by Sasha Leone
A humid breeze crosses us and Cat seems to consider my words. “... Do you think we can win?”
I don’t hesitate. “I know we can.” For some reason, in this moment, there’s no doubt in me. We will win. We have to.
“And if we don’t?” Cat seems to be fighting herself more than she’s fighting me now. I want to reach out and comfort her, but I’m not sure if that’s a good idea. There’s still so much blame to be passed around, and I’m sure she blames herself just as much as she blames me.
“We will,” I growl.
A long sigh escapes Cat’s lips as I turn away from the idling jet and back to her. “... You still don’t know about my family...” she whispers.
That seems like the least of our worries right now. I remember searching for info on Cat back when we first crossed paths and not finding anything, but once shit got crazy, I stopped looking. She was an orphan, like me, and that was enough.
“What does that have to do with anything?” I ask.
Cat’s eyes are downcast and her sharp features have turned so heavy. The fire that just sparked behind her somber mask already seems to have been smothered. “Not everyone gets their happy endings, Angel. My family didn’t. Who’s to say we will?”
I don’t like this fatalistic talk, not when our son is still in so much danger. “Your family were victims,” I sneer. “We’re not.”
Cat shakes her head softly. “They weren’t victims,” she whispers. “They were just like you.”
“There isn’t any one like me,” I growl.
“Not anymore.”
“What the fuck does that mean?”
In a second, Cat’s eyes are back on me. Something’s changed; there’s a blue fire behind her fractured hazel, but I can’t tell if it’s dead or alive. “My father ran his own cartel. He did horrible things, but he was a good father...”
It almost sounds like she’s talking about me. “What was his name?”
“Alejandro Alzate...”
The name does sound oddly familiar. “I’ve never heard of him,” I lie.
“That’s because he was murdered while we were still just kids. My whole family was wiped out. Now, it’s almost like they never existed at all... I don’t want that to happen to us, Angel...” Her voice breaks when she says my name.
My heart kicks at the thought of what she’s been through. It turns out that Cat grew up closer to my dark world than I knew... and she was still trying to escape from it when I dragged her back in.
“I’m sorry that happened to you.” There I go, apologizing again—but the vengeful streak in me only grows with the new information. “Do you know who was responsible?”
“All I know is that they were Americans.”
Americans. The hairs on the back of my neck immediately stand up. From what I know about Enzo Barella, he’s old enough to have played a hand in the destruction of Cat’s family. I swear to god, if he was involved in that...
... Then what?
How could I be any madder at the man who corrupted my brother and conspired to steal my son?
I somehow manage. My infinite fury only grows under all the rage of what my family has been forced to face; and not just in the past, but in the present and for the foreseeable future, as well.
It’s gone on long enough.
Now is the time of our revenge. I’ll get it for Cat and for Oscar, for myself and for this fucking country.
Our enemies have hell to pay, and I’m about to bring them the bloody bill.
29
Catalina
Angel and I ride in separate cars back to Juan’s place.
It’s probably for the best. The heaviness of our two hearts would probably cave in the backseat if we rode together. Still, I’ve never felt so lonely as we pull back up to the four-story colonial mansion that we left earlier this morning.
The sun has started to set and the wind is slowly picking up, but we find shelter in the isolated abode.
“What is this place?” I hear Angel ask, as I follow Juan in through the front door.
“It’s where I’ve been keeping my family,” he softly replies, almost as if saying it too loud would be dangerous.
“You brought us to your safehouse!?” Angel isn’t so quiet. I can hear the disbelief in his voice. “Juan, you didn’t have to do that.”
“Yes, I did,” Juan sighs. “We’re connected forever now. Either we all win together, or we all die together. What we’ve started is bigger than any cartel; it’s bigger than the underworld, and far bigger than ourselves. This was the last place I could have sheltered Cat, and so this is where I brought her...”
Angel’s hand clasps around Juan’s shoulder and they share a respectful look. I’m still not sure what makes this place so special, but from the tone of the exchange, I understand that it was a great risk for Juan to bring me here. “Thank you, Juan,” I offer.
“For our families,” he toasts. “... Would you like to meet mine?”
I don’t have a chance to answer before Angel butts in for me. “No. I think it’s best if we don’t. Someday, this war will end, and things will go back to as they were. Family and work should be separated, it’s safest that way.”
Juan nods. I can’t tell if he agrees or disagrees but he doesn’t fight it. “I’ll show you to your room,” he says. “Hopefully you won’t have to stay long.”
I didn’t think I had slept, but a harsh buzz seems to snap me out of whatever daze I had fallen into.
The basement bedroom is dark; I reach across the mattress for Angel, but he’s not there. Did he ever come to bed? Could either of us bear to sleep with each other right now?
I wipe the gunk from my eyes and sit up. The source of the buzzing seems to escape me. It’s the cell phone, it has to be, but where the hell is it?
Suddenly, my heart is on fire.
... Could it be someone calling about Oscar???
I whip off my covers and scramble out of bed, but my legs are so heavy that I immediately fall to the floor. That hardly stops me. My hands dig into the carpet and I pull myself forward, towards the incessant buzzing, but the further I manage to crawl, the more distant the ringing seems to become.
