Evading Darkness: Book 2

Chapter 10

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"Tell us who's the top three in the cartel and we'll set you free. We Can set you up in a nice little place where no one would find you." He smiled at me, it wasn't a friendly one, you could see the sadistic glint in his eye, waiting for me to fold.

My mind blanked as I tried to come up with a quick answer, but obviously it wasn't because there was a quick and extremely painful jolt. Electricity ran through the cuffs and caused me to scream as I tried to scramble back.

"Fuck! Santos you asshole, why are you doing this?" A few tears escape as I try to remove the cuffs.

We had been at this simulation for 45 minutes and everytime I hesitated or so much as moved in a way that could be considered a tell he would electrocute the hell out of me and what was worse was if I got better at answering the questions he would throw something in to make me waver and he would hit the button again.

"Take a break Marvin." Santos sighed as he sat across from me, his face unreadable. "You need to focus, Jada. We have been at this for a while and you keep making the same mistakes."

"I can't do this okay! I don't even get why this is necessary, cops aren't going to torture me for answers." I glowered at him, willing the cuffs to open so I could choke the shit out of him.

"Do you honestly believe that this exercise is for the police," his head tilted to the side in mock curiosity. "You're about to embark on a world that is more dangerous than the police, mija. Women and children are the most vulnerable parts of the syndicate. Your fiancé, like his father and grandfather, has had the advantage of being a ghost in his reign but just like his secret got out before it can get out again. When that happens the first thing they're going to attack is his reason for living. And the enemy won't just hold you in the room and wait you out, they'll do anything and everything to break you!"

We sat in silence as his words sunk in. They would do anything to weaken Ryder. I had heard the horror stories of wives or girlfriends going missing, some of them coming back with scars that will remain forever while others came back in a body bag or worse.

"What am I doing wrong?" I whispered

You look to the left when you know something vital. You cuff your right thumb when they hit too close to home on certain information and you blink twice when you're nervous," he explained. "The purpose of this exercise is to become the person on the other side of the table so that you're always two steps ahead. Find their tells before they find yours."

~~

I had been handcuffed to this damn table for twenty minutes now.

Hearing the door creek open, I was pulled out of my memory as two agents entered the small room. The one with muscles holding a file and whatever was in it was something he thought would nail me to the cross. "Ms. Morales, I hope we didn't have you waiting for too long?" He asked, giving me a smug look.

I didn't respond, assessing the men who just walked into the lion's den. They were about to try the good cop bad cop routine. Mentally rolling my eyes, I could tell that they sent the best of the best, note the sarcasm.

"Miss Morales, we're not here to give you a hard time, we just need you to answer a few questions." The other agent spoke, feigning concern.

I held my composure. Keeping my face neutral as I looked from one agent to the other. Good cop was a clean cut brunette with handsome features, he would be the eye candy for the women so it would be easier to coerce them into giving away information whereas his partner, was Triple H look alike (the days where he had long hair) with a permanent sneer on his face would be the scare tactic. The one who would call out a bunch of empty threats but has no evidence to make it stick.