.

  “But next time,” Joaquín starts, “Don’t embarrass me like this. We use the means we have with the girls we find. Sometimes we get reckless with our manner of using them, but from what I’ve seen, you’re one to keep us in line.”

  I ignore the girl trying to arouse me and I cast my gaze across the room. The barbaric nature of this cartel is far worse than I could have ever prepared myself for. I wanted a part in this, I wanted a hand in their life, but I hate myself for partaking in it.

  I watch Eighteen being taken from the room, flanked by three men. Clearly, they forgot she was mine for the night, my mind grouses darkly. Curiosity has gotten the better of me far too many times tonight where she’s concerned, but something about her keeps pulling me in her direction.

  “I’ll be right back,” I say, giving the girl on my lap a slight push so she’s forced to stand. “Don’t go far.”

  She nods, letting me leave. I rush over to the doorway where Eighteen just left, following in their footsteps until I realize I have no clue where they went in the labyrinth of this house. I guess and follow where another girl and one of Joaquín’s men enter.

  I come across the open doorway and I gaze in, hesitating to enter. At first, I see one of the girls from dinner before held down and fucked roughly, her lip bitten between her teeth as she tries in vain not to cry. However, movement catches my attention and I see two of the men naked, one with his cock in his hand, but as he moves, I look ahead, seeing what their plan is. Eighteen lies on the bed held down by one of the men while the others prepare. I linger longer than I want and I see them exact their plan. While one of them climbs on top of her, clearly thrusting into her the moment he’s ready, I watch her body jolt upwards on the bed, her eyes staring forward.

  That’s not what sickens me most, it’s her silence that strikes a chord with me. She doesn’t make a single sound – just like they all said.

  She lays there, lifeless in the eyes, just letting them defile her one by one.

  Hating myself for following, I back away from the room, heading back down the corridor to the main room. I cross the courtyard where they’re drawing up lines of cocaine and pick up the rolled-up bill.

  “Running with the big guys, eh?” Santiago sneers, rubbing the back of his hand across his nose. “Go for it... won’t get anything better than that right there.”

  I follow where he points, looking at the perfectly made lines of cocaine. I grin at him before I bend down and sniff one line in a single shot. I drop the bill as I stand up, feeling the drugs burning the back of my nose before allowing reality to start losing such harshness.

  If I’m going to survive the first day, I want to be high for as much of it as possible.

  I love the sense of twilight.

  The way the moon can be just as bright as the sun, rivaling it with such a beautiful hue that everything seems to sparkle.

  Even here, that beauty doesn’t falter in any way.

  It’s why sometimes; I enjoy lying awake while everyone sleeps. The only noise heard is the other girls’ heavy breathing or the sound of the night watch-men doing their rounds. Apart from that, I can sit at the large window; look out across the courtyard and toward the vast in the far distance.

  No one would believe that there is peace in hell.

  I look across the room, watching all of the girls sleeping so silently and I can’t stop myself from smiling just a little – another day we all survived. Sure, we lost Jenny
only less than a week ago, but with all of the recruiting Joaquín has started, we’ve all fared well.

  These girls, the ones who all sleep beside me at night, are the reason I don’t give up. We all understand one another on a level no one else outside of this room will ever know. We live the same horrors and have dealt with the same self-loathing that follows every sexual assault. We’ve cared for one another when times have gotten rough, when beatings have gotten harder, and when we’re so close to the edge, death seems like our sanest decision.

  Turning away, I know I need to get free of this room; I need to seek out the moonlight. I have to gather my strength back and be the girl that leads them all.

  I leave, wanting to head outside for some fresh air. I creep from the room, closing the door behind me and look both ways down the corridor looking for the night watchmen I heard just heard just pass the room. When I see them turn the corner to my right, I head left. I’m quick with my steps, hurrying myself to get outside to the courtyard.

  However, as I turn a corner, I walk straight into somebody.

  “I was just coming to wake you up,” he says, his hand coming to greet my throat – a move he uses often. Santiago pushes me against the wall behind me, my head slamming hard against the stone. His eyes are dark and twisted and every heave he exhales, I can smell the intense scent of liquor on his breath. “You never fucked him!” he starts, bellowing the words at me. “You never even fucking touched him!”

  “I-I did,” I lie, arguing with Santiago to force my freedom. “I did my job. He enjoyed it.”

  “Fucking liar!” he sneers, leaning in closer to my face. “You’re a fucking liar, Eighteen, and my God, I’m so excited to see you get punished for it.”

  “I didn’t lie!” I defend, causing him to bite back with a callous laugh.

  “There was no condom in the room, Eighteen,” he growls, grinding the words out. “And Sammy walked past the room, hearing just what happened in there. The dirty pervert wanted to listen in on the action, but instead he got an earful of you two having to lie.”