A branch broke, and Domenico twisted his body that way about to draw the knife, but he turned into a statue while his brain reached the boiling point at the sight of bright warning colors.
No.
Not now.
The jaguar roared at him, placing its large paws closer to Domenico with each graceful stride. Its bright amber eyes met Domenico’s, and he didn’t dare blink, taking a step back, for each step the beast made his way.
The shirt Domenico was wearing clung to his body uncomfortably, but at least the knife came out of the sheath with no issue, gleaming in the light as he raised his hands. The cat leaned back, showing its huge teeth in warning. Domenico took a second to glance at the next mausoleum in a row, and yes—it was of the Mutis family, but that second of attention turned elsewhere ended up with the beast approaching closer. It was bigger than he had anticipated based on pictures, and it radiated physical prowess and strength as it stalked him in a semicircle.
The knife seemed pathetic in comparison to the teeth the massive cat showed off yet again, but Dom made a slow step sideways to reach the door of the tomb as soon as possible. What if Seth was followed into that tunnel? What if he needed help the moment he came out? Domenico had to enter the building as soon as possible.
He now wished he had more knowledge of zoology, because he didn’t have the vaguest idea which spot on a wild cat’s body was the best one to strike in case push came to shove and his life was on the line. The heat that was eating up his body didn’t help, and neither did the pain repeatedly striking beneath his breastbone as if his heart was about to break from its murderously fast beating.
The stone against his back was a relief, and Domenico moved slightly to the side, patting down the thick metal bars of the entrance. The padlock was heavy in his hand, just as the knife started to become when Domenico kept holding it up in hope a method that worked on bears, making oneself appear larger, could also be somewhat effective in repelling jaguars.
The animal growled, moving back and forth in what looked like frustration, and when it showed Domenico its teeth from up close, he almost stopped breathing altogether. Those fangs could likely crush a human head without much issue.
Sweat dripped into Domenico’s eye from his brow, forcing him to close it and the jaguar must have found it suspicious, because it squinted at Dom. And just like that, things became even worse when the first drops of rain started falling from the sky and pounding against the roof of the mausoleum.
Domenico tried to turn the combination wheels on the padlock blindly, but it was useless. He lost count twice already and was getting nowhere while the animal in front of him could attack at any given moment. If he could only see what the current numbers were, he could slowly put in the right combination, which he wasn’t even sure of anymore, because whenever he noticed the way the jaguar stared at him with its golden, emotionless eyes, thoughts seemed to trickle out of Domenico’s head along with the rain that was now drizzling down his face.
In the far-off distance, a group of monkeys started frantically shouting, sending Dom’s senses into a frenzy, but with the jaguar sharply looking that way, Domenico fought the frost keeping his joints stiff and glanced at the padlock to remember its current setting. His fingers worked on their own accord once he knew what he was doing, so he kept his eyes on the jaguar, which leaned his head close to the ground, now watching Domenico, as if his time was up.
The handle of the knife dug into Domenico’s palm so hard it felt like it was about to grow roots and become a permanent part of Domenico’s body. While he watched the jaguar, Domenico couldn’t stop thinking that a single mistake, a single sound that he had not considered could end with the undergrowth feeding on his blood.
Pressure rose as he flicked his fingers over the last metal wheel. The wild cat’s body sank lower. Domenico rose to his toes. The lock opened.
In one swift move Domenico stepped to the side and opened the bars with a blood-curdling screech that made the jaguar pounce with a roar. Domenico leaped inside the tomb and pulled on the bars with his foot, all too aware that he couldn’t keep holding the bars with it, or his lower leg would become the beast’s appetizer.
The impact of the large body colliding with the door sent Domenico tumbling to the stone floor. Squeezing the open padlock in one hand and the knife in the other, he expected the weight of the cat to descend on him with full force, hold him down for the claws and teeth to tear his flesh apart as if he were slow-cooked roast.
But it didn’t happen. Frustrated, the animal roared a strange, surreal sound as it collided with the door yet again.
