Chapter 17: One Last Favor
1166 Words
Ramon didn’t sleep. I could feel it. Even with my eyes closed, my back pressed to his chest, I knew his mind was racing like mine.
We were in too deep. No amount of silence between us could undo how far we’d already gone.
By morning, he was already dressed, seated at the edge of the bed, head in his hands. His fingers trembled. The first time I’d ever seen them shake.
“You regret all this?” I asked, my voice still hoarse from sleep.
“No,” he said without looking at me. “But I regret not burning everything when I had the chance.”
I sat up and wrapped the blanket around myself. “Then let’s burn it after this. No more favors. No more second chances.”
He finally looked at me. His eyes were tired but holding back something darker.
“After tonight,” he said. “We disappear.”
I nodded.
We ate breakfast in silence. I barely touched my food. Ramon forced himself to swallow two bites of toast before tossing the rest.
By midday, we started preparing.
He handed me a black backpack. “You’ll use this. Light. No logos. Easy to ditch.”
“Got it.”
“I’ll wait near the villa,” he continued. “As backup. I won’t leave you alone in there for more than two minutes.”
“I can handle myself,” I said.
“I know,” he replied. “But I need to be there. In case this isn’t what he says it is.”
We packed carefully. Ramon gave me gloves, a burner phone, and a tiny earbud so we could stay connected. No guns. No knives. This wasn’t that kind of game — yet.
---
At 12:43 AM, we parked two streets away from the villa.
The night was dead quiet. No passing cars. No barking dogs. The kind of silence that made even your own breathing feel too loud.
Ramon touched the back of my neck gently, then slid the earpiece in.
“I’ll be listening,” he said. “If anything feels wrong, say the word.”
“Understood.”
“And if I say ‘mirror’ into the mic,” he added, “you run. Fast. No questions.”
I nodded once.
He handed me the backpack. Light. Empty.
“You ready?”
I forced a breath. “Ready.”
I walked toward the villa, footsteps crunching lightly on gravel. When I reached the gate, it was already ajar.
Of course it was.
Inside, Matteo sat at the same dusty table from before. This time, he was dressed differently crisp white shirt, sleeves rolled up, no coat. Business casual, like he was hosting brunch instead of blackmailing two people into a drug drop.
He stood when he saw me.
“No Ramon?” he asked.
“He’s done being part of your games,” I said.
“I’m disappointed. I liked watching him suffer.”
I didn’t answer.
He slid a silver box onto the table. Smaller than I expected no bigger than a lunchbox. It had a code lock on it.
He punched in the code, opened the lid, and inside was…
A USB. And a black envelope.
“That’s it?” I asked.
“No drugs. No weapons,” Matteo said. “This isn’t that kind of favor.”
“Then what is it?”
“Insurance.”
He closed the box and slid it toward me.
“Take this to the woman waiting in a black van near Sucat exit. You have thirty-five minutes. If you’re late… I assume you know the price.”
“What’s in the envelope?”
“You don’t want to know.”
I picked up the box and slid it into the backpack.
Then Matteo said something that froze my blood.
“I was going to ask you to stay after,” he said. “But I changed my mind.”
I turned slowly. “Why?”
He smirked. “Because someone already beat me to the offer.”
I stared at him, unsure what he meant.
“You’ll know soon,” he said. “Run along.”
---
I left the villa quickly and whispered into the mic. “Got it.”
“Copy. Head east. I’ll follow parallel,” Ramon replied.
I sprinted through the quiet streets. Each step echoed, heart pounding harder with every block.
The van was right where Matteo said it would be parked half-hidden under the shade of a billboard near Sucat. Tinted windows. Engine running.
I slowed my pace, checked around, then knocked twice on the back door.
It opened.
A woman sat inside older, probably mid-forties. Red lips. Pearl earrings. Her heels were crossed neatly on the seat. She looked like she belonged in a boardroom, not the back of a van.
“You’re the girl,” she said.
“I was sent by Matteo.”
“Give me the box.”
I handed her the backpack and waited.
She pulled out the silver case, opened it, and checked the contents.
Then, without a word, she handed me a small envelope.
“What’s this?” I asked.
“Compensation.”
“Matteo didn’t say anything about money.”
She looked at me sharply. “It’s not money.”
I opened the envelope carefully.
Inside was a photograph.
Of Ramon.
In handcuffs.
My throat went dry.
“This was taken in 2016,” the woman said. “Before you met him. Before he started sleeping with you.”
“I know he has a past.”
“Not this part,” she replied. “Do yourself a favor. Read what’s written on the back when you get somewhere safe.”
She took the case and shut the door.
The van drove off.
---
I turned the photo over the moment I got back to the car. Ramon was waiting, leaning against the hood.
He saw the look on my face.
“What’s that?”
I handed it to him.
He stared at it for a long moment, then flipped it over.
His jaw tightened.
“What’s it say?” I asked.
He looked at me. “It doesn’t matter.”
“Yes, it does.”
He handed it back.
“April 17, 2016. Arrested for possession with intent to distribute. Released on bail. Case buried. File wiped. Paid in full by Camille.”
My stomach flipped.
“You were arrested?” I whispered.
“Yes.”
“And Camille... paid to keep it buried?”
“I didn’t want you to know.”
“Well, now I do.”
He reached for me. “Let me explain.”
But I stepped back.
Because suddenly, everything was shaking beneath my feet.
---
Author’s Note 💬
Hi Vee!
What a twist 🫢 Should she stay with him, or walk away before it's too late?
Suggest what kind of wild, dramatic, or steamy story I should write next anything goes! 💋
- Writer
