Isela's Love (3 page)

Grateful he didn’t have to deal with this pig of a man, Darrios let his gaze wander the room. Surprisingly, there were no paintings, no certificates, nothing on the walls. No family, no friends, nothing. Darrios found that odd. What was he hiding?

Bernie kicked Darrios, forcing his attention back to the business at hand. All eyes were on him.

“He asked you why you stopped hunting,” Evan said, glaring at Darrios.

“Oh, sorry,” Darrios said with a sheepish smile. “Evan’s the brains of this endeavor. I’m just the muscle. I tend to zone out with the business talk.”

The warden smiled an all-too-slick smile, nodding. “So as I said before, I heard you were one of the best. Why did you stop hunting when you were so good at it?”

“Priorities change. I used to think hunting monsters was all there was for me.” He glanced at Bernie and smiled. “I was wrong.”

“Ah, I see,” the warden said. “A woman.”

The way he said it made Darrios bristle. Bernie caught it, and to prevent Darrios from ruining Evan’s deal, he said, “How about a tour?”

Warden Guarros stood, clapping his hands together. “I thought you’d never ask.”

Bernie took the lead, making small talk with Warden Guarros, giving Evan time to give Darrios the pep talk he clearly seemed to need.

“What are you trying to do?” Evan demanded. “Kill this deal before we even get it off the ground?”

“I don’t like this guy. Are you sure we want to do business with him?”

“Darrios, we’ve been over this. He’s the only game in town. You said it yourself. I’m the brains. Let me do my thing. You just be pleasant and try not to alienate the guy, okay?”

Darrios nodded. “Let’s just get this done so we can get the fuck out of here.”

The warden showed them exactly what he wanted them to see and not one thing more. Darrios listened to the man praise himself endlessly. He watched the inmates behave as though they worshipped the man, but it seemed rehearsed, not like real devotion.

“I’ve arranged a little surprise,” the warden said, clearly pleased with himself. I’m providing you with a feast before you venture back out into the wilderness.”

He pushed open a door, revealing an extravagant table setting for four. Darrios blew out a breath, knowing they were about to sit through a meal hearing more tales of how wonderful Guarros was, from the man himself.

Darrios jerked his arm away as Evan pinched him, a reminder for him to behave.

“Don’t fuck this up,” Evan whispered through gritted teeth.

Darrios glared at him. Guarros told everyone to sit as he pulled out his chair. He snapped his fingers. A young man hurried out with a bottle of Mulsket, Celio’s equivalent to moonshine, and the only alcohol available in these parts. He opened it, pouring a glass for everyone at the table, never raising his eyes to the guests.

Throughout the first course, Guarros droned on about all of the advances he’d made in the prison since his predecessor, to the point where Darrios wanted to puncture his own eardrums if it would silence the man. By the looks on Evan and Bernie’s faces, they thought the same thing.

Just as Darrios thought he might doze off, a beautiful young woman brought out the second course, a meat dish of some kind. She met his gaze almost defiantly. Darrios guessed her to be in her early-to mid-twenties, but her eyes were far older. He’d never seen eyes that color, a vivid aquamarine. In those eyes, Darrios saw honesty, courage, truth, and fierce determination. This frail young woman had the eyes of a warrior.

Her hair hung down her back in a long, thick, copper-colored braid. She wore the same prison clothes as the young men they’d met earlier, but encircled around her neck was a thin white collar, instead of the thicker black ones the men had on. She never smiled, but performed her tasks quietly and efficiently.

Guarros nodded toward the girl. As if she weren’t in the room, he said, “That’s Isela. I took her and her mother in after her father was killed in the Outer Rim. That would’ve been about thirteen years ago. You may have known him. His name was Kie. He was a hunter, too.”

Darrios shook his head. “Before my time.”

Evan agreed. Darrios couldn’t help but notice Bernie narrow his eyes and then drop his gaze to his food.

“What about you, Mr. Belle?” Guarros asked. “Did you know him?”

“Ah, no, I don’t believe so,” Bernie said, without looking up from his plate.

“Anyway,” Guarros went on, “Isela’s mother, poor thing, succumbed to madness, ran right out into Midland one day, unprotected, nearly three years after I gave her a home. I guess the grief of losing her husband proved too much for her. The viocomen got a hold of her. Tore her to pieces before anyone could get to her.”

