He Has Him

Mia could hear him hum in the bathroom and she couldn’t help but smile. It has been a long time since he was that excited. That last time was when he just found out she was pregnant.

It was a magical moment for them both. She remembered right there in the kitchen, he would hug her from behind, planting steamy kisses on her neck and rubbing her tummy. That’s why it was very saddening when the doctor told them the bad news after she saw the blood stains on the bed.

She’d always thought that was the reason he changed towards her, always so engrossed in his work. It was like it was his medication to stay sane. But now, after the sex they just had, she felt he had found another medication and she was going to love this. Maybe their marriage could be saved after all.

With a smile, she carried the plates to the dining table, arranging it all for the perfect look.

“Good morning from News At Dawn. My name is Andrea Machenez and this is the latest news.”

News in the morning. It wasn’t Mia’s cup of tea. So it wasn’t surprising when she left to change the station. But she stopped. Something caught her attention. Or rather. A photo.

“El Patricio has escaped the Federal Detention Center where he was being held. His escape occurred early this morning at dawn when some armed men in trucks and a black van threw explosives causing his escape. More updates will be provided soon.”

Black Van

Mia rushed to pick up her phone from the study where she had left it the night before and scrolled to the photo Claus updated on his social media. It was the same black van from the news.

“Mia!” She jumped at the sound of her name. “What are you looking at?”

“Nothing.”

“You look scared. Like you have seen a ghost. What’s wrong?”

“I’m - I’m fine. It’s nothing. You are dressed!”

“Yes. I am excited about the big day today. El Patricio is finally going to be sentenced to prison. But I think he’ll be killed. He has done a lot of bad things and I’m the prosecutor that has finally caught the criminal.” He proudly adjusted his tie, tucking his already tucked-in shirt.

“Er- about that. Rick. El Patricio…”

The loud thud at the door cut her off.

“That must be the paperboy. I’ve secretly been waiting for him. Rumor has it that my name will appear on the headlines and that I am the one that found the evidence to finally put the ‘El Patricio’ in his place.”

Mia tried to stop him, but the self-confident Rick left already for the door. She turned to face her phone, zooming in on the plate number and any other details about the van she could find.

Then she heard a screech. It sounded like it was from a car. Without thinking, she rushed outside to look for Rick. But he was gone.

The only thing she saw was a note on the ground. She picked it up and looked around for anyone that maybe could have dropped the note, but she saw no one.

She looked at the note; all it read was:

“E’P cannot be caged”

Like a revelation, she immediately knew E’P stood for El Patricio. Her husband had been kidnapped by El Patricio and she knew just who to meet.

Mia rushed back inside, forgetting the food she left on the table. She headed straight for her bedroom and picked up all the essentials she needed, including a pen, paper, some money, and a fresh blouse to wear with the black pants she already had on.

Then she looked for Rick’s car keys, soon dropping them again when she remembered she never learned how to drive. She looked around one last time at the empty house where she and Rick stood a few minutes ago. She closed the door, locked it, and headed straight for the location atop Claus’ latest I*******m post - New Haven, Connecticut.

Bus ride after bus ride, taxi after taxi, she finally got to Connecticut, which was miles away from where she was coming from. She had thought about leaving to go and meet him. But when she remembers what he did, and her vows to Rick, she would change her mind again and stay back.

But after everything, she found her way back to Connecticut. The place where her life was perfect and she had it all. A job, friends, a life, and most of all, adventure.

She tipped the taxi driver when she got to the front of the house across a dead street. It was the same as the one she had shown the driver in Claus’ photo. The driver surely knew his way around the town, especially if he knew of houses in a street where no one walked by and no car passed.

If she was killed here, she was sure that no one would hear her scream. And even if they did, they won’t come out to help.

As she walked up to the house, all the memories about her past flooded her head; all the parties, the lights, the loud music, the romance, the aggressive sex, multiple orgasms, and the double death shot.

She took a deep breath and looked around. There was no sign of the van.

Maybe he isn't home. Maybe he was the one that took Rick.

She knocked anyway, the sound was louder than she had imagined it would be. She looked around, but she saw no one. But before she could knock again, the door opened and she saw him.

He was the same as she had always seen in his post, but this view was ten times better. His hairy chest was visible from the tank top he wore which looked like it was about to rip from the seams of his wide, hard, toned chest. She could also see the tattoos he had always had on his right breasts, stretching up to his shoulders and down to his wrists. It was the same writing: Blood.

“Hi Claus,” she said. But he didn’t say a word, instead, he opened the door even wider, looked around, and let her in before closing the door shut.

