Chapter 10 - The Best Friend’s Downfall
The bus ride from Cancun to Tijuana was a thirty-six-hour nightmare of dirt, heat, and broken air conditioning. By the time they reached the dusty border town, Melissa was physically and mentally broken. Her expensive silk dress was ruined, her hair was a matted mess, and her feet were covered in painful blisters.
They checked into a cheap, hourly rate hotel near the border crossing.
"I can't go any further, Julian," she wept, collapsing onto the vinyl floor of the room. "My legs are swollen. I'm sick. I need a doctor."
Julian didn't look at her. He was standing near the window, examining two poorly forged driver's licenses he had purchased from a local contact. "The border crossing is crowded in the morning. We go at 6:00 a.m. If you can't keep up, I’m leaving you behind."
"You wouldn't," she whispered, staring at him in horror.
"Try me," he said coldly.
But Melissa didn't make it to the border.
At 11:45 p.m., the door of their hotel room was kicked open by Mexican federal police, accompanied by two agents from the Mexican immigration service.
"Federales! Hands on your heads!" a voice roared in Spanish.
Julian instantly bolted toward the bathroom window, diving through the small opening into the dark alleyway below, leaving his backpack and Melissa behind.
May you like
Melissa shrieked as an officer grabbed her arm, forcing her down onto the floor. "Julian! Help me! Julian!"
But Julian was already running through the dark streets of Tijuana, his heart pounding, his mind focused only on the two hundred thousand dollars waiting for him in Virginia. He had left his lover behind without a single second thought.
