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“If you’re in distress, give me the signal.”
“What signal?” I asked.
He waved his arm in the air and let out a mocked, silent scream. We laughed.
“I see you do that, and I’m bringing in the guns, right through the front gate.” He said, his face suddenly serious. “I’m not kidding, Jubi. If I see you in distress, I will slaughter every single one of them. Got it?”
I smiled at him, touched by his concern. “Aw, thanks Dad. You say the sweetest things!”
He booped me on the nose with a chuckle, and I crinkled it with a grin. I reached out to the sliding door, but Brett grabbed my elbow and pulled me to him. He wrapped his arms around me and squeezed me close.
“Stay safe, kiddo,” he whispered, then winked. “Also, have some fun. You’ll always remember your first.”
I got out of the van and ran into the woods, my black knee-high boots sinking into the mud and dirt. Jeans and a long-sleeve shirt weren’t my favorite things to wear. Jeans, although casual, don’t move or bend very well.
I had to take a circular route, moving through the woods. It was dusk, and the sun was turning red against the clouds, washing the sky with an orange glow. It was twilight when I got near enough to the front gate, squatting in the woods across the street. I waited until it was dark and the guards changed.
When the day shift walked off, and the night shift were still saying their goodnights, I walked across the road.
“Woah!” One of the guards yelled, pointing his gun at me.
I put up both my hands, and smiled. With a confident voice, I yelled, “I’m here to visit Eoghan Green.”
Another rifle was pointed toward me, then another.
These men were trained, their rifle butts in their shoulder sockets. Three of them were in a semi-circle formation around me, with interlocking sectors of fire.
“What’s your name?” A guy in the guard tower called to me, his voice harsh and angry.
I practically choked, knowing that this might be the last time I ever announce myself under the name I was born under. “Rose Marie Legaspi.”
I heard the whirr and turn of the camera above the gate. I stared at it, willing for Eoghan to look down at me. I didn’t know if he was watching. Maybe it was one of his peons controlling the thing. But just in case, I smirked.
I’m not afraid,I told myself. I said it again and again until I believed it.
“Let her through,” the guard in the box said, leaning out with a phone to his ear.
The gate started to open, the whining metal whined open.
“Thank you, boys,” I said in a fake, cheery tone that I hoped was convincing. I walked through the gate and up the path as if I had done it a hundred times before.
What had Brett taught me? Relax your faces? Watch the tension around your eyes. Pretend as if your eyes and your mouth are numb, and don’t let them be connected to what’s going on in the heart.
“Wait a minute!” Someone jogged up to me. He had his rifle slung over his shoulder.
He paced beside me, and I could faintly hear chatter at the radio in his ear. The helmet that was slung on a pouch that was attached to his kevlar vest. He rattled when he walked, metal hitting metal, like he was made of keys and jangled with every step.
The mansion was extraordinary. Far better than the underground warehouses, cheap motels and the plaster houses I had lived in. The place was large, covered in brick. The windows had white trim, with decorative black shutters that were permanently open. Shutters in the Philippines are to withstand the monsoon season. Here, they were added to look pretty.
The mercenary opened the front door for me, and with a nod of his head, invited me to walk through.
Once we were inside, he curtly said, “Follow me.”
We walked past a great wooden staircase that led to an upstairs hallway on each side. Through one darkened opening, I saw a pair of green eyes. Wild curly hair wrapped around her head like a fiery mane. She watched me in silence as I walked by, her eyes never leaving me. She was both beautiful and unsettling.
I saw the wall with the infamous red painting, and it was definitely the color of blood.
The sick fucker.I thought with some amusement.
