Page 42 of Vicious Savage

“How is she?” Caleph asks.

“She’s sleeping. She’s been through enough for today.”

Caleph looks at me carefully, trying to decipher the meaning behind my words. I’ve never so much as cared about any woman; that I would even sympathize with what she’s been through makes him pause. It makes me pause; I’ve never found myself in a position where all I think about is protecting someone. Because that’s exactly how I feel about Luna right now. Protective.

“We’re leaving for the US tomorrow,” Dante says, going for the gut punch. I know he’s telling me this to gauge a reaction from me. To maybe see where my head is at. We’ll be leaving, so where will that leave Luna?

“Even without knowing where the Castillo boys are?”

“We can’t live in limbo,” Caleph says. “We’ll deal with them if and when they’re found.”

I have no idea where Luna’s head is at. And it may be too early to ask her. She fled Mexico because she was trying to get away from an arranged marriage to Nestor Gamboa. Now that that is no longer on the table, would she stay, or would she want to leave? And why does the thought of leaving her behind tear slowly at the edges of my sanity?

Telling me we’re going back to the States means all of us. They don’t have any intention of leaving me behind. We’ve always worked as one unit, and we’ve always been on the same page; that’s not about to change now.

“What do you intend to do about the girl, Attila?” Dante asks.

I hadn’t given it much thought. Our return is moving much quicker than I anticipated.

“I won’t leave her here defenseless,” I tell them. Loosely translated to mean that she’s coming with us. It does not mean I’ll desert them and stay behind, and they know this well. They know this as well as they know me.

“What if she decides to stay?” Caleph asks, obviously interested in my answer. By now, he’s probably gauged that I have no intention of leaving her behind.

“I have a plan to get her on that plane.”

I do. It may be unethical. Perhaps even a little conniving. But it’s a plan, nonetheless.

“What about The Jekyll?” Caleph asks.

“I know you have your history with him, but I think he’s proved himself as an asset.”

“What are you saying?”

“I agree with Attila,” Dante steps in. “The man is very capable and I believe he deserves a seat at the table.”

Caleph’s face is hard when he looks from me to Dante. I know that we have always trusted each other’s judgment, and that’s not going to change now. Caleph may have had his issues with Cesar in the past, but he would never let that stand in the way of a good business decision. We all know this.

“We need a solid man on our team. If he’s interested, give it to him. But just so you know… he’d better stay away from my wife.”

43

THE JEKYLL

Ihaven’t given much thought to what I’ll do once this mission is over. I’ve done what I needed to do and avenged my wife’s murder. In the process, we were able to collectively avenge the deaths of many others. All while rescuing Luna from the hands of a madman. So I’d say all in all, we’ve done a good job.

My best friend and former brother-in-law Marden calls and urges me to come home. Home. It’s such a vacant word right now. Home is where a person’s heart is, and at the moment, I no longer possess that all important of beating vessels. My heart died when I lost Sisely. Marden understands this well; he lost his sister that day, too. But for me, I lost everything. So effectively, there’s no place I call home.

“I’ll fly out and meet you,” he says. I know he will. He wants to come out to Mexico to convince me to come back home, where we can run business together. We’ve known each other since we were kids. Maybe some day I will go back. But right now, I’m enjoying being on my own, and the prospect of a new adventure with Attila. Caleph still regards me with some suspicion, but I can see him letting his guard down around me ever so slowly. It gives me purpose, being around a group of men who move in such perfect symmetry that their lives appear orchestrated.

“I’m flying to the States this afternoon,” I tell him. “We’ll talk when I get there.”

I hang up after promising to touch base with him once we land and look out the window as the sun creeps over the horizon.

Luna’s small voice reaches me as she stirs from her sleep and she asks what time it is.

“Just after 5am.”

“Where’s Attila?”

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