Chapter 41 (I part)
Hanna’s body is trembling; every single muscle is twitching uncontrollably under the skin in time with small shivers.
I slide my gaze down, looking at her bare legs, noticing how her soft hair stands all at once. She’s freezing in the chill air of dawn.
Tears are striking down her face. Her hair is a mess and her hands are shaking; one of them still gripping the gun for dear life, showing her knuckles white.
Her eyes are fixed on Reynaldo’s lifeless body but her gaze shows nothing. I’m not even sure if her mind is here or if she’s lost in painful memories.
I glance at that bastard corpse, noticing that the blood is not spilling from his wounds anymore. A couple of small rodents are already prying into some of them, tiptoeing over his body, eagerly sniffing. I figure those little fuckers weren’t expecting such a feast.
Fuck him! Fuck him ten thousands times!
A rat deserved to be devoured by another of his kind. Poetic justice doesn’t even come close to describe it.
I hope you rot in hell for all the eternity, you motherfucker. Too bad you’re already dead because I would love to kill you again at least a dozen times, you fucking bastard!
Shivering lightly, I return my attention to Hanna, watching her clicking on the safety of her gun and ther head, looking at me.
“Dominic…” She breathes, blinking once. I sigh hard, pulling her to me.
As soon as my arms encircle her trembling body, she lets out a soft whimper, burying her face in my neck. I hold her tightly, stroking her back, soothing her as I hear her quiet sobs.
“Shhh…don’t cry, baby,” I whisper, hugging her even more tightly.
Hanna let out a ragged breath as she reaches up, curling her hands beneath my shoulders, holding me and pressing her entire body against mine.
“I…I killed him in cold blood…” Hanna whispers, her voice hoarse, shivering hard.
I close my eyes for a second as I knot one hand in her hair, tilting her head back.
“You did what you had to do, Hanna.” I whisper a breath away from her lips, my eyes flickering to hers. “That bastard deserved to die, baby. You avenged Magdalena’s death and that’s the only thing that matters.” I add firmly, no trace of doubt or hesitation in my voice, showing a conviction I’m not sure I feel right now.
Hanna’s eyes filled with fresh tears in one second as she holds my gaze. “I did that, didn’t I? I mean…she will know I did that for her and for Crystal and for us…” Her voice sounds broken as she swallows hard.
“Yeah, baby, Lena knows and so does Crystal.” I clear my throat, swallowing my own invisible knot.
This fucker is not dead ten minutes and yet he’s still causing pain to Hanna.
“You did it for them, for us. To do justice, Hanna.”
Hanna’s lips spread in a sad smile as she closes her eyes, leaning her head forward so our foreheads press together.
“I don’t feel better, Dominic.” She whispers.
I shut my eyes, cursing silently. Of course she doesn’t feel better. I already knew that because I’ve been there. I damn well know how Hanna feels right now.
The blind rage leads to a short-lived euphoria followed by a deep self-loathing that ends up plunging you into the very same sadness and helpless feelings that unleashed your rage in the first place.
The pain makes you feel frustrated, the frustration makes you feel mad, the anger causes an unbearable emptiness and the painful hollow unleashes your rage. It’s like a self-destructive vicious cycle from which you can’t be released. No matter how hard you try, you can’t find a way out because there is no way out. You have to learn to live with that sadness and the painful loss, doing the best you can. That’s exactly how Hanna feels right now.
When I saw that Kenny Linder fucker a few weeks later, after that damn race, I wanted to kill him with everything in me, to avenge my dad’s death. Back then, I was sure I would feel better after I beat the shit out of him; that I would find some kind of peace of mind, thinking I was imparting justice. My dad was dead and no one had paid for it. I was wrong.
Now, after I found that he wasn’t responsible for that tragic event in my life, I think I feel a little ashamed of my reaction.
Linder wanted to win and so did my dad. He probably should have shown some competitive spirit, playing by the rules, but that was all.
Now I know that my dad was meant to die that day; he wasn’t going to make it out alive from that race. And if that fucker, Linder, wouldn’t have put my dad into that damn wall at more than hundred miles an hour, the Dodge would have exploded, or some other shit would have taken place. But my dad wouldn’t have lived to see daylight.
“I know it, Hanna.” I finally reply, sighing hard as I tilt my head back to look at her eyes. “We’ll find a way to live through this, baby.” I whisper, wiping away her tears with my thumbs. “We’ll find a way to leave all this behind and we’ll do it together, okay?”
“Okay.” Hanna sighs hard, burying her face once more in my neck.
I hug her again, pressing her to me. Her body is still trembling but not like before. I know we’re running out of time but I really need to feel Hanna close to me; to revel in the fact that we’re still both alive.
I wasn’t so sure I was going to survive that fucking landmine. I really thought I would die there. People always told me I was a lucky motherfucker; I guess they were right after all. I figure I could count with the fingers of my right hand the people that actually survived one of those.
“What a touching scene. I think my old heart is going to explode with joy.”
A mocking tone of voice sounds behind us making me snap my eyes open, releasing Hanna in a heartbeat, spinning around.
A hiss of pain escapes my lips when my wounded leg supports my weight. Fuck!!
Hanna gasps loudly as I pull her behind me, shielding her body with mine. My eyes narrow and my jaw tightens hard, watching him.
William.
