Crimson Desert

by Melissa Jane

  I would be lying to say I didn’t love it.

  I adored it.

  “We will survive this, Laila.”

  “I know.” Was what I was about to do next our saving grace? I didn’t know, but it was worth a shot.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Aiden

  “Where the fuck is Laila?” I demanded.

  Jorge blinked furiously as he roused. The fucking incompetent asshole had first watch and he fell asleep.

  “Where. The. Fuck. Is. She?” I yelled again in case he didn’t hear me the first time.

  “Bro, I don’t know. I only just closed my eyes.”

  “What’s going on?” I had heard Ethan’s heavy footsteps thudding down the stairs and, by the look on his face, I could tell he was growing just as frantic as I was.

  “He fell asleep and now I can’t find her.” This fucker was making me look bad. “One fucking job, Jorge. That’s all you had to do.”

  Ethan muttered something under his breath that caught my attention.

  “What did you say?”

  He looked guilty and I knew he was hiding something.

  “She hasn’t been taken.”

  “How do you know?”

  “Because if she had been, we would all be dead by now. No way would they have taken her and spared us.”

  The boy had a point and I felt stupid for not realizing it myself. Laila was doing crazy things to my head, taking every rational and logical thought I possessed and replacing it with shit.

  “Go on,” I encouraged Ethan, fully aware time was getting away from us.

  “She said something shortly after we arrived that had me confused.”

  “What? What did she say?”

  “I said something like ‘well, this is us’ and she said ‘not for long’. At first I thought it was a random statement, but now I think she had something on her mind. Like a plan or something.”

  “Did she say anything else? Anything that could be a clue?”

  “No, that was it.”

  Pacing the length of the lounge where Jorge had fallen asleep, I saw through the blinds the car was gone.

  “Fuck me! Laila. Don’t do this.” Panic in its purest form assaulted me as flashbacks from all the times she had asked me this one particular question.

  “What? What is it?” Ethan too now sounded frantic.

  “She’s gone to the police.”

  Chapter Nineteen

  Laila

  “So, let me get this straight. You are saying that the man who helped you escape was once your teacher who was training you to pleasure a man, but is really the hero of the story and that this fella’s brother and father instigated the whole thing back when you were, where?”

  “In San Diego. But Aiden wasn’t really my teacher, he just pretended to be so that he could keep me away from Juan.”

  “Juan… the brother?”

  “Yes.”

  “And Hector is the father?”

  “Yes, but some people on the streets, like the lady at the hotel know him as Águila.” I truly wish this officer would start writing notes instead of getting himself all confused.

  “So Águila is really Hector Florez, a man who controls a drug and human trafficking ring somewhere in Mexico, but whose name doesn’t pop up on our radar as someone of significance because he has built himself up to be some kind of mythical legend?”

  “Those aren’t exactly my words, but – ”

  “Right.” The balding man with the straining shirt buttons looked at me as if I was an escapee from the institution. “Sounds rather fantastical to me, young lady.”

  This wasn’t going the way I had planned it in my head. Nowhere near it in fact. The officer didn’t believe me and what made it worse was he was the superior at the station and if I couldn’t get him to listen, no one would.

  “Look, I realize how it must all sound – ”

  “I don’t think you do, Ms…”

  “Cale. It’s Laila Cale.”

  “Right, well, Ms Laila Cale, you have presented a rather extraordinary case here.” I was caught off-guard when the officer glanced at something behind me. I followed his line of sight to see another officer on the phone pretending to look uninterested in what we were saying. “And due to its… complexity, I will need you to provide a written statement detailing your account of this… story.”

  Again, the officer before me cast a glance to the man on the phone. There was something in the look that made me extremely nervous and suspicious.

  “I can, um, write it down for you.”

  “Good, I will just get you a notebook and pen.”

  The officer stood quickly, causing the chair to scrape against the wooden floor. Swiveling in my seat, I watched as he moved to stand with the officer on the phone. They spoke in hushed tones and my unease grew further when both turned to watch me curiously. The officer I’d been speaking to pulled out his cell from his pocket and began typing.

  It was then it hit me.

  Shit!

  Aiden had been right.

  And now I had royally fucked everything up.

  Before coming here, I had weighed up the odds of stumbling into Hector’s minions. I had underestimated him, big time. In my head, I had rationalized being so far away reduced the chances of running into anyone seeking our whereabouts.

  Now, without any effort or struggle on their behalf, I had just given myself to them on a silver platter.

  I had to run, fast.

  As I stood to leave, both men turned with narrowed eyes staring me down.

  “Where are you going, Ms Cale?” asked the larger officer.

  “I… I have to go, but I will fill out what you need at home,” I lied.

  “I’m afraid you will have to remain here until I say you can leave.” The officer’s eyes had turned cold and I was now fearing for my life all over again.

  “I am not under arrest so I don’t need to stay.” My voice was betraying me, shaking with each syllable.

  “That may be so, but you have just reported a serious crime to me and we need more information.’

  “A minute ago you weren’t taking what I said as serious.”

