Chapter 81: Out Of Time

▪ J A D E▪

I was laying in my bed when José burst into the bedroom.

The sudden slamming of the door against the wall startled me as I had been

pretending to read a book in bed. My eyes were blankly staring at the pages

while I was secretly planning how I would escape with Cristiano

"What the..." I sat up and watched as the Cartel boss stalked over to me.

"Get up, put your robe on!" José ordered before grabbing me by the upper

arm.

He all but dragged me out of the bedroom and down the stairs into the large

living room where Cristiano, Roberto, Felipe, and a few other men were

watching the late-night news on the large flat screen TV that was mounted

on the wall.

It was then that I saw the headline, 'Property of Mexican businessman José

Hernández García Attacked!' flashing brightly across the bottom of the

screen in a never-ending loop.

My eyes widened slightly as I watched the crumbling remains of the large

house belonging to the Cartel boss. According to the news, the incident had

taken place about an hour ago. The structure looked like it had been

bombed and the property resembled a war zone instead of an upscale Miami

residence.

Half of the building was a pile of rubble while the rest of it had been set on

fire.

The men who were residing within the compound had been killed and their

bodies were burnt beyond recognition. The security at the entrance of the

community claimed that it had been a convoy of policemen.

They had briefly described a pale man with silvery white hair and intense

blue eyes among those involved. It was thought to have been a police

operation gone wrong.

"Dominic..." I said his name softly upon hearing the description.

José tightened his grip on my arm as he snarled, "It seems that I

underestimated that freak! I should've known that he would burn this city to

find you."

The Cartel boss was fuming as he cursed under his breath, his dark eyes

locking with mine. He silently stared at me for a moment, seemingly

mesmerised by my green eyes. As José briefly got lost in thought, he

unconsciously pulled me closer to him while he apparently blocked out

everything else in the room as he focused intently on me.

From the look in his eyes, it seemed to me that now more than ever, he

intended to keep me for himself, if only so that he could torture Dominic.

When the high-pitched voice of one of the news reporters on the TV in the

background began talking about a possible drug war, I watched as José

shook his head and continued speaking, his voice full of conviction as he

brought his face closer to mine.

"It's a good thing I had the sense not to come back here immediately from

the hotel," he said, his nose nearly touching mine.

Standing my ground, I did not move as I continued to listen to him.

He pulled back a bit, a look of confusion crossed his face as his brows

creased, "I don't even want to know how they managed to cause such

damage. The place looks like it's been hit with a tank!"

In that moment, I could not help but giggle, knowing that Dominic more

than likely dragged that ridiculous anti-tank gun all the way to Miami.

"Oh, you think that's funny huh? Well let me tell you a joke, it'll take a lot

more for them to find us, my dear. Unknowing to the Miami Police, I let

them think that I had been staying at the house. I would then use a small

yacht to travel between the two properties. I will always be one step ahead!"

José said with a smug look.

As I listened to him, I could not ignore the ingenuity of the man.

His words seemed to trigger something within me. I realised that if he had

been sneaking around via boat, then that would mean the two properties

could not have been too far away from each other.

In my heart I knew Dominic would not leave Miami until he found me,

whether alive or dead. For a brief moment, I allowed myself to daydream

and I silently wondered where he was and how close he might have been

from my current location.

The sound of the Mexican's deep voice suddenly interrupted my thoughts.

"I'd wipe that hopeful look off your beautiful face! He's never going to find

you, not if I have anything to say about it. You're mine now, Jade! We're

leaving for Mexico soon!" José let me go and left the room, calling Roberto

behind him.

I hugged myself, pressing my lips into a thin line as I watched the Cartel

boss walk away.

When the Fuentes twin briefly looked back at me, he had a sinister smile on

his face and had the audacity to wink. I sneered back at him, wanting

nothing more than to grab the 10" Jungle Bowie Machete he carried on his

waist and stab him in the eye, then cut his lips off his face and stuff them

down his throat.

Yes! Spill his fucking blood!

As the voices began to chant, I quickly closed my eyes and took a deep

breath, trying to push the sound back into the recess of my mind.

When Cristiano came and pulled me into his strong arms, I immediately felt

myself relax and leaned into his embrace. Gently kissing my forehead, he

quietly led me back upstairs and into my bedroom, locking the door behind

us.

"You know what this means right? You're going to have to escape

tomorrow," he whispered into my ear as we walked out onto the balcony.

"But the plan isn't solid!" I replied, my voice just as soft as I scanned the

various guards that were patrolling the perimeter.

"Doesn't matter, we'll improvise! José is clearly rattled by Dominic's attack

and knowing that he's in Miami now will cause him to speed things up so

that we can head to Mexico. Rushed plans allow for mistakes, so we'll

definitely need to use the chaotic atmosphere to our advantage," Cristiano

said, his eyes focused on the canal as his hands rested on the balcony

railing.

"What about you? Are you sure you don't you want us to try and get out

together?" I asked the familiar question, my hand moving on top of his.

