Love & Lies

Chapter 11: ~Natalia~

"How long has my mother been here?" Natalia asked him after a while and kept her eyes closed. She feared the answer to the question. The thought of her mother spending so much time with the enemy and the endless possibilities of her being hurt in any way, terrorized her. She felt the movement of Alejandro's head atop of hers as he spoke, his words leaving his lips in slow motion. Or at least she heard them that way.

"Elena has been here over a year. She was one of the last refugees we brought."

A year? Only a year? God, the things she must have endured. The thought sent chills throughout her body. Tears started to fall down her cheeks once again. Alejandro heard her and wrapped both arms tightly around her, and she held onto him for dear life.

"I want to help." She said, clearing her voice. "I want to help you save as many lives as we can. I had made the decision to take back my business, to bring back the De La Vega cartel and finish Solano that way, but now I know." She shook her head. "I do not want to go down that road again. I want to help these people and I want to destroy Solano once and for all."

"I am glad you want to, mariposa. But I am not sure you will be able to do anything about Solano."

Natalia leaned back to look at Alejandro's face and frowned, cleaning away the tears from her face.

"What do you mean?"

"Since the last time we raided his compound, and rescued all the people, no one knows what happened to him. He went off the radar. No one knows where he is. As far as I know he was wounded by one of my men, but they did not actually see him die."

"Why didn't they confirm the kill?" She asked him, getting a little angry and anxious.

"That was not the priority, Natalia. My men's orders were to extract the victims. Yes, we shot whoever tried to get on our way, but we did not stay to make sure they were dead. We needed to get in and get out as fast as possible.

"We? What do you mean we? You went with them?"

"Yes, I always go on the missions. I make sure everything goes according to plan."

Natalia worried at the thought of Alejandro going along with his men to do these missions. She did not want to imagine him getting hurt, and the thought sent another wave of chills through her body. Her feeling that way about him surprised her a little. She was not used to feeling any type of way for any man before. Where it concerned men, she always made sure to keep her distance, but there was something about Alejandro that made her act and think different. She tried to concentrate on something or someone else. Solano. Anger riled up in her mind.

"We have been trying to locate him ever since you were almost captured by his men but haven't had any luck." Natalia heard him continue. It was then something came rushing through her mind. A memory.

"I might be able to help with that." She said while thinking about it for a moment.

"How?"

"I am not sure if you know this already, but the reason my mother fell into Solano's hands was because of me." She watched Alejandro lifted his eyebrows in question, confirming her doubt. He did not know. She let go of him and continued talking.

"My first shipment was a complete disaster. The federals ceased it and some of my men went to prison. Turns out, the cargo was Solano's. He covered for me and in return I had to work for him. He made sure I would not turn against him by taking my mother and making her live with him for years. Solano kept her safe and did not harm her as long as I did whatever he asked." Natalia looked away, feeling ashamed.

"I learned quick not to trust anyone, and so I got into the habit of paying attention to everything going on around me. On many occasions I overheard conversations of a matter that is considered sensitive. I knew Solano was involved in the human trafficking business, but I did not know he became the number one supplier in Central and South America."