The bars were still technically open, but if only Dom could put the padlock back on, he’d be safe. For now. Since the jaguar pushed on the bars, not pulled, he had a fighting chance if he only… reached out to snap the padlock shut. Which was impossible with the animal aggressively pushing his nose and paws through the rusty bars. If anything, the jaguar would soon work out how to pull the door open, and this place would become Domenico’s grave.
He took several deep breaths, airing his head to think more clearly. Damn it. If he only had his gun, this situation would have been over a long time ago. But he had the knife, and with the surprisingly steady door protecting him from the weight of the wild cat, he actually stood a chance.
The bars rattled again, and the jaguar fell back, showing its teeth and pacing nervously. Domenico growled back.
“Do you fucking know who I am?”
His heart rattled like mad, but he would not be giving up when he’d come so far already! He and the jaguar eyed one another, and Domenico approached, just out of the range of the jaguar’s claws.
“I’m Animal Control, you fucker!” He lurched forward with the knife, hissing at the beast, and he sliced through the fur on its paw, making the jaguar back away in panic. The cut appeared minor, so Dom had to act fast, before the cat was back to throwing itself at the bars with a vengeance.
He reached out, praying to all the saints he could name, and locked the padlock with a snapping sound. His relief was so immense he fell back to the stone floor, crawling far away from the steel bars of the door.
There. He was safe. For now.
Chapter 18 - Domenico
Domenico paced from one corner of the crypt to the other, endlessly circling the sarcophagus in the middle. He was now a predator locked in a cage way too small. The crypt was not more than ten by ten feet, with a low ceiling and only one way out. He was trapped in these walls with all of his anxieties, and had too much time to ponder if he’d made the right choice with Dana. Maybe he should have gone with her somehow. In the trunk of her car, and… and then what? He didn’t even know where Seth was being held, or if he hadn’t already been killed for that matter.
He didn’t even have any cigarettes left.
Domenico stopped and put his hot forehead against the stone wall, breathing in its musty smell. Seth couldn’t be dead. He couldn’t. Wouldn’t Domenico feel it if Seth were gone forever? It seemed absurd, and yet deep down he was convinced their souls were so interconnected, that he would know if something horrible happened.
The jaguar kept guarding the only entrance, but Domenico was confident it would eventually give up on him, even if so far the animal only seemed to be getting more agitated by the second.
Domenico chose to ignore it and put himself to work, opening the sarcophaguses one by one. Two held coffins, one—a broken casket with bones visible through the hole, but at last, in an unimpressive stone sarcophagus in the corner he found a metal ladder bolted to the wall. He got down in hope of walking into the tunnel and meeting Seth halfway, but all he saw (apart from more coffins laid out on two shelves) was a modern metal door with no locks or door handles visible, as if it only opened from the other side.
The wait was excruciating, but he’d rather stay with the corpses underground than upstairs with the jaguar, and it wasn’t just because it was much colder down here. With his body sweating so much he was starting to
ache for something to drink. He took off the damp shirt and left it on one of the ladder steps. Hidden away in the dark hole that was the secret entrance to the tunnel, he tried to even out his breathing but wasn’t very successful at it.
Minutes—maybe hours—passed, and he could not find peace, simply listening to all the sounds around him. The walls were damp to the touch, so he rubbed his palms against them, seeking an oddly familiar sensation. He imagined he was back home, in the well. This was familiar. He could pretend the coffins held bodies of mice, and that Seth wasn’t coming from a place where he was in danger, possibly at risk of being tortured. He was coming to bring Domenico some food and water, to ease the insufferable headache that radiated down Domenico’s spine the longer he was without water. So he looked up, at the weak glow of daylight that could reveal the familiar face any minute now.