“I always knew you were made for each other. A match made in heaven is the old saying, right?” He grins, holding my gaze. “Unh-unh-unh, I wouldn’t do that if I were you, son.” William warns me, his cold gaze fixed on my hand sliding to my back. “I don’t want to kill you, but I will if you don’t do as I say.”
I froze, tensing every single muscle in my body, feeling my blood boiling within my veins.
Son. How dare this bastard call me that? That word coming from his lips feels like a curse sent by the Devil itself; an aberration of the inherited pure meaning such a word implies. Just hearing him saying it makes me feel sick.
I hear Hanna swallowing hard, cursing under her breath as she pressed her body to my back, her hand searching for my gun holstered at the waistband.
“Hanna, don’t do it or I will pull the trigger.” William’s grin dies on his lips as he gestures with his own gun. “Put your hands where I can see them, blondie.”
I feel Hanna’s body trembling with restraint. She’s fighting back the impulse to ignore his threat, but we both know he’s not shitting around.
William will kill us in a flash and without hesitation because he has nothing to lose at this point. However, I can’t help but wonder why he didn’t pull the trigger already? What is he waiting for?
Slowly, Hanna moves backwards, lifting her hands. I glance at her from the corner of my eye, noticing how her gaze is smoldering one more time. Her rage making her shudder fiercely. Her jaw set hard.
“That’s my little girl.” William praises her, smirking. “Now let’s talk like the civilized people we are.” He adds in a mocking tone.
“Fuck you, bastard.” I mutter in disgust, closing my own hands in fists. “You won’t make it out of this alive, William.”
“Tsk, tsk, tsk, such awful language, Dominic.” He shakes his head, scolding me. “Your dad wouldn’t have liked one bit.”
“Leave my dad in peace! You’re no one to talk about him, fucker.” I snap before I can stop myself, making William blink. “Even if he’s dead, you still wouldn’t be able to stand a candle to him; he was ten thousands times a better man than you will ever be.”
My heart is beating faster as I notice Hanna’s hand stroking my arm, soothing me. I force myself to take a deep breath, calming down a little. I need to keep my rising anger at bay or we’ll both end up dead and that shit does not gonna happen. Not after the living hell we’ve already went through.
William arches a brow, staring at me and I see his jaw muscles twitching. He’s fighting for control too.
“Stop keeping Antonio Toretto in such a high esteem, Dom. He was as much of a man as any of us.” He replies, his voice tinted with anger yet cold. “It’s time for you to lower your old man from that damn sacred pedestal you put him on over the years.”
Hanna squeezes my shoulder lightly, distracting me for a second with her gentle touch. She knows me and she suspects I’m about to explode, not giving a shit about the consequences. And she’s right. I’m just a step away from rushing to this fucker and whatever happens, happens.
“Why did you do it? My dad loved you, William, you were his friend, and we were your family.”
“No, son, you got it all wrong. He was my best friend but you were never my family, but his.” William replied fiercely, his gaze hardening in seconds. “He had everything. A beautiful wife, two wonderful kids, a bunch of buddies to go have drinks with and a job he loved. But I had nothing.”
I grit my teeth, narrowing my eyes. His voice sounded full of hatred, as if my dad betrayed him for having the things this fucker wanted for himself. Like my dad didn’t deserve what he had.
“My dad worked his ass off to have that and to keep it. Nobody gave him anything.” I hissed in disgust.
Just thinking about the way William is talking about my dad is not making me sick anymore but mad as hell.
“True, but he didn’t deserve all those things, son, because they should have been mine. He was living my life.”
“What?!”
He had to be kidding. What the hell is he talking about now?
“We grew up together, making a lot of plans for the future. We were going to go to Europe, hitching all over, visiting all those beautiful countries, treasuring priceless experiences. We were a couple of dreamers…” He trails off, chuckling sadly. “But then, one day I met her. She was beautiful beyond reality. Sweet, strong, intelligent and funny, and I fell in love with her. Isabella was in love with me too, or that was what I thought.”
My eyes widen completely as soon as the name ‘Isabella’ passes his lips. What the hell…?
“My mom?!”
William nods ‘yes’ briefly. “Yep, your beautiful mom, Dom.” He says and I notice how his voice doesn’t sound that cold anymore. “We met her at the same time and almost immediately Isabella and I started to date.”
I swallow hard, clearing my throat. “What has my mom to do with all this shit, William?”
I don’t understand where he’s heading with all this. But I suspect that I’m going to find out soon enough because he seems determined to spill his guts. And I can’t help but wonder why? Why now?
“We’d been dating for a few weeks. It wasn’t good times though, because the Vietnam War had been more making headlines than in all the previous years. There were many meetings in almost every single town. We weren’t that undertaken with the political situation but we were worried about what was going to happen next, and how events were going to develop.”
He pauses for a second and then he elaborates.
“The conflict in Vietnam worsened and Uncle Sam needed his young, brave, fearless and adventurous boys to straighten things out again. We were 19 years old, what the hell did we knew about war? We only wanted to be damn heroes.” William trails off, shaking his head a little, as if his clearing his own thoughts. “But your dad was repelled; they diagnosed him with ‘Nyctalopia’, night blindness.” He paused for a second, chuckling. “Antonio Toretto always was a lucky motherfucker.”
I frown slightly, thinking about William’s words.
I never knew why my dad never drove his car at night, or why he always closed the garage before night fell. Now it made sense to me, he couldn’t see in the darkness at all.
