by Penelope Sky
I wasn’t certain when I would leave again.
Fender knew I didn’t want to be at the camp, which was why he kept me there. He wanted me there—with her.
I went to the clearing and examined the completed cocaine packets. They were preweighed in certain amounts and organized because it was much easier to give to our street distributors in their desired increments. Some clients wanted more, some wanted less.
I never bothered to look at her.
Despite the heat, we still wore the same outfits. It was easy for us to recognize one another, but for the women, it created confusion. And they never really knew when they were being watched.
When I felt a stare on my face, I lifted my chin and looked across the clearing.
She stood at the table, her next box ready to be carried when a spot opened, and she stared at me openly. Her dark-brown hair was flat now that she was back to her life at the camp. She had no hair accessories like she did at her apartment, so her long strands hung down her body in disarray. Her skin was fairer than it used to be because being indoors had lightened her complexion. Her eyes were blue and innocent, like a porcelain doll that had been sitting on a bookshelf in her office. The longer she stared, the more her breathing increased. Her eyes held emotion that was easy to read because I was so accustomed to every little reaction she made.
I dropped my gaze and ignored her.
She meant nothing to me now—absolutely nothing.
I stepped into the cabin that held the break room, where the guards stopped for snacks and water throughout the day. It was right next to the clearing, so they could come and go and use the restroom if they needed it. It was also the place where we kept some weapons, like the bows and arrows, so they were easy to retrieve if a fight broke out.
It was evening now, after dinnertime, and I stepped inside to see the guards sitting at the table, their hoods down, beer and snacks on the table, along with a pile of poker chips. My companionship had been disowned, so I never expected an invitation to join. They’d once respected me as the next in command, but now they spat on me as they passed.
Alix’s eyes immediately shifted to me, the cards held in his hands. “Look, one-nut chuck.”
The guards snickered at his joke.
I ignored him and entered the weapons room to make sure everything was where it was supposed to be. They’d put a bolt on Raven’s door so she wouldn’t be able to lock-pick her way out of there again. I accounted for everything and walked back out again.
Alix spoke to me again on my way out. “You think that cunt would still suck your dick with half a sac?”
In another scenario, I would just shank him for speaking to me that way, especially in front of the others. But I was the one who’d fucked up. I was the one who’d cost us everything. If I fought him, it would only make the others hate me more.
I took the steps to the ground and headed back to my cabin.
“Hey, asshole.” Alix’s voice erupted behind me.
I stopped but didn’t turn around. The lights from buildings cast limited illumination in the darkness, but I could picture him clearly in my mind far better than I could ever see him anyway.
“I asked you a question.”
I slowly turned around and stared him down.
Alix came down the stairs, in dark jeans and a t-shirt, grinning once he had my attention.
The rest of the guys moved to the porch—to witness whatever was about to happen.
Alix slowly came toward me, his boots kicking up little clouds of dry earth in his path. There were patches of grass, and soon the place would be covered in vegetation as the final bits of springtime cold faded.
His taunts enraged me, but again, I couldn’t be that angry.
I was the one who had betrayed them for a woman who had so easily betrayed me.
He came closer and closer, stopping just feet in front of me. “Does it feel different? When you fuck a woman?” Alix already despised me for all the times I’d helped Raven in the past. But now, his hatred was beyond the stratosphere. He would never stop this shit.
I could fight him, but even if I won, I still lost. I turned around and continued to walk.
“Do you come less?”
The guys on the porch snickered loudly.
I kept going.
His footsteps sounded behind me. “I’m talking to you, asshole.”
I walked at a normal pace because I wasn’t running from my enemy. I was simply indifferent.
Then his footsteps became quicker, telling me he was right behind me.
I quickly pivoted and steadied his arm, which held a blade that had been pointed at my back just seconds ago. I twisted it away, kneed him in the balls, and then slugged him in the stomach.
It happened too quickly for him to respond.
I twisted his elbow then pulled the knife out of his hand before I kicked him in the chest, and he fell back—landing on his ass.
He groaned when he landed, the dirt flying up into the air.
I approached him, holding the knife in my hand.
He looked up at me—furious that I’d humiliated him in front of everyone.
I threw the knife down, making the blade slice into the soil next to him, the hilt up so he could grab it. Then I extended my hand to him.
He stared at me, nostrils flared.
I handed his ass to him to remind him who he was dealing with. Then I asked for a silent truce, wanting this problem to go away, for the camp to return to its normal operations. I’d kill him if I had to, but if I did, the other guards would hate me more. Earning respect and giving mercy was the only way out of this predicament.
He looked at my hand then spat on it.
I dropped my hand, disappointed but unsurprised.
He got to his feet and grabbed the knife at the same time. After a final hostile stare, he returned the way he came.
I walked to my cabin—as if nothing had happened.
Five
The Note
I was the most hated man in the camp.
