Worn gloves cover my hands again, and dark glasses dim the world. Alonso and his second in command, Luiz, enter the treatment room and stand side by side, feet apart, chins held high. Both are kitted out in camo with matching headgear. They look the part, difficult to detect in the undergrowth, until they enter a stark and sterile treatment room.
“Well, who the fuck is she?” I growl, sticking my glower to Alonso’s tight features.
Being the guy in charge of the entire security team, he should damn well know every detail about her, right down to her last meal. Alonso keeps his gaze on the injured woman and swallows in a gulp. “Unknown, sir.”
“Un-fucking-known?” My brows snap up. “I allowed two male scientists. Two fucking males, Alonso. And you know what? She told me she’s an ecologist. And with a body like that, she sure as hell isn’t a fucking male.”
Alonso’s quick breath doesn't go unnoticed. He’s fucked up. “Sir, I received an email a few weeks ago stating there was a change to the original request. Only one male was flying in from the United Kingdom. There wasn’t a follow up email with a further request.”
“And yet, here we are. There’s an unconscious woman in my facility and you’re telling me you have no intel on her? How the fuck did she end up even close to the oasis? Don’t we have trackers on the perimeter fencing?” Jackson jolts when I kick the medical cabinet with my boot.
“Can you take this outside, please?” He wipes his brow with the back of his hand. “I have a patient to tend to.”
I cross the glossy floor, cruising before the two men. “Alonso?” The ire in my tone sends ripples of promised repercussions through the astringent air. “You understand what the ramifications of betrayal are, right?”
“Sir, the pilot didn’t report a second person.”
“It’s not up to the pilot, asshole,” I snap. “It’s up to the head of security to inspect all arrivals and departures. How do I know you’re not plotting against me? Did you plant the woman? Are you a fucking spy too?” A sickly snarl of distrust grows deadlier with each thought. “Why didn’t you greet them on site and go over the rules?”
“I was . . .” His hands curl by his sides. “I was touring the local villages to ensure allegiance is maintained.”
“You left the oasis without my permission?” His response confirms his incompetence. “Fuck! I bet you met up with my enemies, didn’t you?” The heat of my anger blazes through my limbs, burning with a perpetual temper.
“No, sir,” he exclaims. “I—”
“You’re a fucking liar, Alonso,” I interrupt and glance at Luiz to ask, “Did the patrol go to?”
Luiz’s jaw clenches before he meets my gaze. “No, sir. He went alone.”
Alonso sighs heavily. “Before I left, we scheduled a visit to the campsite for tomorrow morning,” he barters with a strangled rasp. “I’ll check the electric wire while we’re out there, and I’ll begin my research on the woman right away.”
“Not good enough.” I prowl closer. “I demand loyalty, respect, and complete seclusion. Because of your idleness and lack of honor, everything I’ve built here is at risk.” I lean in, glaring at his pathetic face. “I don’t trust you.” Alonso’s eyes flick to mine. Copper disks flare with the realization of his epic mistake. “Take his weapon and get rid of him.” My stern expression cuts to Luiz. “You’re in charge now. Don’t let me down.”
“No, el Fantasma . . . no. I promise.” Alonso retreats to the exit, wide eyed with twitchy fingers hovering at his holster.
That single threat of violence welcomes all my demons to scramble free of my nightmares. With Jackson behind me, and in danger of a stray bullet, my fury flares.
In two strides, I swipe Luiz’s gun from his hip and aim it toward Alonso’s forehead. “I warned you of the consequences, Alonso. I gave you a chance to prove your worth, and now a stranger has infiltrated my home. If you survive the jungle, which you won’t, I’ll put a bullet in your fucking temple.”
Lowering the weapon, I fire one shot at his femur. The instant supersonic crack of steel tearing through the air to pierce flesh and bone jangles in my empty subconscious. An intimate and troublesome tune of death whispers to my soul and reminds me of the day I’ll never forget. The reason I seek vengeance. The graveness of this man’s deception. Alonso shrieks as his knee gives way. Loose camo pants soak up hemorrhaging blood. “Get him the fuck out of here.” I offer Luiz his gun before he rotates at speed to face the whimpering asshole grappling for freedom. “Take him five miles west as the crow flies. Drop him in the lake.”
“Understood, sir,” Luiz replies, jabbing the firearm at his ex-superior.
“Find the other scientist. The woman said he was killed. If she’s lying and he’s alive, bring him here.”
I could take Alonso’s life with another squeeze of the trigger. It would be fast and less brutal than offering him to Mother Nature. He knew the price. He accepted the title. He understood the repercussions.
It has to be this way.
Cold.
Barbaric.
Final.
The two men scuffle as Alfonso wrestles in a losing battle. I don’t look back over my shoulder at the dead man being trailed out of the room. Instead, my eyes rest on the next problem––the motionless woman with no identity and the face of a goddess.
“She’ll never leave the oasis,” I confirm, rubbing my temples.
Jackson sighs. “How will that work?”
Everything has changed since a bright red light burst into the sky announcing temptation. “While she’s out of it, she’s not a threat. That gives me time.”
“And what if she really is a scientist, Dante?” Jackson wears a pristine white lab coat and a concerned scowl. “Will you let her go home?”
“What do you think, Jackson,” I snap. “You and Sal are the only ones who see all this.” Each word spits out, and my covered palms span outward. “You barely leave the oasis, and he’s signed his allegiance to me.” A heaviness settles in my chest. The beauty flitting in and out of consciousness is a monstrous complication. “What do you suggest?”
His shoulders lift. “She’s not bad looking. Maybe––”
“Don’t even think about it.” For the first time in years, a trickle of disquiet creeps in. A wave of protection mocks my resolute plan to kill my enemies. “That's not what this is about.”
“I wasn’t talking about me.” Pale eyebrows lift. “Keep the woman for yourself. You’re never away from here long enough to––”
“No,” I bite out. The last woman I fucked for sex turned out to be the most treacherous of the four marked lives. “She’s a minor complication. Fucking her is not on the agenda. We can’t trust her. I’ve traveled that road before, and we know how that ended.”
My muscles brace. A shiver of regret rushes over me, like it always does when the hardest lesson of my life flashes in my mind.
“Dante.” Jackson is the only one left who calls me by that name. I’m not really Dante anymore. That man died in the flames. However, the lashing of remorse I get from hearing my proper name, reinforces hatred and taps into my heart, fortifying my impenetrable barriers.