Heart of Danger

by Sidney Bristol

  She loved him so much the idea of losing him had finally made her act.

  He moved in and out of her their bodies working in tandem, him filling every inch, touching parts of her that weren’t physical. It was the way he stared at her, how he kissed her. The reverence in her touch. This wasn’t just ex, it was acceptance. From here on out, there was no going back.

  The sweet release of orgasm came far too soon. She clutched at Duke, wishing for these moments to go on forever. Val held him close to her heart and wrapped herself around him and prayed for a brighter future. Together.

  DUKE LAY ON HIS back, watching the midnight sky through the open windows. The sounds of the ranch created a soft lullaby, but he couldn’t find rest. Val had given him a gift, and the excitement bubbled up inside of him to the point he was going to burst.

  He’d thought there were mutual feelings, but he hadn’t dared to act. He didn’t regret holding back. Over the last half-year, he’d been able to get to know Val in a way that only deepened their connection and made this leap more meaningful. They weren’t trifling with butterflies or the first spark of interest. He’d gotten to know Val under pressure and at ease. He admired the woman behind it all, the heart that made her leap into the unknown because she thought it was the right thing to do.

  Despite everything going on, this was still the best time in his life.

  Val groaned in her sleep and buried her face against his chest. She’d mumbled something about being a snuggler before dozing off. He couldn’t feel his arm except for a distant tingling sensation in his fingers but he wasn’t going to complain.

  There were so many questions to sort out. He’d have to inform his superiors and the team about the relationship. Some would object, but Duke wasn’t terribly concerned about anyone except the guys they worked with on a daily basis.

  Where would Val want to live? What about long term plans? They were each going to have to learn the other’s native language. He was sick of understanding just enough of what people were saying to have an idea of what was going on and not be able to follow it.

  Did Val want a family?

  “I can hear you thinking,” she whispered.

  “I thought you were asleep.”

  “Not completely.” She sucked in a breath and stretched, the feel of skin against skin enough to ignite ideas. “What’s up?”

  “Nothing. Just thinking.”

  “Yeah. I can tell.” She propped her chin on her hand and stared at him, the starlight just bright enough he could make out bits of her face.

  The blood—and feeling—rushed back into his limb, invisible needles stabbing his palm. He hissed and curled his hand to his chest. Val kept watching him, not saying a word.

  “Wanna talk about it?” she asked.

  “We should get some sleep.” He flexed his fingers. Talking about what was in his head was a great idea after they’d been together for some time. Not moments after they’d acknowledged that there was something between them.

  “You are the king of falling asleep in a second, and you’re still awake. Do you really think I’m going to buy that get some sleep line?”

  “We have bigger problems to worry about right now.” He didn’t want to rock the boat and he sure as hell didn’t want to deep dive into where his head was going.

  “Do we?” Val turned and peered around the darkened room. “I don’t see anything. The only problem is you don’t want to talk about something. Is it more of that boss-employee stuff?”

  “Not entirely.”

  “This is going to piss me off, real quick.”

  “I want to enjoy this now, not invite more problems.”

  “What this?”

  “Us.”

  “Is there an us? Because we kind of just said we’re into each other, stripped and went at it. You want to talk about it, let’s talk.” She poked his ribs with a finger.

  He grabbed the offending finger and shifted to lie on his side, facing her. His arm protested, but the stabbing had lessened.

  Where to start without going too deep?

  “Okay. Is there an us, or was this a onetime thing?” He’d guessed it was more, but they hadn’t agreed.

  “I assumed there was, but if we need to explicitly say it, then okay. I am totally into you and want there to be an us. Your turn.” She wiggled her finger in his grasp.

  “I, too, want there to be an us. How that works out, dealing with work and our lives, it’s a lot to consider.”

  “Okay, I can see your point. Do we need to figure all that out right now, or can we live saying, we’re totally into each other and want to be together? This is going to be different.” She turned her hand in his, holding onto him. “We’ve spent so much time away from work together that this isn’t like a typical relationship.”

  “Agreed.” And that was half his problem. He was already in love with her.

  “Can you sleep now? Or is something else on your mind?”

  “We should sleep.” He let go of her hand and slid his arm around her waist. The bigger picture would be solved in time, not all at once.

  The important thing was that they chose to be together. They both wanted this.

  “I do think you should know that I’m fairly certain the team has a betting pool on us,” he said.

  “Really?” Val chuckled.

  “I asked a few questions when no one flirted with you. You know how my team is, they’re all talk.”

  “And they told you they had a bet going?”

  “No. Some story about treating you like one of the guys.”

  “We should pull a prank on them.”

  “Oh?”

  “I don’t know what, but we should.” She rolled closer and leaned against him.

  They whispered outrageous ideas back and forth, chuckling about the future and all it had for them.

  10.

  SATURDAY. LA PLAYA de Belén, Colombia. 7 days until Christmas.

  Duke steered the little car through the maze that was the main street of La Playa.