I took it in stride, didn’t complain to Fender, and brushed it off.
My door was always locked and bolted shut, and I always looked over my shoulder because there was always a target on my back. When I went to the clearing during the day to do paperwork, I felt her look at me again.
There was no chance of us speaking because she was never near me. I was never tempted to enter her cabin for a late-night conversation. If I came anywhere close, I might kill her.
I wasn’t sure how I didn’t choke her to death.
But I lifted my chin and looked at her anyway.
Her face was black and blue.
One eye was swollen shut because a fist had beaten her so badly. Her cheek was cracked with a scar that would be there forever. Her neck was even bruised, like she’d been choked then punched, and then choked again. Dried blood was in both corners of her mouth because she had no mirror to know what she looked like. She almost looked unrecognizable.
I felt nothing.
I looked down and got back to work.
I was there when the girls were dismissed.
I told the guards to carry the packaged cocaine to the storage facility so it could be put on the wagons tomorrow morning. With my clipboard in hand, I walked off, headed back to my cabin to get the information logged so Fender could access it.
“Magnus.”
I stilled at the sound of her voice. It took me a second to turn around and look at her, caught by surprise because I hadn’t expected her. Alix wouldn’t stab me in the middle of the day with everyone gathered in one place, so it was the one time I felt safe.
She was still bloody and bruised from her beating the other day, and up close, she looked even worse.
I pulled down my hood so she could see my face.
See how much I didn’t care.
She flinched at the hostile look in my gaze.
“Leave. Before I kill you—”
“I’m sorry.” Her e
yes watered and quickly turned into tears.
Her guard realized she’d run off, so he marched toward her to retrieve her. She’d be punished for what she did.
But she didn’t care about the consequences. “I don’t regret what I did…but I’m sorry that I hurt you.” Tears dripped down her cheeks. “I’m so sorry—”
“I’m not going to help you.”
Her eyes tightened into confusion. “I know…I’m not asking. I just needed you to know—”
Eric grabbed her by the throat and yanked on her. “You run from me, bitch?” He pulled her away then grabbed her by the hair, dragging her across the ground until he released her. Then he kicked her. “Up. Come on.”
I stood and watched.
She pushed herself to her feet slowly.
Then he pushed her again, making her fall back down.
He did it over and over, watching her get up, move a couple feet, and then he kicked her again.
I headed back to the cabin as if nothing happened.
I left with the wagons in the morning.
I didn’t concern myself with Raven’s treatment. Whether I was there or not, her punishment would be the same. She wouldn’t be killed because Fender had decided death was too good for her.
It took us the entire day to reach the end of the road and get the product on the trucks. It all happened quickly, barely taking a few minutes, so no one would notice from the main road. The doors were shut, and then I got into the back with the rest of the guys.
My outfit was discarded, and I put on jeans and a t-shirt.
I sat on one of the pallets and leaned against the wall, drinking a bottle of water as we started our long journey to our processing facility in the middle of Paris. The outsides of the trucks were marked with a fictitious food delivery logo.
Baker’s Dozen Baguettes.
But the real world knew who we really were.
Carcass.
Gilbert answered the door and let me inside, addressing me in French. “It’s been a long time, sir. How are you?” He was the only person in this world who treated me with respect, other than the lower henchmen and Parisian distributors.
“Fine.”
Gilbert led me farther inside, in his customary black tuxedo, walking slightly ahead so he could guide me where I was allowed to wait. “His Highness will be down in a moment. Is there something I can get for you while you wait? Glass of wine?”
“Something stronger, Gilbert.”
He nodded then excused himself.
I looked out the back windows to the lush gardens, the long pathway that carried through the acres of land into the French countryside. The hydrangeas blossomed in colors of purple and blue, and pink roses were dispersed everywhere. The gardens had been maintained for hundreds of years, most of the plants receiving better care than hospital patients. This place was a legacy and had more value than a person’s life.
I stood there, remembering the last time I was in that room.
Raven was with me.
I’d stood there and asked my brother for a favor so ridiculous that I felt stupid for asking, but I did it anyway. I even took it a step further and used our shared blood to get what I wanted, when I’d never done that in our entire lives.
I regretted that…deeply.
Gilbert brought the short glass to me. “He’ll be down momentarily.” He gave a slight bow before he excused himself from the room.
I drank the whole thing in a single gulp then held the empty glass at my side.
Booze, money, women…couldn’t drown out this shame.
His footsteps sounded behind me. “You’ve nearly recouped our losses.”
I kept my gaze out the window. “The women are working longer.”
“You’ve negotiated more product?” He came to my side, looking out the window with a glass of scotch in his hand. He was shirtless and barefoot, in his sweatpants.
It was difficult to get our contacts in Colombia to deliver more cocaine because it was risky to put it on the airliner, even just an extra palette. But I convinced them to do it…after a few attempts. “Yes.”
