Chapter 105

I hear more drunken male voices behind him shouting, “Hello!” and “Hey, baby!” and despite the day I’ve had, I can’t help but smile.

“Where are you?” I ask when the hubbub subsides.

“In Mexico,” he says. “Gracias, por favor. ¡Arriba!”

I laugh.

“Your Spanish sucks. Are you really in Mexico?”

“Just for a couple of days. I came with Larry and Jim,” he adds, meaning two friends from college. “Figured if I wanted to go, I’d better do it on vacation. No diving—just snorkel and drink. And wear women’s boots.”

I roll my eyes.

“My God. My brother the hunter.”

“And proud of it. What’s up?”

“I just wanted to hear your voice,” I say, and my brother, who knows me well, replies,

“And what else?”

“Okay. It’s Marcus. They’re going to arrest him on Monday. He has to turn himself in at nine.”

“Shit.” His voice loses the cheerful slur. “Gabriela, that’s… that’s rough.”

“I know.”

“Are you okay?”

“No.” My voice cra