My dry mouth tasted like it had been coated with the contents of an ashtray. I stared at myself in the massive mirror that stood over two black marble sinks before looking away and trying to distract myself from my battered state by examining the bathroom. Slate tiles adorned the floor, bordered by a complex mosaic of brass, coral, and turquoise glass tiles. The place reeked of wealth and elegance, a lovely space that I would normally have admired, but right now I was just trying to keep myself from freaking the hell out.

I looked like I’d been in a car crash.

Felt like it, too.

After I lifted the edge of the bandage covering the wound on my head with a wince, I gasped when I saw the damage. Nausea filled my mouth with spit as I examined the jagged cut running from my temple into my shaved hairline, the tiny black stitches making my skin crawl. They’d had to shave a small section in order to stitch the cut, eleven in all, and I was thankful my crazy blonde hair was fluffy enough to hide the damage.

One time, when I was fifteen and bored with Hannah during a sleepover, we’d brushed my hair out until it stood up in this crazy blonde afro, reminding me of the fluff on a dandelion.

The memory of my friend, of that night, helped to ground me, and I managed to shake off my growing panic. Crap, how long had I been in here, staring at the mirror? When I’d awoken, a very nice old Hispanic lady named Juanita helped me to the bathroom after making sure I was okay on my own. At first, I’d been confused, utterly unable to remember how I’d gotten into this luxurious place. Once I’d relieved myself, I finally gathered the courage to look into the mirror so I could figure out why my head hurt so bad. The fragmented memories had come rushing back as I remembered the terror that filled me as that man, Ray, beat the shit out of me.

An unwanted flash of memory seared through me like a bullet—the blinding blast of light and pain that had accompanied being struck across the head twice with the butt of a gun left me whimpering. Pain flared along my ribs as I gasped, and my hands went to my sore sides, the agony of being helpless to defend myself as I was kicked repeatedly fresh in my mind.

The pathetic sounds escaping me echoed through the bedroom as I braced my shaking hands on the edge of the sink and looked down into the drain, away from my shattered expression.

Okay, wherever I was, I was safe. And if I was safe, Hannah was probably safe as well. God, please let her be safe.

Fucking Kayla. My idiotic roommate had brought home her drug dealer and his friends. And not just any drug dealer. No, Kayla had to bring a drug dealer who was evidently mortal enemies with Leo Brass, Hannah’s boyfriend, into our home. How I wished I hadn’t told those men she was Leo’s girlfriend. As soon as I said those words, trying to scare Manny off because Leo was a scary dude, I knew I’d made a mistake. The thought of that dreadful moment of silence as they all looked at me still made me shake and my throat fill with acid. There was no life in their eyes, only evil.

The knowledge that people as evil as they were truly existed fucked with my sense of reality. Never in my life would I have imagined anyone would beat me up. While I fought with my siblings, I’ve never been really hurt before. I mean, I’ve broken bones and had the usual childhood injuries…but being beaten was different. Those blows didn’t just hurt my body, they destroyed my naive belief that the world was a good, safe place.

The things Ray said he were going to do to me…to film while he tortured me? God, hadn’t he said something about cutting me open and fucking my heart? I rushed over to the toilet just in time to throw up the bitter bile from my heaving stomach.

“Oh, mija.” An older woman’s lightly accented voice came from behind me as I lay over the rim of the toilet and wanted to just die. “Come on, let’s get you cleaned up. You have a mild concussion and may feel out of sorts for a bit. You’re on pain medication, but you’re due for another dose soon, but let me know if you feel like you need it now. There’s no reason for you to needlessly suffer.”

When I opened my eyes, I found a very elegant, older Hispanic woman watching me with heavy-lidded brown eyes. Dressed in a cranberry watered silk pantsuit, there wasn’t a hair on her silver and black head that was out of place, and her makeup was impeccable. When she reached to help me up, I was surprised at how strong she was. For a woman in probably her late fifties or early sixties, she had some muscle on her.

“N-no pain medication. I’m good.” The need to never show weakness had me smiling as much as I could with my sore face.

The older woman’s Latin accent became heavier as she said, “Come now, let’s get you into the shower. It has a bench, so you can sit, but we need to get the blood out of your lovely hair as much as we can without getting your wound wet.”

