Page 40 of Born into Darkness

He gives me a faint smile and runs his thumb over my jawline. “I love you, Talia. Just in case I don’t make it, I want you to know it. I want you to at least hear it once, although I would’ve liked to have spent the rest of my life telling you that.”

My heart breaks at his words. Even under these conditions, it’s still beautiful to hear, and when I start crying harder, he wipes away the tears and gives me a smile that’s way too close to looking like a goodbye. Not liking it, I close the distance and press my lips to his. It’s a soft kiss, a gentle meeting of my lips to his, but I put my whole heart into it, hoping he can feel how much I love him.

When I pull back, he smiles up at me as I say, “I love you too, Max, and I will not allow you to die. We’re getting through this together, and once we’re out of here and I’ve had a chance to clean myself up, then I’ll kiss you how I really want to.”

He gives a soft breath of a laugh, already so exhausted his eyes are starting to shut. “Deal,” he whispers. “As soon as we’re both cleaned up and I’ve been given a massive dose of painkillers, then you can have your way with me as much as you want.”

I grin and kiss him again. “Another promise I’m going to hold you to.”

He smiles, but his eyes are already shut and within seconds he’s asleep again. He’s been sleeping a lot, barely drinking and refusing to eat. I know it must be his body’s way of dealing with the massive trauma and pain, but it scares the hell out of me, and with the fever starting, I can’t help but worry and fear the worst. I wrap my arms around him, holding him closer, being careful to not touch the hand that’s now a deep purplish blue and so swollen and disfigured that I’m scared he’ll never have full use of it again.

When the door opens, I tighten my grip on Max, but when it’s Mateo who walks in, I let out a relieved sigh. I may not fully trust him, but I trust him a thousand times more than the others. He’s carrying an armful of supplies, and when he’s close enough, he squats down in his expensive suit and starts to show me what he’s brought.

“More water and food,” he says, lining up several bottles of water along with some oranges and granola bars. I get the feeling he just went into the kitchen and grabbed what he could while no one was looking. “Some aspirin.” He hands me the small bottle of pills, and I almost weep with relief.

“Thank you,” I tell him, knowing it won’t be enough to dull the pain, but maybe it’ll help with his fever, and at this point, anything is better than nothing.

The last thing he holds out is small and black, and when he presses a button, a sharp-looking blade pops out. He puts the handle in my hands, but when I don’t grab it, he says, “Take it and use it if anyone else comes in here.”

“Why are you giving me this?”

His dark eyes meet mine, and I’d been so worried about Max when he first walked in that I hadn’t noticed how tired he looks. I don’t know what he’s been doing, but he hasn’t been living it up above us while we waste away down here. Mateo looks like a man who’s about at his stress limit. He scrubs a hand over his jaw, scratching at the light beard that’s grown in like he’s annoyed by it and wanting a shave.

“I have a feeling everything is about to go to shit,” he admits. His voice sounds as weary as he looks. “Just take the knife and use it if you need to. I won’t be able to watch Miguel, and you and I both know he can’t be trusted.”

Before he stands back up, he says, “For what it’s worth, I didn’t agree to any of this. At the time my hands were tied, but I did what I could to protect you.” I’m stunned by his confession but even more shocked when he grabs a set of keys from his pocket and starts to undo the cuffs around my wrists. Max groans in his sleep when Mateo gently unhooks the cuff from his good wrist, leaving us both free of our restraints. “Keep those close so you can pretend they’re still on. If anyone walks in and sees that you’re free, they’ll just shoot you,” he warns, and I nod and scoot the cuffs closer so they’re within easy reach.

He starts to stand, but I reach out and grab onto his forearm. His jaw tenses, and I’m not sure if it’s because I’m filthy and touching his nice suit or if it’s because he just doesn’t like to be touched. I drop my hand and give him a small smile instead.

“Thank you,” I tell him, meaning every word of it. I’m not blind to who he is, but without him, I would’ve been assaulted and beaten by Miguel, and I’m pretty sure Max and I would both be dead. “I’ll tell my dad that you helped us,” I say, knowing it’s the best I can do. My family will want revenge, but if I can get them to spare his life, I will. It’s only fair.

Mateo nods before standing. He gives Max one more look. “Make sure he drinks more water and give him aspirin as soon as you can.”

“I will,” I promise and then thank him again before he walks out, leaving us alone. I look at the bottle of medicine, but it’s all written in Spanish, and I have no idea what it says. I don’t think Mateo would go through all this trouble just to poison Max, so I don’t waste time worrying about it. It’s worth the risk at this point.

Max is still unconscious, so I smooth back his hair and kiss his forehead. “I don’t think we need to go crazy and name our firstborn after him or anything, but I think Mateo just saved our asses.”

I’m hoping for at least a small smile or a flutter of his eyelids, but there’s nothing. Hating to wake him but knowing the medicine is more important right now, I kiss his head and trail my fingers down his cheek. His beard is longer now, and when I run my fingers through it, he gives a soft moan.

“I need you to wake up, Max. Mateo brought you some aspirin.”

I keep kissing his face and saying his name, urging him back to consciousness, and when he finally blinks his eyes open, a stab of guilt hits me when I see how much pain he’s in.

“I’m sorry I had to wake you, but you need to take some of this.”

“What?” he whispers, groggy and having a hard time focusing through the pain.

“Mateo brought some aspirin.” Pouring out two pills, I grab one of the bottles of water and help Max lift his head enough to take them. After he swallows, I get him to drink a little bit more before he shakes his head, refusing the rest of it.

“You need to drink,” I tell him. “Do you think you can eat something?”

“No, there’s no way in hell I’ll be able to keep it down.” Lifting his good hand, he looks at me and asks, “Why am I not chained up?”

“Mateo undid them. He also gave me this,” I say, holding up the knife. When Max tries to sit up even further, I gently push him back down. “You need to lay back down.”

“We have a weapon. We need to try and leave,” he argues, but even as he’s saying the words, his body is wracked with chills and his face pales at the slightest movement of his injured arm.

“Goddammit,” he groans, lying back and resting his head on my lap again. He’s quiet for a second before he finally says, “Okay, new plan. We wait for someone to come, pretend we’re still chained up and I’m half-dead,” he stops to give me a lopsided grin. “That shouldn’t be hard to fake. Then I’ll kill him and take his weapons and cell phone. We’ll have a way to get in touch with our families, and I know Niki could guide us to a safe place to hide if I can just talk to him.”

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