by Lane, Arie
A sudden sadness washes over me at the mention of Tristan. God how I fucking miss that pain in my ass… “I believe you’re referring to Tristan, and he and I are no longer together.”
I shy away from the look of concern on his face. I’m not used to people giving a shit about what’s happening in my life and yet this man I’ve known for less than ten minutes seems engrossed in it.“I see, may I ask what happened? He seemed to truly make my bambina happy. This saddens me greatly,” he replies.
“Bambina? It’s been a long time since I’ve been anyone’s baby girl. My mother is what happened. She tried to have me killed and I can’t risk putting Tristan’s life in danger, so I left,” I said it as a matter of fact. As if stating it as such would lessen the blow of how much it hurts.
“Darla is a very dangerous woman. I fear greatly for you. She stole my Wendy from me. She did so much harm. Anything to keep you from me, and you suffered terribly for it. That woman is spawned from the devil himself, I believe.”
“She had been caught, but she managed to escape. Interpol said she was spotted in several countries around Europe, but the Marshals don’t think she ever left the country. I was visited by an Agent Oliver, who informed me of her intent to put another hit out. I thought he might just be another suit, but he seemed to know a great deal about you and your relation to me.”
“Ah, Oliver is a good boy. He’s my nephew, your cousin. He came over from Italy about seventeen years ago now, and I took him under my wing. He’s a good man. He’s had an eye on you for quite some time. I must apologize for the pain his part in your sister’s disappearance caused. He just happened to end up as her contact. It wasn’t planned as such. He was working for a private firm when the suits found him watching you. They recruited him, thinking with his advanced knowledge of Darla that he would be the best liaison with Cora. I’m sure by now you know your sister is safe. After seeing how much she’d come to mean to you, I bought a small home across the border for her. Since Darla’s case fell through, she was no longer eligible for protection. Oliver contacted a group that relocates women, but they didn’t have means to assist her at the time. I didn’t think it was in her best interest to know who I was, so Oliver simply informed her that the organization found a private donor to help her. Every once in a while I get updates on her new life. She’s a teacher now, and has a son and daughter of her own.”
“You got her out of the country?” I ask.
“Oliver did most of the work, Love. I simply provided a place for her to go to and some emergency funds to help her get settled. You have had so much taken from you in this short life, Bentley; I didn’t want you to lose her as well. Not when you two were finally starting to grow close. Your mother has a cruel sense of humor, and seeing you and Cora finally becoming the sisters you were meant to be, she wanted to destroy that. I truly believed one day she would simply grow out of her need to inflict pain on you. When I learned of her attack on you after the funeral, I wanted to strangle her myself. I was so proud of you for leaving, but you were never meant to live your life in hiding, Bambina. You were meant to shine.”
“I’m not hiding any longer. I’m prepared for her now. If she comes for me, one of us will die Marco. I just happen to have great faith in my belief that it will be her. I survived the hell she put me through, but this time she cost me something too precious to lose. So either she gets rid of me for good or I will kill her.”
Our conversation is interrupted by Dr. Finn, who decided on that moment to enter.
“Is everything okay in here? It sounded like there is some tension. I can’t let you visit Miss Celeste if you’re going to disrupt my patient.”
He said it teasingly which just makes my skin crawl. I’m getting the feeling the good doctor isn’t use to being told no.
“Everything is fine Bradley,” my father said. “My darling Bambina was just telling me how I should be able to go home soon, although I didn’t expect to be staying with her. I’d be elated to be back in the home I always wished I would see her grow up in.”
I give my father a smile. I had mentioned him staying with me in the house, but I was sure he would argue. Of course he did, he insisted on staying only long enough to recover, and at the latest just after Christmas. I was apprehensive about such a short stay, until I learned the house he normally resides in is only a few miles away from the one I’m staying in. We also spoke briefly about Sylvia’s visit, and I was informed that the ring in question is no longer in Marco’s possession. He had given it to another nephew for an engagement ring to his fiancée.
Dr. Finn interrupts the peaceful moment my father and I silently share, a wordless message conveyed. He knows already that Dr. Finn is breaching my comfort zone.
“I see, well then I guess that is good news. I’ll be able to release you tomorrow after we observe you overnight, but I will need to keep an eye on you in the coming weeks. Of course I’ll be more than happy to make house calls to check on you.”
“That won’t really be necessary, Brad, I can have my driver bring me to your office. No need to inconvenience yourself on my account, and I think Bentley would prefer to settle into her new home with a sense of solitude. She’s not use to so many disruptions, and as a writer it simply isn’t good to have so many outside interferences.”
Brad… go figure. Even his name makes him sound like a condescending asshole. I thank my stars that Marco picked up on that fact that this guy is letting off some seriously pushy fucking vibes. Before I have a chance to put in my two cents, I am cut off by the dick with legs.
“I really must insist Marco. After all this is your health were speaking of. I’m sure your daughter can accommodate a fraction of her life to make room for me. We’ll be spending a great deal of time together in the coming months, I think it only befitting she get used to me being around, don’t you think Bentley?” he says, while turning his inquiry in my direction.
