CHAPTER TWO

ALICIA

Before I knew it, it was time for me to travel to Colombia. I got cold feet; I was stuck between wanting to leave and just staying in New York City with Ms Jones. Ms Jones didn’t want me to go, she kept on telling me that she had a bad feeling about my journey, she kept on having the same nightmare for the whole week—a nightmare about me being chased by a group of men wanting to kill me. It sounded ridiculous to me, thinking that it was just a silly dream that she had due to her overthinking all the time. She tried to convince me to stay but I refused.

The ride to the airport was both emotional and awkward. Our rides were always filled with laughter, jokes, and fooling around, but the ride to the airport was nothing like that—it was filled with silence. The ride to the airport was about half an hour, but it felt like the longest ride ever. When we got to the airport it was already dark and was a little bit cold. Ms. jones helped me with my luggage when we got to the airport. She unloaded the two pink suitcases from the back of her black Jeep and made our way to the inside. It was written all over her face that she was sad, I was also sad.

I was used to being around her all the time, I would miss her warm embraces every time when I felt sad or when I missed my parents, her delicious meals, her jokes, our morning walks and how she made me forget about all my issues by simply telling me that she had my back.

It was hard to leave her.

So fucking hard.

I was scared and anxious about what was waiting for me in Colombia.

“I’m going to miss you so much.” She pulled me closer to her and hugged me. I couldn’t stop my tears from escaping my eyes.

“I’m going to miss you more.”

I have only known Ms. Jones for four months, but it felt like I had known her my entire life.

“You’re going to make me cry when you cry. Don’t be sad, this is what you want…don’t feel bad.” She wiped away my tears and gave me a kiss on my forehead.

“Call me when you get there.”

I just nodded and embraced her for the last time before I checked in.

I got on the plane and looked for my seat for some minutes. It was located next to the window. I sat down and let out a loud sigh. My cheeks were still wet from the tears that I had shed earlier.

It was really happening. All the memories came back running on my mind—the memories that my parents and I created when they were still alive. It was my first time traveling alone, I always traveled by plane with my father and mother when we went to visit her country for holidays, Italy. It felt so weird to be alone on the plane. It made me miss my parents so much. A few drops of tears were shed.

The voice on the speaker telling us that the plane was about to take off distracted all my thoughts. A part of me wanted to get off the plane and run back to Ms. Jones, but it was too late, the plane was no longer on the ground.

I started to feel nauseous and scared, not knowing why I felt like that. It felt like a good-bad thing that I was doing, more like a perfect mistake.

The couple that sat next to me made me put all my worries on the side and became happy by all their funny stories that they shared with me and how they met. They were both bubbly and made it evident that they loved each other and had a lot in common. They made my flight to Colombia short. I really enjoyed the flight.

After being on the air for about 6 hours, the plane finally landed in El Dorado International Airport in Bogotá. It was already midnight when the plane landed.

I took my luggage and then headed to the bathroom to freshen up a little bit. I sent a text to Ms. Jones to let her know that I had landed safely. She only replied with “Be safe and take care of yourself. Love you.”

I then went outside. The weather was different in Bogotá—it was warmer than New York City. The weather made me look ridiculous in my denim jacket, high-waisted jeans, and high-heeled boots; it was hot. I didn’t know where to go. Everyone at the airport had their loved ones. There were flowers, warm embraces, and kisses all over the airport, but for me, it was just me and my two suitcases.

I was about to call the taxi to take me to the address that I was given when a tall, muscular guy approached me with a paper board with my name written on it. He was a Latino man; he had short dark hair and dark eyes. He was wearing a black suit—his dress code screamed “Bodyguard”.

“Are you Alicia?”. His voice was cold.

“Yes…” I hesitated to answer because he was a stranger. I was in a foreign country and knew no one. The last thing I wanted was to get kidnapped or killed. He gave me a welcoming smile and took my suitcases off the luggage cart.

“Come with me.” I blocked his way before he could move.

“Hey! I don’t even know who you are? Where are we going?” I was scared. He took a card out of his back pocket and handed it over to me.

“ I work for Jane Garcia, your boss. You know her, right?” I didn’t know her, only saw her pictures on the internet and how rich she was. She was the founder of J Swimwear company—the company that I was going to work for. The black card that he gave me had his picture and information and showed that he was Jane’s bodyguard. Relief flooded my heart. I was safe.

“Okay, we can go, I just wanted to make sure that you weren’t some psychopath.” He chuckled.

I gave him back his card and then followed him to a black Range Rover that was packed not so far from the airport’s entrance. He loaded my suitcases on the back. He then opened the door for me.

Such a gentleman. I thought to myself.

The car started moving. It was filled with silence. The inside of his car had a cigarette smell. I looked out the window, admiring the beautiful city of Bogotá. It was so beautiful, just the same way New York looked like during the night. The tall buildings made me for a moment to feel like I was just driving around lower Manhattan.

“I’m Luke.” He said with his eyes fixed on the road.

“You already know my name. Nice to meet you, Luke.”

The rest of the trip was filled with silence. The sound of the engine was the only thing that I could hear. The streets had few cars and people, which made sense because it was already past midnight. The car stopped next to the tall building that looked nothing like a place that Jane would want to live at or even run her business at. It looked like a club or some cheap hotel.

“Is this Jane’s place?” I asked.

“No, this is where you will stay for tonight. You will meet her in the morning.” He said, with his accent that made it obvious that he was used to speaking Spanish.

He led the way to the front of the building. He opened the steel door and gave me a sign to get inside. I got inside first, and he followed. His footsteps behind me were followed by the sound of the door getting locked behind me. I couldn’t believe my eyes once I was inside. It wasn’t a hotel. It was a strip club.

A whole fucking strip club.

“What the fuck is this?” I was pissed and scared at the same time.

Luke didn’t reply but a familiar voice did.

“Look who decided to join us!”.

Shit.

It was him, the man that I was running away from. It all felt like a nightmar. The only difference was I wasn’t dreaming. It was John—myso-calledd cousin who tried to rape me. He was my aunt’s child, the same aunt who took everything that was left for me by my parents. I collected all the courage that was left in me and turned slowly to face my worst nightmare. I wanted to confirm if it was real or I was just hallucinating.

Damn.

It was him. He wore an asshole smile. He had won, and I had lost—that’s what his smile told me.

“Welcome to Bogotá, bitch.”