“So, you consider me to be the lesser of two evils,” Micah said.
“I consider you to be, so far, a man of integrity, values, and a dark sense of humor,” she said.“The signal you gave to your guard, was it to rescue you from me?”
“No, to kill you,” he said, smiling.
“Not funny.”
“It is to me.”
Lolita squinted at him.“Six years...give or take.What will you be doing during that time frame if I am to prepare myself to live as your other half?”
“I shall complete Uni, build my territory, prepare to take my seat at the table,” he said.
“Your seat at the table?”
“I am an inked member of the cartel,Señorita,” he said.“I am the grandson of a Czar, the son of Czar, and an heir to this great land which my ancestors have cared for these past centuries.The weight on my shoulders is heavy.In six years, my growth into the man who will be husband and father has no wiggle room for failure since my wife will require a home and a place to raise our family.”
He looked up at Alita.A surge of energy coursed through him when he looked at his guard.The clarity of thought which slapped him on the forehead nearly buckled his knees.Micah Delgado wanted to build those things with Alita.
“Señorita, would you care for an afternoon ride?”
“Sure, what kind of car do you have?”she asked, the large brown eyes searching his face.
In the dress she wore, she couldn’t ride, but there were clothes to change into for a horseback ride, but the devil on his shoulder said to take her in the jeep.The low-cut dress would be the perfect conduit to hold dust and dirt that would slather her exposed breast to the Colombian sun.Suddenly, he felt better.
“Alita, Señorita, we ride!”he announced loudly, removing his afternoon jacket and tie.
The smile on his face was entirely too wide, and Ryanne went to stop him from doing whatever hellscape he planned for the young woman.Eduardo's hand on her arm prevented Ryanne from moving forward as Guillermo boasted, grinning from ear to ear, how fast they were getting along.Andres only shook his head and was hesitant to be around when they came back.He knew the poor young lady would return looking like Marv fromHome Aloneafter he was shocked in the basement.
****
IT WAS AFTER 11 WHENAlita heard the door to Micah's bedroom open in the back hallway.She heard him ease down the back entrance and out the rear door.She too slipped on a light robe, and boots, grabbed a few knives, and followed him outside where she found Micah smoking a cigarette.
“Boss, you’re taking up smoking now?”she asked, walking up on him.
In his mouth, she spotted something green that he moved back and forth across his tongue.She knew it to be a coca leaf.He inhaled partially, exhaling a plume of smoke.
“My head aches, and my spirit is restless,” he said.“I also can't sleep.”
“Smoking...that's new,” she said.
“I was going to get a drink, but I hate the taste of rum,” he said.“The bourbon we brought back leaves me with the hangover, so here I stand.”
“You also have a coca leaf in your mouth,” she replied.“Would you like to talk about it?”
“No,” he said.“I was thinking, however, that perhaps, we should consider packing the fine powders of the land in party package sizes.You know, instead of kilos, maybe 250-gram packages?”
“Did you want to partake in some party powder this evening, Boss?”
“After three hours with that young woman, I was thinking of going to one of the barns and rolling myself in the shit,” he said, smiling.“Alita, understandably, I have a role to fill, but Lord forgive me, I can't do it with her.”
“Boss, she is 16.She has to grow into the woman she will be to live at your side as your woman and mother of your children.You can't expect her at 16 to possess the wherewithal to hold meaningful conversations with you the first time you meet,” Alita said.
“You did,” he said looking at her with a bit of discernment in his gaze.
“We were 14, and you were pissed about your grandmother letting someone ride your horse for the fox hunt,” Alita said.“Two totally different scenarios.”
“No, correction,” he said.“That was the beginning of the conversation.Then you went and found paints, and we sat in the kitchen painting while the cooks and staff prepared the afternoon meal.”
