Laughing Eyes: Bittersweet Familia (3)

by Melissa Jane

  “I don’t know what his game plan is. He knows the landscape better than we do and I’m not about to stick around and be taunted til daybreak. In the morning, it’s game on.”

  ***

  Orange and pink hues were beginning to bleed into the lightening sky. The air was fresh, rain subsided. We traveled in the opposite direction to which we first came, sticking to the high grounds to avoid the local flooding, but driving further and further away from civilization. I pulled to a stop at the edge of a cliff that looked over the city of Costa Rica. The sun was rising on a new day, but how it was going to end was playing on my mind. Anna sat perched on the hood of the truck looking out at the view, a blanket thrown across her shoulders. Aiden and Luiza sat on a fallen log, their conversation distracting the poor girl from her troubles.

  Leaning against the grill, I folded my arms and took in the sunset.

  “When are you leaving?” Anna asked. There was sadness in her voice. She had been expecting it.

  “Soon.”

  With the glow of the sky caressing her features, she looked every bit the angel everyone saw her as. Her green eyes were simply magnificent in the light. They were tired, worry permanently etched in them, but still so beautiful. “What about us?” she asked, softly.

  “I’m dropping you two off at the airport. It’s no longer safe here for you. In fact it never was.”

  There was a pause as she absorbed my words. Last night had been a rude awakening for her. Up until then, she hadn’t seen herself as the target. “Will I see you again?”

  There was a slight edge to her tone. I didn’t know if it were because I was telling her what to do again or if she was genuinely interested in seeing me after this all ended. Turning, I faced her, my arms circling her waist. Even run down and exhausted with clothes worn for days, she was the most gorgeous woman I had ever laid eyes on.

  “You think some psycho in the jungle is going to be enough to tear me away from you?” Her eyes immediately softened. A small smile twitching her lips. “Anna Bonita, I am sorry to have to break this to you, but as soon as my business is finished here, I will be taking you out on a real date, to woo your heart.”

  She chuckled a delightful laugh. “Is that so?”

  My hands circled her ass cheeks and I yanked her forward, a shriek escaping her fine lips.

  “Yeah, that is so. In fact, you my dear, are going to suffer through a lifetime with me. I can feel it in my bones.”

  I pulled her off the bonnet, her bubbly laugh infectious. With Anna’s legs wrapped around my waist, I kissed her passionately. She was receptive in every way, her breasts pressing against my chest, her tongue slowly dancing with mine.

  “A lifetime, hey?” she asked, breathy.

  “Just try escaping.”

  ***

  I watched as Anna and Luiza huddled together on the fallen tree. They were smiling at each other after having shared a light laugh. It was a far cry from the scenario we had been faced with last night. The sad truth was, these girls had seen worse shit in the last few months that a slain landlady paled drastically in comparison.

  “Bro, are you paying attention or what?” Aiden asked, interrupting my thoughts.

  “Yeah. We head to the next supposed site and wait to intercept.” I turned to face him. “I think the plans have changed now. I really don’t think El Leon is going to bother with the next village. At least not for a while. After last night I wouldn’t be surprised if he changes his course of action. He knows we are after him and for some reason he has marked Anna as a target.”

  “You trust her?”

  “I have no reason not to.” I couldn’t begrudge him his thoughts. I too was guilty of questioning the connection, but now I believed every word she said.

  “El Leon is an arms dealer and genocidal maniac, so what connection could he possibly have to Anna?”

  “I don’t know, brother, but from what I can gather she is just in the dark and as unsuspecting as everyone else.” I turned around to face the view. The clouds had all cleared and the day was shaping up to be a beautiful one. In the distance, two miles off to the west of the city was a lone speck on the hillside. “He has eyes everywhere. Pass me the binoculars.”

  “What is it?”

  The small speck formed a fortress moulded to the cliff face. “Take a look.”

  Aiden took the binoculars and followed my gaze.