“But I enrolled, and your dad promised me he would take care of Isabella and hell if he didn’t do a damn great job. While I was risking my balls in the name of my country, your dad was ‘taking care’ of Isabella.”
His face hardened again, his eyes sparkling with concentrated rage.
“I received a letter from her, saying that she couldn’t help it but that she had fallen in love with my best friend, Antonio. She, of course, added that she would love me forever but not the way she loved your dad.”
I swallowed hard, breathing through my nostrils. I had no clue about that either. My dad never mentioned it to me, not even once. He never said that he had fallen in love with his best friend’s girlfriend while he was in Vietnam. Nor did he mention that he was going to enroll in that war.
William clears his throat, pulling me out of my thoughts.
“I wanted to die and without thinking I joined ‘The Pale Horse’ unit. Needless to say I was declared ‘missing in action’, just like many others, to become part of the select group of military that formed ‘Operation Phoenix’.”
His voice sounds cold, yet tinted with that a pride that I can’t stand. They were torturing and killing women and kids in the name of their country, but what they were really doing was giving free reign to their anger, pain and frustration with the consent and approval of our own government. Fucking bastards!
I can’t believe he takes pride in the fact that he was part of that atrocity, feeling proud of what he did to innocent people whose only mistake was to be on the wrong side of the line, and sometimes not even that.
“When I came back from Vietnam I found that they had married and that your mom was already pregnant with you. I couldn’t stand watching my best friend and the woman of my dreams sharing such a happy existence. So I moved on, finished my career as a lawyer at the university, graduating ‘cum laude’ and going to Washington to work for the Pentagon.”
“And that’s why you killed my dad? Because he had fallen in love with my mom?” I mutter through clenched teeth.
In response William chuckles coldly, moving backwards a couple of steps, increasing the physical distance between us, but never lowering his gun.
“You should have been my son, Dominic, not Antonio’s son. Your mom should have been my wife and not his wife.” William retorts in disgust. “But that wasn’t the reason why I killed your dad, son. I’m not that pathetic.”
He took a deep breath, exhaling the air slowly as that sick smirk tugs the corner of his mouth once again.
“While on a mission, I met a half-assed drug dealer with big dreams and even bigger balls whose name was Miguel Angel Felix Arellano. His father was a farmer with several plantations of opium that were no longer useful, except for the pharmaceutical industry and the little business they were doing passing heroine to the US. They were almost broke, but they still had very worthwhile connections with the Mexican government and the government of other countries such as Colombia, Panama, Guatemala and Costa Rica.” William pauses anew, looking around absently, and then he continues.
“I had met the Colombian trafficker Pablo Escobar a couple of years before and I knew that Escobar was desperately searching for an alternative corridor to send his cocaine to the US.”
I cut him off.
“So you organized a meeting with both of them and they started a partnership, smuggling cocaine, heroine and marijuana to the US.”
William nods ‘yes’, his grin still in place.
“I helped ‘El Padrino’ to build his organization, creating the basis of what would turn out to be the Guadalajara Cartel. In no time, we started to make it big, setting up secured distribution channels, sending two loads a moth. One year later, we were sending two loads a week and we found ourselves swimming in money. We had so much cash we didn’t know how to waste it.”
All of sudden a vision of his mansion in LA, the one in which ‘Mac Dog’ operated on Hanna and his mansion in Sinaloa pop within my brain. All that indecently expensive shit hanging from the walls, and spread all over the place.
I curse silently. I should have known there was no way a lawyer could afford such a luxurious lifestyle. I should have figured it out, as soon as he said the mansion in LA was his, that his implications with the Cartels ran deeper than just being their lawyer.
“But Miguel was still the one in control. He had the connections, the power and an entire army of Mexican ex-cops ready to die and to kill for him. But he also had that archaic conservatism inherited from his father and his grandfather. All that damn crap about family and blood. So he refused to share his slice of the profit cake with me because I wasn’t family… El Padrino never considered me one of his kind, just an employee, one more member of his organization.”
Of course, ‘El Padrino’ knew that William was loyal to him but he still wasn’t blood of his blood and that’s the reason why when the time came, he shared part of his profitable cake with his nephews, leaving the lawyer out.
“So I moved back and I waited for a chance to get what I deserved. I contacted old partners, ex- pale horse spec. ops actually. Men that had been rejected and left aside by the same damn bureaucrats that sent them to a sure death. The very same politicians that had orchestrated our missions from the shadows, comfortably sitting on their big fat asses in their immaculate offices in Washington, their backs turned to us. Our beloved motherland said we were assassins, human waste that didn’t deserve to live among their respectful citizens.”
“And you were the one who founded ‘Phoenix Ltd’, using your old connections with the CIA.”
Hanna whispers coldly, causing William to laugh hard.
“Yep. The very same fuckers that had been training me were the ones that offered the infrastructure. The rest went smoothly. Of course, my name couldn’t be linked to them in any way, or it would have meant my end. So I used an old friend to represent me. He had stayed, working secretly for the CIA, but now he was the chief in charge of the FBI office in LA.”
“Bilkins.” Hanna mutters.
“You were always damn good at searching for Intel, Hanna.” He praised her again, making Hanna seethe at hearing his words. In response, William rolls his eyes, chuckling and elaborates a little more. “Even though Bilkins had changed his military uniform for those dark grey suits, he still had it in him. So he joined me in one second.”