Darrios watched Isela’s knuckles whiten around the handle of the water pitcher in her hand. Her back was to them, but he’d have bet if he could’ve seen into her eyes, they’d have been ablaze. Luckily Guarros didn’t notice. Darrios thought that probably served in Isela’s best interest.

“Why the collar?” Darrios asked. “Aren’t those reserved for the inmates?”

“Some of the servants wear them too. Different colors indicate different things, different levels of security.”

“And hers?”

Guarros chuckled as Isela hurried from the room. “Our Isela is a bit of a...challenge. She never really appreciated the things I’ve tried to do for her. She’s somewhat rebellious, needs to be reined in a bit until she can learn some humility and respect. She might be a wild one now, but she’s young. I’ll tame her, make no mistake.”

Darrios found himself wanting to throttle the man. How could he have spoken of the poor girl’s mother’s death so callously in front of her? Guarros was a bully who wanted nothing more than to break this girl’s spirit, to train her like an animal. Darrios found himself wishing he could speak to her, offer her some words of comfort.

Isela returned with a full pitcher. She began refilling water glasses without making eye contact. A crash from the other room caused her to jump. She, along with everyone else, looked to where it came from. Throwing his napkin onto the table, Guarros stood up, obviously annoyed. “Excuse me, gentlemen. I’ll be right back. I need to check on that. Incompetent fools,” he muttered as he stomped into the next room.

The second Guarros left, Darrios watched Isela’s eyes dart from him to the door and then back to him again. She kneeled down, breathlessly whispering to him, “He’s not what he seems to be. Please don’t be fooled...any of you.”

Then she ran from the room, leaving the three men sitting there, puzzled.

“What the hell was that?” Evan asked.

Darrios simply stared after the girl.

“Maybe we should bail on this,” Evan said quietly.

“No,” Darrios replied quickly. “Something’s going on here. We need to find out what it is.”

“We don’t need to get involved in the shit happening in Midland, Darrios,” Evan argued.

“The only game in town, remember?” Darrios reminded him.

“Darrios is right,” Bernie said somberly. “Something isn’t right here.”

“Is that why you lied about knowing the girl’s father?” Darrios asked.

Bernie nodded. “There’s no way in Hell Kie was killed by a molterg. I knew the man. He was the best...well, until you, Darrios. He was a lot like you, as a matter of fact...until he was murdered. The molterg story is merely a cover up.”

“How can you be sure?” Evan asked.

“I’m as sure as the day is long. Have you ever seen a molterg kill without bloodshed? Or kill something they didn’t eat?”

Both Darrios and Evan shook their heads.

“Me either. Kie’s bones were broken, nearly all of them, but no blood. Moltergs won’t eat something already dead. Someone who doesn’t know that beat Kie to death and dumped him in the Outer Rim. Trouble is, I can’t prove it.”

“And I’ll just bet our roly-poly friend here knows something about that,” Darrios said. “I mean if that girl is any indication what Mama looked like, I can see why fat boy in there would want Daddy gone.”

“C’mon, Darrios, that’s a stretch even for you,” Evan said.

“The guy’s a self-important jerk with a pseudo sense of power,” Darrios argued. “He takes what he wants because it’s the only way he can get it.”

Guarros waddled back into the room all smiles. “No damage done, just a little spill. It sounded far worse than it was. So where were we? Oh look, the third course.”

Exchanging glances, the men resumed eating in silence. Darrios chewed and swallowed. He’d lost his appetite, but remained more than a little curious about what the red-haired woman had proclaimed. He was determined to find out more about the warden and what dirty little secrets he was hiding.

****

Isela slammed the door behind her. She paced back and forth like a caged animal, her chest heaving. She wanted to hit something...hard. Guarros had gone too far this time. God, she despised him. It was bad enough she knew he’d killed her mother and was powerless to do anything about it. But to suggest her mother had gone mad and killed herself? To strangers? It was too much. The way he’d talked about her, like he’d done her some supreme favor...Isela wished she could’ve screamed out, “If my mother did go mad it was from you repeatedly raping her and abusing her without mercy!” But who would’ve believed her? Certainly not the hunters, celebrating their big business deal with that monster. No, she’d have only made things worse for herself.

“Bide your time, Isela,” she said to herself out loud.

