GRINGA (72 page)

             
‘
Fuck!
’ I mutter as I exhale.

             
Depp’s shoulders
slump probably with relief
. 

             
Diago
nods slowly
. ‘This is good,
baby
. Very good.’ 

             
‘G ... good?’ 

             
‘
Si
,’ Diablo says and turns the
painting
to face me.

             
‘Ohmigod!’
It’s such a beautiful
painting
of
Troy
and Diago on horseback. I’ve never seen the painting before and have no idea where it came from.
But what a save.

             
Time to say something.
‘
I…y
ou just had to ruin
the fucking s
urprise, right?’
Attacking Diago is a good ploy right now. I think. 

             
Diago clamps his lips together and gives me a
guilty
smile.

             
I
plonk my hands on my hips and bristle at him, faking fury.

             
He lunges at me and
gives me a
bear hug.
‘I am sorry, I did not know.’

             
‘Mff.’ I shrug him off me, but inside,
I’m
smiling with relief.
‘Not good enough,’ I hiss.

             
‘Sorry,’ he repeats.

             
I turn to Depp. ‘
Senor, come with me
so we can talk in private. I need some changes done.’

             
‘No
! N
o
! N
o changes
,
’ Diago
interjects
.

             
I turn and glare at him. He quickly
skulks
away
.

             
The men
heckle him. ‘Hey Diablo, Gringa got you by the
cojones
, eh?’

             
‘Shut the fark up!’ Diago snarls.

             
Painting firmly in hand, Depp follows me to my bedroom.

             
We enter my bedroom and I
bolt
the door. ‘Ohmigod Depp! What the hell ...?’

             
‘Payton, listen,’ he says, ‘Digger and Pedro – they’re gonna kill
you.’

             
‘Duh!’

             
‘
Tonight
!
Rocky too.’ 

             
‘
Tonight?
’

             
He darts to the window and peeps
through the blinds.
Satisfied nobody
’s
listening in, he strides back to me and grips my shoulders. ‘They killed Taco Bell, now they’re coming after you. Then they’re gonna kill Diablo and
Troy
.
D
idn’t buy
Troy
’s story about him killing Christa and Tongue
- t
hey know it’s you and they’re coming after you.’

             
‘They killed Taco …?’

             
‘Tonight, when you’re asleep.
Payton, they
got Taco-Bell
to prevent her from alerting you
– bark
ing, waking you up.
Sorry.’

             
I put my hand to my mouth.
‘How
…how
did they kill her, Depp?’

             
‘
D
rugged her
then
placed her in front of the car and ... ’

             
I
squeeze my eyes shut and clench my jaw really tight.

             
‘I’m sor …’

             
‘What do I do, Depp? Diago’s – he’s going out this evening and he’ll only be back
like,
tomorrow. A business trip. Him and
Troy
. How do I tell him about this? I mean, I can’t tell him
how
I found out all this, so what ...?’

             
‘Yeah, yeah, yeah ... .okay, okay, let’s um ... think.’ He falls silent.

             
‘Tell me more, Depp
.
’

             
‘Well, Diago’s leaving and you’re gonna be alone. Diago’s overnighter – this meeting he’s going to – all bogus. It’s just to lure them away from the ranch so they can deal with you.
             
When he leaves, they’re coming after you. They’re gonna take you
away
from the ranch and k
eep you at a place called Wakum high in the mountains. A Bin Laden style cave.
Have some fun with you first.’

             
I
flop into a chair and try to breathe. 
 

             
‘
When Diago returns, they’ll be waiting for him and
Troy
– an ambush and ...’ He sticks out his
forefinger and flicks his thumb.

             
‘Christ!’

             
He nods
.
‘I’m
more worried about
you
, than anyone else.
’

             
I stare at him and nod
, my mind a galaxy of thoughts, questions, fears.

             
‘Okay  ... okay,’ I
finally
say, ‘but you need to go now. I’ll think of something. I’ve got a couple of hours. Take the sketch
. You can use it again if …’

             
‘Okay.’ He
picks up the painting. ‘Payton …’

             
I look at him.

             
He stares at me and I think I see genuine concern in his eyes. He inhales and exhales as if he’s at a yoga class. ‘I …be careful, Payton.’

             
About an hour later, I seek out Diago. He
’
s
talking to
Digger and Pedro.

             
‘Hey Diago,’ I say, linking arms with him. ‘Can I take you out to dinner tonight? My treat. I got lots of pesos in here,’ I say, touching my bra and giving him a lascivious wink.

             
From the corner of my eye I notice Pedro and Digger exchange glances.

             
Diago smiles and
pats
my butt.
‘Not tonight sweetheart.

             
‘Awww!’

             
‘
M
añana
, si?
’

             
‘Okay then,’ I
pout
.
‘Where’s
Troy
?’ 

             
‘In his villa,’ Diago says.

             
‘I’ll go
talk to him
,’ I say and sashay off.

             
When I glance behind, I
notice
Pedro and Digger
are
follow
ing
me
and my heart lurches.
Are they onto me? Are they following me to
seize
me in the corridors and
slit my throat?

Not tonight
,
but
now
?
N
ervous
,
I
get to
Troy
’s room
and knock at the door. No answer.
That’s fine by me. Perfect actually – bumping into them will strengthen my story later.

             
Pedro and Digger disappear into Digger’s villa.

             
An hour
passes and I’m
tense and edgy
. I finally d
ecide to volley this mess over to Diago. He’s in his room, watching a documentary
called
Drug Busters
.
 

             
‘Diago,’ I say, sitting next to him. ‘I need to talk to you.’

             
‘
Wha
t
is it,
querida
?’

             
I take a deep breath.
‘D’ya love me?’

             
He cocks his head to one side.

             
‘Then you must trust me.
Something bad is happening.
’

             
E
yes fixed firmly on my face, he reaches for the remote and switches off the TV. Now I have his full attention.