by Angela Horn
Once the women joined Roman, Sophie sat in a chair and sighed.
“Now what?”
“We order pizza, watch television, and go to sleep.”
“What about tomorrow?”
“We head for Arkansas and try to pick up Joaquin’s scent.”
Nodding, Sophie kept staring at Roman who was watching them both.
“What?” Lila asked.
“Nothing,” Sophie said with a shrug. “Can I have mushrooms on my pizza?”
“I’m not your mom, Sophie. You can eat whatever you want.”
“Yeah, but I don’t have any cash. Can I use my credit card?”
Lila rolled her eyes and went to the phone. Looking up the number for a local pizza shop, she dialed and ordered the food.
“Where do we get money anyway?” Sophie asked Roman. “We don’t have real jobs, right? I know Lila stole her money from drug dealers. Is that what I’m supposed to do? Steal?”
Lila hung up the phone then leaned back on the bed, allowing Roman answer.
“The Lord provides signs about what cars to take and who to steal from. It sounds strange, but He gives you what you need by taking it from either those people who don’t need or deserve it. You have to watch for the signs though. Some hunters are good at spotting them, some aren’t. I don’t know which kind you are.”
“And why don’t I remember anything about being a hunter or about you and Lila?”
Roman glanced at Lila who smiled awkwardly, again forcing him to be the one to answer. Turning his attention back to Sophie, he twisted his lips and thought up a lie.
“The best I can figure is that you and your pack got too close to the gateway and something changed you, moved you somehow. You’re different than other hunters now. I don’t know if you’ll ever remember or if these changes will help or hurt you? I do know you seem exactly how I remember.”
“Exactly?”
“Down to every freckle,” Roman said with a gentle smile.
Sophie grinned, apparently relieved by his words. Whatever she felt, Sophie stopped talking and turned on the television. When the pizza arrived, no one spoke, eating in a weird self-induced silence, much like during the drive from Sawyer’s. Lila knew Roman wanted to talk to her, but the need to keep the truth from Sophie limited their conversational topics. Instead, they stole glances until bedtime.
Sharing a bed with a restless Sophie, Lila lay in the dark room and wished she might sleep. The last few days left her with little time to rest. She could now relax with the knowledge of a big dog having her back. Yet, she stayed awake, listening to Sophie mutter about dead cats and monsters.
Around midnight, Sophie twisted in bed and smacked Lila in the face. Giving into her desire, no matter how weak it made her feel, Lila moved from her bed to Roman’s. Finding him awake, Lila slipped under the covers as Sophie’s mutterings echoed in the room.
“She’ll beat the crap out of me by morning.”
“It’s been a difficult few days, I’m sure.”
Lila smiled at him. “You baby her like you baby me.”
“Never,” Roman said, smiling as he swept hair from her face. “You should sleep though. If we plan to catch up with the Reaper, we need to get on the road early tomorrow.”
Lila nodded, but she didn’t close her eyes. She watched him watching her.
“I was coming over here even if Sophie didn’t punch me. I don’t like this weakness I feel, but I need to be close to you.”
Roman pressed her hand against his chest. “No matter what happens, I want you to know how much I love you.”
“I feel strange saying I love you when I’ve known you for less than twenty four hours. I do feel something though and it keeps growing like an addiction. If I can’t technically love you right this moment, I’ll love you by tomorrow, if that makes sense? How long did it take for you to know you loved me?”
“About a minute and a half, but I told myself it was just how beautiful you looked killing those villains. I later realized when God gives you someone to love, it isn’t even a choice. You just have to embrace it.”
Lila smiled, snuggling closer. “Then I’m going to say I love you now because it’s been way more than a few minutes.”
“Do you feel better now?”
“Yes, I think I can sleep.”
“Me too.”
Lila closed her eyes, ready to ponder the next day, but within a few breaths, she was asleep.