If Seth never emerged from the tunnel, Domenico could as well stay down here and rot, because without him everything was pointless. It was the look of awe in Seth’s eyes that made Domenico want to become a better man, and the understanding of every side of Domenico’s personality that made Seth so irreplaceable. Even when they fought, Seth was able to forgive him, and even though Seth could be so sweet himself, he also lived with the knowledge of what Domenico was and accepted it.
Domenico slid down the wall in the corner of the chamber and put his face in his hands, wishing they hadn’t been apart so often in the last weeks. Wishing that he could hold Seth and hear the beating of his heart. Being left to wait and unable to do anything more than that was eviscerating him alive. If he could only murder all the time that divided him from Seth, he’d do it in a heartbeat.
Domenico’s mind drifted away to a place where he didn’t have to wait. Where Seth was with him all the time, to the little apartment in Berlin. To the campervan that took them across the United States. To the little hut in the swamp.
Back then, he didn’t even know how lucky he had been.
The sound of footsteps was only an echo at first, distant and faint, but when it came closer, Domenico raised his head and looked into the dark void of the door. Two pairs of legs were approaching fast. Mark and Seth then. Or... what, Seth and Dana? Dana and Mark?
He shuddered, pulling himself up and moving his hand along the long casket on the concrete shelf to get to the door. He could practically smell human skin already, so close were the two people.
“It’s me,” he tried saying, but his mouth was so dry it came out too quietly, so he repeated, as loud as he could. “It’s me. I’m here.”
Something was unlocking behind the steel door, and even if it turned out that two of Toro’s men had come to kill him, he’d greet them with open arms. He was just so tired with this wait it nearly broke him.
He had to back off when the door opened outward, sending a wave of cool air his way along with the yellow light of a flashlight that burned Domenico’s eyes so badly he needed to squint.
Seth emerged from the tunnel, and even in the light coming from behind him Domenico could see the dark bruises forming on his face. There was a reddish smear across his lips, and his left eye was swollen, but he was here, alive, and Domenico couldn’t have asked for more.
He put his arms around Seth and rested his forehead on his shoulder, suddenly so overcome with relief that he longed for something to keep him upright. He was so, so tired.
“I’m here, too,” Seth whispered and hugged Domenico tightly. His presence was a relief so intense, it made Domenico realize that he hadn’t understood the extent to which his body got mauled by this wait. Only now his heart was slowing down to join in the steady rhythm in which Seth’s was beating.
Domenico breathed in the warm scent of his lover’s skin, so familiar, and so lovely he wished he could perfume himself with it.
“I’m sorry, Dom, I’m so sorry.” Seth trembled all over and wouldn’t let go.
The screech of the door finally forced Domenico to look up at… Miguel?
Domenico swallowed, watching Miguel cautiously, as the man looked like someone had attempted to remodel his face. Without much success. “What... where’s Mark? Miguel, why were you inside?” hissed Domenico, without ever letting go of Seth.
“Nero Moreno,” Miguel spat out. “The motherfucker ambushed me. He tracked me down. He must have known to look for me. I didn’t tell him shit, but he wanted to question me later. I guess that’s the only reason we’re still alive.” His lips sealed into a tight line, his whole body tense as a string.
Domenico clenched his teeth and looked at Seth again, pushing their faces together, and unable to get enough of the sweet, warm touch. “Fuck... do you know if Mark’s fine? The kid’s so inexperienced.”
Seth slid his fingers to Dom’s neck, and it was almost as if his big, warm hands were the only thing capable of bringing peace to Domenico’s body. “He’s being held with his girl. I don’t think they hurt him, and Dana advised him to play dumb, so that’s what he’s doing. But we have to get him out. She wasn’t able to rescue him yet.” His voice broke and his breathing quickened. “I’m so, so sorry, I just couldn’t do it, Dom. I couldn’t.”
“What?” Dom asked, coughing when the dryness at the back of his throat became too much.
Miguel sighed deeply and put a cigarette in his mouth before climbing up the ladder, to the mausoleum above.
It seemed only his presence kept Seth’s eyes from welling up. “What Toro wanted me to do. To prove loyalty. That girl couldn’t have been more than four years old, for fuck’s sake!”