Of course, that fucker wanted more than a well-paid job. I figure the fact all of them were a bunch of motherfuckers without scruples sure helped. That and the fact that the CIA was going to protect them from any inconvenience that may emerge over the years. And not because the three letters thought that they were that valuable but because the agency was protecting its own interests. Motherfuckers.
“I can’t believe how you were able to fool so many people at the same time for so many years.” I frown, deeply.
“Nobody paid attention to me, why they would have? I had the perfect cover, flawless in fact. I was just the dumbass lawyer, in love with Ava Gardner and addicted to soap operas. Nobody gave a damn if I was standing in a corner or if I was sitting in a bar.”
William grins like a loony, playing that dumbass role one more time.
Ava Gardner. I can’t help but chuckle at that. Now that I think about it, my mom has a slight resemblance to her. It was the closest William could get to my mom’s memory without arousing suspicions around him.
“But I kept my eyes and ears open and waited, with an endless amount of patience, until a couple of years later the chance I had been eagerly waiting for came in the form of a chick named Sheila Evans.”
At the sound of her mother’s name, Hanna grunts and I feel her tensing even more. Anger radiated from her body.
“She showed up one night with two more chicks in one of the many clubs that belonged to the organization; they were all on holidays. Sheila was young, without prejudices, ambitious and wild. She caught ‘El Padrino’s’ son’s attention in one second and I introduced them. They liked each other and I offered Sheila a deal.”
William once again pauses, frowning a little. He is playing at being lost in his memories but I know he’s just doing that. He’s pretending.
“If she got ‘El Padrino’s’ son to knock her up, I’d make sure that she lived like a queen for the rest of her life. But in exchange, she had to give me the baby.
Hanna gasps loudly, shivering at the sound of those last words and her hand tightens her grip around my arm.
“She agreed, of course, but when that little bitch held Ana Maria in her arms, she said she wanted to keep her daughter with her. I guess I underestimated her, thinking she was a brainless bimbo. My mistake.”
“You fucking bastard.” Hanna seethed and William keeps talking, ignoring her outburst.
“I knew Ramón wasn’t going to leave his wife to marry Sheila, so one more time I waited for the events to unfold. ‘El Padrino’s’ son gave the girl his name, bought a house for Sheila and made sure that his mistress and his daughter had everything they may need. But ‘El Padrino’ found out about the existence of his little granddaughter. So Ramón took Ana Maria to La Hacienda to meet her grandfather in person.”
Hanna is shaking again, but this time with rage. I can feel her rising anger coming in waves and I bet William can feel it too, even though he’s several meters from where we are standing.
“Of course, the old man fell for the little girl as soon as she jumped out of the car, kissing him without showing a bit of fear, and he wanted to keep her with him, to raise her. I told Sheila about ‘El Padrino’s’ plans for the little girl and I helped her to vanish along with Ana Maria. I wiped away any trace of them, changing their profile and Ana Maria Felix Arellano became Hanna Evans.”
Hanna swallows. “She never left me; you killed her, didn’t you?” She asks, her voice cold and hard, yet tinted with anger and pain.
“Oh, blondie, Sheila was addicted to heroin; she would have died sooner or later.” William replies, locking eyes with Hanna. “I did her a favor, Hanna, because if not, she would have ended up killing you and I couldn’t afford more mistakes.”
He pauses, returning his attention to me.
“And that brings me back to your dad, Dominic.” He says, his grin widening.
“It’s Dom, you motherfucker!” I retort, feeling my blood burning in my veins.
“Whatever.” He dismisses my words, chuckling. “All that time, I had been keeping in touch with your parents, coming and going, bringing gifts from my many trips.” William says and then his grin died on his lips. “Your mom gave birth to Mia and died after some medical complications.”
At the sound of that a low growl escapes my lips as I narrow my eyes in suspicion. In response, William knit a brow, his gaze hardening.
“No, son, I had nothing to do with that. I would have never hurt Isabella, ever. She died from natural causes, well as natural as any complication after labor took place.”
A heavy sigh passes his lips as he frown a little.
“One night, after your dad won one of his races, we both drank too much, celebrating his victory and remembering the only woman we had both loved more than air to breathe.” He paused once more, his frown growing deeper. “I guess I said something I shouldn’t have said because the next day your dad asked me to leave his house, never coming back. That was the last time I got drunk though.”
Hanna takes a deep breath and I notice that she’s relaxing her body even though she radiates hot pure anger through every single pore in her skin.
“How you were so sure we were going to get along, William? Dominic and I had never seen each other and sure as hell we didn’t hang in the same places.” Hanna says, her voice showing curiosity.
William narrows his eyes, watching us, his cold gaze going back and forth between us. After a moment he clears his throat, grinning.
“Yeah, blondie, you’re right about that and I really ran a huge risk with that move. Nevertheless, I had a 50% possibility of success, so I bet for the only things that had never failed me, my instinct and my skills as an observer.”
“How is that?” I ask. Now I’m curious too.
I know it’s not going to change what I think about this fucker or how I feel about Hanna, but I admit I want to know.
“You are forgetting that I knew both of you since you were born, and I knew your parents too.” William’s grin widens completely as he looks at Hanna. “I knew everything about both of you. And I’m not talking about your favorite food, colour or habits, but more important things, such as your fears, your dreams and your hopes.” William answers. “But I’m not stupid, never was. I knew you could meet someone else, but what’s life with a little risk, huh?” He winks.