“I think I’ll do whatever is in my father’s best interest. If he prefers to see you out of the house, then that’s his decision to make, not mine. He’s already stated he won’t be staying with me for more than a few weeks, so it would be pointless to plot your course of action on my account. And I would really appreciate it if you would keep our relationship a professional one. Miss Celeste works just fine. Only people in my personal life refer to me as Bentley, and since you’re my father’s physician, I hardly find it appropriate.” Okay, so I’m being completely ridiculous. I mean anyone in a public setting would refer to me by name, but just hearing it roll off his tongue makes me want to vomit all over his spit-shined shoes.
I watch as his jaw drops slightly at my reprimand. I really don’t like this asshole one bit, and he is seriously starting to get on my nerves. I am suddenly seeing the next shmuck in my book that will need to have his balls realigned, and his image is vastly similar to that of Dr. Finn. I smile at the thought before catching my father’s eye and correcting myself. No doubt from the look on his face he already knows how the wheels are spinning in my head.
Marco decides to hammer the message home since 'Brad' refuses to hear it loud and clear. “Bentley is correct. It’s not good to cross the lines of professionalism. I’d hate for my daughter's beloved to worry in his absence as my Bambina's intended will be joining us shortly. I’d truly hate for things to become awkward between you and him because you’ve become overly friendly with her.
I think my jaw just hit the floor. Intended? What the fuck? He’s laying that one on a bit thick. Tristan and I aren’t even together. How the hell am I supposed to play that one off when in a month or two from now, there is no man in sight? Am I just to make some sad fucking excuse about how he broke it off?
“I wasn’t aware your daughter is engaged. I was under the impression that a man gives his fiancée a ring as a show of his endearment and commitment. Is your fiancé so financially burdened that he can’t even afford a ring for you, Bentley?”
I’m fucking livid, and want to smash his snobby little fac
e in. “We aren’t formally engaged.” I state with a mock smile that is anything but sincere. “In fact I don’t recall us setting any definitive plans, although it is also traditional for a man to ask a woman’s father for permission, so perhaps my father has just let the cat out of the bag.”
I know it’s complete bullshit, but I’m about to let this douche-canoe know that. If I didn’t know Marco existed, I know Tristan doesn’t either. Still it is a nice cover on my father’s part, even if I did have to catch the lie and twist it into something believable. I switch the subject away from myself and make arrangements to pick my father up tomorrow afternoon, then give him a kiss on the cheek before taking off. It’s amazing how I just met this man and yet it feels perfectly normal to go on as if he’s been in my life forever.
I’m really in the mood to trim the tree, but I absent mindedly go through each ornament's placement with my father’s staff until the tree is perfect. My thoughts are stuck swirling around Tristan and wondering how he and his mystery girl from the photo are doing. I mentally bitch at myself for being a glutton for punishment. He is happy with someone else now, and even though I’m not ready to move on, I needed to let him go.
Chapter 10
Tristan
Cage arrives back at the cabin mid-morning. It’s been quiet since Darla decided to remain silent the past twenty-four hours. I guess the imminence of her death is weighing on her mind. I really hope she made peace with what was about to happen, because there will be no change of heart. Her death is the only thing that will ensure Bentley’s safety, and if I never have her by my side again, at least I know she has this small piece of assurance. She will never have to look over her shoulder again.
My thoughts of her weigh heavily as of late. I hope she’s safe and I hope she’s happy, but more than anything, I pray she isn’t alone. Not that I want to think of her with another man, I don’t. I just don’t want to imagine her out there somewhere, by herself, waiting for her own personal devil to come knocking on her door.
I won’t give up looking for her, but I’ve resigned myself to the belief that if she really does find someone who makes her happy, I won’t interfere. I love her enough that I truly want her to find happiness, even if I’m not the one to give it to her. I can’t guarantee that seeing her with someone else won’t kill me, but I guess I’ll cross that bridge should it ever come to it.
A scuffle breaks me from my thoughts as I turned to see Darla lying on her side, still tied to the chair. I look up to see Cage nursing his bleeding hand.
“I tried to give her something to eat, and the psycho bitch tried to bite my fucking fingers off. Next thing I knew, she was lifting the chair and trying to charge me, so I flipped the bitch.”
I laugh at Cage. Only he would be stupid enough to put his hands anywhere near that bitch’s mouth.
“Makes no difference if she eats or not, man.” I reply while helping him turn her back upright. “The venom is going to go into her bloodstream. Whether she has an empty stomach or not isn’t going to affect how long it takes to kill her. Just make sure you’re not standing close when I stick the needle in her. Last thing I need is her fucking moving and you getting stuck. Better yet, help me take her the fuck outside, then get lost for a bit. You don’t need to witness me doing this.”
“Yeah sure, sounds good. I’ll make for higher ground.” He said while lifting one end of her chair. I know by higher ground he means he’ll go camp in the tree stand, just in case any unforeseen circumstances arise. He knows if the bitch tries to attack me to shoot her. Not that she can infect me once she’s poisoned, but I didn’t trust the bitch.
