Crimson Desert

by Melissa Jane

  I watched helplessly, feeling as if this would be the last time I would see him alive. Aiden fell to his knees, clutching his bleeding abdomen, an anguished groan escaping his twisted lips. I was sobbing an endless river of tears, my heart breaking with each second that passed.

  “Stop!” Juan shouted, stilling the three men left standing. “He’s mine now.” Aiden remained on his knees, breathing heavily and wincing with every inhale.

  I wanted to run to him.

  He needed a hospital urgently.

  I couldn’t let him die.

  Juan turned to the brute behind me. “Bring her down.” I was yanked roughly to my feet and we followed Juan down to where Aiden was almost doubled over. Thrown to the ground, I attempted to crawl on my knees to the man I was slowly losing.

  My eyes were blurry and cheeks sodden with tears as I took in his broken state. “Aiden, baby, look at me.”

  “Yes, look at her, puto.” Juan interjected. “Look at that beautiful face, those full lips I am going to enjoy fucking while you’re rotting out here under the sun.”

  “Shut the fuck up, Juan,” I yelled, angry and hurting that he was taking away the man I loved.

  “Save the aggression for the bedroom, mamasita.”

  I wanted so badly to hurt him. To just have the opportunity to wipe the smug look off his face.

  “You always were just like your fucked-up father,” said Aiden, his voice hoarse but not lacking punch.

  “Says the orphan.”

  Aiden’s shoulders jolted with a short laugh. His brief smile was followed by a grimace.

  “Go on, puto. Take a look. Look into her blue eyes.”

  Aiden’s gaze refused to move from the ground. He knew that if he did, it would be his last time we looked at each other. Juan moved behind me, gripping his fist in my hair. A cry escaped my lips as he wrenched my head back.

  “Look in her fucking eyes, puto.”

  Knowing I was being hurt, Aiden’s eyes immediately flew to meet mine. Beautiful green locked to blue. We were both on our knees at the mercy of a fucked-up merciless man. He didn’t have to say a word, but I heard his message loud and clear.

  He was sorry.

  Sorry it had come to this.

  Sorry he had no more cards to play.

  I was sorry.

  Sorry I had fucked up so badly now both our lives were coming to an end.

  Sorry I couldn’t hold him while we were both hurting.

  “Yeah, that’s it. Take a good long hard look. This body belongs to me now, puto. Say your goodbyes.”

  The look in Aiden’s eye shattered my heart into tiny pieces. “Munequita – ”

  Something exploded above my head, the noise booming through my ears. In that same moment, I saw Aiden falling backward onto the dusty earth. His body now lay motionless.

  What the fuck just happened?

  Silence descended around us, all except my short breathing. I was blinking furiously, hoping it was all just some sick dream, that I hadn’t just witnessed Aiden being shot. When the initial shock wore off, I couldn’t control myself, grief and hysteria combining.

  “Aiden!” I screamed, but he didn’t answer.

  I begged and pleaded for him to open his eyes.

  I prayed he hadn’t taken his last breath, that he was still alive.

  Everything I said went unanswered and my world came crashing down. I grew hysterical, not yet ready to deal with the cruel act fate had ruthlessly thrown our way.

  Through the adrenaline, I had even forgotten Juan was still tightly fisting my hair, yanking me back every time I tried to inch closer to Aiden.

  “Please let me go to him,” I begged Juan, sobbing.

  With a violent shove, Juan pushed me face first onto the ground. He laughed at his own act of violence before planting his knee into the small of my back, effectively pinning me down.

  “I make the fucking rules now, bonita,” he said, pressing his weight down for emphasis. For a brief moment I feared that he would snap my spine clean in half. He worked to undo the ropes that had dug grooves into my bleeding skin. Yet I couldn’t have cared less what was happening to me. I was dying inside.

  In the time it took to blink, a man’s face appeared on the ground a few steps away from me. His eyes were open, but they were lifeless. In our mutually horizontal state, we lay looking at each other, but I knew I was the only one seeing.