Hanna and I glance at each other, talking in silent dialogue. No words are needed; we both think the same thing.
He was seriously risking a lot because even with all shit that there was no way to make us to fall for each other. We already knew that after our own experience with Reynaldo. He had no guarantees for his success. There were many people that would have fitted perfectly.
“Of course, once again I had to wait patiently for a few years to set my own plan in motion. And I had to say that it was easier than I thought at the beginning.” He says, making us both return our attention to him.
I knit a brow, staring at him. The unspoken question must be showing all over my face. What the hell did he do?
“I used a little bit of persuasion and a lot of manipulation.” William says, pausing for effect, resting his gaze on me. “I dropped the comment to Hanna about how being an FBI agent was damn easy, adding that a woman with such military training wouldn’t be easy to overpower. Not any man would be able to hurt her again. She wouldn’t be weak anymore, and she wouldn’t have to rely on Richie or anyone to protect her, especially since he was lost for days, leaving her alone.”
Then he returns his attention to Hanna.
“With Dominic it was a little more difficult because he didn’t want to hear anyone, much less if they were giving him any wise advice. It had always been his way or the highway. So I had to use his very best friend, the coyote Vince, to reach him.” He winks at me.
What?! No, he didn’t say that. No way. Vince wouldn’t have betrayed me. He was the only one I could trust without reservations or doubts.
“It was easy, Vince was in love with Mia but he had nothing to offer. No money, no future. Nothing at all. He didn’t even have a place to sleep save for Toretto’s house. I knew he would stick at Mia’s side came hell or high water. So, I told him a few ways to make easy money really fast with minimum risks, adding that if things went south, I’ll be there to make sure he wouldn’t end up with his bones in prison. It worked though, somehow.”
All of a sudden I remember a conversation Vince and I had, talking about different ways to make easy money. That was when he mentioned that we could use our skills driving cars to smuggle drugs from Mexico to the US. Back then we decided it was too risky. Then he said something about stealing trucks because the goods were covered by insurance, so we wouldn’t end up going against other people’s interests or causing unnecessary damage. And in case things went bad, and we got in a mess, we had our own lawyer to save our asses.
Now that I think about it, I remember that I wondered where he came up with such accurate information, but my own thirst for fast money blinded me. How fucking naïve!
We were just kids, no more than twenty-five years old. What the hell did we knew about anything? William was older and wiser. Just as he said, he manipulated all of us, using our own weakness. We ended up playing the role he wanted us to play in his sick game, serving his goal and being grateful for it. Damnit!
I glance at Hanna from the corner of my eye and she seems to be lost in thoughts. I know that she’s hearing William, paying attention to every single word he’s saying, but at the same time she’s studying him.
I frown slightly, not wanting to make William aware of the fact that Hanna is silently plotting, scheming. I’ve seen that expression before, and she’s recalling everything he said right now, searching for a weak spot.
“Just a few adjustments had to be made here and there. So I kept playing my own role, and at the same time, I started to set my plan in real motion.” William says, grinning from ear to ear. “I made sure that Hanna knew there was a spot at the FBI office in LA, and Bilkins left her to be in charge of the investigation they were carrying out about the trucks stolen by street racers.” He pauses, looking at Hanna. “You should have known that there was no way a rookie would have been allowed to be a field agent, leading the investigation in such a big case, blondie. However, I can’t blame you. You thought you were damn good, doing your job, but not that good, and I’ve always been better.”
Hanna snorts, rolling her eyes. “I wonder one thing, William.” She says all of a sudden as if she didn’t give shit about what William had said.
Her voice sounds devoid of any trace of anger or pain.
“What is it, Hanna?” He asks, in a condescend tone.
Hanna grins lightly, her eyes sparkling.
“How you killed Antonio Toretto, exactly?”
What the…? I frown deeply, looking at her as if she sprouted a third eye. After all the shit this bastard said and she’s asking how he killed my dad?
“Why do you want to know that, blondie?” William replies, narrowing his eyes in suspicion.
“Well, since you’re spilling your guts, I thought you wouldn’t mind sharing with us such information.” Hanna says, all trace of the grin gone from her lips. “It’s not like we can tell anyone, right? Much less, if you’re planning to kill us, William. What do you care anyway?”
My frown deepens, I don’t know where Hanna is heading with that and William doesn’t seem to know either. At this point, and after all the things he said, we can figure it out on our own. I bet he rigged my dad’s car.
However, he seems to be considering answering Hanna’s question.
“I rigged the Dodge.” William replies coldly.
It figures. Of course that’s what he did. William himself or he sent someone else to do his dirty job. There’s no difference because the result was the same.
“Ok, William, now what? What are you gonna do with us?” I ask him; all of a sudden I’m tired of all this shit.
I don’t feel like hearing anything else coming from his lips. I have had enough of his damn prattling for last one life. All I want is for this hell to end once and for all.
William chuckles emotionless, no more goofy grins tonight.
“Since all my plans went to hell thanks to your little games, I have no other choice but to improvise as I go.” He says as he points his gun to my head. “Unfortunately, I don’t need you anymore, Dom. So here is where our paths split, son.”
Before I have a chance to make a single move or to even think about his words, Hanna grabs my gun from my waistband, flicking the safety off, pointing it directly to her own head.
“NO!”
Chapter 41 (last part)
“NO!”
