Gringa - In the Clutches of a Ruthless Drug Lord by Eve Rabi Read Free Book Online Page B

her head. Her smile also reaches her eyes.
                  ‘Eh, Rosa, Senorita ... R osa is my name. I bring coffee and bacon, eggs, toast ... Just like Diablo say. ’ She places the tray on the table, steps back and stands slightly behind Maria. As she links and unlinks her pudgy fingers, her cheeks grow redder by the minute – the reddest I have ever seen .
                       I return her smile. ‘ Hola , I’ m Payt …’
                  ‘ Rosa , she don’ t speak English good,’ Maria interrupts, ‘so I helpa …’
                  Rosa jerks her head to look at Maria, her eyes blazing. ‘I speak good English! Why you say tha t , Maria?’
                  Maria silently purses her lips and bestows Rosa a condescending look.
                  Rosa bares her teeth at Maria for a moment, then appears to remembers me. She turns to me and her smile is back. She glances at the breakfast tray then at me.
                  ‘No thanks, Rosa ,’ I say. ‘I’m not …’
                  ‘No breakfast for Senorita?’ Her breathing becomes very rapid.   
                       ‘Eh, no thanks. I’m not hungry.’ I was bloody starving.
                       Rosa flashes Maria a I-get-what-you-say look. 
                  Maria nods and mutters, ‘ T old you.’
                       I wish they wouldn’t take a breakfast refusal so personally.
                  Rosa suddenly grins again. ‘You from America , Senorita?’ she asks, handing me a cup of coffee.
                       ‘Eh, yeah , t hanks.’
                      ‘I know someone in America , Senorita,’ she says, her voice mounting with excitement. ‘Her name is Syyylvia.’ She stops and waits for my response.
                      I look up when she doesn’t continue. ‘Eh . .. um ...?’
                       ‘You know her, Senorita? She got a black hair and she is eh ...’ She pauses and sticks out her elbow s to her side, ‘but she is ver y nice lady. She is my sister’s … eh ... she is my cousin . My cousin, yes. S he live in America and she got her own house. You know her, Senorita? You know her?’
                  ‘Eh, well, America is ...’ I l ook at her cherubic, expectant face. ‘Actually Rosa , she sounds familiar.’ I just don’t have the heart to disappoint her.
                     She beams at my answer and shoots Maria a see-I-told-you-I-know-important-people-in-America look.
                  I smile at her naivety.              
                       Maria exhales loudly. ‘You know, Rosa,’ she snaps, ‘ America is a big country and there are lot s of Sylvia’s here … eh, there . So is not possible for Senorita to know all the Sylvias in America , eh?’
                  Okay, Maria is definitely the brains in this operation.
                  She turns to me. ‘Do you know Enrique, Senorita? He is your ...your cousin.’
                     Scratch that – there is no brain in this operation. Let’s get that fact out of the way. 
                  ‘He has a big truck and he go to America all the time,’ Maria continues. ‘He make a lot of money.’ She drops her voice and leans towards me. ‘He make ... he make a lot of money when he take people from here to America but they have to hide in the back of the truck and must be very ...’ She puts her finger to her lip and winks.
                  Ah, a people smuggler – Immigration’s favourite person.
                  ‘I think I do ,’ I say. ‘S ounds familiar . T hink I have seen him on TV . B order Patrol .’
                  She beams and even bows slightly then looks at Rosa .