Page 51 of Fall
“Because of you,” he repeats icily.
The unsteady rhythm of my heart races to the front of my chest, pounding hard to break free and strangle him with the arteries. I take two steps back, pulsing my fists for control. “She’s dead because you used her as a pawn.You’re the motherfucker who pulled the trigger.”
Miguel cricks his neck. “I pulled the trigger, but you got involved with the wrong people. You’re not blameless in all this. Look at yourself, Valez. You’re holed up in the wild with melted hands and a guilty conscience. If you think I’m gonna tell you shit, then you can suck my dick.”
There’s no reasoning with him, as I expected. Rolling my shoulders, I swagger to the slatted door. Slivers of daylight cut through the crumbling timber, helping the grimy window to bring in a wisp of dulled sunshine. “Thirsty?” I ask, unzipping a backpack and taking out a metal canister.
When I turn around to face him, he’s preparing to stand and wheezing. I unscrew the cap and watch him struggle. The bench creaks as his weight shifts, and his torso braces with the cautious movement.
“Take a drink.”
“Stick it up your ass,” he bites out, cradling his ribs.
I sigh loudly, fighting the urge to slam my fist into his teeth. “You’ll regret it. The humidity out here is a killer.”
“I’m not interested in indulging this brief fantasy of yours. Prove it's not poison.”
Truth serum isn’t exactly poison. It’s an elixir to welcome honesty, secrets and important answers. I grab a fresh bottle of the serum and decide tricking him into drinking it would be just as satisfying as pricking his weak veins. He won’t die from ingesting the cocktail of ingredients. Karma will kill him in the end.
El Fantasma.
“Poison.” I laugh low and quick. “Your time isn’t up yet.”
With his bloodshot eyes drilling into my face, I bring the bottle to my lips and take a long gulp. It’s my first ever taste of the bitter liquid, and the last. Enough to make me vulnerable to an interrogation. I’ve nothing to hide. My grudge is worn on every damaged skin cell. Now visible for all to see. The truths I own can escape without surprise. I swallow, nudging the flask closer. “Drink up. It’s only coconut water.”
He glares at the flask. Dry lips part as he considers the remedy to his scratchy throat. Shaking his head in defeat, he reaches out and snatches the bottle. My jaw clenches with the anger fizzing through my body. Liquid spills from the edge of his lips as he guzzles fast. Wiping his chin, he tosses the bottle to the dirt.
The corner of his mouth curls upwards. “So you’ve hidden out here the whole time?”
My veins catch fire. “Not hiding. Building my empire and spying on the cockroaches in the city.”
“It must get lonely out here.” He leans back and props his elbow on the back of the bench.
I wasn’t lonely until Iris.“You certainly haven’t been lonely over the years.”
He grabs his cock and chuckles. “What man would deprive himself of the greatest pleasures in life? Pussy and perico.”
It’s the exact response I expected from the bastard. Fucking whores and smuggling cocaine into America.
“Who do you work for?” I ask casually.
“Myself,” he replies with a callus grin. It won’t take long for the serum to take effect and extract the secrets I need. “Tell me this, Valez. Did those burns on your hands turn you feral? Are you a savage who fucks the wildlife because he’s too ugly to fuck women now? Those hands are truly disgusting. Did you run from Rio because you don’t belong anywhere?”
I bristle. My temper flips inward, straightening my backbone. The insane roar echoing in my ears is my own. Rage howls outwards. Maimed fists connect, blow after blow. Miguel’s already busted up face pours blood. His lip splits open, and his filthy dress shirt is covered in a spray of red. “Let’s see if you’re strong enough to survive the jungle all alone.” My voice lowers to a demonic calmness.
My candor confession fizzes on my tongue, begging to bleed me dry of truths. I didn’t run from Rio. I picked a discrete destination for privacy and created a billion-dollar business to help victims. Once that was established, a stunning foreigner shook the ground from beneath me. She gave me something else to focus on. She gifted me with an intense obsession––an emotion called love. Life isn’t easy, straightforward or fair. And now she’s far away. “Enjoy your stay.” My boots scuff the grit before the story of my past escapes. “Your days are numbered. Tick tock, tick tock, asshole.”
A disgusting sheen of moisture sticks to my T-shirt. Its slick weight clings like toxic liquid mutating my resolve to drag this out. One more word from his cocky mouth, and I’ll spear his chest with every available blunt blade.
The serum is firing up the electrical impulses in my brain, ready to surrender my implicit detestation. It’s working on me, which means it’s working on him.
“You’re leaving me in this dump?” he hisses under his breath.
“I’m stepping outside. The stench of your downfall is making me sick,” I reply without falter, without reserve. “If the door opens after I leave, the men guarding this hut will shoot you. No questions. No time to barter. No second chances. One bullet between the eyes.”
“Sonofabitch.” He pushes to an unsteady stand and staggers. “You won’t get away with this. I’ll kill you with my bare hands if I have to.”
“Try it, and then we’ll see how savage I really am,” I bite out, shoving my shoulder into the door and breaking free.