I could only stare at her as she helped me undress, totally thrown for a loop before I managed to stutter out, “Hannah, is she okay?”

“Yes, she’s fine. Well, she’s suffered some injuries, but nothing permanent.”

“And Kayla?”

“That one is being sent back to her parents, so they can deal with her.”

“Where am I? Who are you?” She reached for my bra, and I smacked her hand away. “Hey now!”

The woman cocked her head and gave me a stern look that had me wanting to apologize for hitting her when she’d been trying to take off my underwear. “Can you manage it yourself?”

“I’m not doing anything until you tell me what’s going on with Hannah.”

I realized that I must look a little silly, with my hands on my hips, in my not matching black bra and grey panties, glaring at her. But I had enough, and I wasn’t backing down until I knew what was going on my best friend.

“Hannah is going to be okay. She’s resting. My name is Judith Cordova, Leo—Hannah’s boyfriend—is my son in everything but blood. You’re at my house, recovering in safety and comfort, after the terrible ordeal you endured.” I must have swayed, because she reached out and put her hand on my shoulder, steadying me as she tilted her head down to look me in the eyes. “The men that hurt you have been dealt with. They will never bother you again.”

For some strange reason, I believed her. “What happened to them?”

She turned on the shower for me. “We’ll talk about it after you’ve cleaned up. The dried blood must be making your skin itch.”

Now that she mentioned it, my whole body suddenly felt itchy and yucky. “What about the police? Do I need to give a statement or something?”

“When you’re better. You had quite a knock to your head, but my physician assures me you will be just fine.” She paused for a moment and her gaze went soft in a way that changed her whole intimidating façade into one filled with maternal warmth and concern. “Did those men…touch you in any way?”

 “You mean besides pistol whipping me and kicking me around like a soccer ball?” I rubbed my suddenly chilled arms. “Other than that, I’m okay.”

The wrinkles around her mouth deepened as she frowned, that ice queen look she wore so well taking over. “Please, mija, take a shower. I find the sight of the blood in your hair quite distressing.”

Lifting my hands to where my curls were crusted with my dried blood, I took in a deep, shivery breath. “Yuck.”

“Do you need help washing? You must try to keep the bandage dry.”

No doubt blushing my ass off, I shook my head. “No, I’ll be careful, and I can take it from here. I was a rough and tumble kid. This isn’t the first cut on my head I’ve ever had.”

She nodded. “I’ll be waiting for you in your bedroom. There are clothes for you on the vanity. I’m going to leave the door cracked, so if you feel dizzy and need me, call me so I can get to you before you break your stubborn head open again on the tile. And let me tell you, a second knock to your head at this point would be very detrimental. If done in the right area, you could lose precious memories, or the use of your limbs. With a hard enough crack, you could spend the rest of your days as a vegetable, or suffer from daily seizures. But, since you appear to be a smart young woman, I’m sure you won’t push yourself too far. Correct?”

Man, she was scary. “Yes, ma’am.”

“Judith will do.” She gave me a small smile that warmed her mercurial brown eyes as she left, keeping the door opened about two inches, as promised.

After soaking my sore body in the deliciously hot water, and carefully washing my hair as much as I could, I dressed in a very pretty, feminine ruffled pair of peach pajama pants and an off-white peasant blouse with small flowers stitched around the edging.

There was also a hair dryer with a diffuser on it and a can of high end styling mouse for curly hair. Whoever Judith Cordova was, she sure knew how to make a girl feel welcome. Top of the line cosmetics and girly stuff occupied the other half of the vanity, all sealed in small, sample sizes. If I wasn’t so eager to find out why my world had suddenly turned into an episode of the Twilight Zone, I would have had fun playing with all the luxurious girly stuff. There was even a new bottle of lotion in my favorite strawberry and peach pie scent.

After drying my mass of curls and brushing it as best I could, I sighed and stopped avoiding leaving the bathroom. When I fully opened the door to the bedroom, Judith and Leo were waiting for me. While Judith was as cool as a glass of ice water, Leo was a hot mess. His eyes were even more sunken in than normal, and blood stained his white dress shirt in irregular, drying patches. At the sight of all that dark red, my stomach lurched and I had to look away, breathing deep.

