More Than Eyes Alone Can See
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Tess woke the next morning as the sun pierced her
eyelids. She moaned as her neck and back
let her know they did not appreciate having spent the
night sitting up against a hard wall.
Her eyes opened, squinting as light came in the wide open windows.
resting against her collarbone. Sands
had twisted sometime during the night so that his temple was resting above her
heart. Tess sighed, wondering how she
was supposed to get out of bed without waking her companion.
brushed some hair out of his face, revealing that he was still wearing a pair
of sunglasses. She would have preferred
that he have something wrapped over his eyes, but his
nerve-endings were even more alive now than they had been in
Danger, Will Robinson.
'>
The voice sent a surge of panic through her, making its opinion known.
Tess noticed what her hands were doing.
I need to get out.
her and onto the bed, making sure he was lying on his back to keep the arms of
his glasses from digging into his face.
sure he’s alright.
That is my job.
the room, so Tess went to the closet and got a light blanket to cover Sands
businesslike, Teresa. You don’t want him
to start to influence any part of your life.
He’s like me – you’d never be able to control him.
eventual mental destruction.
control me, but you can’t control him.
spread?
“I’m leaving, alright? You can
stop your nagging and your threats.”
Tess paused despite her words. If
they could just get through this next week.
Six more days. Then perhaps the
sun would be able to wake him as well.
As she stood looking down into Sands’ face, Tess whispered, “For the
Angel of Death spread his wings on the blast,/And
breathed in the face of the foe as he passed;/And the eyes of the sleepers
waxed deadly and chill,/And their hearts but once heaved, and forever grew
still.”
Tess was halfway out the door when the sound of
up.”
“What?”
“You. My very own angel of death.
Are you quoting one of your dead
friends, or were you simply reading my future?”
Tess came back to the bed, unsure if he was even aware of what he was
saying. Was he in control, or was the mood from the night before still in
control? She’d hoped that a night of
sleep would help his mind rejuvenate, but perhaps it hadn’t.
“I do have a request to make though.
If you’re going to take me, would you stop dragging it out?
the boredom is nearly unbearable.”
“Sands, you’re talking nonsense.”
Tess reached out to touch him, stopping at the last moment.
hert tht this was coming close.
He is one of those men who would be enormously improved by death.
particles of misplaced schizophrenia.
Some of you are just more vulnerable that others.
forced defenselessness, like your friend.
he’ll be off the medications soon then, isn’t it?
give up easily once we’ve taken root?
Not forever.
Eventually he’d kick your ass.
it?
“Stop it. Just stop it
already.” If placing her hands over her
ears would have done anything other than make the voice easier to hear,
“You’re no fun, chiquita.”
Sands’ voice. “You make me stop teasing
and I’ll have nothing left to fill my days with.”
moment. Tess turned on her heel and left
the room before things got more confusing – before her voice could start in
again. Before Sands could go through
another mood swing. Before she gave into
the temptation to find a quiet corner somewhere and let the world take care of
itself. As she closed the door, she
heard Sands’ self-satisfied laughter and heard her voice pick up where he’d
left off after the door had cut off the sound of his conceit.
Sands laid
in his bed for some time after Tess left the room.
forehead screamed, and his back was strangely cold.
that something had happened the night before that he couldn’t remember.
because he remembered going to bed the night before, listening to the quiet
turning of pages as Tess sat across the room from him. But there was
still that feeling . . . .
“So, Too warm. Rather than Jessica had cleaned the kitchen, He’s After more than an hour of butting “I’m going to go for a walk. “T?” The concern in his “Are you “Yes. Tess didn’t know how long she “Give me one reason Tess stared at the Sands growled and Why was he asking She couldn’t fight He is right. He hated the “You’re right. Tess stopped “Shut up.” There so mso much “You really want to “Revenge . . . “Are you asking if The pressure Was she offering Tessa’s thoughts Sands She had “They’re “Do you like “No.” “Then why don’t you “Because I’m used His conscience or They were both It’s still her choice. Is it? Touch her face. Sands hesitated,
To be quite honest, it had been a shock to wake up and find her mumbling
over him. For a moment he’d had a hard
time remembering where he was; reality, memories of
that threatened to overwhelm him. So
he’d started talking. Hearing his own
voice seemed to help cut through the confusion at times, even if it only helped
him remember who he was and not who he was with.
p>
That was the worst part of it . . . the times when his mind
wandered. The lack of control he had and
the lack of memory that often went with it.
