Page 32 of Vicious Savage

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I paintthe picture for them. At various intervals, one stops me and pokes a hole in my plan. So we revise. Over and over again until we’ve fail proofed the plan and we think it’s solid enough to run with. Of course, there are always variables which appear out of nowhere that we have no way of controlling. Issues that crop up. Things we didn’t foresee. But we’d deal with them as they arose.

“You ready to do this?” Attila asks me, as we walk down the long hallway through the house. I’ve since learnt that the house belongs to Kingsley Murray’s estate. That would be Dante’s wife. From what I hear, the only person on the planet wealthier than Dante is his wife.

“Why wouldn’t I be?”

“This will be your closure. After this is done, you’ll have fulfilled your journey and you’ll have to move on. There‘ll be no avoiding that. This is the end of the road for you.”

“Moving on doesn’t mean I’ll ever forget my wife, Attila,” I tell him. “It just means I’m no longer holding on to my grief. I can move past that.”

“Thank you,” he tells me. “Thank you for bringing this to a close. I know Caleph will be forever grateful.”

“Does that mean he’ll forgive my past transgression with his wife?”

“Not on your life, buddy. You dragged his unconscious wife through the streets, almost killing her. You almost killed them both.”

“But I ended up saving them both,” I remind him.

“That you did. I just don’t think it’s quite enough, Cesar.”

“What about you? Are you ready to accept whatever happens at that party tomorrow?”

“I’m ready to accept anything.”

We go over the plan again. Fine tuning. Refining. Tossing possible scenarios of what may or may not happen. We talk well into the night, sleep evading us. Until our nerves become fraught with sleep deprivation and we know it’s time to lay our heads down.

I think of all the possibilities ahead. All the good and all the bad that may come of tomorrow night’s event. Castillo has kept it under wraps; if Maria hadn’t contacted me, there’d have been no way for us to ever have known what was happening. It is, after all, a low key event. Although all the high rollers will be there. All those filthy, ugly organizations that thrive on young girls’ pain. They would like nothing better than to ruin the lives of the females involved in the bidding wars. They would like nothing than for them to suffer. And they probably would all like nothing better than to tarnish and stain the girl they believed to be ‘Coyin Castillo’s daughter’.

33

LUNA

Idon’t see Scarface again. Instead, I’m honored with my father’s presence. He tramples down the stairs and thunders through the dungeon until he’s standing in front of me behind the bars, sneering at me with a certain measure of disdain.

Gone is the man that lost his color when faced with the information of who had attacked his men in Arizona. He may have gone white when he heard Attila’s name, but he’s back to his usual, hard self today as he tortures me with his presence.

I could never understand why he’s never had time for me or why he’s always brushed me aside and treated me cruelly. It can’t be because I witnessed his crime against my mother. It can’t be because a little girl threatened his world with what she knew. It can’t be anything other than the man didn’t have a place in his life for a daughter he didn’t know what to do with.

He puts his hands on his thick hips, forcing his suit jacket back as he regards me thoughtfully. When he tells me about the party, I do a great job of acting surprised — then delighted — that I will be let out of my prison. I act as dumb as I possibly can without arousing too much suspicion.

“You will be on your best behavior,” he warns. “Otherwise, you’ll find yourself back here without respite, and that’s if I’m feeling generous. Otherwise, your home is your coffin.”

Well then, that doesn’t give me very many options.

“Someone will be by shortly to get you made up. And I’ve selected a dress for you to wear.”

“Who will be there?” I ask, trying not to overdo my enthusiasm.

“Expecting someone?”

I shake my head and clamp my lips shut. I can’t say anything more, otherwise he’s going to get suspicious of me.

“Tonight I’ll choose a husband for you.”

My face morphs to one of horror. I know it’s what’s expected of me. Inside, my blood is on fire as I think of all the things that could go wrong tonight. Considering I’m putting my trust in a complete stranger, who may or may not be assisting me, there are so many things that could work in everyone’s favor but my own.

My father smiles when he senses my discomfort. I gave him just the right amount of torment and it was just what he needed to believe that I was well and truly surprised. He knows I’ve never been one to consider marriage, let alone one of convenience.

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