Chapter Nine
Darkness had come over Joaquin as he sat in the dimly lit room while Heidi tried to sleep nearby. They had found a decent hotel on the outskirts of the same town they fled hours earlier. Checking in by himself, Joaquin slipped Heidi in unseen.
The room was chilly - the air conditioning having run too high for too long. Heidi shivered upon entering and was still doing so under the covers. Joaquin knew she wasn’t sleeping, knew she was thinking about those women. He was thinking of them too and what he might be forced to do to keep Heidi from their fate.
As the hours passed, Joaquin realized it was only a matter of time before death took Heidi. This was when the darkness seduced him.
Joaquin glanced at Heidi, only the top of her head visible under the blankets. He cared for this woman, maybe more than he should, but he couldn’t ignore the impulse. Joaquin needed her too - needed her to believe he was good and could be redeemed. When she spoke his name, the sound of it created an array of new emotions in him. He hated those feelings as much as he hungered for them. No, he would not do well in life, if Heidi was taken from him.
But she would die. He knew in his heart he would watch her die. The cartel couldn’t hurt him for he was invincible, but Heidi was a corpse waiting to happen. She would be gone soon and he would be alone.
The darkness spoke to him, whispering the solution to his pain. He was given this woman so she wouldn’t suffer the filthy desires of the cartel men. While he had saved her temporarily, nothing he did would be enough. Maybe Joaquin wasn’t meant to return her to the US, but to give her a death worthy of such a kind soul?
The gun felt heavy in his hand as he stood from his perch near the window. Heidi either heard him move or sensed his plan because she sat up in the bed and watched him.
“I can’t save you,” he said.
“Maybe you aren’t meant to save me? Maybe God has a different plan for us?”
“God brought you to me, but I am a monster.”
“You’re just lost, Joaquin.”
“Don’t say my name,” he whispered.
Raising the gun, he expected her to flinch, maybe beg, but she only looked disappointed.
“This isn’t what God wants from you.”
“I can’t give Him what He wants.”
“How do you know? You haven’t even tried.”
“I can’t save you, Heidi. Do you understand what will happen when they find you? Do you understand your fate?”
“I’m not afraid.”
“You’re lying.”
Heidi sighed, pushing hair from her face as she twisted in bed to see him better. “You’re right. I am afraid, but not of dying. When I die, I will go to Heaven. I’m afraid of where you’ll go.”
“I don’t deserve Heaven.”
“It’s not your decision.”
Joaquin moved closer, the gun lowering slightly. “I will make it quick. I’ll then do what I should have done in the motel.”
“If you had died, those men would have found me. You lived for a reason. Why are you so afraid to see what God has planned for us?”
Joaquin didn’t answer as his finger caressed the trigger. She would keep talking until he grew weak from his feelings for her. He would then give into those feelings and she would die like a dog in the street.
Her gaze frightened, Heidi asked, “Will it hurt?”
“No.”
“How can you know that?”
“It will be quick.”
“But it could hurt?”
Joaquin hated h
ow he kept talking, kept extending this torture. She was afraid now. If he were a good man, he would have shot Heidi before she had a chance to understand and the fear set in. If only he were a good man, he might not have wanted these last selfish moments with her.
“Stop talking,” he whispered.
“I don’t want you to die,” Heidi said as the tears finally broke forward. “I want you to be saved.”
Joaquin sighed, his eyes searching the room for strength.
“It has to be this way. Can’t you see how there is no way out for us? No magic plan that allows me to save you.”
“I don’t care about getting away. I want you to be saved, not me. Can’t you wait and see what happens?”
Joaquin leaned down and wiped a tear from her freckled cheek. “Don’t cry. You’ll be safe soon. Think of finding peace and not of the gun or my fate. Think of being with your god.”
Heidi reached for his hand as he wiped the tear. Squeezing it gently, she stared at him with her soothing green eyes.
“If God wants this to happen, it will happen. I’ll stop talking and leave it to Him.”
