Chapter 7 - The Compound in the MesasThe Mendoza estate lay tucked deep within a box canyon east of Las Cruces, shielded by towering limestone walls and surrounded by an eight-foot wrought-iron perimeter topped with surveillance cameras. It was not a sprawling mansion, but an old territorial-style hacienda with thick adobe walls, heavy timber beams, and a wide central courtyard paved in dark flagstone.
As David pulled the station wagon through the open security gate, two men in canvas work jackets and sidearms stepped out from the gatehouse, raising their hands to guide the car toward the main driveway. They did not draw their weapons; they moved with the eerie confidence of men who knew the terrain was entirely theirs.
David turned off the ignition. The desert wind blew cold through the courtyard, carrying the scent of pinon wood and wet dust.
"Keep her wrapped warm," David instructed Sarah quietly. "Stay close behind me. Say nothing until I signal."
Sarah nodded, tucking Maya’s head beneath the fleece blanket, shielding the infant against the cold draft.
The heavy carved-oak door of the hacienda swung inward before David could touch the iron latch. An older housekeeper with braided silver hair gestured them inside without speaking, leading them down a long, dimly lit corridor lined with framed portraits of generations of men with sharp jaws, dark eyes, and unyielding expressions.
At the end of the hall, the doors opened into a spacious library lined with leather-bound books, an unlit fireplace, and a massive mahogany desk. Sitting behind it was Hector Mendoza.
At seventy-two, Hector was weathered, his skin like cured leather, his dark eyes deeply sunken yet burning with sharp, predatory intelligence. Across his neck, visible above the collar of his wool shirt, ran the faint trace of a scar from a knife fight four decades prior.
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Hector looked up from a leather ledger, his gaze skipping past David, ignoring Sarah, and locking directly onto the bundle resting in Sarah's arms.
"You took your time, David," Hector said, his voice a gravelly rasp. "Bring my granddaughter here."
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