Domenico blinked and rubbed Seth’s cheeks with his palms. “He wanted you to kill a child?”
“No, he wanted me to cut off her finger. And her fingers were so tiny, and I couldn’t. It’s all too much. I failed you, but I can’t be that,” Seth said, wheezing and trembling all over.
Domenico exhaled, disappointed that this one situation crushed the plan they’d worked so hard on. Still, he could not blame Seth for this. “You did well, Seth. I would never ask you to hurt a little kid. I wouldn’t have done it either,” he assured him.
Tears streaked down Seth’s face when their eyes met, and it made Dom realize Seth hadn’t been certain his reasoning would be accepted. “It’s too much, Dom. I thought I could handle whatever we’d face here, but I’m messed up. I can’t sleep, and when I do sleep I wake up worried what fresh fuckery the day will bring. I wish I was like you, but I’m not.”
Domenico watched him in silence, taken aback by the tears and unsure how to tackle this. He needed Seth’s help if they were to get Mark out. “You’ve done so well all this time. It will be all right. We just need to deal with the current situation. You can do it.”
The desperate sob tearing out of Seth’s throat sounded like something that’d been growing in there for weeks. “I can do shit, but this work for Toro was different. It was so horrible. It was different than facing danger to protect someone. I don’t even feel like myself anymore.”
Domenico’s chest ached. This explosion of fear and grief came as a complete shock after watching Seth be so stoic and collected for weeks. It physically hurt to see him come apart like this, and if Domenico could have his way, he would leave Seth out of this, would leave him be and somehow preserve the pure soul that he knew Seth had in him. But it was simply not an option anymore.
“I know it’s hard. I know. But we can’t stop now. Mark is in there, and I can’t do this alone. I need you, Seth. Please, this one last time,” he whispered, petting Seth’s head.
Seth took a deep breath and leaned forward, resting his head on Domenico’s shoulder. “You’re right. I know we still have to get Mark out. I’m sorry for being such a mess, but all of this is so much worse than I’d imagined.”
“Seth, you’re brave. I’m proud of you,” whispered Domenico and gently brushed his lips against Seth’s. There was bitterness and salt in the kiss, mixed in with all the sweetness of Seth’s love, and Domenico closed him tightly in his arms. The dull pain spreading through his ch
est was regret. Seth had been keeping his walls up so tall for Domenico, but at what cost? All this time, Domenico had believed that Seth would eventually harden if pushed for a long enough time. It has worked to a degree, but Domenico wasn’t so sure anymore if he liked where the changes in Seth were going, and the cry for help was breaking his heart.
Seth shook his head. “I’m not. I cracked. I promised you I wouldn’t, and I did.”
Domenico exhaled and kept moving his hands over Seth’s body in a soothing motion.
“But I will give it my best with Mark,” Seth whispered. “I won’t let you down again.”
“That’s right. We need to take our boy out of there. And then we’ll burn this shithole to the ground,” Domenico whispered, already feeling the start of something new within when he traced Seth’s swollen skin again. No one could raise a hand on the love of his life without paying the price.
“Our plan is fucked, Dom. We’re wanted men, and they now know Miguel’s face. Dana is our asset, but we can’t know for how long. How can we possibly stand against Toro?”
Domenico stretched his back. He was tired, hungry, and thirsty, and feared for Mark, but he had a goal, and something completely new was forming in his head at a rapid pace. “Don’t worry about it. If we can’t take over by sneaking around, we are going to do it by force, and I just know how,” he said, pulling Seth toward the ladder to grab his damp shirt and put it on.
Seth let go, staying in the shadows and rubbing his face with his own top. It only revealed his bruised sides and stomach, making the fury in Domenico simmer. Those who’d dared to hurt Seth wouldn’t even see him coming.
“Take over… his whole place?” Seth looked up at him. “You know how many men Toro has, and that his security is insane.”
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