Crimson Desert

by Melissa Jane

  “Mr Loaded over here doesn’t get to gloat much, especially to the female kind,” Aiden joked.

  “I only gloat to the beautiful ones,” Danny replied with a wiggle of his eyebrows before Aiden turned to him. I couldn’t help but giggle at the stupidity of their peacocking.

  Aiden returned to me, a serious expression on his face. “You don’t by chance have a sister or a cousin…” I shook my head at his suggestion of hooking Danny up with a relative. Other than Ethan, I had no relatives. “…a niece, aunty, grandmother even?” Aiden persisted.

  My giggles increased until I needed another shot of morphine.

  “Stop it, both of you,” I demanded, but couldn’t hide my smile.

  “Well, I’m going to work my charm on the cute nurse outside,” Danny announced with a cock-eyed smile. “I saw her checking me out earlier. She might want me for more than my real estate.” We watched in mock amusement as he left the room, clearing his throat on his way.

  “Cute nurse, ha?” I teased Aiden.

  “Pales in comparison,” he said lovingly before kissing my lips gently.

  ***

  Aiden never left my side for the two days I was in the hospital and despite my pestering for answers he said he would talk to me about the events of the night once I left the hospital. Conceding, I relished having him next to me. Things had gotten overly tense at the mansion and I feared it would end us both.

  I was making a quick recovery. The blood transfusion I needed was successful and no risk of infection was evident.

  Having left the hospital, we pulled up outside a beautiful hotel and I gasped at the majesty of it. I couldn’t move all that well due to the heavy bandaging and the ever present threat of pain, but I was so excited at the prospect of enjoying my freedom I bounded out of the car and stood at the entrance, beaming at Aiden.

  “You look like the Cheshire Cat,” he laughed as he gathered our small bag of meager belongings.

  “I couldn’t be happier,” I announced.

  “Is that so?”

  Wrapping his arm protectively over my shoulder, he kissed the top of my head.

  “Well, there is something that could be the cherry on top,” I said, my tone suggestive, and it earned me a wide-eyed expression of mock astonishment.

  “Not even a bullet can stop you. You, my love, are unstoppable and insatiable.”

  ***

  Not long after we arrived at the hotel, we were lying on the plush king size bed, only taking up a fraction of the space, our bodies laced around each other.

  This was the first time we had been truly alone where we could talk in private.

  “How is Jorge?” I asked in almost a whisper.

  “He is doing well. Maria is taking care of him at her place. The doctors think a few more surgeries might be needed, but they have bolted in a metal plate that acts as a knee cap. So he should be walking again some rehabilitation.”

  Aiden cupped my cheek in his hand. “This is not your fault. You never asked for any of this.”

  “I know, but so many lives have been altered because of all this.”

  We continued talking throughout the night about how everything unfolded on my end. I told Aiden about how not long after he left Ethan and I at Danny’s, the men stormed the house. Hearing Ethan yelling for me to run only to come face to face with an intruder. Tears slipped down my cheeks with guilt and sadness and I retold seeing Danny’s house blow up. Aiden filled in the gap by informing me Jorge had been taken much earlier and beaten within an inch of his life. When he refused to dish the dirt, Hector’s men found Maria and used her as leverage. Naturally, Jorge gave up. Maria was released and he was left to die on the side of the road. Fortunately, a man driving north through the desert found him in his horrific state and took him back to the hospital where apparently the nurses and doctors were beside themselves after seeing an injured man in a hospital gown hauled out by two masked men.

  Aiden stroked my face as he recalled seeing me being dragged by Hector through the ballroom after the explosion. The fear and confusion had only increased his adrenaline. He had left me at Danny’s after making love with the intention of being back within a few hours, only to see me in my underwear back in Hector’s grasp.

  Much to my pleasure, I told Aiden how much Hector had been freaking out after the explosion, knowing his empire was crumbling. My tone changed as I recalled seeing Hector pull the revolver from the drawer.

  Aiden kissed my forehead, his voice shaking slightly as he admitted how he thought he had lost me in that very second I had saved his life by stepping between him and Hector.

