Page 30 of Vicious Hearts

She looks to me for an answer. And all I can do is look at her, lost in her captivating eyes. Her joy is palpable, and it seeps through every one of my pores, infecting me like a virus.

* * *

“We should head back,”I tell her, as the sun begins its descent, casting its warm glow over the lagoon. I want to get back to the house before it gets dark, and the forest loses the comfort and safety of the daylight. We’ve sat here for almost an hour, silent in our thoughts, our toes dipping into the cool water as we watch it ripple with the presence of flying fish.

“Can we come again?” Her eagerness tugs at something deep in me. “Maybe we can swim next time?” she suggests.

“We can come again,” I say, leading the way. “Don’t know about the swimming part – don’t want you almost drowning again.”

25

ARIADNE

“That’sthe conclusion you’ve drawn?” Caleph gives me a hard look, his jaw locking in anger.

“The logical explanation would be that you’ve kidnapped me to cash in on the bounty yourself.”

“You know how much money I’m worth.”

“And now you know how muchI’mworth,” I retort, poking my tongue out at him and laughing.

I like that I’ve been able to stir up his anger, albeit briefly. He is frustrated and angry when he speaks again.

“I’m glad you can bring yourself to joke about it.”

I shrug. There’s nothing more I can do past make light of my situation. It’s laughable that someone would pay that kind of money to get rid of me. And even more unbelievable that he would be bothered enough to protect me.

“Any progress on that front?” I ask.

“Nothing yet. Seven’s got several people working around the clock. One of your friends from that explosive article.”

“But you can’t narrow it down to who?”

His piercing dark gaze bores into me, dissecting every inch of my words. It leaves me feeling exposed, as though he can see through the layers of my carefully constructed shield. Even as I ask him the question, fear slices through my veins at the thought that I could leave this world prematurely. One could argue that danger lurks around every corner. A car accident. A fall. Hell, I could even drown when I throw myself overboard. But to be taken out of this world because someone else wants to control your destiny; the thought of someone having that sort of power over my fate tears at something visceral in me.

I’m so invested in the thoughts in my head that I miss what Caleph says. When I turn to him, the intensity in his gaze strips away at the walls I’ve built around myself in a bid to reinforce my armor. He seems to be trying to peel away the layers trying to get to the raw shell of my existence. It’s unnerving that he has this sort of access to my soul.

“Does it matter which one it was?” he asks me.

I think I’d like to know – I’d like to put a face to my killer. But the dark cloud that crosses his face tells me it wouldn’t make a difference in any way. He’s bundled all those politicians into one eggshell and instinctively I know he’s holding them all accountable. And he’s determined to see this through to the end.

“Why are you doing this?” I whisper.

I don’t have any delusions that I’m not in the presence of a very dangerous man. We may have done that interview, and he may have presented as a martyr, showing the world what he wanted them to see. But I knew there was darkness lurking within him. I may not have written about it, but I knew it was there. I felt it, sensed it, and I even saw it that time he stalked after me through the boat. The man was placid, but if he was betrayed, the monster came out.

“Because you got me off a list, and now I’m getting you off one.”

* * *

I’ve finally founda weakness in Caleph – he likes to boast about his swimming prowess. He’s brave and courageous, and he’s like a joyous little boy as he swings from a tire roped to a tree until he’s over the lagoon and he jumps, splashing heavily into the water. I watch him from my little slice of nirvana a few feet away, tipping my head back to soak up the sun.

He works like a machine, but he’s decided today to humor me and we’ve come back to the lagoon for an early afternoon swim.

“You don’t want to try it?” he asks, breaking through the water and pushing his dark hair out of his eyes. This is another side to Caleph I have not seen before. He showed me the businessman in him during our interview. Take two shows me the boy residing in the man; a fun-loving scoundrel that doesn’t want to grow up.

“I’d rather not.”

“Ok, turtle.”

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