I’m not sure which one of us shouted.
Hanna moves backwards, leaving room between us. Her eyes are sparkling with a cold gleam that causes my soft hair to raise all at once, making me shudder fiercely. What the fuck is she doing?!
“If you pull the trigger, I pull the trigger, and your precious flawless plan will go to hell. So, your choice.”
Her voice is not leaving room to not take her seriously. Hanna is not shitting around. I know it and William knows it too. Shit, shit, shit.
What the fuck are you doing, baby?!
“We both know you won’t pull the trigger, Hanna.” William says, pretending to sound nonchalant but not even he can hide his own doubts right now.
Hanna snorts.
“That’s exactly what that fucker told me before I shot him.” She replies, gesturing to Reynaldo’s lifeless body. “And you can see where it led him.” Hanna adds, grinning evilly.
I notice how William tightens his grip on his gun, his jaw muscles twitching again. It’s the only sign that gives away that he doesn’t like this sudden change in the course of the events one damn bit.
My heart is racing wildly within my chest. Hanna is not herself anymore, she seems absent. I don’t dare to think what’s going to happen.
“It’s a bluff.” William mutters coldly.
“I don’t play poker, William.” She replies, strangely calm and relaxed. “If I die, you lose; if Dominic dies, you lose. So like I said it’s your choice.”
Oh, fuck! I don’t like this shit one fucking bit. This is getting out of hand too damn fast. Damnit!
William’s eyes smolder with unrestrained rage as he narrows his eyes slightly, holding Hanna’s gaze. He’s clearly weighing his options, silently thinking if he will win this hand.
This motherfucker had been playing for too many years, setting his damn plan, waiting and waiting. He had been using all of us as pawns in his sick game, deciding which role each of us were going to play and for how long. He never gave a damn about the consequences as long as he was the one winning.
But now things have changed in a second flat. There’s one pawn that reached the other side of the chessboard, and just as it happens in chess, the pawn turned a queen. The Ice Queen actually. She’s able to make a move in any direction she feels like, and she’s not going to give up that easily.
“What’s the deal?” William asks, tilting his head to one side, his eyes still narrowed.
Hanna doesn’t move a single muscle in her body. Her face remains expressionless, not a trace of feelings can be found. Hanna’s eyes remain as emotionless as her face. The pure essence of coldness is standing a few feet from me, watching her adversary with a defiant smirk, gracing her lips, her chin slightly raised.
Right now I’m scared to death because I don’t know what’s going to happen, but I swear that Hanna looks beautiful beyond reality. Anyone that saw her now wouldn’t think for a minute that someone was able to bend her willpower once. Her strength can be touched. Right now she’s invincible.
“I’ll give you a chance to win, William; you only have to turn around, running as fast as you can. We will not follow you. I give you my word.”
Her voice doesn’t leave room to complain. I can’t help but think if her grandfather would be able to hear her, he would drop to his knees to adore her.
“And if I choose to ignore the deal?” William asks defiantly.
“Then you will lose your only chance to get your teeth into ‘El Padrino’s cake and the game will be over.” It’s her reply.
William chuckles coldly and without another word, he lowers his gun and turning around, he vanishes, going deep into the forest, until he disappears from our view.
My brain doesn’t register my next move.
One second I’m standing frozen, watching William running away, the next I have Hanna by her shoulders, shaking her.
“What the fuck do you think you were doing?!” I shout, a breath away from her lips.
Hanna’s eyes widen completely as she yelps in pain. My hands are tightly gripping her shoulders as I keep shaking her almost violently.
“What the fuck were you going to do, huh?! You were going to pull the fucking trigger?!” I shout again, my eyes flickering to her eyes.
Silent tears are rolling down her cheeks unrestrained as she starts to shake in fear, her gaze fixed on mine.
My heart is pounding within my brain and I can feel adrenaline rushing through my veins. I’m so scared I could kill her myself right here right now. Damnit!
Hanna struggles to release herself from my tight grip as she grits her teeth, probably trying to block the pain my hands are causing on her skin.
“Let…let me go, Dominic…” She hisses, struggling for dear life.
“Shut up!” I snap, growling, breathing through my nose. Hanna gasps loudly, her eyes sparkling with more tears.
“You are h-hurting me…” Her voice shakes as she holds my infuriated gaze.
“I said, shut the fuck up.” I mutter clenching my teeth as I pull her to me hard, hugging her fiercely.
Hanna stops struggling but her body is trembling, every single muscle tensed.
“Fuck…” I whisper, holding her so tightly against me that I’m probably hurting her. “You fucking…” I shut my eyes, cursing silently. Damnit!!
I don’t dare to think what I would have done if William would have ignored her threat. What if …? Shit, shit, shit.
I bury my hands in her hair, knotting them as I pull her head back to look at her eyes. Forcing the air to past through my lungs, I swallow hard.
“You will not do that again, got it?” I hiss, staring at her eyes. “If you do some shit like that again, I swear to you I will kill you myself, do you understand me?” I whisper in a strangled voice as I blink my all of a sudden blurry vision.
Hanna’s mouth opens and closes without uttering a noise as she slowly nods ‘yes’. I tighten my grip in her hair, making her gasp.
“Do you fucking understand me, Hanna?” I growl, breathing hard through my nose.
My body hurts with the restraint I’m using not to beat the shit out of her for what he made me go through in a second flat. I feel my blood boiling within my veins, and my heart is beating wildly.