  “What the fuck?” Juan asked, dumbfounded. Seconds later, I heard a thud behind me, but didn’t need to see to know what it was.

  “What the fuck is wrong with them?” Juan asked the brute.

  “I don’t know, boss.”

  When the third men fell, Juan clued on to the new threat. They were dropping like flies around us, but with no warning. There was no gunshot echoing through the canyons. No apparent enemy to be seen.

  Nothing.

  “You’re coming with me.”

  Pulling me to my feet, Juan held me tight, my back against his chest. Through salty, stinging eyes, I scanned the canyons looking for answers but came up empty.

  Whoever was out there had a good view of us, but ensured they were perfectly out of sight. It was an eerie feeling knowing we were being watched. I would have felt a spark of hope knowing someone was there to help us, but it no longer mattered with Aiden dead next to me.

  Juan was using me as a human shield as he navigated us to the car. His Glock pointed out in front of us, moving wildly from side to side as he too scanned our surroundings.

  “Come out, come out, wherever you are,” he said to himself, yet I could detect a hint of nervousness. “Who is out there, mamasita?”

  “I don’t know.” My voice was barely a whisper.

  “Don’t lie to me. Who is it?”

  “I don’t know,” I repeated because I honestly didn’t.

  Plumes of dust suddenly surrounded our feet like tiny clouds spontaneously exploding. We were being shot at. Warned. Teased. If they wanted to hit us they would. Juan pulled me in tight knowing the threat of bullets was chasing him down.

  “You must have some fucking guardian angel out there, mamasita.” I could feel his hot breath on my ear as we continued stumbling for safety.

  “Perhaps you just have more enemies than you think.”

  “I have no doubt, but right now I have a sneaky suspicion this is all you.” We jolted to the left as Juan aimed gun took aim at something imaginary.

  More bullets peppered the ground around us as my heart pounded away in my chest.

  Juan shot back in retaliation at the unseen target, the blast of his gun deafening me.

  “Fuckers!”

  Despite what was transpiring, I was secretly pleased whoever was out there was rattling Juan so much.

  “Boss, the tires are blown,” the lone standing brute announced. He had taken cover behind the car the six other men arrived in. His face contorted as he squinted through the blaring sun for any signs of the gunmen.

  “What are we – ”

  His words were cut short as a bullet travelled through the left side of his head, brain matter exploding from the right. The brute fell to his knees, his wide eyes locked to us until he hit the ground face first.

  We both stood still for a few moments in shock.

  Juan screamed, throaty and angry as he realized all his men were now lying on the desert floor. “You fuckers!” he yelled, his voice echoing through the canyon. “Show yourselves, you fucking cowards.”

  “You won’t win.” I dared to say.

  “I already have.” He spun me slightly to the right where Aiden lay lifeless. He was right. Even if Juan did die today, he had already succeeded in half of his plan.

  We crab walked backward around the car to Juan’s Mercedes which had been out of the firing line. Suddenly a rain of bullets peppered the car in front as a cautionary warning. Glass exploded around us, every window on the first car shattering and falling like snow. The pelting sounds continued and, with me still trapped in Juan’s arms,
we both sank to the ground to avoid being shot.

  There was a smudge of blood on my shoulder, but I didn’t feel any pain. I hadn’t been able to hold Aiden so I knew it wasn’t his. Perhaps it was mine. Then I heard Juan hissing behind me, his hold growing loose, and I knew he had been hit.

  “This is it, bonita.”

  Spinning me around to face him, Juan held my head tightly, restricting any movement. I could now see the bullet wound to his shoulder staining his dark blue shirt. A loud crack above our heads caused us both to jump as shards of glass rained down on us, the passenger window of the Mercedes exploding from bullets. Juan laughed, but I saw a frustrated sense of defeat in his eyes.

  “Something tells me, whoever is out there won’t let me take you without shooting me. Can’t fight what you can’t see.”

  I tried to pull out of his hold, knowing I was soon about to be set free. He must have noted the light in my eyes, the relief on my face. As an act of spite, he pulled me closer until I could feel his lips brush mine as he spoke.