The knowledge that Tess was there for it all the the fact that she never
said anything. Despite feelings that
smothered him at the thought that he was saying and doing things without any
knowledge, he couldn’t bring himself to ask his nurse what actually happened in
the periods he couldn’t remember. And
she never asked him anything that with what he couldn’t remember ing ing about,
which she would have if what he’d been saying had been trivial – which meant he
could have been spilling all his darkest secrets and dancing around the house
naked. Damn the woman for not being more
inquisitive. For being silent.
trust her.
There’s a brilliant idea.
Trust. If I remember correctly,
this entire predicament can be laid at the feet of people you ‘trusted’ but
were proven to be rather . . . untrustworthy.
Well, except for the rat you hired to get ‘El’ and his team into
pr
president’s residence.
trust her. Just that I think she
couldn’t hide a thing to save her life.
Even her silence screams information.
God, his superego or whatever had gotten
insistent lately.
Well, as useful as that may seem, I must also point out that you
thought much the same of Ajedrez, so forgive me if I don’t really trust your
judgment in these matters. And just in
case you haven’t noticed, Sheldon, betrayal can be harmful to one’s health.
must first belong. That doesn’t apply in
this circumstance.
Just three more days.
she would have resorted to keeping Sands sedated by now.
either. He’s not even up yet today.
Tess heard the front door open and close but didn’t bother looking to
see who it was. It could only be Tina or
Logan; they were the only ones with keys to the house.
W tha that or Mr. Keel finally tracked you down and is now going to
take you back to Mexico to face whoever is intent on taking over the cartel.
seem like a vacation. At least then I
would know what to expect.
eyes; she heard two sets of footsteps.
And they both sou lik like women’s.
“Well, I can see that my evil twin wasn’t exaggerating when he said that
you needed a break.” The woman’s voice
was full of wry humor and a bit of exasperation.
I know that voice.
room, her arms crossed carelessly over her chest.
“I hope you don’t take any offence, T, but you look like death warmed
over.”
“Jessica.”
found herself reaching for support as the blood
drained from her head and the room spun.
“Easy there, Trix.”
seen Tessa go pale. “I know you won that
diving competition our freshman year, but I’d prefer you not reenact it without
a pool.”
“I’m fine.”
“Of course you are. You’re always
fine.” The two women sat back down on
the couch. “You also smell.
passing out, I want you to go take a shower.”
“I can’t. I have to look after
Sands. Where’s Tina?
week.”
“Yes you can, leave Sands to me, Tina’s putting away some groceries
before she hurries off to assist my brother, and I came early.”
“Why?”
“Because
Now. We can talk later.”
Tess shook her head but did as she was told.
importantly . . . no one ever said ‘no’ to her.
that was what Tess was going to do. “Umm
. . .make sure you make noise and perhaps hum so Sands
knows there’s someone else in the house besides the two of us.
“Will do. Go take a shower.
because I’m not big on doing first aid on people while they’re in the nude.”
“I thought you were an OB-GYN.”
“I am.”
“Then wouldn’t it be more precise to say that you’re not used to giving
first aid at all?”
“Teresa. Shower.
Or I’ll really make you regret it.”
“Mmm . . . nice to see you too.”
Tess got up and went into the bathroom, not at all surprised to find
that she’d missed Jessica even more than she’d missed
Once she heard water start running, Jessica went into the kitchen.
away groceries. “I want to thank you for
keeping an eye on T. She’s a fighter but
sometimes she doesn’t know when to give up.”
Tina just nodded her head. “To
tell you the truth, I was getting a little worried about her myself.
rather large bruise on her side; Marcus and
oldest of the four children she took in, tell me that she stays up most of the
night. She’s taking her responsibilities
very seriously.”
“Yes, well, that’s Teresa for you.
She tells very wild stories of her college days, but she never mentions
that they only happened after she’d gotten all her studying and homework out of
the way. And extra credit if it was
being offered.” Jessica shook her
head. “The only reason she has any
escapades to tell stories of is because Ingrid took her under our collective
wing.”
twins had opted not to live in the dorms, Inge had, and Tess had been her
roommate. For the first semester of
ol, ol, Tessa had been a very serious little freshman . . . and then she’d
joined their study group.
Tina chuckled. “Looks like you’ve
got your work cut out for you then. As
do I. Today I’m briefing the other
nurses who’ll be assisting in the operation about what to expect and what
procedure to follow. Your brother has
everything planned out down to the last second.”