“Joy?” Mrs. Cordova asked, “Are you all right?”

“His shirt, the blood.”

“Oh…oh, of course. Yes, you would find that distressing. Leo, go clean up before you join us, please.”

He murmured something and the door clicked before I dared to raise my eyes again, a sickly sweat breaking out on my skin and erasing the temporarily clean feeling the shower had left behind.

“Was that Hannah’s blood?”

“It was.”

My pulse thundered hard enough that I could barely hear my voice over it. “How badly was she hurt?”

“They beat her rather severely.”

My knees wanted to buckle, but I made myself stay strong, my worry for Hannah so immense it cut me. “Did…did they rape her?”

“No, thank the Blessed Mother, they did not. Mark arrived in time to stop them from doing her any permanent damage.”

A shudder worked through me. “Who were they? They…the guy named Ray, he said he was going to slit me open from m-my vagina to my bottom and have sex with me in the cut while filming it. He said…he said he was going to make me a star.”

Judith stood so swiftly, the chair behind her toppled to the floor before she began to pace. “He said that to you?”

I nodded, shivering and totally freaked out by the intense vibe Judith was giving off.

“That animal. If he wasn’t already dead, I’d kill him myself.”

“What?”

“Those men were smut peddlers of the worst kind, evil men who pandered to the dregs of humanity on the Dark Net.”

“The Dark Net? You mean the hidden internet? That’s not real, it’s just in movies. And what do you mean, they’re dead?”

Abruptly stopping, Judith nailed me with a shadowy stare that was more than a little bit crazy. “Every myth is based on a kernel of truth. In this case, the Dark Net is very real, and the men who assaulted you catered to snuff film enthusiasts. Trust me when I say that, across the world, families are rejoicing that the killers of their sons and daughters have been brought to justice.”

“How did they die?”

“In your old apartment,” Leo said from the doorway in a broken voice. “They opened fire on Mark, and he had no choice but to shoot back in order to save Hannah.”

I turned to look at him, freshly washed but still looking like shit. His long dark blond hair was tied back and he’d dressed in a new, clean black suit, but exhaustion carved dark circles beneath his eyes. While it was obvious he loved Hannah with every bone in his body, he seemed to look at the majority of the rest of the world with disdain. I think he liked me, in his own way, but he would never be what I could think of as affectionate with anyone but Hannah. Between him and Judith, the dangerous, intense vibe in the room rose up by like a thousand percent. I tried to put some distance between myself and them, wandering over to the window with the pretense of looking out into the gorgeous desert garden illuminated by the early morning sunlight.

“How did you know we were in trouble?”

“There was some miscommunication and Mark, my bodyguard, was unaware Hannah had left. As soon as he found out, he went to your apartment to check on Hannah and instead found Manny Santiago and his men….”

His whole body shuddered and there was so much pain in his gaze that I couldn’t stop myself from going to him and taking his hand in my own, trying to ignore the traces of dried blood still trapped in the crevices of his knuckles.

“But she’s okay, right?”

“Yes.” He squeezed my hand briefly, then let go. “She’s okay.”

Leo didn’t like people in his personal space, so I quickly gave him room by taking a seat on the edge of the bed. The bruises I’d seen on my side where Ray kicked me throbbed. “Do I need to speak with the police? Like, give them a statement or anything? I don’t want Mark getting in trouble.”

“Yes, some officers will come to my home to question you,” Judith said in a kind voice. She fiddled with a large rose quartz paperweight on the table next to the bed which sparkled in the light coming through the windows. “I’m afraid you can’t go back to your apartment right now, Joy. It’s a crime scene.”

“A crime scene? Right…I didn’t think about that.”

My lower lip trembled as I fought back tears. Crap, our home was probably covered with blood and bullet holes. I mean, our apartment wasn’t luxurious by any means, and our stuff had seen better days, but it had been my first place of my own. Well, kind of my own. Hannah and Kayla were my roommates, but it was our home. Only now, it wasn’t. And the thought of setting foot in what had been my refuge from the world, but was now a murder scene, made me queasy.