My eyes slowly roamed over his face, taking in his various facial

expression. I was happy that most of the swelling and bruising on his face

had gone down. True to his word, José had spoken with Roberto and the

man had not manhandled us since that first day when I had woken up.

Of course, Cristiano would need to have the missing teeth that were

knocked out replaced and I had joked that he should get two gold teeth,

claiming that it would make him look more gangster. In reply, he had

simply laughed and said that he would think about it.

As I continued to look at Cristiano, his voice pulled my attention back to

him.

"We've been over this already. I told you, there's no point! Why can't you

just accept that I'd gladly give my life to set you free?" Cristiano enquired

as he whipped his head around to look at me.

Before I could open my mouth to reply, he continued speaking.

"Look, José seems adamant about me taking over the business and I think

we can use that to our advantage. I doubt he'll allow me to get hurt. I've

given a lot of thought to what you said about taking over and making things

my own," his blue-green eyes intently stared at me.

A slow smile formed on my face as his words sunk in, "Oh wow, so my

boyfriend is a big mafia boss and my best friend is going to be leading a

powerful drug Cartel? Nice!"

"I might as well use the power given to me, right? Besides, since I've told

José that I will join him, I know for a fact that his men won't kill me, so

even if they do shoot at me, it won't be to fatally injure me. So, when we go

outside tomorrow to lounge by the pool, I'll distract them and you make a

run for the canal," Cristiano turned to fully face me now.

Biting my lower lip as I thought things over, I confessed, "I'm going to miss

you, will I ever see you again?"

"You know that I love you and I always will. Remember what I said on our

first date? There's no keeping me away from you, it'd take more than your

daddy shoving a gun down my throat to scare me off..." Cristiano chuckled

at the memory then added, "And it sure as hell will take more than my

daddy showing a gun in my face to scare me off."

A sudden giggle erupted from me as I remembered that night all too well.

With a grin, he teasingly said, "Maybe if you're ever single again, we could

give us another chance."

Even though Cristiano had meant it as a joke, I could tell from the look in

his eyes that he had meant every word. Deep down, I knew that had we met

under different circumstances, we would have made a great couple.

Unfortunately, fate had different plans for the both of us, but I was still

happy to have met him.

I continued laughing softly and hit his chest playfully. Cristiano caught my

hand before I could pull it back completely and brought my palm to his lips.

He kissed the centre and his gaze locked with mine once more.

As we stared at each other in silence, I could not believe that we were out of

time.

Through his intense and piercing eyes, I could clearly see the raw and

intense emotions he had for me. The uncertainty of tomorrow weighed

heavily on us. Moving closer, Cristiano then touched his forehead to mine

and I could feel the warmth of his skin as the cool night air washed over us.

He then pulled my hand down and moved my body closer, his head tilting

as his lips paused right in front of mine.

It looked like Cristiano was going to kiss me, but he made no move to close

the distance.

With a soft sigh, I placed my hands on his broad shoulders as I kept my

eyes locked with his. The chemistry we had may have been dormant, but it

had not been forgotten. Indeed, in another life, things may have worked out

for us.

Being in Cristiano's arms like this was so soothing.

We had been faced with the thought of death at the hands of José, coupled

with not knowing what our future held. The shared traumatic experience

had brought us closer than we had ever been before as we only had each

other to rely on.

Even though I loved Dominic with my very being, there would always be a

small place in my heart for Cristiano. As we stood there holding each other,

I could almost hear the voices telling me to kiss him, but I knew that they

were up to no good. So I closed my eyes tightly and trembled lightly as I

willed them to shut up.

Mistaking my shiver for me being cold, Cristiano held me even closer, his

arms and body providing me with such a comforting warmth. He then

moved his face as he murmured unintelligible things against my hair before

kissing me softly by my temple.

"Why does this embrace feel like a goodbye I'll never see you again type of

hug?" I whispered as I reopened my eyes.

"Well, it might be if my father sees us like this," he joked, as he shifted his

face again to rub his nose against mine.

"I'm serious..." I sighed, as I continued to hold him to me.

"I know, I'm sorry. Think of it as a see you soon..." Cristiano said with a sad

smile as he pulled back slightly, his eyes never leaving mine.

Nodding, I managed to keep my thoughts and actions under control as I

quickly but gently pecked his lips, surprising him as I muttered, "I will hold

you to that."

Blushing slightly, he replied, "It's a deal... Now go get some rest, you will

need all your energy for tomorrow."

Cristiano then leaned forward to kiss me on my forehead once more before

releasing me.

Walking me back into the bedroom, he tucked me into bed before giving me

a small reassuring smile as he left the room, quietly closing the door behind

him.

Unfortunately for me, sleep did not come easy that night.

My dreams were haunted by images of Blaire and I lay awake in the middle

of the night. As I lay on the bed, staring up at the ceiling, I silently

wondered if I would be joining my best friend in the afterlife tomorrow.