“I can believe that. By the way,
thanks for the ride up here. I think I
can take care of things from here on.”
eat.”
can visit you without getting a series of shots and packing their own water?”
“Jess . . . I had things to
finish in
what and Jessica didn’t ask.
“So you’re going to settle in”
Tess looked at her friend, then set her fork on
her plate. Breakfast had been very good,
but now it was sitting in the bottom of her stomach like a lead weight.
“Tess. We’ve known each other for
years. Because I’m a woman, I know you
even better than
care of this man single-handedly, and I thought he was overreacting.
“He has not.”
“Yes. He has.
it.” Tess didn’t argue, so Jess continued.
I’m inclined to agree with him. Tess,
you can’t just go around skipping
sleep and putting yourself in stressful situation after stressful
situation. Not if you don’t want to end
up –”
“Jess, I know this.” Tessa leaned
across the table and whispered to her friend in a burning voice, “I know this
better than you ever will.
their head telling them that if they’re not careful, they’re going to end up
dead. I understand that when I took in a
family of orphans that I was committing myself to at least another eighteen years of responsibility.
and I don’t intend on deserting him.”
“I’m not asking you to desert him, T.
I’m asking you to look after yourself.
To get a decent night’s sleep.
young charges as well. They’ve lost one
set of parents. If the one adult they’re
depending on for stability goes around the bend, what do you think that will do
to them?”
“I’m not anywhere close to –”
“How many booster shots have you given yourself in the past week,
Tess?” Tess fell silent, cursing her
overly-attentive friends. She didn’t
need a babysitter, and she didn’t need a nurse.
At least she didn’t think she did.
“Tess?”
audible. “I’ve given myself four
injections. And I thought about taking
another one this morning but couldn’t work up the energy to go into my room.”
“Four.” Things were worse than
she’d thought. “We both know that it’s
normal for you to only need to use one or two in a month. What are you
yourself sick and build up a nice dependence at the same time.”
“I know. It’s just that Sands
needs me . . .”
“Look, we can talk about that later.
Right now I want you to get some sleep.”
“I can’t. What if he :p><:p>
“Then I will come wake you up. Or
you can sleep on the couch if you want.
I don’t care as long as you get some sleep.”
Tess blinked slowly, trying to quiet the part of her mind that was trying
to tell her that Jessica had no reason to be telling her what to do and she
needed to shut up. Friends stick their noses in each other’s business.
shot off.
gun.
Yes, but we know where you stashed Sands’.
continue that conversation, Tess forced herself to focus on something
else. an>
have promises to keep,/And miles to go before I sleep,/And
miles to go before I sleep.
“Fine. You win.
“Will do.” Jessica had no
intention of doing any such thing. She’d
let Tess sleep until she woke up on her own.
Tess looked at her friend as if she knew what she was thinking, then
went into her bedroom to grab a blanket and a pillow.
glimpse of her reflection in the mirror and she turned to look at herself.
. maybe they’re right. Her hair was
hanging damply around her face, she was pale under her tan, there were dark
circles under her eyes, and she looked skinny.
Perhaps she’d lost some weight as Sands had suggested that night.
Yes, let’s do talk about ‘that night.’
of her mental energy, Tess slammed the door on her
voice and went into the living room, dragging her blanket behind her like a
young child. Throwing her pillow on the
couch, she soon followed it, quickly dropping into sleep to the sound of quiet
classical music and the soft clanging of pots and pans as Jessica cleaned up
the kitchen.
step of his procedure for a last time.
He was going to do all he could to ensure that Sands got his vision
back.
“Dr. Pierce?”
what she needed. “A package just came
for you, doctor.”
“Oh,” he gestured for her to enter his office.
the large manila envelope before leaving him again.
f
moments he stared at the packet, tempted to open it.
briefcase. The information in that
envelope was for Tess. He’d stay out of
it until she felt like sharing.
started several loads of clothes, and made herself a cup of tea by the time that
Sands woke up. Jessica had never been a
big fan of classical music, so as soon as her old school friend was asleep, she’d
moved the radio dial to a top 20 station.
someone else was in the house.
He paused halfway down the hall when he heard someone singing softly
under their breath.
He hadn’t heard Tess sing for long, or even in English, but he’d stored
the sound of her voice in his head along with the information that she wasn’t a
folr ofr of pop music.