  “A mansion. So what?”

  “What does Hector live in?” I could see it dawn on Aiden, as he looked from me back through the binoculars.

  “A mansion.” He answered flatly. Hector was Aiden’s father. Not by blood. As a child, Aiden had lost his family to a brutal home invasion. Hector adopted the orphan child before he became a number to the state. What the innocent seven year old didn’t know was that his new father was Mexico’s leading drug cartel boss. As soon as he was of age, Aiden joined the marines where we both trained as scout snipers. I had only seen the mansion from photos, but it was one of the biggest I had ever seen. It was a long shot but by putting two and two together, it was worth the investigation.

  “Remember what that man said to you?” Anna began as she walked over to us. “The one when you rescued Eduardo and Samuel.”

  Taking the binoculars from Aiden, I looked through the lens straight at the big white house perched on the cliff.

  “Our leaders both in white.” I looked to Anna who had fit the last piece of the puzzle. “Our President in the white house, El Leon in his white mansion.”

  “There could be hundreds of mansions in this place and who is to say he even resides here?” I could understand Aiden’s doubt in my theory but it was the only one we had right now.

  “I don’t know the answers, but I do feel it’s worth investigating. If we can get him where it hurts, we may just end up on the front foot.”

  Anna

  “You have no other flights available?”

  “No,” was all the indifferent hostess could say to Danny. “Only one flight in the morning, every day. Next one at 9.15am tomorrow.”

  The strain on his face was evident. It wasn’t the answer he wanted to hear. His teeth bit down on his bottom lip in frustration before turning to me, his hands running affectionately up and down my arms.

  “We can go back to where Luiza and I have been staying,” I said, trying to offer a solution.

  “No.”

  “Well we don’t know anyone to stay with?”

  “Chances are he knows where you live.”

  A chill ran down my spine. The thought alone made me feel sick to the core. Had it been him watching me all that time? When I could feel eyes following my every move, the strong cologne in the breeze, had I been wrong to blame it all on paranoia?

  “There is a small hotel outside the airport.” Aiden offered.

  “We could wait for you, until you finish your business and then all fly out together.” I added.

  A small smile pulled Danny’s lips. “I can’t wait to get you out of this place, Anna Bonita.”

  “I know,” I reassured. “Can you get back here before tomorrow’s flight?”

  “I’m counting on it, but if I don’t make it back in time, don’t think the worst. We may just need extra time tracking the asshole down.” Danny looked to Aiden and something passed between them before turning back to me.

  “Alright. We will book you in the hotel, but on one condition.”

  “Yes, boss.” Danny’s lips twitched again by the slightest degree at my teasing, yet his eyes remained deadly serious.

  “The only time you leave the room is when you come to catch your flight. Not for anything else, do you understand?”

  “I do.”

  “Go with Aiden and I will organize the flights. See you in a sec.” His knuckles grazed my cheek before he walked back to the counter. I watched as he spoke with the woman. When he finished with her he walked to a small cubicle where two police officers sat talking. They seemed friendly from the beginning and after a few m
oments they both stood. Shaking hands, they seemed engrossed in what was being discussed.

  “Why is Danny talking with the police?” I asked Aiden.

  “I’m not sure. Guessing it has something to do with his plan.”

  A few more minutes passed before there was an exchange of cash, followed by another round of handshakes. Danny made his way over to me, pocketing his wallet.

  “Anna Bonita, why do you look at me with such gorgeous, puppy dog eyes?” That was his attempt at distracting me, that much I knew.

  “You’re not going to tell me what you were discussing in there, are you?”

  His arm draped across my shoulders as he steered me through the airport exit.

  “Of course, I would never keep anything from you. I simply requested a presence outside your hotel room while I’m gone just so that I can do what I do, without having to worry. That’s all.”

  An involuntary shudder raked through my body. Danny noticed and stopped us both, a wall of heat warming our skin when the sliding doors opened in front.