Eventually, the buzzing almost sounds like it surrounds me. Frustration builds behind my eyes as tears blur my vision. I can’t stop. My helpless struggle continues until suddenly, the bedroom door bursts open and a stream of light locks me in place.
I look up through my tears and recognize the hulking figure standing in the doorway. He looms over me, half-devil, half-angel, and I don’t know whether to cry for joy or in fear.
The buzzing doesn’t stop. “... Help...” Even my own voice sounds so distant.
Angel doesn’t have any problem closing the gap between us. He marches forward, a man on a mission, until his giant hand is wrapped around my throat. What are you doing!? I try to ask, but the words don’t come out.
His rough fingers burn through my tender skin like a branding iron. Hot sighs escape my trembling lips. “The phone...”
Angel doesn’t seem to care about who’s calling, or for what. He picks me up off the ground and throws me onto the bed. I bounce on the mattress like a fallen leaf, completely useless—before I can blink, he’s on top of me. His sizzling skin burns off my clothes and his forearms cage me in a prison of his flexing muscles. The heat that falls from his bulging chest makes it hard to breathe... but the second his teeth sink into my neck, I’m overcome by a new vigor.
My limp limbs suddenly roar back alive and my hands find Angel’s fiery abs. At first, I try to push him off, but then his wild teeth retract and his lips suck down on my wound, and a new weakness washes through my body.
“Angel...” I whimper. His hard cock grows and grows until its bulging head fills up the space between my thighs. Molten lava flows through my belly as Angel’s lips work down my neck and to my tits. He latches onto my tented nipples and the boulder of sorrow that weighs down my heavy heart cracks. My back arches and Angel’
s thick finger finds my soaking petals. Without any decorum, he slips into me and my eyes roll into the back of my head.
“The phone, Angel...” in the distance, I can still hear the ringing, but with each lash of Angel’s tongue, my mind wanders further and further from any rooted thought.
I run my fingers up his muscular back and through his thick dark hair. Without warning, another finger enters me and I nearly rip his head off, but he’s too strong to move on my own. A split second later, I feel his thick wet tongue flicker against my clit.
I lose control. My body convulses and my mind goes blank. The only thing keeping me in place is Angel’s strong grip around my hip. With his other hand, he fucks me to high hell. Nightmares and dirty dreams swirl around in my emptying mind as they circle a dark drain. The pleasure building up from below is almost too much to bear. I struggle under it all as a volcanic heat slowly threatens to erupt up from my depths. My soreness snaps, my fractured mind disintegrates; my lungs burst and my throat yells but no words come out of my trembling lips.
Before I can melt completely, Angel rises from the stormy depths below. He blocks out the light from the bedroom doorway and covers me in his shadow. Steam rises from his heaving body and his green eyes glow through the darkness.
He’s a beast.
There’s no time to be afraid; he’s back on me before I can breathe. This time, his chiselled arms wrap around my head and his chest smothers me with his pounding heat. The giant head of his throbbing cock circles my tight entrance as my entire body begs for him to fuck me.
My mind is too far gone to resist.
When Angel enters me, it’s like I rip into a million different pieces. He’s so big and forceful, and with each thrust he makes me his. Our sweaty skin sticks and tears apart a thousand different times every second. The muscular jack hammer that pounds me has an endless reservoir of carnal energy. All I can do is hang on...
Then, something snaps in me. Suddenly, a fireball of strength rushes through my veins and I somehow find the power to push Angel off of me...
But I don’t push him far.
Instead, I roll him onto his back. He growls up at me, teeth bared, but I hold him down. My fingers sink into his hard chest and his thumping heart determines my rhythm.
His giant cock impales me as I straddle the starving beast. My hips start to sway and my nails dig deep into his steaming flesh. Now, it’s Angel’s turn to hold onto me. His huge hands find my tiny breasts and he grips them so hard that I feel his mark forever imprinted into my skin.
My hard nipples poke out through the tiny spaces between his rough fingers as he rubs them together. A new layer of heat rises up from my working hips and I stop my swaying and start to pound myself on his thick endless cock.
I’m impaled, over and over again as we both push into each other with a primal desperation. There’s nothing either of us need more right now than a little release... but there’s nothing little about this.
A second eruption of momentous proportions twitches up from my searing pelvis. Pain and pleasure mix in a deadly whirlwind that rips through everything in its path.
The fear, the dread, the hopelessness, the helplessness. Evaporated.
... But so is the love, the hope, and the trust.
There’s just nothing anymore but pleasure...
And then, I wake up.
My eyelids flutter open to a cold dark bedroom. A hot sweat coats my damp skin and my empty mind buzzes, trying to make sense of it all.
But my mind is still reeling from the dirty dream. My heart pounds just as hard as my head.
The buzzing doesn’t stop.
The buzzing doesn’t stop...
My eyes rip over to the bedside table. There, the cell phone rings with an incoming call. Before I reach for it, I pinch myself to make sure I’m really awake this time. My nails dig into my sore thigh and I flinch in pain.