Swearing in his head the entire time, Sands founs was way into Tessa’s
room. Once inside, he found her closet
and reached under a pile of spare pillows, pulling out one of his gun
belts. The woman was obviously not used
to having to hide things. As Sands shook
his head, he fastened the belt and holsters around his waist.
until he found the clips she’d removed from the guns.
señorita really needs to learn how to make sure no one is eavesdropping on her.
Prepared, he walked back into the hallway and approached the kitchen,
hands poised to reach for a gun should the need arise.
and kept listening. A cell phone rang,
and the unknown woman answered it.
“This is Jessica . . . yeah, I convinced her to take a nap. . . .
What? Oh, no.
hair of him yet. . . . Well, that would be up to her, but I’ll see what I can
do – I think she could use the time to relax. . . . Yes, yes,
I understand that you might want to see your long lost twin.”
sounded as if she were sitting with her back to him.
There was a beep as the woman hung up the phone, and a faint scraping
sound as if she’d picked something up.
He shook his head – so many people went about their lives as if no
threats ever came up unseen. He knew
better and he’d still gotten burned.
Still making sure to remain silent, Sands removed a cigarette from
behind his ear. Then he let the click of
his lighter sound in the silence as he lit the cigarette.
smirked. It was good to know that he
could sneak up on someone other than his absent-minded nurse.
Doctor.
While he was busy arguing semantics with himself, Jessica collected her
wits. “You must be Sands.
Sands cursed for letting the woman recover before he could say anything,
covering his agitation by taking a long drag on his cigarette.
I don’t believe we’ve been introduced yet.
I do so hate to jump the gun.” He
smiled at his own joke.
Jessica didn’t introduce herself right away.
you didn’t establish yourself as a force to be reckoned with immediately, then
he’d walk all over you. “Well, from what
I’ve heard, you’ve probably been standing there long enough to make an educated
guess about who I am.”
woman would give as good as she got, and he wasn’t exactly at the top of his game
at the moment. “Still, it’s always nice
to have one’s assumptions proven to be right.
And since you already know who I am, then I think the introductions are
up to you.” He moved into the kitchen,
hooked a chair leg with his foot, and sat down.
Once seated, he waited expectantly for the woman to pick up the ball.
Jessica watched Sands, noticing the wrinkled khakis, the white shirt
emblazoned with ‘WTF?’, and the hat that looked as if it’d be more in character
with a seventy-year-old Floridian shuffleboard player.
sunglasses he was wearing inside the house and the rather prominent gun belt
strapped around hiist.ist. Then she
noticed the arrogant grin on his face.
She could handle him – she’d worked with doctors like him.
that a male doctor fresh out of med school.
They were one of the reasons she’d gone brunette.
people. Well, three people if she
counted herself, but this was a dream and she knew that although she could see
the room, she wasn’t really there.
nothing better to do, she walked . . . floated . . . moved over to stand in front of the two people in the room.
monitors, curtains, a window.
It’s a hospital room, she
thought. With that realization, she was
in front of the two people in the room.
Curious, she examined their faces: it was
around his neck, Sands was in a hospital gown and had bandages around his eyes.
bandages. I’lrealready turned the lights
down pretty low.” Were the lights
low? Tess could see everything as if
they were standing in strong daylight.
“You’re not going to be able to see anything, but that’s not what we’re
looking for right now. Right now we want
to see if you can detect low levels of light.
Ready?” Sands merely
shrugged. “Alright, I’m going to cut
away the bandages.”
curiosity turning into horror as blooartearted to show on the bandages, slowly
starting to trail down Sands’ face. She
gasped – no one paid her any attention. Under
her dismayed gaze, other wounds on his body that she had long thought healerokeroke open and started to bleed. His
arm, his legs . . . but she was the only one that noticed.
continued as if nothing was happening.
off . . . .
. .
niña?” Sands was looking at her, and
blood was quickly coating his face, but that wasn’t the worst.
despite the blood, Sands had eyes, and they were her father’es, es, and they
accused her and condemned her and promised retribution.
work? Tess spun to find a mirror
behind her. You’re a fool, Teresa Adame.
Tess covered her hands, but the voice rang in her head, overcoming any
defenses she had in sleep.You can’t do this.
And who will take the blame for that?
reflection shook their heads.
fix what he can and write a paper. The
blame will lay on you, because without you, Sands wouldn’t be here.
dying now. This failure will kill him
inside, and he’ll you you with him. No,
she wouldn’t believe that. She
couldn’t. Look for yourself, Teresa. Look
at your patient, at the man sav saved.