  “Ms Cale, we take drug and human trafficking very serious in these parts of town, especially when Águila is mentioned.”

  My blood ran cold. “So now you know who Hector Florez is?”

  “Of course we do, young lady. We work for him.”

  Chapter Twenty

  Aiden

  I could see Laila’s face grow ashen and I knew immediately what the scene was unfolding in the station. She backed up against the table as one of the officers advanced toward her.

  She was shocked and frightened.

  Worse still, she hadn’t been expecting this result and now the men were taking advantage of it.

  They were definitely Hector’s and she had walked straight into a trap.

  “Is she ok?” came Ethan’s voice from my left side. He stood impatiently behind the brick wall of the station while I surveyed the situation.

  “She’s fine, but not for long. Stay here and keep watch.”

  “Fuck that, I’m coming with you.”

  “The hell you are, Ethan. I don’t have time for your bullshit. Stand at your fucking post and Do. Not. Move.”

  He looked like a petulant child I would love to teach a lesson.

  Perhaps later.

  When I turned my attention back to Laila, I saw red. The officer stood towering above her, his hand raised ready to strike. She cowered away from him, preparing herself for the assault.

  Launching into action, I sprinted to the front of the station and kicked the door open. The lanky officer closest to me went for his gun, but was too slow. I pointed mine at his shoulder and pulled the trigger, taking delight in seeing a circle of red spreading on his uniform. I wanted to disable him, not kill him. He fell to the floor like a pile of sticks with a high pitched squeal. Moving with speed, I now had my gun trained at the officer attacki
ng Laila while I handcuffed the other to the table. Taking his weapon from him, I holstered it down the waist of my pants. I was sure it would come in handy at some point. An obvious look of contempt plastered on the face of my opposition as he spun on his heels to challenge me.

  “Well, well. You must be… hang on, what was the name?” He paused for effect while I fantasized about blowing his head off. “You must be Aiden, the hero in all this.”

  “If you fucking hurt her, I will kill you.” My tone was even but it didn’t lack the punch.

  “Not yet, I was saving her for when your brother arrives.”

  “Laila, walk wide around him and come to me.” She looked too terrified to move, almost rooted to the spot. “Laila, come on. Move around him.” Fearfully, she did as I said, but forgot to keep her distance. Before she had a chance to escape, the officer pulled her by the shirt against his hefty girth, his arm circling her throat.

  “She isn’t going anywhere. Not until Juan or his men get here.” He pulled out his gun and held it to Laila’s head.

  “Aiden...” Her voice was small and shaky. I could see her wide, horrified eyes pleading for forgiveness.

  “Muñequita, stay still.”

  Turning my attention back to the offending officer, I noticed he had beads of sweat dripping down his forehead. He was nervous. He should be.

  “What do you get out of this?”

  “What we all want… money.”

  “That’s it?”

  “I’ve been on the payroll for years. Now, I will be cashing in on my bonus.”

  “How far spread is he?” I needed to know just what coverage Hector had on this country.

  The officer’s eyes narrowed in delight. “Everywhere. The deal is, as long as he keeps his hustlers and dealers away from the public eye and keeps our streets clean, he can do whatever he so pleases for the right amount of payoff.”

  “You are ready to destroy people’s live just for some cash?”

  “Don’t fucking judge me, you arrogant fuck.”

  “Not judging you, you miserable sack of shit.”

  “Hey, just watch who the fuck you are talking to. I could pull the trigger now and this little bitch will be dead. Then what?”

  “Oh, you really don’t wanna do that.”

  “And why the fuck not?”

  “Well, firstly, this Juan you’ve been talking about… he still thinks Laila is his. So, you kill her, you’re dead. Plain and simple.”

  “And you think she is yours too, don’t you?”

  “Nah, no thinking needed. She is mine, that’s the difference. And you’ve hurt my girl so that means you won’t be cashing in today.” Without a further moment’s delay, I squeezed the trigger and he flew backward. Laila, still in his grip, fell to the floor on top of him. Hurrying to her side, I lifted her trembling body off the dead man.

  “What just happened?” she asked, her voice shaking. I studied her face, my fingers stroking my cheek until she regained some calm.

  “How can you be so beautiful when you are scared?”

  “What?”

  I shook my head, trying to gather my own thoughts. “I shot him in the head.”

  “Oh...”

  “Don’t turn around,” I pulled her against my chest and wrapped my arms around her small body. “Let’s go, babe.”

  The injured cop squirmed on the floor with a newfound fear as we walked by. I’d intended to pump him for information, but it was too late for that. Laila, now in deep shock, barely flinched as I put a second bullet in the man’s head.

  “Aiden, I’m sorry. I fucked up,” she said weakly as I led her to the car.

  “It’s ok. Going to the authorities would be the first thing people in your situation would do. They are not all bad. But we just don’t have the luxury of taking a gamble. Drug distribution is widespread across Mexico and the States and Hector controls most of the territory.”

  “I thought it was the right thing to do. So that we could both be– ”

  “Normal?”

  “Yes.”