  “I don’t want you to worry, Anna. This isn’t ideal, but I simply cannot leave you without a guard. I could never forgive myself if anything happened to you while I was gone. Not that I anticipate anything happening.” He added, quickly intercepting any dark fears.

  “Can they be trusted?” I hated asking the question, but after the devastation I had seen, trust was not something that came easy.

  “The police have suffered their own loss in recent times since this whole thing began. Not only are they out of resources, but off-duty officers have been targeted in their homes. They are just as much out for blood as the rest of the surviving victims.”

  ***

  “We will be fine, stop stressing.” Danny ignored my attempt at reassurance. He was a man on a mission. Luiza and I sat on the end of the single beds as both men scanned the room.

  Slightly more relaxed but not at ease, Danny strolled over and stood before me. His hands cupping my cheeks as I stared up at him.

  “Babe, remember everything that I said back at the airport. Do not leave until your flight time. The officer will stay right outside the door and then escort you over in the morning?”

  “Ok,” My response reflected the sadness I felt about Danny leaving. I knew he had a job to see through and it was surely something that needed to be done, but that didn’t make me any less happy that I may never see him again.

  “I have to go.” His own voice deceived him.

  “I know.”

  Luiza turned and walked with Aiden to the door allowing us some privacy.

  I stood so that my body pressed against Danny’s, my arms wrapping around his neck. “I will see you in the morning.” I knew I was asking too much. They had a lot of travelling to do and even then it wasn’t a guarantee that El Leon was where he should be.

  Danny grinned at my persistence. “Anna Bonita, just know I won’t be far behind.”

  He dropped his head until his lips touched mine. The tender sweetness of his kiss overwhelmed me with emotion. A hard lump formed in my throat as he deepened the kiss, his thumb catching a stray tear. I hardly knew this man, in fact in reality I had only just met him. But there was a very real feeling that we were destined to meet. That our fates were aligned that day. We just clicked, and it was beautiful.

  Anna

  Luiza sat on the edge of the bed towelling her wet, shoulder length hair. Aiden and Danny had left over an hour ago and our new sentry had positioned himself outside our door.

  “I’m not gonna lie, babe. I am super-excited that we are getting out of this place.” She grabbed at my foot. “How are you?”

  “I’m ok.”

  “Ok? I thought you would be just as stoked. You do recall that we almost never made it here, don’t you?”

  “I am excited and how could I forget? In fact, please don’t remind me that El Leon was at the motel. It’s just that I feel like we have loose ends that need sorting. We still had so much to do, so much more we could do to help. I wanted to make sure Tomas was ok. That day we met Danny and Aiden was the day I went to check on him and the whole place was deserted. I can’t help but worry that something may have happened to him.”

  “Plus, there is the case of leaving the boyfriend behind,” Luiza teased. Although I was embarrassed by the whole thing I was happy that some light was being restored in her eyes.

  “He’s gorgeous, isn’t he?” It wasn’t a question I needed answering. “It’s hard to believe that we may never have found each other back home. That it took us both entering into a war zone to bring us together.”

  “So what’s going to happen when he gets back to the US? Are you going to continue whatever it is you have going on?”

  I couldn’t lie. Not to my best friend. “That is a definite. I want nothing more than to spend my life with him!”

  “I can see the way he looks at you. Like he wants to eat you and wrap you up in cotton wool at the same time.”

  Wrapping the pillow around my face to hide my flushed cheeks, I knew she was right. I had seen the same look whenever our eyes met, felt his gaze lingering when I wasn’t looking. He was intoxicating and I loved it.

  “You know we need to get out of here?” Luiza continued as I untangled myself. Her tone was still light, but carried an edge of sadness. “For whatever reason, he is after you.” She was no longer talking about Danny.

  I sat up at the head of the bed, placing the pillow over my lap. “I can’t think why El Leon would turn his attention to me. I am no different to the rest of you who are helping. If it really is him, I have nothing that he would want. I have done nothing to him. It just doesn’t make sense.”