Joaquin nodded, one hand holding hers, the other the gun he planned to use to end her life. He might have put the gun down, if not for the darkness assuring him how her death later would be slower and more painful. Stepping away from the bed, he let go of her hand and raised the weapon.
Heidi did not close her eyes. Instead, she stared at him, eyes damp, but the crying over. He gazed into those kind eyes and counted in his head. At that moment, Joaquin knew he loved her and the thought sickened him.
His gaze holding hers, he pressed gently at the trigger as his countdown reached four. When his countdown reached two, Heidi’s gaze moved to the door.
The impending threat itched at him and he followed her gaze to where shadows passed under the door. Hushed voices were barely noticeable, but Joaquin knew, just as he always knew.
“Go,” he said, waving for Heidi to move to the bathroom.
Before she made it off the bed, he fired twice through the door, hitting the men coming to kill them. Rushing now in opposite directions, Heidi hid in the bathroom while Joaquin grabbed another weapon and threw open the door. The men lay on the ground, in great pain and barely alive. He noticed an ear piece on each of them and grabbed one. Others were here, making plans downstairs. Surveying the empty hall, he called for Heidi who grabbed her bag and stood next to him.
“They’re here.”
“What are you going to do?”
“I will draw them towards the entrance while you slip out back.”
Heidi grabbed his arm. “We need to stay together.”
“Do as I say,” Joaquin said, taking one of the smaller guns and handing it to Heidi. “Go hide in the stairwell above us until you hear the gunshots then make your way downstairs and outside. Don’t go to the van. Just find a spot where you can hide and wait for me.”
“I don’t know how to use a gun,” Heidi said, her lower lip trembling as she stared at him.
“They don’t know that. Once they see me, they’ll assume you’re close by.”
Heidi nodded, edging away from him, her face twisted with uncertainty. Joaquin left her and headed towards the opposite stairwell. Suddenly pausing, he wondered if he would ever see Heidi again. This thought forced Joaquin to return to where she waited for him.
Joaquin slipped his guns into his waistband then took her face into his hands. Kissing her softly, he imagined her lying dead in the parking lot. He imagined all sorts of awful outcomes. When she returned his affections though, Joaquin decided he would make it as difficult for the cartel as possible. It was all he knew how to do anyway.
Heidi didn’t smile at him when he let go of her. She didn’t say a word, just held her gun awkwardly and walked away. Watching her disappear into the stairwell, Joaquin hurried downstairs to create his diversion.
The hotel lobby was tackily decorated, but tidy when Joaquin checked in a few hours earlier. The once empty lobby was now filled with armed men who took a second to notice his arrival. While initially startled, the killers quickly reacted by firing wildly in his direction.
Bullets tore apart the lobby, ripping through flesh and furniture. Joaquin moved easily through the mayhem, firing his weapons until they were empty. Tossing them aside, he retrieved more and chased down each fleeing man who had come to harm his Heidi.
The lobby finally fell silent - bodies and bullets and blood the new décor. Joaquin was unharmed, only a single bullet had ripped through the sleeve of his shirt, never touching flesh. His eyes scanned the cowering hotel staff behind the counter, the bodies scattered around the lobby, and the street outside for more trouble. The staff remained docile, the corpses stayed dead, and the street was still empty.
Calm overtook the darkness in his heart and Joaquin felt God. The same certainty from the day before flooded his heart and he again embraced hope.
Moving towards the back door to find Heidi in the parking lot, Joaquin flinched when shots rang out upstairs. His actions should have drawn all of the men to the lobby. No others should be upstairs shooting.
Barreling up the stairs, his mind again showed him so many awful outcomes. Her death was his fault. His plan was flawed. He left her to die because he knew she would die anyway. Now, Joaquin ached to see Heidi once more - her gentle green eyes, her kind smile, and those freckles.
Throwing open the door to the hallway, Joaquin raised his gun, ready for revenge. He only found Heidi standing with her own gun raised at him. Between them lay two men, each dead from a single shot to the head. Joaquin walked to Heidi who stared at the dead men. Taking the gun from her hand, he touched her face gently, gaining her attention.
