11
The rain still pounds against the balcony windows. I read my book as Xavier showers. I’m not sure why my heart beats a little faster as I hear the shower turn off. Nerves tingle throughout my body as I hear him rummaging around in the bathroom.
Minutes later, I hear the bathroom door open. When I look up I see him with a towel wrapped around his chiseled waist. I gaze at his beautiful shade of tan. He walks to his bag and rummages around as if trying to find something.
“Do you happen to have tweezers?” He asks as his light-brown eyes meet mine. It’s hard to break my gaze from them. It’s like they're searching for something that I have yet to figure out.
“Yeah, I do.”
I get up and head towards my bag and then hand him the tweezers. When our hands touch I feel my heart race, as if it’s not already racing fast enough. But, just as our gaze breaks he pauses before heading into the bathroom. “It feels kind of nice to not have to go through this alone anymore,” he says before shutting the door behind him. My shoulders slump as I hear the door shut behind him. So much sadness reaps from that man. The trauma he’s endured in the past few years makes my heart heavy. I have to shove the thought of it out of my mind before it begins to consume me for the night.
I close my book and make my way towards the balcony. The sky is still dark and the waves crash against the sand below us. I can tell by how high up we are that the sunrise is going to be stunning in the morning. The bathroom door opens again and he walks out wearing just his pajama pants. He walks towards the couch that’s in the living area and begins propping pillows up and gathering extra blankets.
“What are you doing?” I say with a confused face.
“I’ll sleep here tonight,” he says, adjusting the pillows to his liking. My eyes drop to his forearms and the muscles that pulsate as he continues adjusting the pillows. I look at the small couch and bite the side of my cheek. There is absolutely no way I’ll watch him sleep here. It hurts my back just looking at how uncomfortable that would be to sleep on.
“Xavier—stop.” I walk over and begin to grab his pillows. I place them on the bed next to mine. Our eyes hold for a moment.
“As long as this doesn’t make you uncomfortable,” he says, now climbing into the huge king-size bed. I let a smile loose as I make my way into the bed next to him.
For such a ginormous bed we’re sleeping very close to each other. I can feel the heat of his body radiate to mine under the sheets. My breath slows as I watch him get comfortable. What is happening right now? Why are these dirty thoughts suddenly crowding my mind? That never happened with Declan. He wanted to so badly take our relationship to the next level, but deep down I was terrified. Terrified about what would happen after. Terrified that I would be terrible at it. That just wasn’t something I was interested in with him, if I’m being completely honest with myself.
“I’m sorry everything got screwed up,” he says. I turn my body facing towards him and I smile as I shake my head slightly side-to-side.
“Nothing got screwed up, Xavier. We’re sharing a room, if that’s the worst thing that happens on this trip —” I scoff as I pause.
“Tell me about your life in Dubai,” I change the subject. His eyes light up and I notice him nestle deeper into his pillow. He takes a deep breath and stares up towards the ceiling. “Well, my father started an IT company that took off when Nora and I were little. Both of my parents came from very poor families, so it was a blessing for my father to provide for us like he did.” His proud eyes hold mine before he goes on. “Farrah was my mother’s best friend who also came from a poor family, so my mother hired her to help take care of Nora and me. That way she could still make a decent living and be part of our lives. I went to college and studied so I could eventually take over my father’s business.” He pauses.
“And what happened with that?” I ask, pressing my head harder into the pillow.
“After he died I just—couldn’t. I couldn’t be in the same building that he practically built from the ground up because if anything happened to that business and I failed—” he clears his throat before continuing, “I would have failed him and I just couldn’t bear that,” he says as his eyes now glisten under the dim lighting in the bedroom.
“Then after Nora died—that is when I ultimately failed him and my mother.” His voice breaks.
I notice a small tear fall slowly down his cheek and stain the white pillow. My heart shatters as I lie next to this broken and battered man. A man who is still trying to prove something to someone who is no longer here. I place my hand on top of his and give it a gentle squeeze. Moments later his head turns towards me and he shoots me a smile that tugs at my already thin heart-strings.
Deep down I don’t know what to say. I don’t think I can say anything to make him feel better. All I know is lying here with him makes me feel this deep connection. A type of connection that comes from months of being with someone and it’s only been a few weeks that we’ve known each other.
“Xavier you didn’t fail anyone. Life happened to you in the most excruciating ways and—” I pause and take a deep breath, “I think after all of this is over you should try and live your life in a way that would’ve made your family proud.”
As soon as those words leave my lips, I feel his hand brace my face. We stare at each other for a moment before I feel his lips softly touch mine. I don’t pull away; the thought never even crosses my mind. However, various emotions rush through my veins as our kiss deepens; like how this doesn’t feel wrong, it feels quite the opposite actually. It feels like somehow we were sent to help each other.
“Goodnight, Lina,” he murmurs under his breath before turning away from me and turning the light off. I lay there in the pitch-black room with a stupid giddy smile on my face and before I know it I drift to sleep.
────
Xavier
The next morning the sun beats down on the three of us as we stroll through the small Mexican village. Stray dogs sleep on the side of the dirt roads as we make our way through the long allies of street vendors. Each one holds out various colorful items. I watch as Lina smiles at each of them. Every single man we pass holds her stare. I watch their eyes go up and down her body. I can imagine the revolting thoughts that are filling their minds. She’s wearing a bright-red dress and her long dark hair is tucked behind her ear.