Tess found she didn’t have a choice; her body turned without her
direction. Logan was gone and Sandsd
od
on the bed, blood still seeping from his body.
His eyes were closed.
the bed, not quite able to bring herself to touch him.
to do. With a tear running down her
face, a clear imitation of the blood on his face, Tess took one of Sands’ hands
in hers.
sorry. Sands gave a gentle smile and the simplicity of the smile filled her
with confusion. Confusion that fled at
his next words.
of her father. His hand imprisoned hers,
not letting her run away. Something
brushed against her ribcage and she looked down.
reached her ears as ice pierced her body.
The gun fell to the floor, Sands let her go.
running out of her body. Blood.
buckled. “You ought to see your face . .
. your sister had the same look right after I shot her.”
that?
me, Teresa? Although I suppose I
shouldn’t complain. You’re mine now.
down. normal'>Mine.
heads with Tessa’s friend, Sands went outside for a smoke.
defeat. No, he was simply taking the
time to rethink his tactics. The woman
was extraordinarily stubborn; she didn’t evade questions, but fired her own back
before he could realize she hadn’t answered.
It was rather frustrating.
He hadn’t been outside long when he heard screams erupt from inside the
house. Damn it. He tossed his
cigarette to the concrete patio and drew his guns, going back into the house.
woman’s voic:p><:p>
“Tessa, wake up.” There were the
sounds of a struggle near the couch.
“Tess, stop fighting me. You need
to wake up.” Sands put his guns
away. A nightmare.
back, tumbling Tess off it. There was a
thud as she hit the floor and then everything went silent.
Jessica looked up from the floor where her friend was catching her
breath, then at Sands. “Well, that
worked. I’m not it was entirely necessary,
but it worked.” Sands resisted the urge
to flip the woman off, and went back outside, lighting another cigarette and
leaning against the house.
Twenty minutes or more went by before he heard someone come outside with
him. He knew immediatehat hat it was
Tess. The other woman, Jessica, would
have started pestering him – it was the kind of person she was.
After five minutes had gone by without Tess saying anything, Sands
asked, “Is there something I can do for you, señorita?”
“No.” He could hear that he’d
surprised her. “No.
I just . . . I just needed to be in the sun for a bit.
Sand dropped his cigarette, listening for the sound of it hitting the concrete,
then snuffed it out with his shoe.
same manner that she’d been doing so for weeks.
It was second habit by now. And
it was comforting to see him free of blood.
“Running from the terror in there?”
For a moment Tess was confused.
It wasn’t like Sands to comment on nightmares or bad dreams.
his. Why would he be interested in
hers? “I’m talking about your friend.”
“Oh, Jessica. What’s wrong?
reply was offered. Tess took this as an
indication to let the subject slide.
However, he’d never told her to leave either, so she assumed she had his
permission to invade his refuge for awhile.
With a sigh, Tess went and laid herself on the lawn, watching the clouds
as she let the sun calm her nerves.
gone.”
Tess rolled her eyes as Jessica left the house with a bounce in her
step. “I think you may be right about
Jess becoming more like your mother every day.an san style='mso-spacerun:yes'>
Logan chuckled, but Tess knew there was something else on his mind.
you alone together. She told you about
this afternoon, didn’t she?”
Logan sighed, but didn’t deny it.
“Want to tell me what it was about?”
“No. It was just a bad dream
generated by stress and my concern over the procedure, that’s all.
“Well, at least you have one less thing to worry about.”
night, word had come that the donor eyes had arrived.
been moved ahead to the next morning; something for which Tess was grateful.
life could settle back into something that resembled normal.
It was getting late; near ten o’clock.
The children were in bed and Sands had followed their example after
agreeing to move the date of the surgery up.
With Jessica out of the house, Tess and Logan were left sitting up at
the kitchen table, and Tess was quickly loosing the ability to stay awake.
to me about?”
“Well . . . actually,” Tess felt her heart sink as Logan stalled.
into the foyer. The click of a briefcase
opening reached her ears, and then he was back with a large manila envelope in
his hands. “Remember that time a few
years ago when we all met up in Tijuana?”
“Yes, although I’m surprised any of the rest of you do.”
visit her, and they had all gotten very drunk.
Except for Tess, who wasn’t allowed to have alcohol.
