Seduced in the Dark (44 page)

Felipe sighed heavily, “Very well. Rush me
if you must, but keep your mouth shut and listen.
Rafiq
killed them.”

Caleb’s face contorted in disbelief, “You’re
lying!” He stood and took a step forward. He stopped when Felipe
drew the hammer back on his revolver.

“Sit down! It’s only the beginning,”
Felipe’s accent was thicker when he was angry. Caleb sat. “I met
Rafiq and Vladek in the 80’s. The two of them were dealing in
stockpiled Russian weapons. My boss at the time was accepting
shipments from them in exchange for cocaine and heroin. Over the
years, all of us became…friends. Rafiq and Vladek were especially
close.”

Caleb felt dizzy, but he maintained his
bearing.

“The stockpile eventually dwindled, but by
then, Vladek had become the heir to his father’s company in Russia.
His father and brothers…met with an unfortunate accident. Anyway,
things were good for a while, but nothing good lasts forever, as
they say.”

“Again!” Caleb shouted, “Get to the fucking
point!”

Felipe smiled, “I’m tempted to put a bullet
in you, Caleb. Shut up!”

“Rafiq’s father died, leaving him in charge
of his mother and sister. Rafiq loved them very much and doted on
them, especially his sister, A’noud. We were all young men, then.
Young men are stupid. Vladek stuck his dick where it didn’t
belong.”

Caleb felt as though he’d been hit by
lightning. “Rafiq’s sister,” Caleb said. Memories were strange. No
matter how much time elapsed, or how a memory could change, a
person still trusted their own mind. Caleb, the boy, had trusted
Rafiq implicitly. It only made sense for Caleb, the man, to trust
him as well. Still, the information, while surprising, was not
damning or life changing. Caleb could understand why Rafiq would be
angry.

“Yes,” Felipe said. “When Rafiq discovered
his sister was pregnant and Vladek was the father, he strangled his
sister in a murderous rage.”

“I don’t believe you!” Caleb hissed. Rafiq
wouldn’t murder his own family, no matter how angry he might have
been.

“Don’t interrupt!” Felipe said. “It will all
make sense to you in a few minutes. Rafiq’s mother tried to protect
her, and she met the same fate. Rafiq was riddled with guilt and he
blamed Vladek. Rafiq was out to find him, but Vladek was gone, so
he went after their business contacts.”

“How do you know all this?” Caleb asked. He
was increasingly suspicious.

“My boss wouldn’t help him, so he came to
me. In exchange for what I knew, he helped me rise to power. I’ve
always been an opportunist, Caleb. I thought he would lie in wait
for Vladek, but what he did instead was…. Well, I’m sorry.”

“For what?” Caleb snorted, “I still don’t
see what this has to do with me. Rafiq lost his temper – he wasn’t
himself. Vladek still deserves to die.”

“It has a great deal to do with you, Caleb,”
Felipe said.

Caleb studied Felipe and the unease in his
eyes set the hair on Caleb’s body on edge. “What did he do?” Caleb
asked, and for the first time, a tendril of pure fear raced down
his spine.

“Vladek had been a bit of a ladies’ man.
Women swooned over his blond hair and blue eyes, but I remembered
he once spoke longingly about an American woman he’d met at
college. She’d left him suddenly and V had said she was the one who
got away. I pointed Rafiq toward her.” Felipe paused, apparently
lost in thought.

Caleb had heard enough. Felipe had said
nothing to sway Caleb’s loyalty and Livvie was waiting upstairs.
Their time together had dwindled to a few precious hours and he was
done wasting them. “So, Rafiq was a killer long before I knew him.
So what?” Caleb stood, “Keep your secrets, Felipe. And keep mine as
well, at least until tomorrow night. I promise to do the same.”

“She had a son!” Felipe spat. “The splitting
image of Vladek: blond hair, blue eyes.”

Caleb slowly sat back down. He swallowed
bile and broke out in a cold sweat. He didn’t want to hear anymore.
“Wait. Stop.” He waved his arm.

“No one knew. Not even, Vladek, I think.
When Rafiq couldn’t find Vladek, he went after the boy as a means
to flush Vladek out.”

Not fucking true. He’s lying, Caleb. Kill
him. He’s lying!

Felipe didn’t relent, “Vladek went deep into
hiding. He had heard about A’noud and knew Rafiq was searching for
him. He never came to claim his son, even after Rafiq put him to
work in a brothel.”

