Page 95 of Wicked Little Game
“Hey,” I whisper in Ruby’s ear. “You wanna go outside for a second?”
“Sure,” she replies and that sickening feeling is back in my stomach. I really don’t want to do this, but Rockwell was right. I need to sort this out before we leave.
Silently, we get up and walk out onto the patio. Somehow, uncomfortable talks feel easier to have when you’re walking, so we do just that. We go further into the garden, so far that the illuminated house seems goddamn far away.
“Is it because of Carla? Max said—,” Ruby speaks up, unable to endure the silence any longer.
I groan, coming to a halt.
“No, God, please, you’re way too fixated on that Carla thing. Everyone is way too fixated on that shit,” I say, looking the other way as we continue walking.
“Wouldn’t be the first time you’re keeping something from me,” she says, and I wonder when we made a speed run through at least three stages of a relationship.
“I’m going to tell you this once, and then I don’t want to hear anything about it ever again. Not even a single mention of that name. Not even a thought, okay?”
She nods and I light up a cigarette before I start to speak.
“Carla is my ex, but I’m pretty sure one of them already told you that much. I met her after a mission in Mexico, two years ago. Pretty face and the attitude of a sailor, a bit crazy. Max says I have a type, but he’s just talking shit.” I stop for a second, playing with the cigarette in my hand as I stare off into the darkness.
I don’t think about Carla often. Not anymore. Never, unless someone mentions it, which happened way too often in the past few weeks.
“We were together for a few months when we got married. It was her idea, and I told myself that she’s better off this way in case something happens to me on the job. Which is kind of funny, given—”
“So, you’re married?” Ruby asks as we sit down in the grass.
“No, or do you see me wearing a ring?”
“Some people don’t wear them.”
“Jesus, just let me finish, okay? You’ll understand.”
I sigh, not looking at her as she grumbles something.
“We were happy,” I say, even though I'm unable to remember the good times. “For a while, that is. She stayed in Tepic, told me she wanted to be close to her family. I accepted it, accepted every fucking thing she wanted. I trusted her, andthat was my biggest mistake. Fucked up shit happens when you trust the wrong people.”
I breathe in deeply, lighting up a new cigarette with the glowing ember of my old one. I’ll smoke through the entire pack, but if this is needed to get through this story, then so be it.
“We were back in Tepic for a mission.A quick job, and honestly, whenever someone says this, it’s not going to be a quick job. It went well, too well, and in hindsight, we all saw the signs, but back then, I didn’t want to see them. We cleared out a cartel hideout. Fewer guys than we expected, but again, we were just happy to get over with it. Of course, I told her I’d be back. She was my wife, after all. She told me she was staying with her aunt who lived on the outskirts of town, so after we were done, I drove the two hours out there to pick her up.”
Ruby steals herself a cigarette from me, and I light it for her. There’s so much uncertainty in her eyes, but at least she stopped interrupting me.
“The house was dark when I arrived there. No one opened when I knocked and I started panicking. Thought they took her to get back at me and my team. So I broke through the door, only to find her in there with two men. Not like you probably think, even though I’d have preferred this outcome. To shorten this story, they fucking overpowered me. Took me to one of their hideouts, tried to get information out of me, but I’d rather die than betray my team. She knew this better than anyone. That’s why she worked so hard to gain my trust. Fucking parasite.”
A pained laugh leaves me as I lean back into the grass, thankful to feel Ruby’s body next to mine.
“They tried hard to beat information out of me, but I refused to talk. And then they sent her in. Like the fucking idiot I was, I thought she was pulled into this, that they threatened her or her family. She came into my cell, sporting a blackeye, tears running down her face, and the only thing I wanted to do in that moment was to free myself to help her. But after she realized I wouldn’t tell her where my team was, her act crumbled. So she stopped fake crying and started talking.”
I look over at Ruby, but she looks up at the sky, so I decide to do the same.
“We killed her father and two of her brothers. I didn’t know it, never connected the dots. They weren’t her biological family, took her in when she was a baby and raised her. That’s why it didn’t appear in any background check. She laughed in my face, told me she was impressed that I was so easy to trick. She was a damn good actress, I have to give her that. I wanted to kill her, but they did a good job restraining me.”
I blow out smoke and watch how it rises until it vanishes in the night.
“Well, and then the fucking bitch stabbed me. I forced Logan to put that tattoo on me as soon as my doctor said it was okay. Couldn’t stand seeing the scar every time I looked in the mirror.”
“Fuck, I’m sorry,” Ruby mutters next to me.
“It’s in the past. No need to be sorry. You are trouble in a different way, but at least you didn’t stab me,” I say, nudging her foot with mine.
