15. Dino
15
DINO
A week.
That’s how long we’ve been waiting for the motherfucker to pose his next goddamn challenge.
One.
Fucking.
Week.
In that time, I’m going absolutely crazy. My collarbone hurts. My whole body feels like shit. I might be going crazy.
I have to find a way to see Marisol again.
Johnny, surprisingly, is somewhat helpful in that regard. Since no one feels like he’s a serious contender for the role, he’s able to joke around with some of the guards. Get some insight into where Benicio keeps Marisol, and for how long.
From what I can tell, Marisol has free reign of her own home. My concerns about her being a fuckin’ captive are unfounded .
Except that she has the Italian bastard following her everywhere.
Moretti hates me. That’s clear as fuckin’ day. Every time he sees me, his eyes turn into some kind of hateful, disgusting glare. He looks at me like I’m fuckin’ scum.
Which is fine.
It’s nothing new.
What I can’t figure out, though, is why. Sure, everyone hates me, but I don’t know specifically why Moretti does.
Prior to this, we haven’t ever met. I ain’t seen his ugly fuckin’ face one day in my life, even if I did know of him.
And knowin’ of him is all that we had, before this.
Moretti’s reputation as Souza’s hound, guard dog, and executioner is somewhat legendary. I wasn’t shocked when he showed up looking for Marisol.
But I am shocked to see how much he doesn’t like me.
The door to my little barracks room opens, and Johnny saunters in. “I think I know how to find you some time with your girl.”
That gets my attention. “What?”
He flops on the bed, and eyes my arm in the sling. “You think you can make that thing work?”
“For Marisol?” always.
He sighs. “Marco didn’t really say you were here because of a girl.”
“He sent you here without any context? ”
Johnny shakes his head. “Only that you wanted to win this fuckin’ thing.”
“Why else would I want to win it?”
That earns me a scathing glare. “Because whoever wins gets the keys to the fuckin’ kingdom, man.”
I tilt my head. “Do you want this kingdom, Spinoli?”
Johnny sighs, leaning against the wall. “I mean it’s not like I’ve got another one to walk into.”
Johnny’s not a second son, like me. He’s the scion of his family, and in theory, he could definitely be in the running for his family.
But instead of that, his whole family has been nailed on so many charges, they have a whole section of prison dedicated just to the Spinolis.
Or at least, that’s what I’ve heard.
“You don’t want what Benicio Souza has to offer,” I say darkly. Benicio has built his empire on blood. It’s not necessarily surprising that he drove this thing into the ground, financially, but at the same time it is kind of surprising that he allowed himself to get in this position.
That he didn’t just kill everyone in order to cover it up. That he has enough people coming after him that he needs a financial infusion.
“You know why he’s trying to sell Marisol off to the highest bidder, right?”
“Man, I don’t know how you think of sellin’ someone, but I’m sure this ain’t it,” Johnny grins and points at my collarbone, then at the black eye he’s still sporting. ”
“Doesn’t matter how he’s hiding it. Benicio only wants people with families that he can tap into because he needs the money.”
“How so?”
“Marisol told me.”
He shrugs. “Man, I know that. But still. The chance to take over one of the greatest cartels in history? You gotta admit, that sounds pretty fuckin’ good.”
I don’t care about the cartel.
All I want is Marisol.
When I don’t answer, Johnny sighs. “Well. Guess I better tell you about what I have.”
“Please.”
“She swims at the pool. Once a day. Around three.”
“The outside pool?”
“Inside lap pool.”
Fuck. I narrow my eyes, and Johnny continues. “There’s a door. It’s a maintenance door on the outside of the building. Guard change is around two, then again at four. In theory if you snuck in, crawled past all the spiders and shit, then you’d be in there with her.”
My heart kicks against my ribs.
I frown, looking at him. “How the fuck do you know?”
“I braved the spiders.”
Which means he saw Marisol in her swimsuit.
My eyes glaze over. Johnny’s talking, but I don’t hear him .
In a heartbeat I fling off the sling and grab him by the throat. “Don’t you ever fuckin’ look at her again.”
He coughs, squirming under my grip. “Fuck off!” he rasps.
“Never. Fuckin. Look at her,” I snarl.
“Okay! I won’t!”
I drop him. Johnny coughs, wrapping his hand around his throat. “Fuck, man. I’m just tryin’ to help.”
I don’t answer.
Johnny mutters, giving me a glare. I know that I should apologize. Say something.
I don’t want to.
“I’m not after your girl, asshole,” he says finally. “You can calm the fuck down.”
I don’t have anything to say.
“Jesus. Look. Do you want to get in to see her or not?”
I nod.
“Tomorrow. Meet me and we’ll go.”
With that, Johnny leaves.
I can’t help myself. The hope I have is…
Terrifying.
The next day, in the afternoon, Johnny and I set out like we’re going for a run. We don’t go together, because being seen as an alliance is going to get us fuckin’ killed.