“Yes…” She breathes, blinking fresh tears as I grunt, capturing her mouth in a soul-searing kiss, devouring her lips with mine.
I was going to lose her. I was going to fucking lose her forever. Hanna was going to pull that fucking trigger if William wouldn’t have believed her. Fuck!!
The kiss is everything but gentle, it’s full of passion and anger and pain. Our tongues are fighting, wanting to win and to lose at the same time. As I keep kissing her, devouring her mouth Hanna squeezes my ass tightly, moaning.
I break the kiss, panting hard, staring at her wet mouth. “I would die if I lost you, baby.” I whisper breathlessly. Hanna swallows hard.
“I love you, Dominic.” She whispers staring at my eyes. “I’m sorry…”
I shut my eyes for a second, nodding ‘yes’ and then I meet her teary gaze. “I love you, Hanna.”
“Only you two could be making up in front of a damn corpse.” Ricardo’s voice teases us, chuckling and I turn my head, looking at him. “And to think, people say I’m a twisted fucker.” He shakes his head, grinning.
Ricardo is standing a few feet from us, his hands are stained with blood and he’s playing with a small tape recorder, passing it from one hand to another.
What the…?
“Did you get that?” Hanna asks him, releasing me. In response, Ricardo pressed one little button, grinning evilly.
“How did you kill Antonio Toretto, exactly?”
I frown deeply as soon as I hear Hanna’s recorded voice. Then Ricardo pressed another button, locking eyes with me.
“I rigged the Dodge.” William’s recorded voice replies.
What the fuck…?
I sniffle lightly, turning around. “Were you listening all the time?” I ask him, narrowing my eyes.
Ricardo’s grin widens as he puts the small tape recorder in one of the pockets in his camo pants and then he pulls out one cigarette.
“What can I say, bro?” He replies, lighting it up. “Bad habits die hard, but you have to agree with me on this, Dom.” He pauses, taking a deep puff of his cigarette and then he goes on, blowing the smoke up the open sky. “We hear the most interesting crap eavesdropping.” He shrugs his shoulders.
I blinked, turning my attention to Hanna. “That’s why you asked William? You saw him?” I ask Hanna as I point my finger in Ricardo’s direction.
Hanna sighs hard. “I didn’t see him but I knew he was around.” She answers.
“How?” I frown in puzzlement. In response Hanna shrugs her shoulders.
“I just knew, Dominic.” That’s her answer.
All of sudden I feel angry with Ricardo. If he had been there all the time then he was watching how Hanna pointed my gun against her own head, threatening William that she would pull the trigger. Fuck!!
I grit my teeth, glaring at Ricardo. “What if she would have pulled the fucking trigger?” I hiss angrily.
“Dominic…” Hanna whispers, taking my hand in hers.
“What?” I snap at her, releasing my hand from her gentle grip. Then I look back at Ricardo. “I want to know what you were going to do if she would have blown her brains out.” My voice sounds hard and cold yet tinted my something else I don’t know.
Ricardo’s grin dies on his lips in a second flat as his gaze hardens. “I would have killed that old bastard.” He growls emotionless.
I clench my jaws tightly, grunting. “And Hanna would be dead.” I mutter in disgust.
“You would be dead too.” He replies as he keeps puffing from his cigarette.
I close the distance between us, limping slightly, standing in front of him.
“Would you have let her do that?” I whisper coldly, my eyes flickering to his. “Would have let Hanna died?” In response Ricardo tilts his head to one side.
“She’s alive.” He replies, facing me.
“That’s not what I’m asking you, Ricardo.” I seethe, holding his deadly gaze.
His eyes are sparkling with that menacing gleam I’ve seen on a few occasions before. Tension is radiating from his body and a deathly silence descends upon us as we stare at each other eyes.
Ricardo’s face remains expressionless, not a single trace of emotion can be decipher, not one single feeling. There’s nothing. His eyes are colder than I remember seeing before; his gaze so dark anyone would be able to lose the sanity just looking at his eyes.
But I see it. I can see his answer; it’s written in that very same gaze, as clear as a sunny day, flashing at me like the fucking sun, almost blinding me. I don’t need him answering it aloud because he already did without words.
Ricardo moves backwards, looking at Hanna. “Now what?”
Hanna lets out the air it seemed she was holding before she answers. “Now we’re going to let William go. Just as I told him.”
Her answer pulls me out of my thoughts as I blinked. “What?!”
Hanna nods ‘yes’, moving forward and hesitantly she takes my hand in hers again. “You seriously want to kill a man his age, Dominic?”
“Are you kidding? And what are we going to do? Just let him walk away like that?” I reply, frowning deeply. “After all the things he did?”
“I’ve got other plans for him, Dominic.” Hanna grins devilishly as she squeezes my hand lightly. I narrow my eyes in suspicion, holding her gaze. “I don’t want William dead anymore, and it’s not because I went crazy.” She pauses for a second, glancing at Reynaldo’s corpse and then she goes on. “I want to hurt him, striking a mortal blow back at him without shedding one single drop of his blood.”
Hanna seems to be gathering her thoughts, putting order within her brain. Then her devilish grin turns cold as she locks eyes with me again.