“Remember how we were talking, and you mentioned that you’d like to know
who your mother was?”
Oh.
Squashing the anxiety rising up in her, Tess said, “Well, I think I was
talking more along the lines of wondering what kind of mother gives up her
child.” The comment was meant to be
offhanded, but it didn’t come out that way.
Trying again, Tess tried to joke, “Don’t tell me you tried to track her
down.” The joke fell flat when Logan
simply looked at the envelope he was holding.
“Logan . . . .”
“Well, I didn’t exactly find her, but the man I hired did find several
documents. A contract or two, a death
certite, te, and . . . and your birth certificate.”
regretting the numbed look that was taking over her face.
“Thank you for that much, at least,” she whispered.
flap. She didn’t want to, but she knew
she was going to open up the envelope and look at the contents anyway.
“Do you want me to leave?”
“Umm . . . no. That’s
through a lot of trouble to do this.
style='mso-spacerun:yes'> Tess took a deep breath and opened the
envelope with trembling hands.
know if her mother had ever been sent to the loony bin.
Logan watched as Tess dug through the large manila envelope, searching
for something. She pulled out a piece of
paper, and as she read it, her pale face turned white.
across the table to where he was sitting.
Picking it up, Logan found that it was Tessa’s birth certificate.
Adame . . . Barillo? That name had
been in the news lately. There had been
an Armando Barillo killed in Culíacan last month.
kingpin, and that he’d died while supporting a military coup.
“He lied. He lied to me for
thirty years.” All the times he’d told
her that she hadn’t had a last name because she was a bastard and bastards
didn’t have last names. Every time she’
blushed because she’d had to use her middle name as her last one.
her over her lack of a family name.
name. “All these years I told myself it
was a comfort to notlumplumped together with the rest of my family . . . and
now I find out it’s all a lie. I’m a
Barillo. I’m Teresa Adame . . .
daughter of Armando Barillo.” She let
out a bitter and disbelieving laugh as numbness continued to take over her
body.
voice broke through the fog surrounding her, causing it to break up enough for
her to remember where she was, and who she was with,
and what she was doing. She looked at
him. “Are you alight?”
eyes helped to focus her mind even more.
As long as there was someone with her, she couldn’t breakdown, and the
urge to do so was quickly fading.
“No. No, I’m not
stunned. And in a bit I’m sure I’ll be
ashamed and furious and everything in between.”
Tess looked up from the table. “I
. . . I’d like to go to bed.”
sure?”< sty style='mso-spacerun:yes'> Are you sure that you don’t want me to stay?
front door, Logan following behind. “I’m
sure that I’ll thank you for this one day, once I’ve had time to process
everything. That’s going to have to wait
a bit though. We still have a few rough
weeks ahead of us.” That’s right. Concentrate on
stirring them back up.
tomorrow.”
Sands went back into his room.
stayed standing in front of the closed front door before movinto nto the rest
of the house. It couldn’t have been too
long because Jessica hadn’t come home yet.
Then again, in a neighborhood as safe as the one around here, her friend
was likely to walk for another hour or so.
Still trying to quiet her mind, Tess went into the living room and
started picking up toys, putting away various cushions and coloring books,
placing shoes along the wall where they wouldn’t be tripped over.
the kitchen to throw away, and then she started wiping down already immaculate
counters. She cleaned as if the very act
would clear the confusion from her mind.
On hands and knees she cleaned the floor.
laundry room and started folding laundry.
At half past eleven, Jessica came in.
Tess ignored her.
“I’m going to go outside for a bit.
You should get to bed.” Tess let
Jessica leave without replying to her suggestion.
She’s right. You should get some
sleep.
shirt was trying to fold and left the laundry room.
the darkness and pulled her into the room, closing and locking the door behind
her. Her voice giggled.
matters of family when you have an eavesdropper in your house, Teresa?
Sands to do . . . whatever it was he was going to do.
For long moments, nothing happened.
No sound was made except the sound of two pairs of lungs breathing.
to the darkness inside the room, she saw moonlight glinting off the metal
barrel of a gun. She gasped; Sands
knew he had Tessa’s full attention.
I shouldn’t kill you.” His voice was
dangerously smooth; idly curious but the threat in it was more than
obvious. The part of her mind that
wasn’t numbed by an overdose of shock compared it to a silk scarf being wrapped
around her throat. Sure, it felt nice,
but sooner or later it was going to strangle the breath from her lungs.
barrel of the gun, watched as the moonlight caressed its length.
danger, and yet all of this seemed unreal.