“Stop!” Caleb said.

“No!” Felipe insisted, “The truth, Caleb.
Hear it.”

“It doesn’t make any sense! He’s the one who
saved me,” Caleb insisted.

“All he’s done is claim Vladek’s son for his
own and use him to carry out his ultimate revenge,” Felipe
whispered.

Blond hair. Blue eyes.

Images of Vladek flashed through Caleb’s
mind. He was older, and his hair had turned grey, but his eyes were
blue.

He’s Russian! They all have blue eyes!

Caleb had always wondered why he’d been
taken. Why he’d been dragged so far away from home to be a whore.
Why Rafiq would save
him
and not the others. Why?

“You’re saying…” Caleb couldn’t get the rest
out. It was too unspeakable to even consider what Felipe was
saying. Caleb’s chest felt tight and his stomach churned.

“He left you there, Caleb. You were his
revenge. Everyone knew it. The war came and he left you there to
rot. No one crossed Rafiq after that, not once they knew what he
was capable of. Even criminals love their families, their
children.”

Caleb felt himself burst open like a dam.
Every emotion, every memory involving Rafiq sifted through his
mind. There was nothing Rafiq wouldn’t do to have his revenge.
Nothing. Caleb fell to his knees and vomited. For the first time in
years, Caleb cried. He couldn’t stop. He screamed and he cried. He
heaved for breath.

He rescued me. He clothed me. He fed me. He
calls me brother.

“Liar!” Caleb cried. He reached for his
knife and lunged toward Felipe, intent on cutting out his lying
tongue.

Chapter
Twenty-Three

Caleb woke. His head hurt, but it was
nothing compared to the pain inside his chest. He pushed himself
back onto his heels and raised a hand to his head. It came away
bloody. He stared at the blood on his hand. There had been so much
blood on Caleb’s hands over the years.

He sobbed.

“
He left you there, Caleb. You were his
revenge. Everyone knew it. The war came and he left you there to
rot. No one crossed Rafiq after that, not once they knew what he
was capable of. Even criminals love their families, their
children.”

He wanted to tell himself there was
absolutely no truth to what Felipe had told him, but he had to
admit…it was possible. Rafiq had lied to him about how he knew
Vladek. With all he and Rafiq had shared, Caleb couldn’t think of a
reason for Rafiq to keep such a thing from him. Unless he had a
very good reason.

Vladek is my father.

Caleb shook his head. He couldn’t think
about that.

He looked around the room and saw it was
empty; Felipe was gone. Caleb had gone toward him with his knife,
intent on killing him, but his anger had made him sloppy and Felipe
had struck him with the gun. The fact he didn’t shoot Caleb only
gave him more credibility.

Caleb wished he’d pulled the trigger, but he
knew why Felipe had left him alive. He wanted Caleb to find
Rafiq.

No! I can’t.

He hunched over, the pain was too much to
bear. There was no way he could possibly survive this betrayal. His
entire life had been a lie. He had not been abandoned. He had not
been rescued. He’d been taken from a mother who loved him and had
tried to protect him by running away from Vladek. He’d been
kidnapped by the only real father he’d ever known.

Rafiq.

Rafiq had cared for him. He’d taught him how
to read, how to speak five languages. Rafiq had stayed up late and
spoken with Caleb because he’d known about the nightmares Caleb
used to have when he went to bed alone. He’d taught him how to
defend himself. And the entire time….

He knew what he’d done to me. He listened to
me recount the way Narweh used to rape me. He’d held me when I
cried.

Caleb screamed toward the ground.

I’ll kill you! I’ll kill you for what you’ve
done.

“How could you?” he said aloud.

He must laugh at me.

An image of Rafiq and Jair popped into his
mind. Their entire relationship had been suspect until that moment.
If Rafiq was concerned about Caleb learning the truth, it made
sense to have someone around to watch Caleb. He wondered if Jair
knew the truth and bile crept into his throat.

Kill them both.

Slowly, Caleb stood from his balled position
on the floor. He looked around him and picked up his knife. As he
held it in his hand, he shook with rage. Things would end
tonight.

He trudged up the stairs, his bare feet
slapping against the wood steps. His heart felt both fast and
shallow. He had hungered for vengeance for so many years, never
knowing the source of all his suffering had held his hand and
pointed him toward his own father.