She would not let him win. Taking several deep, slow breaths, calming herself, she sat down on the edge of her bed.

The one hunter with the longer, golden streaks in his hair...there was something about him. He was a good man, of that she was certain. Isela saw the mistrust in his eyes when he looked at Guarros. He knew a liar when he saw one. She felt she could trust him, though she didn’t know why. One thing was certain. She better have been right after making that little declaration during their meal.

****

“Isela,” he whispered huskily. She turned to him, hypnotized by his gaze burning into her soul. She closed her eyes as he cupped her cheek. His touch sent heat spiraling through her body.

“I’m yours,” she told him.

“I know,” he whispered, tipping her chin up, lowering his lips to hers and kissing her softly. She felt her arms slide up around his neck as if they moved on their own. He tightened his grip around her waist, pulling her to him, deepening the kiss. She clung to him, fire racing through her veins.

Isela sat straight up in bed, her eyes wide open, darting around the room, her heart racing. She gulped in mouthfuls of air, bringing her hands up to her throat.

“What the hell is happening to me?” she whispered to herself. Who was the man in her dreams? Why had she kissed him? That would never happen. It couldn’t. She would never give herself to a man like that. Never. She glanced down at her hands to find they were shaking.

“It was just a dream,” she told herself, knowing it wasn’t true. She usually didn’t dream at all, but when she did, there was no red haze.

****

Evan had schmoozed effectively and they had a tentative contract in place with the prison. On the way home to Inland, a somber silence replaced the light-hearted banter they’d shared on the way to the prison.

“So, what is it, exactly, that you think Guarros is guilty of, besides being a money-hungry, self-absorbed bore?” Evan asked.

“I don’t know,” Darrios replied. “Maybe it’s nothing big, maybe it is—”

“Maybe it’s murder,” Bernie interrupted. “I just wish we had some evidence.”

Darrios shrugged. “So we’ll get some.”

Evan stopped, dropping the yoke of the wagon. “It was thirteen years ago, Darrios. Don’t you think it’s kind of a dead end?”

“What is your problem, Evan? Since when are you about letting bad guys get away with being bad guys?” Darrios demanded indignantly.

“And since when are you the new sheriff in town?” Evan shot back.

“You saw that girl. You heard what she said. Can you really just pretend that didn’t happen? Can you go home and sleep soundly every night knowing that her father could’ve been murdered, driving her mother to suicide and leaving her stuck with that asshole Guarros?”

“You know what I think? I think it’s been awhile since you’ve had any action and you’re chomping at the bit to get some.”

“Fuck you, Evan.”

Evan sighed. “I know it’s hard to quit hunting, Darrios. Farming and ranching aren’t exactly as stimulating as killing monsters, but when your baby is born...” He smiled. “Trust me, you’ll be glad you don’t have to go back to the Outer Rim.

“Evan, you and Bernie are my closest friends. You’re like my brothers. So I’m going to say this calmly. Sure, I miss hunting. I know the two of you do too. It’s part of who we are. But believe me when I say Maggie and the baby are part of who I am too. I might miss the rush, but I don’t regret the decision to quit.”

“I didn’t mean—”

Darrios held up his hand, cutting Evan off. “I’m fine with farming and ranching. It’s equally as noble a profession. Let the young guys do the hard stuff. But by the same token, I am not going to turn my back on what could quite possibly be a chance to right a wrong, especially when it’s dropped right in my lap.” He glanced to Bernie and then nodded back toward Evan. “Tell him, Bernie. Things don’t happen by chance. They happen for a reason.”

“I’m with Darrios on this one Ev,” Bernie admitted. “Being in the ‘for a reason business,’ I can say with some degree of certainty, something seems really off about that warden and really righteous about that girl, Isela.”

Evan rolled his eyes, picking up the wagon’s yoke. “You two are hopeless,” he muttered as he jerked the wagon forward.

“Are you going to help us?” Darrios asked, his eyebrow cocked, lifting the back end of the wagon.

Without stopping, Evan glanced over his shoulder and said, “Of course I’m going to help you. God knows neither one of you could find your asses with both hands without my help.”

Bernie nudged Darrios and they chuckled.

“I was thinking,” Darrios said, “We could ask the warden for a few dependable inmates or servants...you know, like trustees, to work on the farm in exchange for a discount on the meat.”