Cage and I decide the best time for the venom to start taking effect is around dusk when the animals come out to hunt for food. A normal boomslang bite can take days to kill a person, yet there is only a small window to administer antivenom. I’m not willing to sit here for days watching her bleed out. The concentrated form of venom that I have will ensure her death is reached after several agonizing hours. It’ll be about three hours before her organ tissue starts breaking down and the internal and external bleeding begin. If she’s lucky she might go into cardiac arrest or have a brain hemorrhage. I don’t intend on her being lucky though, so I diluted it with a couple CCs of saline to prolong the effects. A few measly hours just doesn’t seem long enough for the lifetime of pain and misery she delivered to Bentley. This way she’ll be in agonizing, gut wrenching pain for a most of the night, or so I hope.
The sky is darkening pretty early. It’s just past 1:00P.M., when we set her down in the small clearing. I ask her if she has any last words, anything left she needs to put out into the world before she leaves it for good. I wait for the dying pleas of remorse, but hear none as she tightens her lips together and glares at me.
I poke the syringe into the venom bottle and suck the liquid into the hypodermic needle, then toss the bottle as far as I can fling the fucker. Darla chose that moment to lose her shit and start freaking out. She twists and turns her body trying to break loose. I don’t want to have to knock her out. I need her awake and coherent. I want her to comprehend every bit of her terror, so she remembers the hell she put Bentley through. I wrap my hand around her neck to hold it still, and jam the needle into her flesh before releasing all of the liquid.
It should never be easy to take a person’s life, but the only thing I feel from Darla’s impending death is relief. It will be over soon enough. We still need to find a way for the body to be discovered so Bentley knows she’s not coming for her, but we have time to figure that out.
It feels like forever before Darla lets out the first ear piercing scream of pain. I stay with her up until that point, waiting. For what, I’m not sure, maybe a sign that what I’m doing is wrong. Some hint that she could be redeemed, that what I’m doing isn’t justified, but it never happened.
I watch as she bowls over in the chair before letting out another blood curdling scream. Standing up, I cut the ropes from her hands and legs then leave her there. We dragged her a safe distance from the cabin so she won’t be able to flee to safety. Not that being inside would stop the venom from overtaking her body.
I join Cage on the other tree stand, and watch as the effects of the venom take their course. Even from this distance, I can see the blood start to pour from her orifices. She’s hobbling in circles as the blood runs from her nose. When she turns in the direction that faces us, I can see it running from her eyes also. It’s strange how in this moment she looks tragically beautiful. Her tears of blood running down her face remind me of a story I once heard about a statue of the Virgin Mary that bleeds tears as well. Unlike the statue, there is nothing holy about Darla, and her eyes are just the beginning. Soon she’ll be bleeding from everywhere in her body.
I put a set of earplugs in my ears so I don’t have to listen to her tortured wails. She tries to get away, but her shredded ankle isn’t letting her get very far. In truth, I wonder where the fuck she thinks she’d go? She’s in the middle of the woods on a fucking mountain, where does she think she can run to?
Even through the muffled buds, I can hear her. She was screams, cursing both Bentley and my existence. I watch as she scratches and tears at her skin. She is gouging her eyes, trying to get the blood to stop pooling. After a while, her screams become gurgled as she chokes on the blood filling her mouth.
You can tell the moment the venom starts to affect her organs. She begins ripping her skin apart, as if it will give some relief, and every few minutes her body convulses and spasms as the venom attacks her muscles.
A couple more hours pass, and she’s lying on the ground, thrashing mere feet from where she started. She’s still screaming like a banshee as she wriggles on the ground. Her movements look like that of a struggling animal and it isn’t long before she draws the attention of some predators.
Though it’s dark, I’d wager that the four animals approaching her are likely coyotes. Her strangling cries and wriggling make her look like a wounded animal. I ca
n’t nor would I warn her to shut the fuck up and lay still. It wouldn’t matter, the smell of her blood and fear in the air attract several more hungry animals.
I fail to look away as the first of the four lunge for her, it looks like it is going for her throat, but she throws her arm up and it latches onto her forearm. She lets out a high pitched wail at the contact and continues to scream as the animal tosses its head back and forth trying to rip her limb off. It was only then that I hoped the venom would work faster. I don’t think I can stomach watching her get eaten alive, but I’m not getting out of this stand until I know she is dead.
I swallow back bile as the other three join in, each tearing at another part of her as she screams and tries to break free. The cries seem to go on forever until they just stop, leaving me with nothing more than a ringing in my ears. I don’t know how much time passed from the point of her injection until her last scream, but I find little comfort in her death. I thought I would feel better knowing she’s gone, but the truth is I feel sickened by what I just witnessed.
Movement to the left of me catches my attention as I watch Cage descend the hunting stand. I hop down next to him and we trek back to the cabin in silence. When we step inside, I look up at the clock hanging above the fireplace and see that it's 9:48. It took about twenty minutes to get back to the cabin, which meant it had taken Darla over eight hours to die. I imagine it would have taken much longer had she died from the venom and not from the coyotes making dinner out of her.
Cage offered to dispose of the body. There’s an old abandoned mine that is now home to a large rattlesnake population. He plans on dumping her body down into the old mine and alerting officials that he heard screams coming from that direction while on a hunting trip.