  “For now we go our separate ways, but we will cross paths again. I am in your life forever. Wherever you go, I will see your face. Whatever you do, I will be watching. If you leave, I will follow. I own you and in a short while I will be coming back to collect what’s mine.”

  He pulled me in, crushing his lips to mine. It was brutal and far from intimate. It was a reminder of his ‘claim’ on me.

  I struggled to break free of his hold, clawing his arms, but to no avail. Juan bit down on my bottom lip, further splitting my wound. The asshole was keen to leave me with a painful reminder of how much he thrived on hurting me.

  Pulling away, he studied my face, his evil and beautiful features terrifying me.

  “You’ll be seeing me again, bonita. Soon, I promise you that.”

  Pushing me to the ground, Juan got to his feet, keeping low and out of the line of gunfire. Crawling into the driver’s side of the car, he revved the engine and spun off, leaving me in a wake of dirt and dust.

  Using the other car as a guide, I saw both Aiden and Jorge motionless on the ground. The sight of Aiden ripped my heart clean from my chest, a terrible ache rendering me useless. Collapsing to my knees, I cradled his head in my arms, stroking his bloodied face. Rivers of tears dripped from my chin landing on his cheek.

  Aiden had died for me.

  Given up everything he knew to save Ethan and me.

  Time passed as one big blur. I was aware I was screaming. When I wasn’t screaming, I was crying hysterically. When I wasn’t screaming or crying hysterically, I was kissing Aiden’s face, tasting my own salty tears drenching his skin.

  Another voice sounded in my head. Loud and assertive, it was calling my name, attempting to break down the walls I had built for just Aiden and me.

  Ignoring the voice, I continued rocking Aiden in my arms, but even then it felt like a force was pulling me away from him.

  I wasn’t prepared to say goodbye.

  “Laila.” It sounded again. Forceful and urgent.

  The voice was familiar.

  “Move away from him, Laila.”

  Why was he in my head?

  “Please there is no time.”

  Couldn’t he just leave us alone?

  A man appeared in front of me, his body a mass of haze from my blurred vision. I was being pulled away from Aiden, my body leaving the ground, almost like I was floating over all the hurt, but the pain was still cutting deep. Someone behind me wrapped their arms around my shoulders, preventing any movement. I succumbed to the restraint, my head lolling against their hard chest. The sun above was a ball of radiating yellow and orange fire, the heat of it bearing down on me, suffocating the last breath I had.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Laila

  Two men were in conversation, their voices calm.

  I recognized them both, but neither was the one I longed to hear. It was so hot, beads of sweat formed rivulets all over my burning skin, my mouth void of all moisture. Reluctantly, I opened my swollen eyes to see a long stretch of dry road ahead of me, my body swaying uneasily with the movement of the car. Dehydration and grief were winning the battle.

  “You’re awake.” It was Ethan. He sat in the driver’s seat next to me. “You ok?”

  I didn’t have the will to respond. I wanted to be left alone.

  Ethan’s hand fell on mine, his attempt at reassurance failing miserably.

  “Laila, Danny is in the back with Aiden.”

  My chest ached again at the mention of his name and squeezing my eyes shut I pushed out another wave of fresh tears.

  “He has a faint heartbeat.”

  “What?” my head snapped to face Ethan.

  “Danny found a faint heart beat and is working on him now.”

  Spinning in the chair on my knees, I noticed for the first time that we were travelling in a van similar to the one we used in San Jose. I saw Danny first, his back to me as he awkwardly crouched on the car floor between Jorge and Aiden. His hands were coated in blood as he worked to block Aiden’s knife wound.

  “Are you sure he is still alive?” As much I didn’t want to doubt what I was just told, I could see for myself the sickening gray of Aiden’s face.

  Danny turned his head, his worried eyes sharing my thoughts.

  “Babe, stop stressing. I’m not sure yet how deep the wound is. The sooner we get him to the motel the better.”

  “Motel? They both need the hospital.”

