Laughing Eyes: Bittersweet Familia (3) (21 page)

Danny

I arrived home just after midnight to find a Glock pointed straight at me and a rather stressed looking Aiden, his finger on the trigger.

“That’s no welcome,” I said feigning offence, “considering it’s
my
house.”

I watched as he lowered the gun, his tired eyes looking somewhat relieved. The room was darkened, only a soft glow from a lamp on the floor, the curtains drawn to prevent unwanted attention from passers-by. The house was set some way off the road, but Aiden was now a wanted man, on the run from his own family.

“Danny, it’s good to see you,” he said extending his hand.

“I’d hate to see how you greet the people you don’t wanna see,” I joked, although I couldn’t disguise just how happy I was to see an old friend again. Aiden rubbed the back of his neck, aiming to release some tension.

“I’m sorry, it’s just that we have had some…”

“Who’s this?” I interrupted, my eyes moving to the woman beside me. She was beautiful. The kind of beautiful men like Hector would love to profit from. It was then I noticed just how disheveled they both were. I could also see just how uncomfortable the girl was and no matter how much she tried to protect her modesty, it just wasn’t helping. She wore a tiny little negligee and was covered in dirt. Her pale skin was marred with the red and brown hue of the Mexican desert and the tears she had shed had left track marks over her dirty face. Aiden too looked like he had battled it out with a desert storm. I made a mental note to ask him about his nights events later when we were out of earshot.

“This is the girl,” Aiden began, sounding a little nervous. “The one I told you about.”

“My name is Laila,” she said, her annoyed tone directed straight at Aiden.

I couldn’t help but smile at her sass. Though nothing alike in appearance, she reminded me so much of Anna. Her face softened and I noted that she visibly relaxed a degree or two while considering me for a while. Probably wondering if I was cut from the same fucked up cloth Juan and Hector came from.

“You’ve got a live one here,” I joked before giving the girl a lighthearted wink. The corners of her mouth twitched in amusement for a brief second.

“You have no idea!” Aiden sounded resigned. “Have you got the paperwork?” As soon as the words left his mouth, I noticed the girl visibly stiffen. Did she see Aiden as the bad guy?

I waved the mustard, letter-sized envelope in front of him. “First things first. Why don’t you take Laila upstairs so she can clean herself. My sister leaves some clothes here when she stays so there are some in the drawer in the bedroom, second door to the left after the bathroom.”

I watched with some curiosity as they moved to the stairs, Aiden’s hand rested on the small of her back. “You’d better move the car as well,” I yelled to Aiden. “Dawn is about to break.”

***

Cracking open a beer, the gravity of the situation was bearing down on me. It wasn’t the same predicament, but it was too damn close. Aiden and I would need to nut out every fine detail to ensure it didn’t end in the same disaster as it had over four years ago.

“Stop!” I heard Laila’s assertive voice from the top floor. I couldn’t help but smile at the hard time she must be giving Aiden. From what I had heard so far based on one phone conversation, he hadn’t told her the full truth. In her eyes, he was the bad guy.

“Don’t even mention his name. You don’t have that right!” she yelled. I presumed she was talking about Ethan her brother. The one Aiden had supposedly killed in order to break the scent Juan and Hector had on him. He was in deep, the poor bastard.

“I don’t want your explanations or your guilt. You had a choice, Aiden! Or should I still call you Master?” Her tone dripped with scathing sarcasm. I didn’t know a thing about the whole “master” scenario, but it definitely piqued my curiosity.

The volume of the conversation immediately dropped, only a few murmurs filtering down the stairs, followed by the abrupt slamming of the bathroom door.

A forlorn Aiden made his way down seconds later, that earlier tiredness I had seen in his eyes, now that of pure exhaustion.

“Sounds like you fucked up, bro.” I couldn’t help the tease.

“I have. She’s angry and badly hurt,” he replied, a pissed-off edge to his tone.

“Hurt?”

“She was badly beaten by Hector’s men back at the mansion. Fucking black bruises all over her torso. I didn’t even know it had happened until two minutes ago,” he sighed heavily. “I couldn’t even protect her under the same roof.”

“Have you told her about her brother, that he is still alive?”

“No, not yet. If I tell her now, before we are in the safe zone, it could ruin everything.”

“Ok, I will let you be the best judge of that. You know your fucked up family better than anyone. But I do have one question.”

“Go on.”

“Why is she calling you ‘master’?”

Aiden ran a frustrated hand through his hair. “Juan was to train her into servitude. He had already raped her and threatened to do it again. I offered to train her instead while I figured out a plan to stop the sale to Alexsonov.”

“So she believes that you are just as bad as the rest of them.”

“Unfortunately, yes.”

“Don’t beat yourself up. You had no choice but to sort Ethan out and hopefully the two girls have made it somewhere safe. That being said, you could have handled the whole Laila thing a little bit better than you did.”

