Fuck-a-doodle-do.
I pull harder at the chains. Nothing. I slump against the wall. Pins and needles dance up and down my arms and legs.
“It’s no use trying to escape,” my captor purrs. “You’re not getting out of here until we get your ridiculous fiancée here.”
“I don’t know who you’re talking about,” I scoff. “I’m not engaged.”
The woman comes into focus as she gets closer. Her black hair is shot through with gray. Her eyes and mouth are pinched in a perpetual frown. There are scratches on her cheek that are starting to scab over. And her gray handgun taps my forehead before she points it at my face. “Uh-uh, Mr. Kestrel. You can’t lie to Fate. You can’t change your destiny. And I already know about Carolina Saber.”
“Then I’m at a disadvantage,” I roll my eyes. “You know our names, but I don’t know yours.”
“You can call me Morta.”
“Death.”
Her eyes gleam. Her teeth flash a shark-like smile. “A smart man. Such a shame your time on Earth has come to an end.”
“So, that’s it? You bring me to a warehouse in,” I pause to listen for anything outside. I vaguely hear the clang of a bell in the distance. “Somewhere… just to kill me? Why didn’t you do that when you ran me off the road?”
“Tsk. Tsk. I may be the ender of your life, but that doesn’t mean we can’t have fun along the way,” Morta spins away from me.
“What did Carolina do to you?”
She spins back. “It’s not me she has wronged. It is the love of my life. He has pined away for her for far too long, and I’m done waiting. It’s my time. My turn.”
“Who’s the love of your life?” I squint at her.
She waves the handgun around. “Don’t worry your pretty little head about that. You sit tight. You’ll be reunited with your lost love in no time flat. Too bad your reunion will be brief.”
Morta hurries out of the room and slams the door.
Lost love.
My heart thuds against my ribcage. I should have told Carolina how I felt about her when I had the chance. Why didn’t I? Was I concerned she didn’t feel the same way? Did I worry she’d laugh in my face?
My woman would never do that.
My woman.
Damn it. I should have told her I loved her.
Another thought hits me between the eyes. Faylor. I wrote a will and set up financial stuff for her right after the adoption. I update the will whenever needed. But, if I die, she’ll be all alone in the world.
Would the Sabers take her in? Treat her like family?
Maybe she could live with Carolina?
The thought of Carolina and Faylor living in the same house calms my nerves. And despite my current predicament, I smile.
That’s something I’d like to see. Both of them living under one roof. Our roof. It doesn’t matter where. They are my home. And I’d be damned if a lunatic kept me from that.
I need to focus and find a way out of here.
I glance around. There are small windows at the top of the warehouse walls. I squint and can see those windows have wire mesh threaded through them. Not that the window openings were big enough for me to squeeze through. And they were a good 20 feet off the ground.
I wiggle in the chair to get some feeling back in my limbs. My eye catches a faint mural on the far wall. A beautiful Cuban woman holds up a bottle of… hot sauce? Ketchup? No. Soda. It’s soda. The mural says, “Bebes Estrella Soda.” Drink Star Soda.
I may not know exactly where I am, but I have a pretty good idea of the neighborhood.
