6. Amorette
AMORETTE
T he knife slid through his skin like butter. The edge was sharp, almost too sharp. When he yelled and screamed in pain, his body jerked, causing the cut to become jagged.
I was simultaneously disgusted with myself and terrified, because there was something so mesmerizing about the act of cutting into human flesh. All the hate and helplessness I’d been feeling seemed to evaporate with each trail of blood that leaked down his arm.
It was like a spigot, draining all of the bad energy.
Another round of tears fell. How could I even think that? Hurting another human being unprovoked was wrong. Evil.
Yet, I had two choices, and neither was a good option. But I’d made the decision I could live with the best. This man, who was on the wrong side of the Institution with Vicente, wasn't a saint. He was the one who carried me in here without a care.
Lafe, though. He was damaged. Hurt. Broken.
Some of it was by my own doing, and some had been years in the making. Besides trying to stop me from tarnishing who I thought I was, he didn’t think I could handle the stain on my soul if I hurt someone unprovoked. Why else would he try to remind me how much I hated him?
But he was wrong.
I didn’t hate him. I hated what he was forced to do. There was a difference. I just didn’t think Lafe understood that, or more likely, I did a shitty job at showing him.
Lafe needed this, needed me, to stand up for him and to show him that he wasn’t the villain I thought he was. The funny thing was, if I let Lafe be hurt due to my inability to make hard decisions, I wouldn’t be able to live with myself anyway.
A laugh bubbled up, and sweet, salty tears slipped in.
Vicente and Maikel made a few whispered comments in Spanish. I didn’t even try to decipher it. My brain was too overloaded with emotions and crowded by reflections on every decision I’d made over the last few months.
I laughed more. Harder this time.
Right now was the most ridiculous time to have an epiphany. Yet, I couldn’t stop it if I tried. Like I was floating through a foggy morning, with the only clear thing being my need to save Lafe, maybe in more ways than one.
Somehow, I ended up making a series of cuts along his arms and stomach. I didn’t remember lifting his shirt, but it was pushed up to his chest. Nothing was too deep, but they all oozed blood. The fabric around the stab wounds was dark and wet.
When I made it up to his eyes, they were open, watching me with agony and confusion. The smile slipped from my lips. “I’m sorry,” I whispered. “It was you or him.”
He closed his eyes and nodded, relaxing back onto the floor. “I get it, chica . Believe me, I understand,” he said hoarsely.
The fresh tears burned. How could he be understanding? Was the Institution such a place that the people accepted the wrongs of others, even when it was against them?
“What he isn’t telling you, my dear, is that as soon as your back is turned, he’ll place a blade between your shoulders,” Vicente said with an exorbitant amount of cheer.
I lifted my gaze to meet his. He smiled at me almost indulgently and slapped Lafe on the shoulder. He winced as Vicente’s fingers dug into the cut Maikel had made. It wasn’t deep, thank God, but it had to sting.
“You see, Lafe. She’s got guts. It’s a shame she’s so expendable. If I thought she could be turned, I’d steal her from you.” Vicente never took his gaze from me, but his smile became toothy as Lafe struggled under his grip.
I had nothing to say. No idea how to handle this. No strategy to get out of here. If only he’d come a little closer, then maybe I could hurt him enough that we could escape.
There was still Maikel, though. I snuck a peek at him, and his attention was also riveted on me.
Shit! The only option, for now, was to do what they wanted to keep Lafe from harm. And slowly pick away at my self-worth while I was at it. I inhaled through my nose; I could do this. If this were the choice I needed to make, I would make it.
All the resentment and loathing for this man and everything he stood for swirled around me.
I mentally grabbed it all, clutching it to my chest. The longer I wasn’t carving into this man, this victim—because that’s what he was, regardless of anything else in his life—the more the numbness gave way to righteous anger.
It grew so bright under Vicente’s and Maikel’s sickeningly fascinated stare that my body vibrated. Good. I’d need it. I wasn’t sure when, but I had to believe there was a way out of here, and I just needed to be patient to find it.
“I’ve done what you asked. I made him…scream.” I swallowed even though my mouth tasted like ash. “Let Lafe go. Or was your plan really to kill him?” My voice trembled, but from the gleam in Vicente’s eyes, I was certain he thought it was from fear.
“No, I don’t have any plans to kill him. But…” he glanced down at Lafe. “I wonder how far your loyalty would go if he didn’t choose you.”
Lafe’s brow furrowed, his cheeks reddened from the stress of the situation. Or the pain. His body completely locked up as Vicente pulled a knife from behind his back and started cutting the ropes. They fell away, retaining most of their shape on the ground because they were that old and dried out.
“How about one more game? Just to really liven up the day.” The ridiculous joy surrounding Vicente made it too difficult to look at him. I was so disgusted by what he could come up with, that my stomach rolled.