Leo’s deep voice pulled me from my thoughts. “Hannah wants you to stay with us while she recovers. Mark, my second in command, has a house on my property. Its good sized, five bedrooms, and he lives there alone. Because he works insane hours, he’s never home. Even when he is, all he does is play video games. You’d have your own room with an attached bathroom, as well as a room we can convert into a study for you to do your schoolwork.”

Overwhelmed with his generosity, but not wanting to take advantage of it, I babbled out, “Thank you so much, but I couldn’t possibly impose on him like that.”

“Please, Joy,” Leo interrupted me, “please come stay with us. It would make Hannah feel better to know you’re safe.”

“Okay. I promise I won’t be there long, Mr. Brass, and—”

“Call me Leo.”

It seemed stupid that something as small as him asking me to call him by his first name would make me feel better, but it did. Leo was a very closed off man, but I knew he loved Hannah to death, and right now I was happy she had him in her life. He was good for her, really good, and she’d blossomed beneath his attention in the short time they’d been together. Yeah, their relationship was kind of kinky and unconventional, but for Hannah, he was just right. I wanted us to be friends, and the whole you can only call me Mr. Brass thing had irritated me.

Blinking back tears, I said, “About damn time.”

Judith chuckled while Leo shook his head. “I take it back.”

I started to laugh, but it hurt my head and I winced. “Shit.”

Judith was suddenly all business as she helped me back into bed. “The doctor said for you to rest, and take it easy. Are you hungry? I can have a light meal sent up. I believe the chef made some Sopa de Pollo con Fideos.”

Hunger roared through me as I sat up quick enough to make my sore body flinch. “Really? I love that soup. It’s my favorite. My abuela Rosa made it for me all the time growing up.”

Judith gave me a warm smile. “Did you spend a lot of time with your abuela?”

“Yeah. My mom’s a nurse, and she worked full time. So did my dad. My abuelo died before I was born, so my abuela moved into a house nearby and watched us until my dad or mom got home from work. Sometimes also on the weekends. I loved spending the night at her house. It was always so comfortable, so peaceful. You’d walk into her home and leave your troubles at the door, you know what I mean? She knew how to make you feel like you were always welcome and loved.”

The combination of stress, my aching body, and hunger had me raising a shaky hand to my face as I brushed away tears, overwhelmed by memories and emotions.

“I do understand,” Leo surprised me by saying. “My mom was the same way. Our apartments were always located in complete dumps, but she’d work some kind of magic so that once that door closed, the rest of the world disappeared and you were home.”

Blinking my watery gaze at him, I forced a smile. “So, yeah, long answer short, I spent a lot of time at her house growing up.”

Leo raised his hand briefly in a silent goodbye as he left the room. Judith checked her phone then took a seat in the chair next to my bed. “If you don’t mind, I’ll keep you company while you eat.”

“No, please, join me. I really…well, I don’t want to be alone right now.”

“Understandable. Tell me about your tutoring. Do you have a favorite subject?”

We talked all through the meal and long afterward. By the time we were done with our visit, I was just about ready to pass out. From what I learned, in addition to being a very successful businesswoman, Judith was a philanthropist who donated a great deal to the public school system and was involved in over a dozen scholarship foundations. I was also surprised to learn that we’d both lived in Tucson at one point, but on different ends of the city. Her boys had gone to my high school, but her youngest son was eight years older than me. There was no chance I would have known them, since they’d moved to Phoenix while I was still in junior high.

When my belly was full, and I’d eaten my body weight in fresh baked bread layered with sweet butter, I sighed and watched Judith shake some pills out of a prescription bottle. “What are those?”

“Mild painkillers my physician left to help you relax and heal.”

I held out my hand, eager to find some relief from the building ache, and washed them down with a swallow of water from the glass on the table next to the bed. I’d felt something similar to this pain when I was thirteen and I’d been in a car accident with my mom. We’d been rear-ended, and even though I’d only had bruises from it, my body had ached for days afterward. It was close how I felt now, but magnified by these weird, brief flashes of panic. I’d be fine, then suddenly my muscles would tense, and I’d find myself watching the door of the room, waiting for someone to burst through it. Judith must have noticed, because she casually mentioned that the doors, which appeared to be pale wood, were actually solid steel on special hinges that prevented them from being kicked in.

