RICARDO

“I know who and what you are,” he wheezes. “And I don’t care what you do to me. Shoot me in the head and throw me in a ditch. I don’t care. Do you have a message for your father when I see him in hell?”

“Don’t plan your trip so soon.” I watch the traffic out the car window as if I’m a tourist enjoying the ride. “You’ll be receiving medical attention where I’m taking you.”

“I’ll refuse it. I want to die.”

“If it was up to me, old man, I’d let you die. Hell, I’d even keep you around to witness your slow and painful decline. But your daughter Charlene would be devastated. So, you’ll be under a doctor’s care.”

“How do you know what she wants?” he asks. “What have you done with my daughter?”

“What have I done to your daughter?” I meet his gaze in the rearview mirror. “I married her.”

“Liar.” He folds his arms over his chest and winces in pain.

“I don’t lie,” I say as I turn to look him in the eyes. “That’s something thieves do.”

A shadow of a recoil passes over his face at the mention of t