“I saw the news. I know why you are here.” He finally said after Mia sat down. “And if you think I did it, I didn’t,” still hovering around her like a police officer to a suspect.

“And why do you think I would believe you? You have reasons to do so.”

“As a member of the Blood or as the man who used to fuck you?”

Mia took a deep breath. Her nipples hardened under her bra and her clitoris tightened. She could feel him walk away from her but she refused to look back.

“I saw your van in the news. The new one you got.”

“Are you stalking me online?” He asked, holding an empty cup in his hands.

“No. It is all over social media now. The trends.” Her voice shook and he knew her too well so he cut her off with a chuckle.

“Cariño. You can’t lie to me.”

Her heart fluttered. No one had called her that name in years. The sound of Spanish from his lips made it almost impossible to hide her attraction towards him. He wasn’t as hot as he used to be. He was hotter, more like a man. His scent was no longer of dried blood. It was something else. And it filled the room, choking her to the nose. She couldn't take it anymore.

“I’m leaving! And if you think you have succeeded, you are wrong. I will go straight to the police to report you. My husband is in the papers, they’ll come for you.”

Her outburst was nothing but arousing for him. All he could see was her vulnerability, her fear, and her failed attempt to hide how much he still affected her.

“I know where he is. And I can help you find him. But I didn’t take him.”

She stopped in her tracks and looked back to see Claus with the filled cup of coffee. His eyes were softer and she knew he wasn’t lying.

“I left. I left the Blood.”

“When?”

“Before you got married.” He dropped the cup on the table and came closer to Mia, taking her hands. “I wanted to come to tell you but it was too late. I’m not the person you thought I was. And I certainly didn’t kidnap your husband. I’d never do anything like that.”

She yanked her hands from his and went behind him, farther away from where he could mess with her head.

“You mean, you’d never do it again. You have done it before, remember? When you killed my parents.”

“You never want to let that go, do you? When will you ever forgive me? I told you, it was a mistake!”

“And that is supposed to make me feel better? If you were so good at your job, why didn’t you aim better, you know? Not end the world for the person you claimed you love.”

“It was before I met you. I didn’t know they were your parents!”

“It doesn’t matter now. There’s no point talking about it. Rick’s in trouble and I have to go find him. So you can either help or don’t.”

“I want to help. Not because it’s you. But I know I can find him faster than the police can. I have connections.”

“Of course you do.”

It was his third call, yet there wasn’t any progress. Mia was already getting impatient, as her ass warmed the cushion and her cup of coffee sat on the table, empty.

“If you can’t help. Then tell me. Don’t make me sit here, waiting while my husband could already be dead. I didn’t come here to drink coffee, you know.”

“Cody!” Claus finally reached someone. “Long time homie, where are you?... Mira, uno de los míos acaba de enredarse. Do you know of any take-offs?... Can I come to meet you then?.... Okay. Nos vemos.”

He faced Mia who was already about to rain him with questions. “He said he can’t talk about it on the phone. It could be tapped. We have to go meet him in person.”

“Does he know where Rick is?”

“He has valuable information. Pass the cup and get ready.”

Mia handed him the cup and his hands brushed hers, sending tingles down her spine. They locked eyes and she blushed, quickly removing her hands from the cup.

“I’m ready. Let’s go. Rick’s counting on me.”

“Okay. I have to get my keys and a few things. I’ll meet you outside.”

It wasn’t up a minute before he pulled up in a black sports car with lots of curves and lines. Mia was surely impressed but quickly remembered that he probably bought it from the money he used to kill people including her parents.

“Get in!” He called from inside the car. She stepped in. Fresh car smell filled her nose, mixed with his ‘yet to be identified’ scent, of course.

Slapping his legs onto the brakes, he pushed the hand brake into ‘drive’, and sped off. The breeze brushed through Mia’s blonde hair, the sun barely hot from the warm spring season. It was already late afternoon and they were yet to get to this Cody’s house.

“How far away is this guy we are going to meet? And do you trust him?”

“Do you trust ME?”

Mia paused for a moment like she was contemplating the answer. Then she replied. “It depends. I know you are good at bad things. If that is what you mean.”

“You know I have done some good things too.”

The images flashed through her head like a trigger. Images of when he helped an entire community of sick people with medicines and treatment, when he brought trucks of food to people in the orphanage home, playing with them, or even when he organized a fundraiser for an animal rescue foundation. But it wasn’t enough. It wasn’t enough to make her forget how her parents splurged on the floor when his shots passed through their brains.

How could someone make a mistake, by pulling the trigger twice?