Wetting her lips, she whispered, “You’ll wake the children.”
closed the distance between them faster than she would have thought
possible. She found herself pressed
against the wall, Sands’ left hand a manacle around her upper arm, his gun
resting below her ear. Tess remembered
the day she’d found him and taken him home with her – she’d let him rest his
gun against her collarbone then, too.
“Give me one reason why I shouldn’t kill you in the same way I killed
your bitch of a sister,” he demanded.
She heard a click as he cocked the gun.
“Your family fucked me over. Tell
me why I shouldn’t take that out on you.”
for another reason? She’d already given
one. He should have either accepted it
and let her leave or discardedand and killed her.
the gun towards the bed. He didn’t wait
to hear if it would land or not.
Instead, he wrapped the hand that had been holding gun gun around her
neck. Still she didn’t fight.
quivering under his touch, every muscle locked in place.
. . . not when she might hurt him. Not
when she understood why he placed the blame at her feet.
You’re the last Barillo. You know
that now. The unpaid debts of all the
rest fell to your shoulders. He’s
right.
The word escaped her mouth as a whisper.
acceptance in her voice. She wasn’t
supposed to be different. She was
supposed to be like them.
they used you.” Her words said
everything that had been lurking in the back of his head.
one fatal mistake.
speaking as Sands’ face came closer to hers.
His hand snapped up unexpectedly and cuffed the side of her head hard
enough to make her ears ring.
emotion behind the order. Suddenly things
began to click into place, and Tess was glad that he couldn’t see her
eyes. “She was more to you than a
corrupt agent, wasn’t she? Her betrayal
hurt more than the rest. What –”
over her throat, making it difficult to breathe.
know? Yes, I was fucking Ajedrez.”
raging emotion from earlier tamed. For
the first time, Tess started to fear where this might end.
good in bed. Almost as good as she was
at lying.”
.” Tess just barely managed to get the
word out without gasping for breath.
that’s why I killed her, or if that’s what I want from you?”
against hers as her knees started to go limp from a lack of air.
quiet. “What are you offering,
lessened, enough for Tess to wheeze a few breaths of air into her lungs.
him a pity fuck? “Are all the women in
your family whores?” he asked quietly in her ear.
slipped back seven years. She’d been
home all of a month, but it was her wedding day.
decreed that she would, just so he could ensure himself of the loyalty of one
man. Were all the women whores?
lucky enough to get pregnant by a man who’d pay her well for the child . . . or
at least that’s what she’d always been told.
Ajedrez slept with the men her father wished to ensnare.
shrugged. The hand that wasn’t pinning
her by the neck came up and brushed against the skin of her collarbone; it was
soft, silky under his hand. He touched
her cheek – she flinched but her body didn’t move otherwise.
face.
semi-prominent cheekbones, a long nose, and a high forehead.
inside of his wrist in uncertain huffs.
This was a really bad time to get interested in her body, and she was an
even worse person to even consider taking to bed, but Sands didn’t really give
a damn about those things. Maybe it was
the drugs; maybe he was nuts. “What
color are your eyes?” He didn’t know why
he needed to know – he just did.
blue.” Like my father’s. But it’s best
that you didn’t know that. Tess bit
her lip as hands started to roam over her body.
The memories from the last time she’d been in this position threatened
to overwhelm her.
that?” Sands doubted it, but he couldn’t
help tormenting her. Her fucking family
had played with him – he didn’t mind having her under his thumb.
mouse.
run? Fight?
to this.” She gasped as his hand grew
rough. “And I don’t want to hurt you.”
really are a bastard, Sands. After all
she’s done for you, you’re going to rape her for her pains?
thinks you’re no better than her family.
You know enough from listening to her nightmares that she was nothing
more than a slave. An object.
whatever proved him wrong as Tessa’s voice softly chimed in his memory: “
to be a doctor . . . Ajedrez’ personal medical slave if you will.”
silent as a moment as Sands continued his punishing exploration.
fought them. Yeah, they may have fucked
you over, but at least you chose to play the game and you had a chance to
fight. She’s had neither – but she’s
cleaning up after them anyway.
but eventually moved his hand back to her face.
His ers ers found moistness on her cheeks.
She’d cleaned blood off his face.
She’d shed tears over him. Now
she was silently crying because of him.
to her knees on the carpet. “Get out.”