But I follow him, slowly, as he jogs around the compound.
When he gets to a sheer wall, without any windows, he runs over and slaps a sweaty hand on it.
Gross.
I hesitate, then a few minutes later, I follow.
The wall doesn’t have any discernible places where it’s clear that I can get into it. For a second, I think that Johnny has been fucking with me.
Then my fingers find the slightest dent.
I follow it, outlining a square on the side of the building. Cautiously, I push, and to my surprise the door clicks open.
Huh.
It’s not big. It looks like the door to a crawl space, maybe four foot square. Still, it's exactly as Johnny said, and the guards are changing as we speak.
Time to crawl.
I get on my hands and knees and push. Inside, there’s a mess of dripping, chlorine-scented wires. Once or twice, I feel the brush of spiderwebs over my skin, or the feeling of too many legs on my arm.
Being bitten by something in the Brazilian jungle is not how I want to die.
But it’s worth it to get to Marisol.
Eventually the crawl space opens up slightly, making room for bigger pool maintenance items. I’m not a fuckin’ pool boy, so I don’t know exactly what all of this shit is .
I do, however, know that Marisol is worth wading through this garbage for.
When I can stand, I see another door. This one has a handle and everything, which is a good sign. I press against it, listening to the room beyond.
There’s nothing. Silence. I look down at my watch, noting the time.
Johnny said that she swims at three. It’s two fifteen.
Fuck.
I have forty five minutes to wait it out.
I slide down, putting my back to the door. Idly, I wonder if there’s any kind of locker room out there. I could do with a shower, and if no one is going to be in here for a while…
Cautiously, I crack the door, just slightly.
There’s no one in the room.
It’s huge, containing what must be at least an Olympic-sized pool. There’s sunlight coming in from bright windows up overhead, and it plays on the still water. You can hear a light sound, the pumps running probably, but nothing that would give any indication that there are other human beings nearby.
I spy a door that looks like it might be a restroom. There’s two of ‘em.
Forty-five minutes.
I can make that work.
Quickly, I move. I slip into one of the rooms and lock the door. If someone is gonna bust in on me, I’ll at least be able to hear ‘em comin .
I turn the shower on.
My clothes are kind of fucked. They’re covered in mud and some spider shit, but at least I’ll be able to smell like I didn’t just wade through some mud.
That gives me plenty of comfort.
Showered, clean, I slip my clothes back on and peek out again. Still no one. I slip back across the space, my feet padding softly on the tile, and into the pool room again.
Then, I put my back against the door and I wait.
Eventually, I’m beginning to be very sure that Marisol isn’t even coming. After all, why would she? She’s not held to a schedule or required to be here or nothin’ like that. I’m certain that I should just leave when I hear something.
Despite the fact that I’m behind a closed door, I still, my heart in my throat.
I hear Marisol’s voice.
“Thank you,” she says, muffled through the door. I tilt my head so my ear is flat against the door, listening in. “You can leave.”
“Marisol. Every day, you ask me to leave.”
“I know.”
There’s a man in there with her.
My whole body goes rigid, and a growl forms in my throat.
Who the fuck is in there with her?
“Are you certain you don’t want…”
“I am. I just… it’s my time. To be alone,” she says .
I think whoever this is, he’s making her fucking uncomfortable.
“Have you thought of my offer?”
That voice is heavily accented. Italian, if I’m not mistaken. Since Luca Costa went home, and Johnny doesn’t have that type of an accent, there’s only one person who could be in there with her.
Ice covers my heart, but my body builds rage like a furnace.
I know who that is.
I know exactly who that fuckin’ is.
Moretti is in there with her. He’s her fuckin’ personal guard, and this also explains why he was such a fuckin’ dick to me that day.
He wants her for himself.
Jesus Christ. Everything in me is telling me to get in there. Storm in, knock his fuckin’ lights out, and take her. Run away from this place, crawl through all the goddamn spiders and somewhere that they can’t find her.
That he can’t find her.
“Andrei…”
The use of his name, his first fuckin’ name, is like a bomb in my ears.
A horrible thought occurs to me.
What if she likes him being around? What if she’s choosing to keep this… whatever it is going with him?
What if she feels the same way about him that he feels about her ?
Rage, hot and clean, burns through me.
“I haven’t thought any more about it, Andrei.”
“Marisol…”
No one gets to use her fuckin’ name but me.
“Please. I just want to be alone right now. Can you do that, Andrei?”
There’s silence.
If he doesn’t leave her alone, I don’t give a shit about the consequences. I don’t give a shit if he shoots me so full of holes I look like Swiss cheese.
I can get to him before that. I can do enough damage before I die that…
“As you will,” he says.
There’s another silent heartbeat. I hear footsteps echo.
Then, there’s just the sound of splashing.
I open the door.