Page 44 of Vicious Hearts

“I think I’ll take my chances!” she snaps back at him.

“What the hell has gotten into you?”

“I saw you, Caleph. I saw you kill that man!”

* * *

“Didyou really think you could keep her away from the darkness in your life?” I ask Caleph, as I pour him another whiskey. The poor guy has bamboozled himself into whiskey heaven with how much he’s drunk tonight. He can’t get over Ariadne wanting to leave, and he can’t ignore the fact that she watched him kill a man and now she must live with that.

“It’s a side I hoped she’d never have to see.”

“And yet, it’s a side that emerged because of her. She’s the one that brought out the darkness in you.”

“She did no such thing. One of my men betrayed me.”

“One of your men betrayed you because someone needed to get to her.”

Caleph turns away, self-loathing evident in his expression. I hate to see him suffer, but he had to know on some level that at some point, Ariadne would find out who and what he really was. Although not directly linked to the mafia, he does have strong ties with them, and as displayed tonight, he does have a dark side that is just barely tamed.

“She won’t listen to reason,” he says, turning back to look at me, a ravaged look in his eyes. I don’t know that he’d be able to live through losing her again. Especially not if it were the sort of leaving where she wouldn’t be coming back.

“She has to,” I reply, “The bounty is still in force until we can get the pollies in the one room and annihilate them.”

“How long will that take?”

“A couple of weeks at most. Maybe ten days.”

“Make it happen. If she’s adamant that she wants to go home, I must make sure that she’s safe.”

* * *

I can’t believehe’s willing to let her go, but I put things in motion. To execute my plan, a rerun of the pollies/Hondurans meeting where arms were exchanged is in order. I’m not sure if the pollies even want to participate in any more business if they’re no longer buying for the government, but I guess they’ve lined their coffers enough to still handle multi-million-dollar deals.

They agree to buy another arms cache from me, then promptly turn around and contact the Hondurans with the order at such an inflated price, I’m starting to think these guys are gamblers. Marden’s on board for a piece of the action, which I’ll gladly give him for his help putting this shit to bed.

The hot, humid air clings to our skin as we make our way through the jungle to a new location, branches whipping at the cars as we jump along bumpy roads then weave through the mountains. Eventually, we reach a secure compound located near the sea, our new base of operations with easy access to the water in case of emergency. Caleph had insisted on the move, not trusting that our location hadn’t been compromised, considering there had been a traitor in our midst. Also, considering recent events, the move is warranted. A handful of men stay on at the jungle villa keeping watch, while the remainder join us at the compound.

41

ARIADNE

He’ll let me go.

He’s promised to let me go as soon as he’s contained the threat to me. I can’t help but feel a little sad. I was devastated when I watched him through the window put a gun to a man’s head and end his life, but I think I’m more devastated that I’ll be losing him forever.

I can’t help the feelings for him that consume me. I’m torn by the overwhelming emotions that he stirs within me. I can’t shake the thought of him out of my head, even though I know I should. There’s no future for me with a man who is involved in criminal activity. I’d be committing professional suicide if I turned around and embarked on an affair with a man who I swore up and down wasn’t a criminal, who happened to be a butcher.

My heart and head are at war with one another as they fight over front row tickets in the drama that’s playing out in my life. I’ve resigned myself to spending long hours in my rooms instead of venturing out and running into him. Every time I see him, my resolve loosens just a little bit more and I feel the ice in my heart thawing towards him. Which is so not where I want to be.

Today I’m sitting in the garden, that little slice of lawn within the compound walls where it’s safest to dwell. I’ve been in Guatemala for two weeks now, and my recovery has been a slow slog uphill, but my body is finally on the mend. I’m looking forward to going home, and while I try to avoid Caleph as much as I can, Attila is the one who has been my constant companion in terms of sharing information.

I look up from the laptop when a dark shadow falls across the table. Attila looms above me, watching me carefully as my fingers glide across the keyboard. I stop typing and fix him with a look.

“How’s the writing coming along?” he asks.

“Well, beside the fact that I’ll be going homewithouta story, and I’ll probably lose my job over that, the story’s coming along fine.”

He laughs and cocks his head questioningly.

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