  “Babe, we will never be normal. That’s what makes us so right for each other.”

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Laila

  “You told them I was your hero?”

  A boyish grin played on Aiden’s face as he recounted the earlier events. We were lying on the bed in a motel two hours west of Reno. After confessing to the police and then having Aiden shoot both dead, we were yet again on the run. I didn’t yet know why, but I remained largely unaffected by what had transpired. Having experienced so much tragedy and loss at such a young age, I had found ways to cope with the shock and the anxiety that generally stems from it. Seeing the officers shot in such cold blood rattled me at the time, but my recovery rate was faster than most.

  This stage of the journey hadn’t been planned. Apparently, according to a very upset Jorge, we were supposed to live it out in the Reno safe house for a while. That was until my ‘impulsive and immature stunt’, as my number one fan called it, caught us all out and now dingy motels were the name of the game again.

  “Not exactly in those words.” I teased.

  I couldn’t help but smile back. By some saving grace, Aiden hadn’t been mad at me for going to the police and now we lay on our sides only inches apart, facing each other.

  “A roundabouts is good enough for me.” His playfulness held such power over me.

  “Is that so?”

  “It sure is, little lady, I’ll be your hero whenever you holler my name.”

  I giggled at his lame attempt at a country and western accent and he rewarded me with a gorgeous lopsided smile.

  “You are so beautiful when you laugh, babe.”

  We studied each other in silence for a good while before Aiden’s eyes darkened and he grew serious.

  “It won’t be like this forever. Jorge is looking into another safe house and, when he finds one, it will be our base for a long while.”

  “How will we protect ourselves?”

  “Being settled will allow us plenty of time to set up proper surveillance. And if we ever do see our hunters again, they will be killed on the spot. No second chances. It’s us or them.”

  “Aiden, you shot two policemen dead. You are now the State’s most wanted. There will be bounties on your head in no time.” I was becoming increasingly panicked by the whole situation and as a result my eyes were watering. I wasn’t sad for them. I was terrified for us. Aiden remained calm and seemingly unfazed with my very real concerns.

  “Danny is working on releasing information about the officers’ criminal connections. Profiting from an organization that operates drug and human trafficking, I’m sure will be frowned upon.”

  “Even so, you shot them. That’s all they will care about.” I could see Aiden’s point, but they just don’t let people get away with retribution crimes.

  “Babe, you told them our real names. To others, we are no longer Laila and Aiden. Those people do not exist anymore. We are travelling under new names now. As far as camera surveillance goes, we lay low for a while and keep to ourselves.”

  “If they find us, they will take you away.”

  “I have told you before, muñequita. I’m not leaving you. We are not going to keep running. Not anymore.”

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Aiden

  “It’s not looking good, bro.”

  “In what way?” I asked Jorge.

  “They are spreading out, gathering men as they go. It’s like a whole fucking web spread across the country.”

  Jorge looked apprehensive. I needed to take a closer look at what was going on if it meant survival. Sure, he had pissed me off in the past, but he was well trained and I knew he understood everything that was happening. I trusted him enough to keep us all safe and so far I had only had to give him a little assistance. Now, as he stood in front of me, I could tell he was feeling out of his depth.

  Taking the laptop from him, I marvelled at what I saw. Danny had ini
tially linked just two cells together from those he was tailing, then sat back and watched as they linked with others around the country. Every time one of them communicated with a new cell, that too would be added to the list. Now, half the fucking country was connected by red dots that represented a common threat.

  “This is like a full scale war, bro,” Jorge exclaimed.

  “No, this is far more dangerous than any war. This is a game. A game led by someone who gets off on this sort of shit. He won’t stop, even if all his men are dead. Juan wants to win and he will die trying. Any man who wants something as bad as that is a dangerous and twisted fuck. An unstoppable force.”

  “He will kill you.”

  “He can try.”

  Jorge shook his head with doubt. “He has the upper hand. We are running and that’s exactly how he wants it.”

  “Don’t let him get to you. He has us running because bad luck has been on our side from the get-go. Always running straight into his fucking men. Juan’s luck will run out and when it does, we pounce. We are four people against a fucking country right now, but that won’t last for long.”

  “I wish I could share your confidence, but I’m finding it hard to penetrate his army.”

  “Danny is unknown to them so when he is tracking he is virtually undetected. Just get your shit together and in two days we move to the safe house.”

  “Sure, boss.”

  “And Jorge?

  “Yep?”

  “Lay off Laila.”

  Silence. His nostrils flared so I know he heard me.

  “Jorge?”

  “Yeah, I know. Not a word.”

  “She did what she thought was right.”

  There was another pause and Jorge looked lost in thought.

  “Is she going to be ok?” he asked.

  “What makes you ask that?”

  “She has seen a whole lot of crazy shit, that’s all. Lived in hell for a month. What woman wouldn’t be fucked-up? It’s almost like she has nine lives or something.”

  In all honesty, I was rather caught off-guard by Jorge’s sudden concern for Laila. He had given her nothing but grief and made no secret of disliking her. And for that very reason, his words alarmed me.