“No. No games. I did what you asked. You said you weren’t here to kill him. What other reason would you have to keep Lafe here?”
“This really is precious, Vicente. I hadn’t realized your bastard sons had that much charm to make a useless cunt so enamored with them.” Maikel held his gun casually on Lafe, just in case he got any ideas.
But neither father nor uncle seemed concerned that they just released Lafe.
With nothing binding him to the chair, I expected him to spring into action. Attack. Something.
But he didn’t. His breathing accelerated and his gaze shot to the side every few seconds.
Come on, Lafe. You’re right there. You could do something. Anything.
If we could knock them out, we could run through the warehouse. Get lost among the boxes, make a break for outside and take our chances with the guards. The man on the floor was useless for now, no matter how much he wanted to hurt me like Vicente said.
Lafe could knock the knife out of Vicente’s hand. Dive for the gun in Maikel’s.
But then I checked myself. What good would that do?
It would get Lafe and me both shot. No, there had to be another way.
“Okay, Lafe. You’re free. I have Danny on speed dial.
You remember him, don’t you? He’s the old sniper I recruited from the Marines fifteen years ago.
I could give the order for him to find Andre and take care of him, or you could take this knife,” he stepped to the side to hand it to Lafe by the handle, “and show Amorette Black just how little she means to you.”
Neither man seemed concerned they were giving Lafe a weapon. He was one of Vicente’s enforcers, so he knew how to use it.
“What do you think, Maikel? Will this be a repeat of all those years ago? I did raise the stakes now. I don’t believe they were quite so high before.” Vicente leaned back against the reception desk and gripped the edges as he waited to see how this was all going to play out.
But… What did that mean? A repeat…
Vicente had made a couple of comments that didn’t make sense. But this one…
Lafe’s brows pinched together as he gripped the knife in his hand. Then he closed his eyes, like it pained him too much to look at me.
“What do you say? Would you rather live with hurting this cunt or Andre? He’s the one who put you in that position so long ago, yes? So maybe this is an easier decision than I think it will be?”
Whatever Vicente wanted to see from Lafe, some of his excitement dimmed when he just sat there. The only sound for a few minutes was our breathing.
My mind raced, trying to find an out while Lafe had them distracted, but there was no distraction! Lafe sat there with eyes closed, gripping the knife, leaving both Vicente and Maikel to stare at him while facing my direction. I’d never be able to get to them before Maikel shot me.
“I won’t do it.”
It was so quiet, for a second, I thought I’d made it up.
“What do you mean you won’t do it ?” Anger threaded between Vicente’s words, and he pushed away from the desk, pulling out his phone.
“You have a decision to make. I’ll order Danny not to hit anything vital, but he’s getting older and his eyesight isn’t what it used to be. Do you want to take that chance?”
Lafe opened his eyes and bit his lip. He was trying to tell me so many things but I didn’t have a damn clue what it was. I couldn’t read minds! Especially not theirs, these men who thought so differently from me.
Giving a short jerk of my head, I tried to relay that I had no idea what he wanted. Or if he wanted anything.
“I’m not your pawn anymore. We all stopped being that when you placed that bounty on our heads, real or not.
The Institution thinks it’s real.” Lafe spoke slowly, and it seemed like a chore to slow down his words.
It was like he didn’t want Vicente to doubt him or have any room for misunderstanding.
The scowl that passed Vicente’s face was filled with so much thunder, I almost shrank back. But I didn’t. No matter what, I’d never let these men force me to cower. They didn’t deserve that kind of fear or satisfaction.
“I see. Then that’s your choice.” He typed out a message on his phone then waited. Barely a few seconds went by before it chimed. “Job sent and accepted. You’ll have no one to blame except yourself.”
He couldn’t do that. He couldn’t.
What father would do that to his own flesh and blood?
One tear tracked down Lafe’s cheek, and I couldn’t stand to watch it. Everything went dark except for Vicente. I was so zeroed in on him that it took a second to register when all three men jumped.
Gunshots.
There were gunshots being fired outside. That could mean only one thing.
I smiled as Vicente rushed to the door. Not too close though, he didn’t want to be in the line of fire, but he wanted to be close enough to see what was happening outside.
I didn’t need to look. I knew who it was. Parker. And the men who survived. They were coming to rescue us.
“How did they get here so fast? We need to go. We’ll head out through the warehouse. An escape car is there,” Vicente said as he took another step closer to the door.
Come on. One more step. Just one tiny little step would put him within lunging territory.
Then he did.
With my knife raised, I screamed with all the fury that had built up in my chest as I threw myself at Vicente.
Out of the corner of my eye, Lafe twisted and knocked the gun out of Maikel’s hands and punched him in the face.
In front of me, I stuck the knife into Vicente’s bicep. He backhanded me, and I crashed into the floor and spat out blood.
But I did it. I’d hurt him.
And it was glorious.