  “But what happened after that?” I asked.

  Aiden filled in the blanks for me.

  Hector’s bullet had entered high in my back, just above the shoulder blade, and exited my chest under my collarbone only to strike Juan in line with me just above his heart. He had fallen to his knees but was not yet dead.

  We remained silent for a long while as we stroked each other’s cheeks, wiping tears of both joy and pent up sadness away. He kissed my lips and we both tasted the saltiness between us, yet in that moment it couldn’t have been sweeter.

  “And then?” I asked quietly.

  Aiden explained how he had killed Hector. I didn’t feel bad for the loss even it was murder. He deserved it. He would have killed both Aiden and myself if he were alive.

  Only seconds after finishing Hector, Aiden said I saved his life a second time. I didn’t recall any of it. I laughed, thinking he was just being endearing. But no, in fact, I had been watching Juan as he struggled to sit up, taking aim with his gun, ready to kill Aiden from behind like the cowardly man he was. Before he had the chance, I shot at his stomach and finished him off with Aiden’s weapon before slipping into space.

  Aiden had carried me through to the servants’ entrance where Danny met us looking proud of his night’s kill. From there, with Ethan safe, Aiden had driven us to the closest hospital while Danny worked his magic in the back, stopping the rapid blood flow from my wound. Both men watched every move the doctors and nurses took while repairing me, their mistrust of everyone clearly evident. Their stalkerish behavior didn’t go without a few raised eyebrows. I understood their rationalization.

  No one knew of the Águila’s death or that his empire had just been shot to pieces. People didn’t need to live with fear or have evil shadowing their every move.

  They could be free.

  Aiden and I were finally free.

  Chapter Forty-Four

  Laila

  Three Months Later

  Everyone we loved was there, minus a few.

  Resettling hadn’t been as bad as I had suspected. For Aiden and me, we decided to keep our distance from the mainland. It no longer had anything to offer either of us. Despite Aiden’s insistence I get my old life back, I was reluctant to do so. Having to explain to police my sudden disappearance, the events of the time I was gone and especially my sudden reappearance was a risk I was not willing to take.

  I wasn’t prepared to be without Aiden. He could not live a life with me in the US when he was a wanted man known for countless murders and trafficking. We both would have been jailed for our attempts at freedom. Despite Hector and Juan’s criminal activities, they were not here to defend themselves. We carried responsibility for the deaths of the corrupt police officers in Reno and the twenty-odd party goers at Hector’s.

  We had killed.

  We were murderers.

  We were alive and they were not.

  During my recovery, Aiden had secured our finances by accessing his offshore accounts. We had enough to live more than comfortably for the rest of our lives in a place no one would think to find us.

  We wasted no time cruising across the ocean to a Commonwealth-run country. A place we could now consider home. Surprisingly, the transition had been an easy one. It was as though the events of the past two months, and for Aiden, a lifetime, had been good enough reason to drop everything and leave without
a moment’s hesitation. We were desperate for refuge and a change of scenery that didn’t remind us of our past struggles. Ethan, Danny, Jorge and Maria had also decided it was best to move across. For each of them, their desire for a new beginning far outweighed anything they had back home.

  For Aiden and me, we spent our days playing house, enjoying each other’s company and going on dates as promised. When I wasn’t with Aiden or the others, I was working casual shifts at local gallery exhibiting community artwork. I didn’t need the work or the pay, but it was nice to be a part of something I still held dear to my heart.

  By mutual decision, we agreed not to mention Hector or Juan’s names again. Our focus was on the future. Our future together.

  Our new home was a small, beautiful island with a few thousand in population. But we were a small group of people with a monster of a past behind us.

  Chapter Forty-Six

  Aiden

  We couldn’t have picked a better day. The midday sun hung high in the sky, the small waves crashing at the base of the cliff our own soundtrack. The scenery was beautiful but nothing compared to the sight before me. She was the epitome of beauty and nothing or no one else came close. The gentle breeze blew the soft white cotton fabric around Laila’s legs, making it cling to her thighs as she walked slowly up to me. This woman redefined stunning.

  Three months on and we weren’t broken or damaged.