“Death is forever, Dominic. If we kill him then he will have one horrible, endlessly painful moment, but that will be all. And that’s too easy.” She explains, looking back and forth between Ricardo and I. “I want to defeat him with his own weapons. I want William living the rest of his natural life with the shame and the dishonor of knowing his pawns won the game.” Hanna says, grinning evilly.
Ricardo and I glance at each other and then back at her.
“Remind me to never piss you off, princess.” Ricardo chuckles, throwing the butt, mimicking her grin. I shake my head.
“And here I thought Elaine was dangerous, man.” I whisper, chuckling, making Ricardo laugh.
“Coño, these two are one of a kind, bro.” He replies, grinning. Then he lifts his head, looking at the open sky. “Day is about to break, we better get moving.” He says, moving to my left side to help me walk.
“Where’s Elaine?” I ask him, hissing in pain as soon as my wounded leg supports my weight once more.
Hanna moves to my right side, circling my waist and resting my arm over her shoulder.
“She was making sure there weren’t any more fuckers around.” Ricardo answers, smirking.
“And Snake?”
Ricardo growls, narrowing his eyes. “I was tracking him but I lost the fucker when he went deep into the jungle.”
————————
Ricardo looks at Elaine’s cut, the one on her thigh. “What’s that, mami? You get cut shaving your legs?” He asked, not a trace of a grin on his lips as he intensely looked at the wound.
Elaine snorts, opening a small first aid kit. “You’re such a brat sometimes, Richard.” She replied, pulling out some bandages and a bottle of alcohol.
I guess she found the kit in the tool shed.
Ricardo frowns deeply, still eying the wound as Elaine pours the liquid directly upon the cut, hissing through clenched teeth.
I wince watching her. I bet that burns like a bitch but there she is, taking the pain with stoic resolution. Damn!
“We’re gonna have to talk about that deal we have, Elena, because that cut is two inches and this one,” he pauses, rolling up the sleeve of his shirt, showing a deep slash on his upper arm, “it’s at least three. And I’m not gonna be jerking myself off for five fucking days, you know?” He grins, locking eyes with Elaine. “I’m too old for that shit, mami.” Ricardo adds, winking at her.
Elaine chuckles and then she mutters some obscenities under her breath, cleaning the cut with a clean bandage. “You won’t be too old for that, papi, ever.” She teased him shutting her eyes tightly, breathing hard through her nose.
Ricardo chuckles and with that he starts to bandage her thigh. I take a seat at her side and Hanna picks up another clean bandage, drenching it in alcohol. Then she kneels in front of me and slowly she lifts her gaze, meeting my eyes.
I close my hands in fists, and gritting my teeth I nod ‘yes’ firmly. Hanna takes a shaky breath and with that she starts to clean the wound in my leg.
I feel all my skin burning at once, I swear the flesh of my leg seems to be about to come off the bone. It burns like a fucking bitch and I bit my tongue hard to prevent the scream in pain that is fighting to be released. But I can’t help but grunt painfully. It hurts more than I thought it would. The effects of those coca leaves have vanished completely.
After what felt like an eternity, my wound is disinfected and a new bandage is covering my leg that now feels a little numb.
Ricardo looks at me, concern in his gaze. “Can you walk?” he asks me, frowning slightly.
Slowly I get to my feet, testing my resistance to the pain, taking a few steps. It’s not as if I’m gonna be able to run but I can walk, limping, but I can do it.
There’s no way I’m letting Ricardo go alone in search of Snake, much less considering that psycho bastard is somewhere inside that fucking jungle, and that as far as we know he’s not injured.
Ricardo is not injured save a few cuts and scratches that even though they are deep enough to hurt, they’re not bleeding.
“Yeah. I can walk.” I finally answer, looking at him. Ricardo narrows his eyes in suspicion when a hiss of pain escapes my lips.
“You sure?” He asks me and now that concern is evident in his voice too.
“Yeah.” I reply firmly, meeting his gaze.
Ricardo frowns a little, as if he’s considering my answer but after a moment he nods ‘yes’.
“Okay.” He says and then he returns his attention to Elaine and Hanna. “You two wait for us at the meeting point. If we’re not back in two hours, you both leave this fucking place. Just like we planned.” His voice doesn’t leave room to complain.
Hanna and Elaine glance at each other and then they look back at him.
“We’re not going anywhere without you two, Richie.” Hanna says, her voice as serious as Ricardo’s himself.
“You two are not going near that jungle, got it?” Ricardo retorts menacingly, making Elaine narrow her eyes, staring at him. In response he sighs heavily, shaking his head. “Please.” He whispers, locking eyes with his wife.
Elaine gets to her feet, padding to his side and without saying a word she tiptoes, pulling Ricardo to her, holding him tightly.
“We won’t go near the jungle,” she whispers, locking eyes with him, “but we won’t leave the island without you two, Richard.” Elaine adds firmly and with that she captures his lips with a kiss, silencing whatever he was going to say.
I look at Hanna, thinking about Ricardo’s non-spoken answer to my question and I pull her to me, circling her waist. Hanna leans forward, pressing her forehead to mine.
“Watch yourself there, Dominic. That bastard will not hesitate to kill you both.” She whispers shakily. I tighten my hold, tilting my head back to look at her eyes.
Those beautiful green eyes, their grayish sparks around the pupils. The eyes I would die for without a second thought.
“We will be back, Hanna. I give you my word, baby.” I whisper, kissing her lips softly. Hanna sighs between my lips, kissing me back with such passion I feel my legs trembling. Damn!