She turns back around at me for a second and I can’t help but feel a rush of warmth trickle into my soul. I shoot her a quick grin before she turns around again and admires our colorful and authentic atmosphere.
“This was Nora and I’s favorite place in Mexico,” I say and she holds my gaze. “We used to always love to party around the corner from here,” I say, but there’s a different feeling rushing through me now. Because the last time I was here I had one girl on each arm and was having the time of my life. Not a care in the world. Life was easy. But, my life is different now. I’m not here to party, I’m here to kill.
“Hola senorita,” a rather tall and broad man, steps forward. He takes Lina’s hand and wraps a beautiful turquoise bracelet around her wrist. She laughs uncomfortably as he lays the bracelet now across the palms of his hands for her to see.
“Two-thousand pesos,” he smiles over at my expressionless face. I know he can tell I’m not in the fucking mood because he backs down fairly quickly as he steps back into his booth. Seeing his hand touching Lina made me want to knock him out cold.
I’m ready to find the piece of shit guy we’re here for. Carl nods up ahead and ushers us into a building nestled away from the busy market.
“Right through here,” Carl walks into a darkened hallway. The building is abandoned and the further we make our way in, the faster my heart pounds against my chest. I flash back to the first time I killed someone in this operation and my breath catches. It wasn’t planned like it is now. In that life-or-death moment, I chose life.
“What is that smell?” Lina’s face turns up as she covers her mouth with her hand. The stench stings my nostrils too.
“It’s the mold and the fungus that has overgrown this eerie and damp place,” I put my hand over my mouth as well.
We walk further in and finally see a dimly lit room. As we get closer I see the outline of a sweaty and distraught man. His skin is dark and his black hair is slicked back as perspiration slowly drips down his face.
“You.” The man's eyes widen as Lina and I enter the room. His dark gaze ignores me and I watch as he holds Lina’s stare. Lina’s mouth is open as a solemn look appears on her face. She knows him.
“You two know each other?” I ask confused as I look between them. The room falls silent as the four of us stand there. Carl stares straight ahead unfazed by it all.
“He—” Lina tries to say, but she pauses. When I look back I see her eyes filled with thick tears. She tries her hardest to hold them in and she does for a few seconds but then they come crumbling down her cheeks.
“He was the one that brought me food,”
“Wait this is Emerson? The guy you said was—” I say, but she interrupts me quickly.
“No, he was the one that gave me food before Emerson. He was the one that was there when I was—” she pauses before breaking her gaze from him. Her sad eyes hold mine and I can see her lip quivering slightly. “Examined,” she walks towards the man who’s sitting in a wooden chair with his arms and legs tied tightly. Lina told me a few details about being held at that warehouse, but she’s never told me about the examination process. I guess I knew deep down they would have to verify that she was pure, but I always forced those thoughts out of my head. Now, the rage is back. The room becomes fuzzy as I stare down at the man who let such horrible things happen to her. A man that could have helped her, but chose not to. He chose to turn the other cheek and let a respectable woman be humiliated and held against her will.
“Did you know I was coming for you?” I say as I step closer to him. His dark eyes break from holding Lina’s stare and they look straight at me. A crooked smile slowly appears across his face.
“Surely you're not going to kill everyone ,” he scoffs.
“Oh, but I already have,”
I turn my back towards him so I don’t get the pleasure of seeing his reaction. However, it’s the truth. Carl and I have killed a fair share of men involved in this already.
“Elias would never let—” he says, and Lina’s eyes widen. Her shocked eyes quickly jump from mine back into the man’s. Within seconds she’s crouched by the man’s side showing interest.
“Did you say Elias?” her soft voice fills the quiet room. The man nods.
“He would never let anything happen to his men, he’s smart. Loyal,” he says as the sweat continues trickling down his face.
“Do you know where he is?” she asks.
“If you let me go I’ll tell you,” he responds back, holding her stare. Lina’s eyes hold mine for a second and I shake my head.
“Either way you're dying today, we can find Elias just like we found you,” I say as I take out my gun. Carl hands me the silencer and I screw it on as Lina now stands beside me looking down at the man that fed her scrapes for over a week, looking down at the man that allowed another man to examine her most delicate area so they could sell her and make money. So many thoughts rage through my body as I look at him.
“Are you sorry?” I ask him. His devious gaze sends chills up my spine.
“Only sorry you caught me,” he hisses, looking between Lina and me. Before I can even recollect what’s happening I hear the silencer go off. The man's head slumps down as his lifeless body goes limp. Lina’s arm is pointed straight ahead as smoke trickles out of the hollow barrel of the gun. Her eyes stay on the man. I don’t know what’s scarier; how fast she grabbed my gun from me or how this is the second time I’ve seen her kill a man.
“I’m sorry, I—” she hesitates, “I don’t know what came over me.” She quickly hands me my gun back. “Are you okay?” I ask looking straight into her eyes. “Not in the least,” her hoarse voice shakes.
I grab her hand and take it in mine as we make our way down the dark hallway. I look back at Carl who gives me the reassuring nod that everything will be taken care of.
As we make our way out of the building the blinding sun stops us in our tracks. As our eyes adjust, I feel the gentle squeeze of her hand which makes my shoulders instantly relax. As we make our way down the familiar market we both spot the same club we passed by earlier. Except this time, it’s open.