  We both carried similar scars, but we were not wounded.

  We both stood tall against the demons that took pleasure in wanting to destroy us.

  Together, we were strong.

  She hadn’t taken her eyes off mine, a sweet smile playing on her soft pink lips as she stood before me. The background noise had all but faded and while I was aware of what was going on around us, I was only waiting for the one line that mattered. Nothing else existed but Laila. Knowing I had to behave myself, I resisted the urge to sweep the love of my life into my arms. Her eyes twinkling and her smile now devilish, I knew what she was thinking and I fucking loved it.

  “Do you, Aiden, take Laila to be your lawfully wedded wife?” Our gaze never broke while Marcel, our black celebrant with waist long dreadlocks and thick accent read through our nuptials.

  “Yes, more than anything.” My answer earned me a mouthed ‘I love you’ from my soon to be wife.

  “Do you, Laila, take Aiden to be your lawfully wedded husband?”

  “Yes, with all my heart,” her voice was soft and sweet.

  “Then without further ado, because I know you two are not going to stop making eyes at each other, I now pronounce you husband and wife. Aiden you may now kiss your beautiful bride.”

  Wrapping my hands around Laila’s waist, I lifted her off the ground until her face was above mine. She circled my neck with her arms, our foreheads and noses touching.

  “I will love you forever, my muñequita.” I let her body slide down a fraction until our lips touched, tenderly at first, then overcome with passion, ignoring our guests, I kissed the stranger I once feared for, the vulnerable girl I would go to hell and back for. I kissed the woman I once grieved, my soul mate, my angel, the one who I adored.

  Together, we made a new kind of normal.

  The End

  Thank you so much for following Laila and Aiden’s story.

  My Ramblings

  A labor of love. That’s what the Bittersweet Duet is to me. I began this journey almost a year and a half ago and it all stemmed from a simple thought/feeling/vibe that I received from someone, a stranger. Perhaps it was the way he looked, the way he behaved, his mannerisms, I really couldn’t tell you. What I do know is that, after seeing this person, my mind began working overtime generating all the possible scenarios I could see this man in. Suddenly the stranger morphed into Juan Florez.

  From there, I needed a male protagonist, but one who wasn’t without his own faults. A man who was so completely different to Juan on every level, yet shared the same complex life. Why? Because I believe in the underdog and all that they can achieve. I needed a man who could hold integrity throughout the story. Aiden.

  The Bittersweet Duet is a dark tale that covers love, hate, suspicion, vendettas, the thirst for revenge and the desire for forgiveness. It’s not for the faint hearted, the weak stomached, or the ones easily offended. The center of it all is Laila. A woman I wanted to have rise above the hardships and battle those who wanted nothing more than to destroy her. She had to be strong, willing and capable of dealing with scenarios thrown at her from every angle. Her resilience was my inspiration, her desire for justice my goal. From the beginning, it was crucial that Laila would be given a happy ever after. She deserved it after everything I made her go through.

  Writing is a form of expression, a creative outlet, a way to explore the world’s underbelly that most of us are so far removed from in our day to day life. I don’t condone abusive behavior. What I am fascinated with is the strength of the human spirit and how it can adapt to any given situation even if on a path to destruction.

  Acknowledgements

  Firstly, it goes without saying, the awesome buddies I have supporting me. You know who you are and you ROCK!

  Alissa you are just one of the most awesome, kind hearted, helpful, and talented chicks I have ever come across. While we have never met in person, you have just been such a positive force. Thank you so much for extending your creative abilities my way. I am truly grateful.

  To Ari from Cover It Designs for my super beautiful covers. I LOOOVVVEEEE them and always will.

  Duncan Carling- Rodgers, my editor. It is always a pleasure to hear things from a male’s perspective. Your comments have kept me very entertained during the editing process.

  Last but definitely not least. My awesome readers. Thank you so much for giving the Bittersweet Duet a shot. When I first published I didn’t think I would have anyone reading it. But you all have made it so worthwhile and I am out of this world grateful to you all.

  Contact Me

  Pop in and say hello, I would love to hear from you.

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