I may be awake, but that doesn’t mean I’ve escaped this nightmare.
“Hello?”
White noise crackles over the line as I wait for a response. I don’t dare breathe.
“... I was hoping you would pick up.” I can practically hear the evil smirk crossing Dante’s face.
My steaming heart immediately goes cold. A frigid shiver crawls over my sweaty skin. I’m frozen still.
“Where’s Oscar!?” My body may be too shocked to function, but my lungs quickly fill with fire.
Dante’s sick laugh snakes through the receiver. His cruelty echoes through my ears like shrapnel and I have to fight back the anguished pain. “He’s right here,” the sick fuck chuckles. “Where are you?”
As if I’d ever tell him. “Give him back,” I beg, tears blurring my vision.
“Sure,” Dante teases. “Come and get him.”
“Gladly,” I tremble back. My voice breaks and I want to kick myself for showing the devil any weakness. That’s what he wants, to make you suffer.
“Do you want to say hi to your mom?” I hear Dante say just off to the side. Maybe I’m just going mad from grief, but I swear a hear a familiar gurgle in response. “No?” Dante chuckles. “Maybe you shouldn’t come after all...”
“Fuck you!” I shout, so loud that it burns my throat.
“We can make that happen, too.”
Another gurgle sends me off the wall; I didn’t imagine that one. “I swear to god, if you touch a hair on his body...”
“Then what!?” Dante snaps. The cruelty in his voice makes my heart shatter for Oscar. “You can’t do shit. I’m in control here, and you’re going to do as I say.”
I fight back the nausea growing in my gut. What a far cry this is from my dirty dream... “What do you want?” I force myself to ask.
“You.”
Bullshit! It’s my first thought, but my throat hurts too much to yell anymore. Dante had his chance with me. For nearly two fucking years straight he had me locked away like a disobedient pet, and he didn’t do shit. I was his pawn and nothing else, but now that I’m with Angel again?
The disgusting little fucker must be jealous. Always the fucking bridesmaid...
My anger hardly disguises my dread, but it helps to push me forward. “... Fine,” I whisper. “I’ll come to you. Just don’t hurt my baby.” My chin drops to my chest and I try to swallow the pain. This is stupid, so fucking stupid, but I won’t be able to live with myself if I don’t do something.
“I would never hurt my nephew...” Dante hisses. “... At least, not yet.” My heart clenches into a fist of fury and pure sorrow. “Just make sure you come alone.”
Like hell I will.
30
Angel
It’s time to take down a country.
Cali stands beneath my ragtag army of revolutionaries like a gasoline drenched bonfire. We’re ready to set it alight. The weapons from Dublin are in; so is the firepower from Paris and Morocco. My men may not be trained to use this shit to its fullest potential, but there’s no time to waste.
Dante has my son, and I finally have a lead.
Before we attack, I’m crossing into enemy territory on my own to make sure I can get my family out before the bombs start to drop.
If we’re truly going to win this time, my little brother can’t survive this battle. It’s all or nothing now.
“Ready?” I ask Jesus. He stands beside me as our men prepare in the rubble of our last battle.
“We will be,” he assures me, looking out over the sparkling city. “You just send the signal and we’ll attack.”
I pat the flare gun holstered to my belt. “Good luck,” I mumble.
“You too, boss.”
“Aldar!” I shout over to the man who helped Catalina escape our last bout of chaos. “Let’s go!”
“Yes, sir!” the young man scrambles up to a nearby black jeep and pulls a pair of keys out of his pockets. I take one last look back at our final hope. These people might not be great warriors, but each and every one of them have a fire in their eyes that can’t be ignor
ed. They want justice and freedom just as badly as me and that’s enough. It has to be.
I jump into the jeep’s passenger seat and we immediately speed off.
Burnt out buildings blur through the dark tinted windows as we make our way downtown. So far, the ‘nice’ part of the city has been mostly spared from the chaos that we’ve brought down on Cali, but all of that changes tonight—at least, it does if I can get my hands on Oscar first.
“Is that it?” Aldar asks, pointing ahead as we turn onto a residential street and slow down.
I peak out of the front windshield and spot a white limo turning up ahead.
... How fucking gaudy; but I wouldn’t expect anything less. On the bumper is a subtle splash of red paint. “That’s our target.
Aldar creeps forward, careful to keep his distance. The streets are busier than I expected, but that’s not exactly bad news. It gives us more cover as we follow the leak to Dante’s hideout.
My pulse slows and I re-check all of my weapons. It’s funny, finally being back downtown again. Even through all the chaos and changes, it barely looks any different. When we turn down a familiar street, I even see one of my old buildings. I’m not as effected by the sight of it as I once feared I might be. It’s from another life, a life I don’t have time to linger on anymore.
Soon enough, the glitz and glamor of downtown Cali fades, and we roll into the warehouse district. It’s not as scummy as it once was—thanks in large part to my old revitalization efforts—but it still pales in comparison to what we just left behind. It’s also far less crowded.
Good. The fewer innocents who get caught up in this, the better, because I’m not stopping no matter who’s in my way.