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He cups my cheek, ignoring my attempts to pull away before placing a kiss on my lips, biting down on my lower lip until his teeth break the flesh. He chuckles when I rip away from his grasp.
“I’ll be seeing you soon, Magnolia.” He strolls out, and I remain in place until Mrs. Wyatt comes in to inform me he’s gone.
“Magnolia!” she gasps, running over with some tissue from the box on the table and dabbing at my lip. She asks, “Are you alright? Who was that? Should I call the police?”
I don’t have a single answer for her because I don’t have one for myself.
* * *
Cage
I’m sitting outside Magnolia and Joss’ house with the neighborhood kids I paid to keep an eye on the girls. Inhaling the cigarette between my lips, I savor the nicotine as it flows through my blood. It’s been a long time since I’ve enjoyed a smoke, and it’ll likely be the last. I doubt Magnolia would approve of the bad habit.
I’m not a regular smoker, but every once in a while, it takes the edge off. Well, it helps. And right now, I’m feeling antsy. I have a bad feeling deep in my gut about shit around here. I wish my pet would agree to come back to Africa with me. I can protect her better there. Keep her and our child safe.
Americans ask too many questions when it comes to security. When they see weapons. Even now, many who walk past us stare, incapable of minding their own business.
The boys at the bottom of the step are currently playing some game called jacks. They toss a ball in the air and pick up as many of the jacks pieces as they can before the ball bounces a second time. It’s a child’s game but has them cheering and laughing, so who the fuck cares, I suppose.
When my phone vibrates in my pocket, I pull it out, and my blood runs cold.
Pet: Vega.
One word. Two syllables.
“Keep an eye out, yeah?” Jumping over the boys, I don’t wait for their reply as I crank the engine of my rental and speed towards Magnolia’s school.
I arrive just as a bell rings, and based on the time, the kids must be on lunch. Rushing through the throngs of children as they stream outside and then through the doors, I spot Magnolia in the front office.
My blood burns when I notice the crimson stain on her jaw and neck. “What happened?” Enveloping her cheeks in both of my hands, I maneuver her face until I find the source. Boiling rage overtakes me when I realize he has put his lips on hers, biting through her tender flesh. I decide right then that his life ends tonight.
Tears stain her cheeks as she grips my wrists. “Who is he, Cage?”
Cocooning her in my arms, I mutter only loud enough for her to hear, “A dead man, pet. A very dead man.” Vega was just going to die, but now, he’ll suffer. I’ll take everything he has left, and then I’ll take his life. He’ll never come for my woman and child again.
“Take me to your office,” I demand.
I don’t release her hand as she leads the way. Plenty of kids stare as we move amongst them. The closing of her door silences the youthful voices, and when I finally get a good look at her, I see she’s shaking.
“What did he say to you?” There is a couch by the window, and I force her to sit down while I go to the mini fridge behind her desk and grab her a bottle of her favorite cherry-flavored water. Opening it for her, I wrap her fingers around the bottle and help her bring it to her lips. “Drink,” I command.
I wait until she finishes the bottle before sitting next to her. “What did he say, pet?”
“That you took everything from him, so he was going to take everything from you.” Terror crowds her eyes, the likes of which I’ve never witnessed in her before. “He threatened to cut the baby out of me.”
“He won’t touch you,” I vow.
“He said that maybe he’d take us both with him. That I was very pretty, and surely our child would be too.” The implication of selling them both on the market comes through clearly. Vega is known for trafficking tourists.
I’m so fucking glad she doesn’t flinch away from me when I reach up and brush my thumb across her busted lip. “How’d he do this?”
“He kissed me, then bit until he punctured the skin. Who is he, Cage?” Her question comes out more forceful now.
I slide a hand down my face, never intending for her to know about the shit I’ve done. I’m sure she suspects, but I never wanted it shoved in her face. “I’m a mercenary, Magnolia. I’m paid to do things others won’t.” Her eyes drop. “Vega’s father was a target many years ago. He was a drug kingpin in Venezuela that needed eliminating. The government paid me to take care of him. I should have killed the kid too.”
“Do you?” Her eyes meet mine now.
“What?”