  Danny

  Six hours later and we were in the heart of the city. Despite it being just after midnight the streets were filled with people. Some were wrapping up their business, others meeting for a late dinner. The humidity was stifling, the aromas of exotic foods mixed with sweat and drain odours, noxious.

  I had every intention of finishing this job once and for all and heading back to the airport by morning. The desire to be with Anna the moment she steps on the plane was overwhelming. It was almost like a fresh new start for both of us.

  “Gringo,” called a female voice to my side. Aiden and I were travelling at a decent pace, keen to waste no time, yet the three women who were clearly prostitutes, cantered along after us.

  “You have all us tonight,” said the slightly plump one, whose face looked as if it had only just recovered from a severe beating. I had no doubt their pimp was watching us with a hawk eye somewhere close.

  “No, thanks.” I replied, dismissively. We didn’t have time for unnecessary hassles. Aiden didn’t even bother glancing in their direction, his shoulders squaring in agitation.

  “How about your friend, hey? Whatever you want, how you want, all three of us,” said the bottle blonde with thick black eyebrows. She was dressed in a hustler skirt and tie-together bra. The ridiculous stiletto heels that looked two sizes too small, caused her legs to bend more than was usual with every step she took.

  The same woman made a quick step in front of me, attempting to wrap her bony arms around Aiden’s waist. He pushed her away with a not-so-friendly warning. It was called for. We both were carrying a lot of heat under our jackets and we didn’t need our cover blown for the sake of cheap thrills.

  She, however, oblivious to our objectives, took great offense to the rejection. Her bright red lips formed a scowl and a string of Spanish curses flew off her tongue at rapid speed.

  “Well, you have a way with the ladies,” I elbowed him as we tried to step around her. The prostitute took a quick stride to stay a couple of feet in front.

  “You call that a lady?” Aiden muttered, clear annoyance in his tone.

  The insults continued to flow, the woman’s voice growing louder with each step she took. People were starting to look at the commotion, their curiosity having a ripple effect.

  “We need to get the fu
ck off this street before their pimps take issue with us too.” Aiden said.

  “Too late.” Ahead, two men advanced, their black mid-thigh jackets a dead giveaway as to their role in the whole fiasco.

  “Turn left down that alley. Whatever it is about to unfold can do so without everyone watching.” As we turned down the quiet corridor, the men following barked orders at the irate women. They remained at the entry way and continued their taunting as we disappeared into the shadows.

  “Game on,” I said quietly to Aiden as we both turned to face our aggressors.

  One was a bald man with a shapely goatee. He cracked his neck and I couldn’t stop my lips from twitching at his attempt at bravado. The other wore what looked to be a permanent snarl.

  “You fucking touch my bitch, bro, you pay,” said the one with a muss of hair.

  “There’s a difference between touching and not wanting her filthy hands on me, asshole.” Aiden was clearly not amused by the whole situation. We had bigger eggs to fry and these morons were just getting in our way.

  “Asshole?” Snarl said to baldy before turning back to us. “He took a step forward closing the space between him and Aiden. “All you gringos are the same. You come here to stick your dick into anything that walks but don’t wanna pay. How about you fuck your own women and leave ours alone.”

  Snarl flicked his blade open and lunged toward Aiden, but was swiftly deflected. In a matter of seconds his arm was twisted behind his back, a pained grunt echoing down the alley. Aiden kicked the back of his legs until he fell into a puddle of rank drain water, the switchblade clattering to the ground.

  “You keen?” I asked the man left standing.

  Like the fool he was he reached for his gun in his waistband, but it was too little too late. I raised my own Glock and pulled the trigger, shooting a neat hole through his thigh. Fortunately, my silencer prevented inquisitive glances from the street ahead, but his screams bounced off the buildings. The last thing we needed was the authorities closing in on us.