“I came back to help you,” she said.
“I told you…”
“God told me different. I shot those men.”
“Yes, we need to go.”
“Are you hurt?” Heidi asked, probing the hole in his shirt.
“I’m fine. We need to hurry.”
Joaquin took her bag and shoved it into his duffle bag along with his spent weapons. Holding her hand, he hurried down the backstairs and towards the parking lot where he searched for a new car. A silver sedan spoke out to him and he found it was not only unlocked, but blessed with a spare set of keys in the glove compartment. Heidi stood next to him as he checked the car, but made no move to get in.
“We need to go,” Joaquin said, trying to calm his nerves.
“Are you still going to kill me?”
Joaquin sighed, hating that he ever considered such an option. “You left it to God and He gave us the answer. How can I argue with His will?”
Nodding with a relieved smile, Heidi joined him in the car. As they drove away from the hotel, Joaquin heard sirens approaching.
“We’re stealing a family’s car,” Heidi said, eyeing the children’s toys in the backseat.
“We have no choice.”
“Are you scared?”
Joaquin shook his head, unwilling to look her in the eye.
“I am. How did they find us so soon?”
Joaquin didn’t answer, for he sensed not even the cartel was this powerful.
“Tell me about the monster from your dream.”
Heidi shrugged. “Just some moldy thing talking to a man in a nice suit. The monster told the man about our hotel and even the room number.”
“Did it feel real?”
“No, it felt like a dream.”
“Then why bring it up?”
“Because I didn’t think the cartel found us on their own.”
Joaquin sighed. “I’m beginning to think the same thing.”
Recalling his past dealings with the cartel, he wondered why they would put such effort into finding Heidi, a young woman with no apparent connection to them. Something else was at work here and a monster made as much sense as anything else.
“Do you know where we’re going?” Heidi asked in a voice much quieter than usual.
“No.”
Nodding, Heidi stared out of the window as the resort town faded into the distance.
“What you’re feeling is okay,” she said, still looking out of the window. “I’m feeling it too.”
“You don’t know what I’m feeling.”
Heidi leaned over and flicked his ear. “You’re not quite the mystery you think you are.”
Joaquin glanced at her with a grin. “We’ll see.”
Chapter Ten
Lila woke just after dawn next to a man she barely knew, yet loved completely. His restful breathing almost caused Lila to fall back to sleep, but she was roused by Sophie who sat up and yawned.
Tiptoeing to the bathroom, the women spoke in hushed voices.
“We should let him rest,” Lila said, retrieving a pair of jeans from her bag. “There’s a Denny’s next door. Let’s go pick up some food and bring it back.”
“By ourselves?”
Lila frowned at the blonde. “You once hunted in the presence of the greatest warrior, Micah. You ran with the best pack, mine. You can take on any villain and win. You need faith in God to gain your power though. Get it?”
“You’re saying a trip to Denny’s shouldn’t be a problem then?”
“Yeah, that’s basically what I’m saying.”
While Sophie finished dressing in the bathroom, Lila returned to Roman who slept as if exhausted from years of hoping and waiting and suffering. All of the pain now washed off him with every soft breath he exhaled. Watching him sleep, Lila wished he would wake up and tell her everything was alright.
Faced with hunting down a big dog rogue hunter, Lila suddenly didn’t feel ready. Knowing she died not once, but twice, ate at her confidence and she needed Roman to comfort her.
Roman didn’t wake though. Even as a family with chatty kids passed by the window, he never stirred. Too deep asleep to casually wake, Lila gave up on finding immediate reassurance. She only hoped the smell of breakfast roused him.
Sophie emerged from the bathroom, hair back in a ponytail, wearing a pair of jeans and one of Lila’s tank tops. The two women could be sisters in their matching outfits, not to mention their matching freckles. Lila didn’t notice though. She only had eyes for Roman.