  “Oh...my...goodness...” Val ducked her head to stare at a man standing on a ladder on top of a pickup truck to reach the top of the building. “Please don’t fall...”

  The whole street was clogged with crates of lights and people setting up tables. There was hardly enough room for the borrowed car to squeeze past. The Rojas trucks had stopped farther out, not daring to brave the congested streets.

  “Who are all these people?” Val twisted this way and that.

  There did appear to be more people in La Playa than he’d seen previously. Then again, most of them had been hiding.

  It took them nearly fifteen minutes to reach the couple hundred yards of street that stretched toward the town square and park the car behind the church. Someone was inside, playing music through the speakers pointed out the windows. Duke knew the tune, but not the words. At least in Spanish.

  “What in the world is happening?” Val circled the car to his side and reached for his hand first.

  “Looks like Christmas.” He tugged on her hand. “Come on. Rojas is headed this way, right?”

  “Yeah... I don’t think they brought enough beef...”

  Before breakfast the Rojas family had come together to state that they wanted to do what was best for everyone, and that meant putting a stop to their prodigal son. Val had only been able to get her mother on the phone for five minutes to confirm that they were, indeed, planning to bring people together tonight in the La Playa square for a second go at Día de las Velitas. Duke and Val were both expecting a couple dozen people to travel in, if that, plus whoever was willing to stand up to Esteban. But this? It was like something out of a movie.

  Windows were open. People hurried inside and outside, dancing around each other carrying decorations and chairs here and there. The sweet scent of baking filled the air. Music knit it all together as people strung lights from one home to the next.

  “No wonder Mom and Dad couldn’t talk. Are you seeing this?” Val p
ulled him forward, into the fray.

  People Duke hadn’t seen before waved and called out Val’s name. It wasn’t even the same town they’d walked into a few days ago. Not by a long shot. No wonder Val was so worried by the state of things. He’d expected a few lights and some friendly neighbors. Not—this.

  They meandered their way through people setting up tables and decorations to the bakery. The doors were thrown open and a line of people waited to get inside. A man darted out, his arms cradling...something.

  “She did not,” Val whispered.

  “What?” Duke glanced back at the man.

  “Come on.” Val’s laugh spurred them on and they jogged around through the back of the house into the bakery.

  Abuela sat on a stool, something that looked more like a home craft rather than a baked good sitting in front of her. Both grandparents called out their names, their grins wide. These weren’t even the same people from yesterday. They were in an alternate timeline or something.

  “See?” Val pushed him to stand right behind Abuela.

  “How...?” He tilted his head sideways.

  It wasn’t finished, but he didn’t need all the pieces present to grasp the imagery. The open-sided stable and manger were enough for him to recognize a nativity scene.

  “I told you, she makes these every year. People put in orders weeks in advance. I seriously can’t believe she’s making any—at all—with how close we are.” Val stepped forward and launched into Spanish, speaking with Abuela.

  Duke wandered through the next room where several finished nativity scenes were cooling along with a variety of other baked goods. The door to the shop front was open and he could see Val’s parents hustling around, serving up orders.

  This was crazy. Wonderful. Amazing. Somehow they’d managed to inspire not just one town, but a whole area to join then in taking a stand. And it worked. He still had some reservations about what was coming. Esteban was a spoiled addict who was used to getting his way. When faced with opposition, they had no idea what he or his band of boys would do. This could very well go south. And then what? All they had were the fire arms they’d stolen from Esteban’s goons. Having the townsfolk’s support was great, but it wasn’t good enough. They still needed a defensive plan.

  “Duke?” The priest ducked in from the side door. He was once more dressed down in jeans and a polo that had seen better days. From the looks of it, he was just as involved in the decorating as everyone else.

  “Father.” Duke offered his hand. “How goes it?”

  “Good.” The priest swiped a rag across his brow, frown lines creasing his cheeks. “We’ve been to all the nearby towns and...I’ve heard a lot of the same stories.”

  “What kind of stories?” Shit. They did not need anything else thrown at them right now.

  “Boys—teenagers and young men in their early twenties—leaving home and vanishing. It’s a few here and there, it happens. But, like this?”

  “Wait, you mean each town says these boys are missing?”

  “Yes.”

  “Do you have boys missing from La Playa?”

  “Yes. Three. They have always been dissatisfied living here. They talked enough about leaving to go to the city or somewhere with more opportunity.” The priest shrugged. “Their families and I assumed they’d left together.”

  “The guys we met were all in their late teens, early twenties. You think Esteban’s gang is made up of the missing boys?”

  “It’s a guess. I showed a picture of one of one of our missing to a few of the priests and they recognized him. He’s with Esteban’s group.”

  “Damn.”

  “We cannot take violent action against these children.”

  “When those kids show up with guns, what do you want us to do?” Duke understood, but standing there and taking it wasn’t an option.

  “I don’t know.”

  “I don’t know either.” Duke blew out a breath and shook his head.

  He had to come up with something. There had to be a way.

  “Did I see Mr. Rojas with you?” the priest asked.

