Book #1 of the Santos series
Ana Wright is an incredible doctor; a surgeon, who spent her life helping people, making her one of the most famous surgeons in Vancouver. But after an incident at the hospital, she was working at, she decided to quit an...
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"You lied to me Ana," chief Zeke points out.
I make my way inside the apartment with Rafael following behind. The atmosphere was so awkward that I didn't know what to say.
"I am sorry," I say, dropping my head to the floor. I was so ashamed of what I did. "Please..."
"Please what, Ana?" His voice is firm and stern. "Let you go without taking you in? Letting them get away with murder as if nothing happened?" He questions.
I say nothing. I didn't even know what to say.
He looks around at all of us with a frown. We definitely looked like a family trying to get away with a criminal offense.
He shakes his head in disbelief and says, "You have got thirty minutes before I call the station."
Our eyes widen in shock and disbelief.
He's letting us escape?
"I will never forget this," Manuel says.
"I am only doing this for Ana," chief Zeke replies, earning a nod from Manuel.
We quickly pack everything and leave the house. We didn't even have time to dye our hair, so we had to go with hats and scarves, things that probably look suspicious, but we had no other choice.
The guy Rafael called while we were at the shop to get us a van and finally brought it to the apartment. So when we left, we saw the blue van waiting for us outside. The keys were left on the driver's door, on the inside.
"We have to leave. Dad, Cash, and Alex hide in the back, and let's hope they don't search the car," Rafael instructs. "Ana, you and I are a married couple, who are going for a road trip outside of town." He adds. I nod and we all leave, but not before I thank Zeke for his kindness. I wanted to ask him why was he helping us, but I didn't have time.
We hopped into the mini yellow van Rafael rented when we were at the store as he called the man on the phone and told him to deliver it as soon as possible.
After making sure everything was according to plan, Rafael starts the car and drives off.
"Where do you live?" I ask, looking forward at the road while I fidget with my fingers.
"Burnaby."
"Oh, it's very close. Are you sure there will be checkpoints?"
"I don't know, but since their escape, the police are everywhere."
"I hope not."
The first twenty minutes were going smoothly until I looked up and saw a checkpoint.
"Rafael, a checkpoint!" I quickly say in fear.
"I could see, Ana," he scoffs.
I roll my eyes at him and embrace the fear within me as he stops in front of the police officer.
Rafael rolls the window down and smiles at the officer. The officer just looks at him with no emotions as he asks for the IDs. Rafael takes him out and I give him mine. Rafael managed to get his form to get me an ID the same day.
The officer inspects them for approximately three minutes when he finally gives them back.
"You may go," he says in boredom.
Rafael didn't waste time as he sped off.
"For a second I thought he recognized us," I say breathlessly as I placed my hand on my chest, a sign of being scared.
"Mhmm..." He hums, not bothered to answer me.
Once we were in the clear, I started to breathe properly.
Burnaby is thirty minutes away from Vancouver, so the ride didn't take long.
Rafael drives through a tunnel that took us to a narrow road, away from the busy streets. This road leads us to a huge two-story villa with a massive garden. Two golden retrievers run toward Rafael as we walk through the giant golden gate. Four bodyguards stood by the gate with walkie-talkies in their hands, an old style but effective.
"Welcome back, Mr. Santos." The guards bow their heads as they greet Manuel Santos.
"Hello, boys," Manuel greets with a nod.
We walk inside and I suddenly feel insecure. There are many guards scattered around as we walk inside the villa.
I was the only girl amongst them.
As we walk inside, I notice the simple, yet luxurious entryway that screamed traditionally.
It was so beautiful that I could look at it for hours.
My jaw hung low as I look around the interior of the house. If Manuel didn't usher me to go further into the house, I would have stood in my place and looked around the house.
"Rafael, are you sure the police won't look for us here?" I ask as I follow the three of them.
"They won't because they don't know that this house is ours," he replies.
I give him a confused look but he doesn't see it. Instead, Cash caught my reaction and decided to speak up. "This house is registered by our mother. Her files in the government system show that she doesn't have kids. No one knows that she's our mother. That's why they won't even consider looking here unless someone ratted us out." He looks at Manuel when he said the last sentence.
"Oh, okay," I say with a nod.
We enter an office, and Manuel sits by the chair behind the desk while the rest of us stand. His office has a lot of maroon furniture, which tells me that his favorite color is maroon.
Manuel opens one of the drawers and takes out a cigar. He places it in his mouth and lights it up.
The smell was unbearable that I had to pinch my nose with my thumb and index finger to not smell the awful smell.
I hate cigars.
"Okay, first, I would like to welcome you, Ana. Bienvenido a casa, mi hija," Manuel starts.
-Welcome home.
"And second, there are things that we need to discuss you joining our family."
"What are they?" I ask, all of a sudden feeling nervous.
"Don't worry, nothing much. The only thing that you mostly need to do as soon as possible is to swear Omertà," Manuel replies.
"Omertà?"
"The code of silence," Rafael points out this time.
"What should I do?" I asked, fidgeting with my fingers.
"You will need to swear your allegiance and loyalty to the family and swear that you won't talk about the mafia to the police or anyone, and swear that the family secrets don't go outside. This includes police investigation or CIA," Manuel explains.
