Hey guys. I know that it's been a long time since I've updated the blog. Apologies. I've been using all of my energy to finish up a few lingering projects that were long overdue, including "War Angel III: Catalina" which I know you've all been waiting for. Here's another sample. Enjoy.
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| Simone Bysainthe |
CHAPTER 37
Confessions Before Facing Monsters
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lindfolded and bound, Catalina and chase were transported from the dank
basement of Paulo’s house to the back of a cargo van. Catalina wished she was
wearing a long sleeve top instead of a T-shirt because the grit and grime on
the flooring made her feel filthy as the mucky dirt got smeared on her bare
arms. Chase was still gagged so he was unable to speak but he still struggled
valiantly to break free from his bonds. Catalina could hear him as he grunted
and strained to get his hands out of the ropes that served as handcuffs. She
continued to feel horrible for dragging him into her mess. She had no idea
where they were being taken or what they would face once they reached their
destination but she didn’t want to leave certain words unsaid.
“Chase,” Catalina whispered to get his attention. The muffled grunt he
let out next let her know that he was listening so she continued. “I don’t know
where they’re taking us and I don’t know what’s going to happen when we get
there but I want to tell you something, I need to tell you something before
it’s too late,” she said.
Catalina knew what she wanted to share but was terrified to utter words
that would reveal something she had kept hidden for a very long time. It was
the type of secret that hurt to keep locked away and it had turned her heart
painfully rigid, like a heart-shaped box. She only chose to open it in that
moment because of the perilous, precarious, predicament they were in.
“I should have told you this a long time ago,” she went on. “And I’m so
sorry that I didn’t before. And I have to tell you now because I might not get
another chance to.” She Paused again and took a deep breath as she prepared to
pour her heart out. “I grew up without my mom and I watched my father live his
life like a lonely ghost without her. He loved her so much that’s he’s been
lost without her. No matter what anyone tells me about him, I know he loved
her. But, seeing what his love for my mom did to him, how it hurt him to be
without her, how it left him in so much pain, I was scared to love like that. I
see the way you look at me Chase. I’m sorry that I never had the heart before
now to admit to myself that I love you too,” she confessed.
***
From the back of the van, onto a towering skyscraper, through an
enormous lobby, up an elevator and finally through a rather large, oddly
decorated ebony door, Catalina and Chase were dragged against their will. When
their blindfolds were removed, they were both quite surprised to find
themselves in such a luxurious penthouse apartment. The bright sunlight that
flooded in from the high windows and skylight made them squint at first but
once their eyes adjusted, they were truly in awe of the décor. Paulo stood beside them like a courthouse
bailiff as he presented the pair to their host, a stunningly beautiful young
woman with long white hair. She studied her “guests” quietly with the eyes of a
natural born apex predator.
Keeping close to the woman were three, strapping young men dressed in
expensive, tailored, business suits, all seeming distracted and disinterested. The
three men were so similar in appearance that they had to be brothers. Two of
them sat beside the mysterious woman on the couch, flanking her like bookends.
The young man on her right side shuffled a deck of playing cards skillfully
like a magician while the one on his left kept perfectly still, with a dead
look in his eyes as the woman rubbed the top of his head as if he was a puppy.
The third stood behind the couch sipping sparkling champagne from a champagne
flute with the half-empty bottle firmly gripped in his other hand. The hair on
all of their heads was dirty grey, a few shades darker than the snow white mane
of the pretty woman with the dangerous eyes. All three were ungracefully
handsome in a lumbering, brutish sort of way. As well-built and muscular as
they were, it was immediately obvious that they had the potential to be very
dangerous if provoked, even if for the moment they appeared quite docile.
All of these people made Catalina very uneasy because there was
something not quite human about them. She got the same feeling about Anika,
Paulo and even herself to a lesser degree but with these four strangers, it was
overwhelming. They flaunted and celebrated their strangeness, unafraid because
they were strong. She got the sense that the well-dressed young men were like
attack dogs, well-trained to behave but always ready to obey the commands of
their master without thought, conscience or hesitation.
“Welcome to my home. My name is Simone Bysainthe and you must be Catalina,”
the beautiful woman greeted her. “These are my sons, Lucius, Tyson and Lemerick.”
“What are we doing here?” Catalina asked aggressively.
Simone smiled pleasantly and waved her hand at Paulo, prompting him to
answer the question.
“You’re here because this is the only place where you will be safe,” Paulo
answered. “No one can get to you here, I assure you.”
“I rather take my chances on my own. Let us go,” Catalina demanded
while keeping her eyes fixed on Simone.
“I think we all know that it’s too late for that,” Simone told her as
she stood up. “Untie them,” she told Paulo.
Reluctantly, he obeyed her and cut the ropes that bound Chase and
Catalina’s hands behind their backs. Chase ripped the bloody bandana from
around his mouth while Catalina rubbed her sore, bruised wrists. Her fingers
tingled as blood started to circulate freely to her hands again.
“What’s to stop us from leaving?” Catalina asked.
“Sweetheart, do you really feel free to go just because he untied you?”
Simone asked sarcastically with a sinister smirk, obviously amused. “You wouldn’t
make it to the door before my boys were on you,” she threatened.
Copyright
© 2015 Keith Kareem Williams
All
rights reserved.
COMING SOON
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