  “Yeah. He brought two trucks with meat and guys to help set up and act as security. Not sure he brought enough.”

  “Hey.” Val stuck her head through the door, her grin wide and joyful. “Are you talking about Mr. Rojas? Because he’s here, and he says they’re calling to bring more food with the rest of the family.”

  “That’s great.” Duke smiled.

  Val frowned at him.

  She could see through his bullshit, but he’d rather not talk about this with an audience.

  “I’m going to go help direct the guys helping decorate the bakery. When you’re done I could use some help, okay?” Val waved and disappeared from view.

  “We’ll figure this out.” Duke glanced back at the priest. “Speak with Mr. Rojas, tell him about the other kids. His ranch hands came prepared to help deal with Esteban if they show up. There’s no guarantee they will. We don’t want his guys hurting any of the others if we can keep from it.”

  “Agreed.”

  Duke and the priest exited the bakery and went their separate directions.

  There was no time to sit and think about solutions. As soon as he joined Val they were rounded up into a group of a dozen people, mostly younger adults, and put on décor duty. People brought them drinks, some of which were heavily laden with alcohol, and lots of food. At every house they were sent to, someone brought out another new delicacy he’d never tried before.

  By late afternoon they’d strung as many lights as they could and needed to clear the street for the rest of the meal set up. Val explained that the churches had gotten together to organize what was essentially a village wide potluck.

  Val and Duke didn’t dare brave the bakery with how busy it was and considering the level of grime they were sporting. They collapsed under the tree in the square and watched the bustling of young people be overtaken by an army of women.

  “Think people will come?” she asked.

  “This isn’t enough?”

  “It’s not as many as you’d think.”

  “Even if no one else shows up, this is good. For everyone.” He placed his hand on her knee.

  “Then why do you keep frowning?”

  Duke got Val caught up on what the priest had confided in him. They hadn’t had a chance to talk earlier what with all the climbing on roofs and across buildings.

  “Shit.” Val pushed her hand through her hair.

  “We’ll figure it out.” He grabbed her other hand and tugged her closer.

  She turned to him and he kissed her.

  “Should I do the proper thing and talk to your Dad?”

  “I think they just figured it out.” Val snickered and rested her head on his shoulder.

  Her family stood in the bakery windows, Abuela waving like a kid.

  “I live for the day when you understand everything that woman says about you.” Val sighed.

  “You know, I understand a bit?”

  “How much?”

  “Something about climbing a tree?”

  “Oh God...”

  “Your sweet, little old Abuela isn’t all that sweet, is she?”

  VAL PILED HER TANGLE of curls on top of her head and secured it into place with a pencil. Her things had been moved around so much getting Christmas things out she was lucky she’d found her suitcase and a change of clothes. The family had gone all out since she and Duke had left, transforming the village into the place she recognized.

  “Valentina, come help me.” Abuela knocked on her door.

  “Coming.”

  It was a miracle Val had managed a shower in all this crazy.

  She crossed to the door and pulled it open. Abuela stood in the hall, her grin so wide it threatened to split her face in half.

  “What did you do?” Val peered down the hall in either direction.

  “I need to move a box in the attic.”

  “A box?” Val glanced
down. She’d brought one, nice dress with her and of course she was wearing it now.

  “Come on.” Abuela grabbed her hand and dragged her to the back of the house.

  The attic was a tiny crawl space where they stored odds and ends. Mostly decorations, though there were some family boxes in storage up there as well.

  Val gathered her long, flowing skirt up over the crook of her elbow and climbed the ladder up into the attic. A lantern cast a wide circle of light, the lines of dust on the floor showing where boxes had been recently disturbed.

  “What box, Abuela?”

  “I’ll show you.”

  “You can’t come up here.” Val huffed.

  “I’ve been up here. Move.”

  Val held a momentary pity party for the skirt that was about to get covered in dust and cobwebs, then let it go. She ducked low and moved farther into the crawl space.

  “This one.” She patted a rectangular box wrapped in brown paper.

  “Anything else?” Val grabbed the sides of the box. It was an awkward shape though not too heavy.

  “No, just this. Come on. We don’t want to be late!”

  Val wrestled the box and her skirt down the ladder without incident though a liberal amount of dust and a few cobwebs had attached themselves to her clothes.

  Abuela had her put the box in the kitchen then they scurried out to the street.

  “Holy shit,” Val muttered.

  She walked slowly out into the courtyard and peered down the main street leading through town. People lined the road for as far as she could see in the fading light. When she’d gone in to take her shower two caravans of cars had arrived and they were thrilled. From the looks of it, many more had joined them.

  “Crazy, isn’t it?” Duke joined her, his hand fitting around hers.

  “I can’t believe they’re all here,” she said.

  “Esteban stole a lot of people’s joy. They needed someone to show them how to take it back.” Duke glanced at her.

  “I did not do this. This is not me.” She shook her head.

  “Sure, it is. If it wasn’t for you none of this would have happened. You’re a change maker.” He frowned. “I thought you took a shower?”