“I know, it just wasn’t safe to tell her the whole truth. The walls in that place have ears, Hector and Juan would have found out my plan sooner or later.”

“So, did you “train” her?”

There was a silence that spoke volumes.

“You didn’t?”

“It’s not what you think,” he insisted.

“Oh really, did you touch her?”

“Yes, but it was consensual.”

“I’m sensing there is more.”

“She thinks I am just like them. The act I was forced to put on built her distrust toward me. I’m not proud of what I had to do, but I had no other choice. This whole thing started because I was trying to save two girls from Alexsonov. Then Laila showed up and was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

“Aiden, enough fucking with her head. I know it’s not deliberate, but once you are over that border you need to tell her everything.”

“I intend to.”

***

The night passed with little trouble. Though no words were spoken, the tension between Aiden and Laila was extreme. Whatever he had done, had really pissed off the woman he watched like an obsessive hawk.

The sun was just starting to rise, the house quiet. I watched, amused as Laila crept her way down the flight of stairs. Seemingly unaware of my presence in the kitchen, she seemed nervous, every tentative step full of hope. I dreaded to think what trouble this girl had landed herself in.

“Leaving without saying goodbye?” She didn’t spin around and she wasn’t startled at getting caught. Instead, her shoulders slumped, her head resting against the front door in defeat.

“I know at least one other person would be upset without a farewell.” Still not knowing the girl all that well, I kept my tone soft, though apparently not soft enough.

“Shh,” Laila hissed, finally turning to meet my gaze with urgent eyes. “Don’t talk so loud,” her innocent blue eyes widening as she looked over my bare chest. I tried my best to disguise the twitch pulling at my lips. She looked shaky, embarrassed. This was fun.

“Why are you trying to sneak out without Aiden knowing?” I asked.

“Why do you think?” I honestly didn’t know. I knew she had issues with Aiden and the way he had gone about things, but could she not see that he was trying to help her?

“I don’t owe him anything!” She replied bitterly.

“Oh, I think you do.”

“What would you know?”

“Enough,” I said matter-of-factly crossing my arms, “It’s not for me to say–”

“Then don’t,” she interrupted.

Ignoring her pleas, I continued. If Aiden didn’t have the balls to set things right then I at least should have a go. “He's done things the way he has, to make things better for you.”

She scoffed, “How so?”

“You've come this far with him; he should be the one to tell you. Besides, you are not quite out of Hector’s reach yet. You're very trusting Laila, but of the wrong people.”

She remained silent, considering my words. It was all true. Hector and Juan were relentless. They would come after both of them and at full force. Aiden had once considered them family, now he was running. Running all because of this girl. She may just well be the break he needed. They were saving each other.

“I can see what this has done to him," I continued, "He isn’t the same man. Whether that’s guilt, remorse, love, I don’t know, but he isn’t the same.”

“Love?” Her perfect brows knitted tightly together.

“Even Aiden has a heart.”

“Monsters don’t have hearts.”

I wanted to tell her that I had seen the damage monsters could do and that I knew all too well that they didn’t have hearts. They had ghost eyes and were soulless. That was certainly not Aiden. With a heavy sigh because clearly that had deep seated issues that would require time and healing, I continued. “Look, all I can tell you is soon he will be in a position to explain everything. Right now though, his brother and father have put a bounty on Aiden's head and all because of you. So come into the kitchen where I've been slaving away all morning making breakfast and cut the man some slack, would you?”

Resigned to the fact that she would not be escaping any time soon and with my comforting hand on her shoulder, she followed me into the kitchen.

“You will soon realize Laila, that while Aiden is fighting your demons, he is also fighting his own.”

We just never once imagined history would ever repeat itself.

Danny

Later that night Jorge, Aiden and Laila headed off into the darkness.

Fifteen minutes later I secured my two black duffle bags in the hidden tire well of the trunk. I was leaving Mexico to follow the three across the border and ghost their every move. We all knew Hector’s men were not far behind and if caught, the end result would not be a welcomed one.

Just over an hour later I pulled up at the Tijuana border and positioned myself on the side of the road. I was running a risk dealing with the hostile officers and taking a gamble that my targets had yet to cross. Climbing out and closing the car door, I watched as one officer made his way over to me, weaving through the few cars coming to a stop at the gates. He wore a mask of authority, not that it bothered me, but I knew the type of tripper I would be dealing with.

“Why are you pulled over?” He barked at me.

“Sorry officer,” I began, extending my open palmed hands out, feigning helplessness, “The temperature gauge was through the roof, so I’m just going to give it a look over before I pass through.” I said flashing him a smile. “You know what it’s like on the side, nothing for miles.”

The officer didn’t seem at all pleased with my explanation. He looked over his shoulder at the goings on back at the border gates before turning back to me.

“Make it quick. We’ve had all sorts try and pass through here tonight,” he said with a snarl, “Even a group of three trying to buy me off, can you believe it?”