Vladek was not without guilt. He’d known
what Rafiq did to him and still had not come for him. He had
sacrificed his own flesh and blood for the sake of what? Money?
Power? Cowardice?

Caleb had been a pawn since he was a child.
Nothing he knew could be trusted, even his memories manipulated
him. There was no such thing as truth. The truth relied heavily on
perception and Caleb’s had been fucked with since the
beginning.

The door was open at the top of the stairs.
Caleb didn’t hear any sounds within the house. He suspected Felipe
and Celia were long gone. He wondered if they had taken Livvie.

Livvie….

Caleb shut his eyes tight and forced her
from his thoughts. He couldn’t think about her. If he went upstairs
and found her missing, he would lose any composure he had left. If
he found her waiting for him with Felipe and Celia, he risked
showing a side of himself he didn’t want her to see. And if he
found her hurt…or worse…he would simply turn the knife on himself
and Rafiq would live. It was best he didn’t know. Not yet.

Felipe’s home was enormous, filled with many
rooms and hiding spaces. He walked slowly, testing each door as
quietly as possible. As he walked, his memories wreaked havoc on
his soul.

“
Why me, Rafiq? I’m no one. I don’t even
know who Vladek is,” Caleb said. He sat on the floor with his legs
pulled up toward his chest. It was almost time for bed, but he
didn’t want to go. He didn’t want to risk having another
nightmare.

Lately, he’d been dreaming about the night
he killed Narweh. Caleb had shot him and his face was half gone,
but Narweh didn’t die. He sat up and jumped on top of Caleb, his
open face dripping a river of blood onto Caleb’s.

He could never go back to sleep after
that.

Rafiq sat at his desk, writing. “Men like
Vladek have no reason for their callousness, Caleb. They see
something, or someone, they like and they take it. A’noud was
beautiful.” Rafiq paused and smiled. “She was sweet. She used to
wrap her arms around me and refuse to let go unless I spun her
around. My mother used to complain she’d never find a husband
because she’d never want to be away from me.” Rafiq’s gaze was
distant, as though he were reliving a fond memory.

Caleb looked toward the imaginary spot
containing Rafiq’s memory of his sister and he wished he had one of
his own.

“
Do you miss her?” Caleb asked in a
whisper.

Rafiq’s expression turned grim and he
returned to his papers, “Much of the time. My hope is that once
Vladek is dead, I can give my sister and mother some peace.”

Caleb nodded. “Do you think…? Nevermind.”
Caleb pulled at the rug with his fingernails, at a loss for what to
say.

“
Ask, Caleb. There is no room for secrets
between you and I. We are in this together,” Rafiq said. He smiled
at Caleb warmly.

“
I wouldn’t keep secrets from you. I
promise. You saved my life and I owe you everything. It’s just…do
you think…I have a family? I mean, I must have had one…before.”
Caleb’s face felt hot.

Rafiq sighed, “I don’t know, Caleb. I’m
sorry.”

Caleb shrugged and picked at the carpet some
more. “It doesn’t matter. You’re the only one who came looking for
me. If I have a family, they must not care very much.”

Rafiq stood from his desk and got down on
one knee in front of Caleb and lifted his chin. “We are orphans,
Caleb. We make our own families.”

Caleb’s chest swelled with emotions he
didn’t understand. He pressed his lips together and nodded. He felt
relieved when Rafiq let him go and ruffled his hair. Caleb didn’t
want to cry in front of Rafiq. He wanted to make him proud.

“
Let us see what sweets are in the
kitchen, Caleb.”

Caleb smiled brightly and jumped up from the
floor, trailing behind Rafiq.

His first impulse was to throw open the door
and start stabbing anything within arm’s reach, but he’d made
enough mistakes to last him a lifetime. He was determined to get it
right this time.

“
Hold the gun steady, Caleb. It’s very
powerful,” Rafiq said. He smiled and lifted Caleb’s arms parallel
to the ground.

“
I can do it!” Caleb whined. He tried to
shrug Rafiq away.

“
I’m trying to teach you, Caleb.
Listen.”

“
You’ve been talking forever. I just want
to shoot.”

“
Patience,” Rafiq said. “Widen your
stance and try to pace your breathing.”

Caleb scowled. He was tired of talking. He
pointed the gun toward the tin can in the distance and squeezed the
trigger. The force of the gun bent his elbows and the gun cracked
him in the forehead and threw him toward the ground.