  Danny inclined his head to Jorge. “He’s going to the hospital. Not much I can do about a blown kneecap. Aiden’s staying clear of the joint. We still can’t risk him being seen after what happened at the police station.”

  “What about his bullet wound?” Other than the gauze Danny was holding over Aiden’s lower abdomen there was no sign of a bullet wound. “He was shot.”

  “He was smart enough to wear his vest. It was the loss of blood, being beaten almost half to death and then the impact of the gun shot at such close range that has him like this. He got lucky.”

  “Oh my god! This is never ending.”

  He cupped my cheek with a hand covered in blood, but we were all too over it to give a shit.

  “Babe, breathe.”

  A husky injured voice sounded below us. We both faced Aiden only to find his eyes still closed, his face a sickening shade of pale.

  “Aiden, can you hear me?” Danny asked softly.

  “Stop…” Aiden murmured again.

  “Stop? Stop what?” Danny inquired.

  “Stop… c-calling her… b-babe.”

  Despite the heartache, fear and brutality we had all experienced Danny and I couldn’t help but laugh at Aiden’s ongoing and somewhat trivial quest. It hadn’t been that long ago that he had wrongly accused Danny of hitting on me. Even close to death, Aiden still could hold a grudge.

  “Hit on an injured man’s woman?” Danny joked with his lopsided smile that only I could see. “Not my style.” He winked at me and I couldn’t help but giggle at the silliness.

  Gripping Aiden’s hand in mine, my world suddenly saw a flicker of light again.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Laila

  Danny and I sat on the lounge in our newest ground floor motel. It was slightly more upscale than the last but offered less privacy with two queen sized beds in one room. We had dropped Jorge off at the nearest hospital under an alias name for his own protection. He had looked close to death himself, which had been expected after being beaten, then having his knee cap shattered. I had my reservations about leaving him there given that Juan would be hot on our tails again as well as the police when they discovered seven dead bodies rotting in the desert sun. I also knew there was very little choice in the matter. We alone could do nothing to help him. The whole fiasco had turned into a blood bath and now grudges were worse than ever.

  When we arrived at the hotel with Aiden, I lay some bath towels over the bed before Danny and Ethan helped him into position. The temporary
bandage used to block his wound, was without an inch to spare, saturated in crimson colored blood. He was bleeding out and I questioned the decision to bring him here and not the hospital.

  When the bandage was removed, I watched on numbly as Danny operated on Aiden’s wounds. Hating the fuss and yet somewhat delirious from the bashing he had received to the head, Aiden continually reassured us that he was good to go. Whatever that meant. He wasn’t going anywhere. Any further movement could have resulted in further tearing, but there was no telling him. He was a man hell bent on revenge and I worried that the news of his mother and father was replaying over in his mind.

  Danny had surprised both Ethan and I as he retrieved his medical box and donned a pair of sterile gloves. Apparently the pair had worked alongside each other as marine corps scout snipers. After a few years Danny retired from the position and instead trained as a medical officer who had seen ‘worse shit than this’. I think that was his attempt at reassuring me.

  Danny had worked on Aiden for less than an hour as he searched for internal bleeding and organ damage. Even though the blade had missed the protective vest, luck had been on his side. The knife had penetrated his lower abdomen just missing his large intestines, but had torn horizontally across his muscle. After stitching up Aiden’s gaping wound and cleaning the bloodied mess, Danny reinforced that despite the threat of a concussion, he had knocked Aiden out with morphine because he was sick of having to deal with the arrogant fuck.

  “Other than the obvious, I suspect he has at least three broken ribs and considerable blood loss. Give it time. He will heal.”

  I nodded my head, my jaw set in a grim line as the severity of it all bore down on me. The adrenaline was wearing off and reality was a hard pill to swallow.

  With Aiden now sound asleep and Ethan in the shower, Danny began work on me. We were silent as he cleaned my face free of blood and inspected the knife wound over my cheekbone.

  “The fucker got you good, didn’t he?” Danny asked, his brows creasing together.

  “It’s nothing compared to Aiden.”

  “This is quite deep, I can’t promise that there won’t be any scarring.”