Evidently the Cordova’s were big on security, and I wasn’t complaining.

It felt like I’d had my rose-colored glasses ripped off, and the true world behind the illusion of safety and peace was a dirty, evil place full of killers just waiting for a chance to strike.

A chill raced up my spine, and I pulled the covers closer to me.

“Joy?” Judith leaned forward and put her hand on the edge of the bed, her accent a little more noticeable. “Are you all right?”

Not wanting to admit my weakness, I forced a smile. “I’m fine.”

I frowned as Judith rolled her eyes at me. “Mother Mary, give me strength.”

“What?”

“I’m fine, you’re fine, we’re all fine—until we’re not. There is no shame in admitting it. I remember the first time something terrible happened to me.” Her gaze went distant as she sat back in her chair and laced her fingers together, her perfectly polished nails gleaming in the sunlight. “Things can mark you, change you.”

Curious and eager to indulge in my favorite coping mechanism—ignoring my own problems so I can take care of someone else’s—I lay back into the fluffy pillows and tipped my head so I could still watch her. “What happened?”

She hesitated, examining me closely. “That, I think, is a story for another day. Would you like to hear about how my mother and father met, instead?”

I nodded, growing drowsy. “I would, thank you.”

“My mother, Victoria Hernandez, was a very beautiful woman. She was the popular mayor of a small tourist town on the west coast of El Salvador. Through her careful supervision, strength, and brilliance, she managed to turn the town into a thriving tropical resort. You see, the area of El Salvador I lived in as a young child was wild, lush, and oh-so beautiful. I grew up in a small town, sheltered from the massive Pacific Ocean storms by cliffs with soft, sandy beaches perfect for watching the sunset. My mother’s family was fortunate enough to build a hotel in one of the most beautiful spots in the world. As world travel increased, so did their profits. After all, they owned a piece of heaven. The sunsets over the ocean, the lush jungles…truly paradise on earth.” She sighed and it was obvious she was deeply caught up in memories of the past. “Unfortunately, the more profit the town made, the more it attracted the attention of the local cartels. People started to move into her territory, bringing their money with them. Money the cartels felt belonged to them. Even back in the 1950s, the crime lords were as powerful as the official government…and twice as deadly. A few of the smaller cartels tried to move on her territory, to horn in on my mother’s business and basically take over her town.”

I snuggled deeper into comfortable bed, my body sinking into the plush mattress. Judith stood and pulled the curtains closed as she talked, shrouding the room enough to dim the light to a soft glow. She took a seat again, toying absently with the large diamond pendant on her necklace as her gaze went unfocused with memories.

“My mother put them off as long as she could, pretending to consider which cartel she wanted to affiliate the town with, but eventually they grew tired of her delays and kidnapped her. They took her to a meeting where they demanded she pick one of them for a partner. To everyone’s surprise, she went with a powerful young cartel lord from the northern part of the country. A man still making a name for himself. And she didn’t just become business partners with him, she married him.”

“Why? Did she love him?”

“Oh, very much. People used to joke that Victoria and Pablo’s love was one of the great romances of the age. There were even some local folk songs written about their courtship.” A twinkle of warmth entered her dark eyes as she smiled at me. “My mother was instantly drawn to my father, but she said the moment she kissed him for the first time, she knew he was the love of her life.”

“So, like, real love at first sight?”

“Real love at first sight. Or should I say, first kiss?” Judith confirmed with an odd look on her face. “It seems to be the way it works with my family. Nothing as obvious as Cupid’s Arrow, at least for me. I can tell you, the moment I met my husband, I knew he would be someone special in my life. Our first kiss sealed the deal. My children, of course, think I’m foolish, but they’ll learn.”

The drugs were getting to me, and my mind was hazy as I fought off unconsciousness. “Don’t leave.”

She patted my hand with a mysterious smile. “I won’t, mija. Now, go to sleep.”

“Promise?”

“I swear you are safe, Joy. I won’t let anything hurt you anymore.”

Reassured, my thoughts slowed and the world around me faded to black.