“What’s the fee?”
“No fee.”
He slowly turned his head to look at me.
I kept my eyes ahead.
“How did you manage that?”
I shrugged. “Persuasion.”
He faced forward and drank from his glass again. “I’m impressed.”
I wanted to earn back his favor, to erase the shame I had brought to our family name. I’d made him look weak in front of his men because he wouldn’t kill me. I wanted to make up for that—to everyone. “With the new production schedule, we’ll make fifty percent more than we were before on a regular basis. I’m trying to figure out a way to secure more, but it’s complicated.”
He took another drink then wiped his mouth with his hand. “How are the men treating you?”
I wasn’t a snitch, so I kept my mouth shut. “Fine.”
“Negotiating that increase in product will increase their salaries, so they must have granted you some forgiveness.”
Not even a little bit.
“You’ve definitely earned some from me.” He turned away from the window and looked at me.
I turned to meet his gaze, to look my brother in the eye, seeing the brown eyes and facial features that were bestowed upon us both.
“How’s the cunt holding up?”
I knew exactly who he referred to. “I wouldn’t know.” I had no interaction with her, and when I wasn’t with her, I didn’t think about her.
He seemed to believe me, either because he had a source on the inside keeping tabs on me, or because my word was still good enough. “I don’t understand your fascination with her. Melanie is beautiful, petite, quiet…and she’s the ugly one.”
I gave no reaction to his words. I didn’t even respond because I didn’t know what to say. All I knew was that I disagreed with that statement entirely. Beautiful women were plentiful for powerful kingpins like us, but there was something about Raven that attracted me beyond the physical desires of the flesh. Melanie never registered on my brain because she blended in with everyone else. But Raven was a bright and shiny beacon that I could see even with my eyes closed.
Fender took a drink of his scotch then looked out the window again, like he didn’t expect me to explain. He just wanted to insult me, to insult my choices on another level. When footsteps sounded behind us, he turned to look.
I did the same.
Melanie stood there in an expensive blue dress with earrings dangling from her lobes, her hair pulled back elegantly. Her skin was slightly tanned, as if she’d been lying by his pool for several weeks. Her makeup was done in a sultry way, like she was ready for a photo shoot rather than an evening around the estate.
Fender didn’t tell her to leave. He stared at her then raised his hand, silently beckoning her close with his fingertips.
She obeyed.
I hadn’t expected to see her there because Fender hadn’t mentioned her. When he went to take Raven away after the fire, he must have taken Melanie for himself. The request I’d made was now void because of everything that happened.
His arm moved around her waist, and he looked at her in a way I’d never seen him look at a woman before. His hand gripped the material of her dress in a tight fist, a possessive hold. He corralled her to him, bringing their lips close together so he could look at her like a priceless piece of art that he owned. He switched from French to English. “A glass of wine, beautiful?”
“Please,” she whispered.
He gave her a soft kiss before he released her and walked away.
It was completely out of character to retrieve something himself instead of asking his butler to do it.
Melanie came closer to me, glanced over her shoulder to see where he was, and then loosened her closed fist to reveal a small piece of white paper. “Give this to my sister.” She spoke in a whisper, her voice shaking like she was afraid she wou
ld be caught any second.
I stared at her coldly.
“Please…”
“No.” I owed her nothing.
She grabbed my hand and shoved it into my fingers. “Please…” Her eyes watered, like this note was life and death. “I know you don’t owe me anything, but please. She didn’t want to hurt you like that, but she couldn’t live with herself, knowing those girls were still there. Trust me…it killed her to do what she did. You meant a lot to her.”
I kept my fingers clenched in a fist so I couldn’t take the paper.
“Have you seen her hands?”
My eyes narrowed at the question.
“The wood from the roof was on fire, but she still pulled it off you. She’s got third-degree burns because of it. She saved you. The executioner stood in her way so she couldn’t get to you, but she didn’t run. She fought for you.”
I remembered being knocked out, but I had no recollection of anything else.
“I’m begging you…”
Even if that were entirely true, that Raven had executed some ridiculously heroic feat, it didn’t matter. “The only reason I was under that burning building was because she set it on fire.” I spoke in a normal voice because I didn’t care if she got caught trying to slip me this note. “That means nothing to me.”
She breathed harder, her wet eyes forming tears that became so heavy they dripped down her cheeks.
Fender’s footsteps became audible from the other room.
She forced my fingers apart and shoved the paper inside. “If you knew what she said about you when you weren’t around, you would take this note. So please. Please.” She wiped her tears away quickly so Fender wouldn’t notice. She pushed my closed hand into my body. “Please.”
Fender’s footsteps became loud once he entered the room. “I had to go down to the cellar to get your favorite.” He carried the glass to her, his arm moving around her waist after he handed it to her.
She gave me one final look before she turned into him and kissed the corner of his mouth. “You didn’t have to do that.”
