“I don’t believe it. All this was about trying to figure out how to get a piece of my ass without getting stuck with the leftovers —”

“Oh, that’s crude. So beneath you. Very beneath you.”

Her alarms were going off. “I’m a country girl. And fully licensed —”

“Fully licensed? What does that mean?”

“Married. Experienced. If you’re looking for a place I haven’t been kissed, Chino, honey, I’m afraid you’ll have to haul my ass to Mexico City.”

He laughed seemingly in spite of himself. “Very funny.”

“Now why did you want to kill us on television?”

He stroked her shoulder, sliding his hand down under her elbow, and lifted her up to him. “No, no, no. I told you. Not you. Him. Your husband. The plastic hero. Believe me. I am in a war, fighting for my life, for the business I built. Your husband is a pawn my enemies put on a table. For me, the opportunity he presented was like icing on the cake. Then I saw you on CNN, the icing on the icing. I am not a fool.”

“Not a fool. You’re going to kill Sam and expect me to — “

“I told you. I will it in your eyes, an inevitable step in human’s development, the moment of complete surrender of the last of your youth. In time you will be every inch my equal. Suddenly he wanted to look into her mouth, assuming a professional attitude. Amy had seen this before, when she had been pressed into service on Saturday nights in Emergency Rooms, hillbilly assholes trying to elbow doctors and nurses aside: “Ah want to make shore mah wahf is awl rat,” in the attempt to distance themselves from a responsibility to their own acts. She knew what was coming next, what Chino would say. “It doesn’t seem so bad,” he murmured. And then, so quietly she could barely hear it: “I’m sorry,” followed by an almost quieter, “I’ll make it up to you.” In Amy’s professional experience, it was the equivalent of a frequent-flyer miles free round-trip to the same location, but with travel upgrade, like a fractured skull. He stoked her arm. “Your husband isn’t coming here so much to rescue you as to kill me.”

“He never heard of you!”

“He has his orders. He is being used again, and again, I can’t defend myself?” He moved to hug her. She pulled back. She let him see her wince.

“Ow! Quit it!”

“Sorry.”

“You could still change your mind. You said downstairs that there was still work to be done.”

“That lie was for your benefit, Amy. Everything is going to happen as planned in another few hours. The men will be leaving very soon now.”