Day of the Dead by Lisa Brackman

I’m a little paranoid. But you don’t always know who they’re working for.’
    She hesitated. ‘You mean they work for the
narcos
?’
    She stumbled on the word.
    Maybe he hadn’t noticed.
    â€˜Sometimes,’ he said, almost casually. ‘Police don’t get paid too well, for one thing. And sometimes they don’t have much choice about it.
Plata o plomo,
’ he pronounced.
    â€˜What does that mean?’
    â€˜Silver or lead. Get on the payroll or die.’
    He poured her some wine, letting the wine splash against the side of her glass, deliberately casual, like he was a little drunk.
    â€˜How long were you thinking about staying?’ he asked.
    She managed a chuckle. ‘After what you said, I’m really not sure.’
    â€˜The last time I saw you, you seemed like you were in a hurry to get back.’
    â€˜I was.’ She toyed with her epazote-marinated shrimp. How to answer him? ‘I have a lot to deal with. My husband, when he died … he left me with some loose ends. None of them very pleasant. When I missed the plane, I just …’ She put on a small smile. A properly tremulous one, she hoped. ‘Decided I’d rather stay on vacation a little longer.’
    â€˜Yeah, I can see how that makes sense.’
    The way he said it, his voice flat, she could tell that he didn’t trust her. Why would he? The explanation sounded ridiculous to her own ears.
    Fine, she thought. He doesn’t trust me, we get the check, I go back to Hacienda Carmen, and tomorrow I tell Gary the whole thing was a bust.
    And then what would Gary do?
    I can’t go back to that jail, she thought. I can’t.
    It was easy to let her eyes fill up with tears. It was hardly even acting.
    â€˜Tom was in finance,’ she said. ‘Real estate. He made some questionable deals. A lot of them, actually. I didn’t know. I guess I should have paid more attention, but it was Tom’s business. I thought it was okay. Or if it wasn’t, he’d tell me. But he didn’t. Then, when he died …’
    â€˜You were sandbagged,’ Daniel said, watching her.
    â€˜Well, it was unexpected. Not like cancer, he just … It was his car. Totalled. They think he had a heart attack. He hadn’t planned for it. I’m sure he didn’t think that he’d …’
    Hardly acting at all.
    â€˜It wasn’t his fault,’ she managed.
    Even though she knew that it was.
    â€˜I should have paid more attention,’ she repeated. Because that was true as well.
    Daniel shook his head. ‘Man …’ Then he did something unexpected – he reached out his hand and rested it on hers. His hand felt warm. Strong.
    â€˜You’ve had a really rough time. It sucks you’ve had to go through all that on your own.’
    â€˜I have friends. People have helped. It’s just …’ She had to stop for a moment. ‘Anyway, it is what it is. I just figured it could all wait a little longer.’
    His thumb gently rubbed the back of her hand. ‘Sounds like a good plan.’
    When they got back to Hacienda Carmen, Daniel parked the Jeep outside the gate, climbed down from the driver’s seat, and opened the door for her.
    â€˜Thanks for the dinner,’ she said. ‘I really enjoyed it.’
    â€˜Thanks for giving me another chance. I didn’t think you would.’
    She laughed. ‘Well, I could say the same thing. I haven’t been a lot of fun to be around.’
    He grinned. ‘I bet you’re a lot of fun.’
    They paused for a moment in the shadow of the wrought-iron gate. He leaned down and kissed her.
    She kissed him back, tasting the tang of wine on his tongue, the slight saltiness of his lips. He responded, circling his arms around her, bringing her to him, and she could feel herself wanting to let go, wanting to lose herself in him.
    You can’t, she thought. It isn’t