I could believe it. I knew exactly who is was that tried to buy him off and I also knew perfectly well that the asshole before me would quite happily have taken the money.

“Yeah, gotta watch those sorts. Don’t worry, I shouldn’t be long, it’s a regular occurrence with this heap.”

He gave a curt nod before turning to leave, weaving his way back through the oncoming traffic. Walking to the front of car I popped the bonnet and hooked it up. Now it was a waiting game and one that I hoped would pay off. Before they had arrived at mine, Juan had found them in the desert where a standoff ensued, him becoming the loser of that particular round. Juan doesn’t like to lose. Despite the warm night, a chill passed through me as the similarities between the two men hit me. Juan and Nicolas were the same, carbon copies of each other. Juan, the type of cruel narcissist who thrives on tormenting his victims just like Nicolas had with Anna. Persistence and the desire to win at all costs were traits that existed in both men. Juan won’t let this go. To him, Laila is his, just like Anna was to her tormenter.

I watched the traffic stagger across the border, each car pulling to a stop, often its occupants instructed to exit the vehicle for screening. I was in the perfect position on the darkened shoulder, while everyone else was lit up under the intrusive halogens. I made myself appear active as I studied a pale blue Chevy pulling up. Immediately two officers approached, ordering the occupants to exit the car.

Bingo

Taking an extra step into the shadows I studied the two men who fit the bill of henchmen. A brief discussion ensued between the parties before a frisk search was conducted. The officer to the left of the vehicle paused around the man’s waist, lifting up his jacket, the gleam of metal catching my eye. If these were indeed the targets, I would hope their mission would be thwarted at the crossing. Instead the four gathered together, the weapon clearly now not of concern. The officer who had approached me spoke with his arms folded across his chest while the others seemed nonplussed by what was happening.

Just what the hell was happening?

A few minutes later with a back log of vehicles behind their own, the two men got back into their Chevy and passed through the border gates. Unhooking the hood, I let it slam close before getting back behind the wheel. Moving over to the crossing, I showed my documents before heading down the darkened road, the taillights of my target gaining a head start.

We were on the road for a good hour before they pulled into a roadhouse. I slowed down wanting to create more of a time gap between us as before I too pulled in. Parking at a bowser in decent view of the targets, I proceeded to fill my half empty tank with gas. Looking over the roof of the car I took note of the interaction. Outside sitting on the hoods of their vehicle under the parking lot street lamp, were two more men. One sat with his legs open, feet resting on the front chrome bumper, a cigarette dangling between his fingers, a look of boredom on his severe face. The other stood talking to the men I had been following, his hand gestures becoming more exaggerated as time passed. San Diego was only a few miles away and I was starting to doubt whether these were indeed my targets.

Just as I handed over cash to the wimpy looking attendant the men shook hands in their own version of a shake before getting back into their respective cars. Not one of the four had even glanced in my direction the entire time I was there, but I couldn’t play it too safe. I would give them a head start before trailing them. To my delight, both cars turned right out of the lot and headed north to San Diego.

***

The pairs had gone their separate ways once they hit the city. I knew full well where Aiden had taken Laila, the very place she had been abducted from. We had argued about this for some time, but he would not be swayed, reasoning that no victim would ever go back to the place they had been taken from. Reluctantly I agreed. This was after all his fight. I was just along for the ride and the occasional backup. Deciding to follow the two who had met at the roadhouse simply because they looked to be the meanest of the lot, I kept my distance.

The vehicle slowed outside the dingy shit hole coming to a full stop. Moments later, they picked up speed and turned out of the street.

I dialed Jorge’s number. I had told Aiden that I would correspond through his partner knowing that he had his own dramas to sort out. Jorge was good man, albeit a bit too brash at times, but he was just like me. He would stick with Aiden until the very end.

After three rings he finally picked up, his voice croaky from what sounded like sleep. “Yes?” he answered. To anyone else he would sound like an asshole, but to those who knew him, that was Jorge in a good mood.

“You will have company very soon if you don’t get your asses out of there.”

“There’s just one problem,” he said, starting to wake.

“There is always a problem, what is it?”

“Aiden isn’t here. Neither is his hater, lover, whatever the fuck she is to him.”

There was no hiding the fact that Jorge wasn’t Laila’s greatest fan. He considered her a nuisance to his way of life. I liked the girl.

“Where did they go?”

“She ran out after yet another argument with Aiden.” He sounded less than impressed.

“Is Ethan there?”

“Yes, he arrived earlier, they reunited, then they had the argument and Aiden followed her out.”

“Right well, my warning still stands, get out of there straight away. Targets have already done a drive by.”

“Fuck!”

“Fuck, indeed. Head to the next meeting point.”

“Jesus Christ.”

“I’ve been called a lot of things, and that has to be the worst.” There was a grumble on the other end from a clearly less than the eager Jorge. Our next meeting spot was his cousin’s, Maria, on the way out of San Diego.

“What are you doing?” He finally asked.

“Going to have me some fun.”